‘Granger snarled, claiming her as his, before he wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, pulling her against him so roughly that the air was pushed out of her lungs. He crashed his lips down onto hers, sealing her airway.

She tried to struggle, but her burning lungs and panic overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t think.’

The memory woke her.

Ashleigh sat up in bed, panting. She hugged herself and hissed at the slight pain she felt. Lifting her shirt, she could see minor bruises on the side of her waist.

The marks of Granger’s overly passionate love. He couldn’t help it. She knew that. He had been holding himself back for two years, and now, with another wolf thrown into the mix, of course, he was going crazy.

She understood it would be different once they were married, once their bond was complete. Ashleigh touched a finger to the sensitive spot on her throat. She hoped he would be gentle when it came time to mark each other.

Another memory floated into her mind, soft kisses against her throat, a flick of the tongue against that spot. The way her body ached for more. A shuddering breath and flash of heat ran through her like a bolt of lightning as Caleb’s mouth touched her throat with such tender care.

She closed her eyes as the warmth of the memory settled over her. Caleb was so consumed by their bond that his mind was almost gone at the full moon. They were both driven nearly mad by the pull of the bond, and yet, he was so gentle.

So… loving.

He could have had her; she would have given in without any objection, yet he pulled back and didn’t push her to be his.

The thought of him, his touch, his tenderness. Ashleigh found herself stretching out in her bed as rolling warmth reached up and down through her body, curling her toes. The fingertips of her left hand traced the curve of her breast, a sensation that had her biting her bottom lip. While the right hand moved down along her hip, drawn by an aching throb begging for release.

She closed her eyes, feeling Caleb’s hot breath on her throat.

“Haa..” she moaned out softly.

She imagined his hand caressing her hip gently, his fingertips tickling her sensitive skin as they made their way towards their goal.

“Aaah…”_.

‘My heart beats for you, Ashleigh.’

Ashleigh’s eyes opened wide, her heart gripped tightly. Caleb’s honest, heartfelt words were the cold shower she needed to pull herself away from fantasy.

“Damn it…” she sighed to herself in frustration. As she sank back into the bed and tried to catch her breath. “Why are you doing this to yourself?”

The memory fell away, and she was left with only the bitter sorrow it left behind. Her eyes filled with tears. Ashleigh pushed herself off the bed, grabbed a towel, and headed for a real cold shower.

***

“That’s only two days away!” Ashleigh stated in disbelief.

“Yes, I know it’s quick, but Ash, come on,” Granger pleaded, placing his hands softly on her elbows and pulling her into a gentle hug, “I just want us to be together.”

“We are,” she replied.

“No,” he said, “not officially.”

“Granger, I’m sorry, but that’s just too soon,” she sighed, pulling away from him.

“We don’t need anything crazy, just us and your parents under the moonlight with the blessing of the Goddess. Easy,” he offered.

“Granger, I–“ she began.

“Ash, please,” he said, standing and pulling her back to him, “I just want to know you are mine.”

She looked into his eyes. His pain was open and honest. He was scared, and if she was honest with herself, it wasn’t an unfounded fear.

Ashleigh wanted to give in, to make him smile again. But she couldn’t.

“Granger, I am yours. I have already promised myself to you. But we can’t just decide on our own to get married in two days,” she replied sadly, “our friends, our family, they would be so disappointed. Not to mention the training and everything else going on right now.”

“The training is over; they are all going home today.” Granger pouted, resting his head against her chest.

She took a deep breath.

“Not all of them,” she sighed, knowing what his reaction would be to the conversation.

He sighed.

“You know I still have a duty,” she said.

“Fine, there is nothing I can do about that,” Granger stated in frustration. “But why should that affect our marriage?”

“Granger, come on,” Ashleigh said, feeling an annoyance rising in her. “I have two weeks of training. We won’t have time for a celebration or even time to ourselves.”

“I just need you,” he whispered, hugging her tightly.

