Chapter 549

• Turning his attention back to Nors and Ashleigh, he searched for signs of how they were holding up. Nors appeared to be doing okay, though Ashleigh was showing signs of strain. He sent a pulse of love down their bond, bathing her with his pride. "I know this isn't easy for you, that it's putting a huge strain on your family. I would lighten the burden if I could, but I can't do anything about Liam claiming her as his mate. I will do what I can, though, to make it as easy as possible. You know you can always come to me if you need to. We will get through this together. It's what the pack does."
• "I know, Rafe." Ashleigh smiled a sad smile that was supposed to be reassuring but she couldn't quite pull it off. Since her meeting with Thereasa, her wolf had been so quiet that she was concerned about the strange behaviour. Being dual-natured, she was used to having her wolf interact with whatever was going on in her life. This silent watching was something completely new that she hadn't experienced before. It was unsettling. She was afraid her wolf was waiting to harm her son's mate and she wouldn't be able to control it even if she wanted to.
• A knock on the door diverted her musings and Freya and Dayton entered at Rafe's command. The vampire frowned when she sighted her brother and his mate already in the room, though her mate was all smiles.