Ghost Of The Past
1389 Words
The wind whipped my face as I sped out of the hospital parking lot. Lucas’s desperate eyes stayed burned in my mind. I twisted the throttle harder trying to outrun the memories that were already crashing over me.
Five years ago I sat alone at our favorite restaurant. Red dress. Candlelight. Our fifth anniversary. I had ordered his favorite steak and the wine he loved. Every few minutes I checked my phone smiling at the thought of surprising him with my little speech about how far our mating had come.
An hour passed. Then two. The waiter kept giving me pitying looks. I called Lucas over and over. Finally someone from the pack answered his phone. He was at his brother’s widow’s house. She needed him they said. She was grieving hard. I sat there with cold food and an even colder heart until closing time.
When he finally walked through our front door that night I was waiting in the living room. Tears already drying on my cheeks.
“Why Lucas?” I asked. My voice shook. “It was our anniversary. I waited for you like a fool.”
He looked exhausted. “She lost her mate Aria. My brother. I had to be there for her. Pack comes first sometimes.”
“Pack comes first?” I repeated. “What about me? Your mate? I sat there alone for hours while everyone stared.”
He sighed and rubbed his face. “You do not understand. She was falling apart. I could not just leave her.”
I stood up. “And what about me falling apart right now? Does that mean nothing to you?”
The argument got loud fast. He raised his voice saying I was being selfish. I cried harder telling him I felt invisible. In the end he slept on the couch. I packed a bag before sunrise and left the pack with nothing but my clothes and my broken heart. That night killed our mating for good.
I blinked hard and focused on the road. The Iron Fangs compound appeared ahead. My new home. My new start. I pulled through the gates and killed the engine.
Asher Kane was already walking toward me. Tall. Rugged. The kind of man who commanded respect without trying. His leather jacket hung open over a black shirt and his eyes locked on me with that protective intensity I had come to love.
He did not say a word. Just pulled me off the bike and into his arms. His kiss was deep and hungry like he had been waiting all night. I kissed him back wrapping my arms around his neck. For a moment the whole world disappeared. Just his warmth and the steady beat of his heart.
When we finally broke apart he rested his forehead against mine. “Bad night?” he asked.
“The worst,” I breathed. “My past showed up at the hospital.”
Asher brushed hair from my face. “Lucas?”
I nodded. “He wants me to save his son. Our son. The boy is dying Asher.”
He held me tighter. “I am sorry you had to face that alone. Come here.”
He kissed me again slower this time. His hands slid down my back pulling me closer. The chemistry between us had always been electric. Strong. Real.
“I have something for you,” he said against my lips. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. My heart skipped.
“Asher…”
He opened it. A beautiful silver ring with a fiery red stone sat inside. It caught the moonlight perfectly.
“I know the timing is rough,” he said. “But I do not want to wait anymore. Soren you walked into my pack broken and you built yourself into the strongest woman I know. You saved my life once. Let me spend the rest of mine protecting yours. Will you marry me?”
Tears filled my eyes. “Yes. A thousand times yes.”
He slipped the ring on my finger and kissed me like the world was ending. His hands held my waist. I melted into him feeling safe for the first time since Lucas appeared.
“I love you,” I whispered when we came up for air.
“I love you more,” he replied with a grin. “We will face this together. Whatever you decide about the boy I am right here.”
We stood there in the middle of the compound lost in each other. A few pack members whistled from across the yard. Asher laughed and flipped them off playfully.
Then the gates rattled loudly.
Lucas Blackthorn stood outside with fire in his eyes. His motorcycle idled behind him. He had followed me.
“Aria we need to talk,” he shouted through the bars. “Now.”
Asher tensed beside me. “He followed you here?”
“Looks like it,” I said.
Asher stepped forward. “You are not welcome on my land Blackthorn. Leave.”
Lucas gripped the gate. “This is between me and my mate. Stay out of it uncle.”
The word dropped like a bomb. Asher went completely still.
I moved beside Asher. “Stop this Lucas. I already told you I would look at the files.”
Lucas ignored me and stared at Asher. “You always did like taking what was not yours. First my father’s respect. Now my woman.”
Asher growled low. His eyes started glowing with a partial shift. “She is not your woman anymore. She left you. She chose this pack. She chose me.”
Lucas smiled dangerously. “Blood ties run deeper than whatever fling this is. She is still the mother of my child.”
I stepped between them. “Both of you stop. This is not helping my son.”
Asher gently moved me behind him. “Stay back love.”
He faced Lucas directly. “You had your chance and you threw it away. She waited for you on your anniversary while you ran to another woman. Do not come here making demands.”
Lucas laughed bitterly. “You think you know everything uncle? You were gone for years. You do not know what our life was like.”
“I know enough,” Asher shot back. “I know she showed up here broken because of you. I helped her heal. I gave her a real home.”
The two Alphas stared each other down. Power crackled in the air. Pack members started gathering watching closely.
Lucas looked at me. “Our boy is getting worse by the hour Aria. Every minute counts. Can you really turn your back on him because you hate me?”
“I do not hate you,” I said. “But I do not trust you either.”
Asher stepped fully in front of me. His eyes glowed brighter. “She is mine now.”
Lucas smiled dangerously. “We will see about that uncle.”
The tension was thick enough to choke on. I could feel the wolves inside both men pushing to get out. One wrong word and this would turn into a full fight at the gates.
Asher’s voice dropped to a deadly growl. “Leave my territory before I make you.”
Lucas held his gaze for a long moment then backed up slowly. “This is not over. I will fight for my son. And for her.”
He climbed on his motorcycle and roared away into the night. I let out a shaky breath.
Asher turned and pulled me into his arms again. “You okay?”
“I will be,” I said against his chest. “But this is going to get messy fast.”
He kissed the top of my head. “We can handle messy. Together. That ring on your finger means something.”
I looked down at the beautiful ring. It felt like hope and protection all at once. But Lucas’s words still echoed in my ears. The past and present had just crashed together hard.
My new life with Asher was under attack before it had even properly started. And my sick son sat in the middle of it all.
- Writer
