The Alpha’s Broken Healer (The Alpha and The Princess 1)

Ash the Princess

The days after Ash came home from the hospital, again, were quiet. She slowly started to move about more on her own, with Micah hovering at her back ready to pick her up if she so much as grimaced. The doctor had declared her fit 2 days after coming home. It was strange, Ash thought, how quickly she had come to think of the pack, and Micahs flat as home for her, she had never had a real home before and maybe thats why. Her friends, Lynne and the others, had come to visit once the doctor had declared her fit. Micah had gone down to his office when she had visitors, but he couldn't be that far away from her and kept coming back up to check on her. He was struggling with the distance while Ash was still hurting. 

Ash was still achey and not wanting to hurt her he didn't push into her bed. The first night she was home he did doze on her bedroom floor, just in case she needed him in the night. But when Ash stood on him in the morning and nearly fell over she told him that she would call out if she needed him. Loki had been around a lot too, Ash loved having him about though it annoyed Micah no end. They were like typical siblings and argued about everything. Loki would bring Ash sweets too and hug her, Micah didn't think to get her little things that would make her happy, he wanted to make big gestures Ash thought, he was a little envious of how easy their relationship was. Ash enjoyed having a big brother who actually wanted her around. Mark came up too, he would game with Ash and Loki sometimes, or read with Ash and discuss books, this was something that Micah could get in on, while he might not have read many of the books Ash liked, he was trying to play catch up, he wasn't the best at reading but he was trying and Ash loved that he did that for her. Ash found him in his office one day, going over designs while listening to the audio book of city of bones. Ash curled up on the couch in the corner of the room with the next book, city of ashes. 

Kit tried to come and see her, but Micah refused to allow him back into the flat, Ash had to call for Rowan once when Kit was adamant he was coming to check on her, she wasn't sure that Kit understood the situation he was in and she didn't want to see him hurt. She couldn't explain why but she felt the need to try and protect him. She was drawn to him for some reason, it felt reminiscent of the bond she felt with Micah, but at the same time totally different. She couldn't deny that she wanted to spend some time with him, she wanted to get to know him, and she was even slightly attracted to him but at the same time she couldn't see herself taking him to bed. It was confusing but she didn't know who she could talk to about it. She had drawn a few pictures of Kit by now, not as many as she had of Micah or Loki, or even Mark or Jay or Xavier and Emery, but quite a few for the time that she had known him. She didn't stick around when Rowan arrived, knowing that he would have an easier time calming things down if Micah thought that Ash might need him elsewhere. 

As her strength slowly built over the days, Micah and Mark helped her out of the flat, encouraging her to start running, sparring gently with her, they taught her some new katas and did yoga with her. It was clear that she was no where near their league, but they were impressed with her stamina and her determination. Ash vowed that she would be capable, that she would be able look after herself, even if she couldn't be to he same level as Micah and the others, she needed to be able to hold her own for a few minutes to give herself a chance in the worst case scenario, to allow time for help to arrive. Loki taught her a few moves that were slightly underhand, but she was still at a huge disadvantage fighting wolves. 

Rhys came down to the training ring one day, he was a huge man with tattoos on the side of his neck, his hair was so short Ash couldn't even work out what colour it was, he looked fierce but everyone said he had a heart of gold. Ash had never really interacted with Rhys before now and wasn't sure what to expect, she knew he was the head warrior, she suspected that he was about to hand her ass to her. He didn't say much but corrected her stance or position every now and then. After a while he disappeared, only to come back a few minutes later with a belt type scabbard and two short swords, blunt ones clearly meant for training, he thrust the belt at Micah, who seemed to understand and strapped it around Ash’s waist. “Is that comfortable baby? Rhys thinks you need to have a weapon, its not a bad idea. Just don't hit us too hard ok?” Ash nodded uncertainly, watching as he showed her how to slot the swords into the scabbard and take them out. She practiced a few times before turning to Rhys, who showed her how to hold the weapons and a few basic moves. After 90 minutes she was exhausted, and while she hadn't beaten the boys, she had forced both Micah and Loki to jump out of the way of her blows a few times. She noticed that if she really concentrated on them, she could almost predict where they were going to attack her from, which seemed like a really handy skill to have in a real fight, she made a note to ask Kit about turning it on at will. Ash made to take the scabbard from around her hips when Rhys spoke up for maybe the 4th time since he had appeared in the training ground. “No, take them home. Keep practicing. Next time I visit you, I want to give you heavier blades” he said, turning and walking away. 

