Second Thoughts After Divorce

shton’s POV

+10%

Bonus

06:27

he evening had worn on, and the garden party had transformed into a cozy gathering under the moonlit sky. Rose and Lydia, both wrapped up in cosy ankets, sat on the patio, sharing hushed conversations and laughter.

was moments like these that reminded me why I had chosen Rose as my mate. Her genuine kindness and the bond she was forming with my pack sembers warmed my heart to see – only confirming that I had in fact made the right choice with her.

couldn’t have been prouder of her today…

watch on as Lydia yawns loudly – having a knock on affect with Rose who follows sult with her own tired gesture, causing me to chuckle at the pair.

Hunt follow us as we head indoors – them

You both ready to hit the hay then?” I question, as they both nod and I shift to stand to their feet. Sawyer and Hu both choosing to crash here tonight.

Lydia, would you prefer for Rose to sleep in the same room as you again tonight? Just in case that makes you feel safer,” I ask over my shoulder, Eurning back to see her reaction which she nods to almost instantly.

Lydia’s eyes sparkled with gratitude as she nodded. “If you don’t mind Alpha… then yes please. I’d appreciate the company if I’m honest.” Lydia’s soft Tone meets my ears as I nod in agreement – shrugging off the intrusive thoughts forced upon me by my wolf – who wasn’t happy with the decision.

Perhaps I could sleep in the room next to the one 1 had put Lydia in… maybe being closer would help him settle? Help us both settle!

Typically, I couldn’t bear to be separated from Rose for a single night. But I knew it was the best bet as emotional support for Lydia. I was willing to make an exception

“We reach their bedroom, as Lydia heads inside and I turn to face Rose pulling her to me for a brief moment.

“I don’t know how I’ll make it through this night without you.” I grumble in her ear, eaming a playful giggle.

“You’ll be fine! Big bad Alpha scared to sleep alone hmm? Rose chuckles, as I glare down at her mockery.

I’ll show her a real big had Alpha….

“Night Rose… mind–link me if you need me.” I tell her sternly, as she nods once in confirmation.

“I will Ashton… thank you… I’m just proud that we actually made it through this day! The whole pack now knows that you have a mate!” Rose breathes out a sigh of relief, as I smile and rub my hands slowly up and down her waist.

“You did good… wasn’t too scary eh?” I smirk, as she shakes her head

“Good night Ashton.” Rose replies gently, and with that, I lean forward to place a gentle kiss upon her lips – which she happily returns.

I could get used to having a mate around again….

Rose wastes no more time before heading in to the room, offering me once last wave before closing the door over and leaving me out in the hallway

I walk my way back towards the living area – finding Sawyer and Hunt both sat comfortably on the sofa – enjoying a random aliens…

show about ancient

“stay down here incase the girls need anything will you? I’m going to have a chat with Nathan’s cousin… I’ll be in my office.” I tell the pair, watching Sawyer throw me a thumbs up and Hunt nod briefly at the order.

As I walked through the house, I couldn’t shake the uneasiness that had settled in gut since Nathan’s disappearance.

I trusted my men wholeheartedly to guard and protect my pack and homer, but I couldn’t take any chances when it came to the safety of the two girls -1 wanted him found.

I entered my office, a room that had seen its fair share of tense meetings and difficult decisions before no

Tonight was no different.

+1

Bo

My mind was focused on one goal: to make sure that Nathan never got anywhere near Lydia again. The fact that he had gone into hiding only rue 06 my determination to find him and bring him to justice.

I’ll make an example of this man…

I slump down in to my cushioned office chair whilst I waited for their arrival, and decided to check my voicemail messages

The tone recited that I had received one message earlier in the day from Alpha Jacob, who was soon hosting the annual Alpha ball

The message itself was short but carried a tone of urgency….

“Ashton, it’s Jacob. I need to speak to you about something important. Call me back as soon as you can.”

1 furrowed my brows, wondering what could be so urgent. Jacob and I had always maintained a friendly relationship, and his tone had me intrigued and slightly concerned,

Before I could dwell on it further, my men knocked on the door to my office, before suddenly escorting Nathan’s cousin, Luke, inside as he grumbles and fought against their hold.

Luke was forced to sit in the chair opposite me, his demeanor uneasy as he avoided my eye contact glaring at the ground.

It was clear that he was already aware of the trouble he was in… and that he wasn’t exactly happy about it either.

My mind raced with questions as I studied the young man, and I couldn’t afford any lies or half–truths here either. The safety of my pack, especially Lydia, depended on uncovering the whole truth about Nathan’s actions and his current whereabouts.

1 leaned forward, my gaze locked onto Luke’s. “You know why you’re here, Luke. We need answers, and we need them now.”

Luke shifted uncomfortably in his chair, clearly feeling the weight of the situation sinking down on him. I watched the sweat build across his forehead, his skin paling slightly, however he still fought to remain cool and collected.

He finally looked up me, defiance replaced by a hint of fear in his eyes….

“L… honestly don’t know where Nathan is,” He started, his voice shaky, as his eyes datt to me for a second each time for he looks away again.

I leaned in closer, placing my elbows on the desk, with my tone firm. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Luke. We have reason to believe that you know more than you’re letting on. If you cooperate, then things might go easier for you here… but if you don’t…” I trail off with a shrug, leaning back again and watching him squirm.

Luke hesitated for a moment, seemingly torn between loyalty to his cousin and the pressure of the situation by being interrogated by an Alpha.

After what only felt like seconds of thought, Lume finally sighed, seeming to cave in.