***

After all the back and forth, he couldn’t convince her in the end. Ashleigh had ended the conversation by reminding him that she had taken over Saul’s duties while he spent time with his newborn child.

Granger considered dropping it, letting go of the idea of getting her to agree to get married now. But there was still one more thing he could try.

Alpha Wyatt had mentioned that Luna Corrine agreed that the wedding should have gone ahead. Maybe he could get her to convince Ashleigh.

“Granger!” Corrine smiled as she opened the door. “Come in, come in. What a pleasant surprise this is.”

“Hello, my Luna,” he said formally, saluting her like any other member of the pack would.

She furrowed her brow and gave an awkward smile.

“What’s this now?” she asked with a chuckle.

It was strange for Granger to salute her. It had been over a year since she had convinced him to stop being so formal with her since they would be family soon enough.

“What do you mean, my Luna?” Granger asked.

“Why are you acting so formal? I thought we settled this long ago. You are my son-in-law. There is no need for all that,” she laughed.

Her voice was kind but firm, telling him she did not want to see him act formally. Something he knew quite well. He remembered their conversation, their agreement. He knew how uncomfortable she felt with the formalities between them.

Which was precisely why he did it.

“But I’m not your son-in-law,” he said with a sad smile.

“Not yet,” she replied. “But you will be soon.”

“That’s what I keep hearing,” he sighed.

Corrine looked at him with concern.

“Come, let’s sit together,” she said, directing him to the couch.

They settled into their seats, and she offered him a glass of water from the pitcher that always sat on the coffee table.

“No, thank you,” he said.

“Tell me what’s going on, Granger. Why are you upset with my girl?” she said after taking a sip from her glass.

He looked up at her questioningly.

“Subtlety is not your strong suit, dearest,” she smiled.

He laughed and looked away as if he were feeling embarrassed. He wasn’t.

“Nothing gets past you, does it, my Luna?” he smiled.

“Ok, let’s go ahead and stop this ‘my Luna’ stuff. You got my attention already. Let’s just get straight to the point,” she smiled back.

“Alright, I will,” Granger replied, “Honestly, I am feeling frustrated by the wedding being pushed back again and again.”

“Ahh, I see,” said Corrine, “But I thought you were fine with it? Wyatt said he spoke with you last night.”

Granger laughed.

“Yes, should I tell my Alpha that I don’t agree with a decision he made?” he asked.

“I suppose I see your point,” Corrine laughed, “and I suppose my practical girl agrees with her father?”

“You know your daughter.” Granger sighed.

“I do,” she sighed. Knowing that Ashleigh would always do whatever her father told her to do, whether she wanted to or not.

Granger glanced at her. He could see she was interested. He just needed her to agree with him and help him.

“I understand that a big wedding, celebration, all of that, would be unreasonable right now,” Granger began, “I’m not trying to be unreasonable. I don’t think wanting to be married is unreasonable.”

“No, of course not, dear,” Corrine replied, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “But it is true that a wedding would be quite out of the question right now. Especially with the report we received from Summer.”

“I know,” he said, “I’m not asking for a wedding. I’m asking for a marriage.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I would like to marry my mate at the full moon.”

“In two days?!” Corrine exclaimed.

“Yes,”

“Granger, dearest, I support you, and I want you both to be happy, but that is much too soon,” Corrine said. “I could barely organize a nice dinner by then, certainly not a wedding.”

“That’s just it, I don’t want a wedding,” Granger said.

“I don’t understand.”

“What I want is to have the Goddess bless our union and to be mated to the woman I love. Then, we can do a wedding later after the rogues have been dealt with.”

Corrine was quiet, thinking about what he was saying.

“So, you want to be married in two days and have an actual wedding in the future.”

“Yes,” he answered.

“And how does Ash feel about that plan?” a voice from across the room asked.

Granger looked up with irritation, his eyes landing on Bell, standing at the entrance to the hall leading further into the house.