Ash raced Micah over to the house and in to the lift, but then convinced him to carry her up the stairs. They found Kit on their doorstep. “I know, I know, you don't want me here, but we need to start training. We really need to start training. You have to let me in now. Ashlyn needs to know Micah. Or they are going to tell her in like 6 days time” Kit told Micah, laying his position out. 

“Micah? What’s going on? What do I need to know? Tell me Micah, you know I don't like it when you lie to me and keep things from me” Ash had turned to Micah, struggling from his arms to glare up at him. She pushed the door open “come in Kit, I need I need to get a shower and a snack, Micah thats on you, then I’m all yours for a bit Kit, will that do for a start?”

Micah was clearly unhappy at this arrangement, but one more glare from Ash was enough for him to keep quiet. Kit nodded mutely.

“Good, can I get you a drink Kit, before I go get cleaned up?” Ash enquired.

“Um.. no thanks, I’m ok Ashlyn. Thank you” Kit replied

Ash nodded, “Micah baby, do you want to go get us food while I shower, then you can shower while I train with Kit, I assume we can work from the lounge for today?” 

“Yes, this will work for now” Kit answered, while Micah just growled. Ash took it to be an agreement, she huffed back before adding “and you behave too” before walking into her room to gather clothes before heading into the bathroom off Micah’s room. Ash showered quickly, washing her hair too. Stepping out of the shower. She pulled her hair into the tight braids like Emery showed her. 

Once she was dressed and dried, sitting back in the lounge, Micah had found pizza and chips. He had enough for 3, though Ash doubted that was his own doing, most likely his father or Mrs Black, perhaps both. They were all sat on sofas in the lounge in an uneasy silence, eating their food. Micah glaring at Kit and Kit trying to be unassuming. Once the food was gone, Ash looked between the men “well? Who’s going to tell me?” She demanded.

Micah and Kit both looked at each other. It was Micah who spoke first “don't be mad babe, there hasn't been a good time to talk about this. While you were in the hospital we took some bloods and Kit had them sent off for DNA testing… he had suspicions”

This is where Kit took over “your shields were the strongest I’ve ever encountered in someone who didn't know how to build or control them. Plus your wards in someone untrained, its virtually unheard off, even if you cant do them on command” he sighed a little. 

“Right, so what does this mean, what am I?” Ash asked. Her nerves and anxiety making her sound pretty aggressive. 

Micah shifted a little, offering his hand to give her a little comfort. 

Kit gave a little cough before he continued “well, urm, your DNA tells us that you have healer, record keeper and lycan DNA. It also shows us that you are a princess” there was a pause here, Ashlyn didn't know what to say to that, she merely looked between the two men in-front of her waiting for one of them to continue. 

“The fact that you have lycan DNA is probably why you feel the mate bond so strongly.” Micah interjected.  

Kit nodded, pulling out a book. “Have a look through this, it should answer some of your questions. But basically, your powers are pretty much unlimited because you are a princess, but your grandparents are coming soon and they will be able to explain more about the royal family. Healers, like the name suggests, heal others and themselves. Record keepers or history keepers, can read and spell the books that were historically used by many species to record their stories. However with the decline of the species, most groups have forgotten about you and their own history books. If you looked around in your attics here or your library you might find some. Most groups still have them somewhere even if they don't know what they are, they cant seem to throw them out.”