“Fine, I’ll talk. But you have to promise me some protection. Nathan won’t hesitate to hurt me if he finds out that I was the cousin that spilled the beans.” Luke admits, as I cock an eyebrow in amusement.

There’s more of them? How many cousins does Nathan have in this pack?

I nod in agreement, deciding that it was for the best, as Luke seems to visibly relax at my confirmation.

“Start talking.” I urge, as he inhaled a breath.

Luke began to recount the events leading up to Nathan’s disappearance, admitting that he knew of the most recent incident with Lydia.

After he beat her the way he did, he came round to my place for some air away from the situation… his knuckles were torn and bloody and his face was pale… hes a different person when he gets pissed off.” Luke explains, seeming to fidget nervously as he does so,

“You didnt think to pass this incident on to a pack official or even me? The Alpha? You know that shit is not fucking tolerated in this pack!! I anap out harshly, causing him tu terar, unsure of what to do or say nat

‘s–su… L. Yor” Luke bubbles, as I scoff and shake my head at his weak squirming

“You’ve known about this for a long time Luke, I can tell. You should have passed it on to someone that the poor girl was getting abused! She’s sti young!” I grit, as Luke nods and looks at the floor shamefully.

06:

I know Alpha… I’m sorry……. h–he… he’s a scary man when you have to live with him like I did… I thought it was best to keep my mouth shut and stay out of it.” Like attempts to explain, as I clench my fists tightly,

“It’s not good enough! You took the easy route and left that girl to suffer under his roof!” I yell, causing Luke’s eyes to widen and for even my men to tense up at my tone alone.

The room fell in to an eerie silence, as I forced myself to take a couple of long deep breaths to calm my building temper… I still didn’t know anything that I needed to know… I need him in this moment.

“Forgive me… I will hear you out first. I urge him to carry–on, pinching the bridge of my nose between my finger and thumb as I wait for his words.

Luke then carried on to admit that Nathan had confided in him about his abusive behavior towards Lydia, as he did with him and his two other cousins Karl and Warren. At first, Luke felt sad for the girl, and claimed to have questioned the behaviour, but was soon shot down and told to stay out of it or he would get it worse…

From what I’m gathering, if what he says is true, Luke is the youngest of the four cousins, and was always the easiest to manipulate and pick on.

Despite this fact, he could have of course still reported the incidents.

He had turned a blind eye, but when Lydia had gone missing, he began to fear for her safety…

“Nathan didn’t tell me where he was going, but he was desperate to find Lydia. He thought she might have run away. He mentioned something about checking the salon where she works, but I haven’t seen him since. Luke explained with a shrug, as I eyed him intensely to find any fault in her statement.

1 furrowed my brows, realizing that this information might be the lead we needed. The salon made sense; it was the last place Lydia had been seen before her disappearance, not to mention that they seemed to have an idea of what she had been going through in her relationship….

As I sat back in my chair, I couldn’t help but contemplate the situation. Nathan was out there, somewhere, probably desperate to find Lydia, and that only meant she was still in grave danger.

I couldn’t let him find her and harm her again, it wasn’t an option at this point.

“Have him locked in the cells for tonight, and we can speak to him again tomorrow.” I grow frustrated, waving them off, as my two men lean forward and haul a blundering Luke up to his feet.

“B–But I did what you asked! Please?! The cells are for criminals! I’m no criminal! Please Alpha?! Luke rushes out his words, as I watch him in amusement

“Not reporting that someone you know well has been getting abused for months on end is a crime!” I roar, earning immediate silence in return as opens and closes his mouth like a fish out of water,

he

I watched as Lake struggled to find words, his face pale and eyes wide with fear. He had clearly underestimated the gravity of his actions or, rather, his Lack of action in Lydia’s case.

“Lock him up,” I ordered firmly, my patience wearing thin. He’ll spend the night in the cells. Tomorrow, we’ll continue this conversation.”

Despite his protests, I couldn’t afford to let him roam freely while we searched for Nathan. Who knew what kind of information he might give away if

he was left to his own devices?

As Luke was led away, I turned my attention back to the voicemail message from Alpha Jacob. It had been nagging at the back of my mind, and now that I had a morgent to lucus, I decided it was time to return the call.

I dialed Jacob’s number, and this time he answered promptly.

“Ashton,” Jacobs voice sounded both relieved and anxious. Thank you for getting back to me. I need your help.”

I leaned back in my chair, intrigued by the urgency in his tone. ‘Of course, Jacob. What’s going on?”

Jacob explained that the upcoming Alpha ball, an event that was always a grand affair, was diy danger of being disrupted by a grip of rogue wolves.

+10

“I need additional security. Ashton,” Jacob said. “Your pack is known for its strength and discipline. I’m hoping you can send some of your best wan to assist in safeguarding the event.”

06:19

1 considered the request carefully. The safety of the Alpha ball was of utmost importance to me now, not just for Jacob but because I was planning on taking Rose with me this year.

“Of course, that will be fine,” I replied. “I’ll send a team of my best warriors to assist with security. We’ll secure the safety of the ball.”

Jacob audibly sighed in relief. “Thank you, Ashton. Did you get your invites in the door?”

“I did yes, this Friday? Is that right?” I ponder, hearing him hum back.

We exchanged a few more details about logistics and security measures before ending the call

I sat alone in my office, and I couldn’t shake the pestering feeling of annoyance.

Nathan was still out there, and I had to find him before he could do any more harm,

With a heavy sigh, I stood from my chair and left my office. The night was far from over, and there was much work to be done.

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Dianne Hundle

Luke attempts to explain

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