The Fall Ball
Chapter 74

(Ash)

I lay here holding Rose in my arms. I am so happy that she felt comfortable enough with me to trust me to keep control of my wolf so that we could mate even though we could not mark one another. It wasn’t that hard to keep him in check and I think that was because he knows what will happen once we mark her.

“She is so beautiful,” Aspen says to me.

“Yes she is,” I tell him.

“We will do everything to keep her safe, and she will beat Sol. With the vampires’ help, I think we have a better chance at beating her. With their help, we will know where she is at all times and be able to prepare for her.” Aspen tells me.

“That is true, but I do not want a kingdom full of vampires. So I think we need to communicate with one another without them being here. And if it comes down to them needing to come here for any reason. I want them to stay in the empty houses on the edge of town.” I tell him.

“With Sol so weak, there isn’t much need for them to do much of anything other than to let us know when she is close and what she is planning.” Aspen tells me.

“What do you think will happen to them once Sol dies?” I ask him.

“For Rose’s sake, I hope that they live. But I fear that anything created with Sol’s magic will disappear with her. But I don’t know for sure and won’t know for sure until it happens.” He says to me.

We lay in silence for awhile. Rose moves in her sleep. She snuggles closer to me and lays her head on my c.hest. I smile and k!ss her forehead.

“Lets get some sleep.” Aspen says to me with a yawn.

“Goodnight,” I tell him.

I wake not long after falling asleep, it is still dark out.

I reach next to me and notice that Rose is not in the bed with me. I sit up in a panic.

“Rose?” I call out into the dark room.

She doesn’t respond. I sit and I listen. I can hear her breathing and her heart rate. She is in the bathroom.

I get up and walk towards the bathroom door. I knock softly.

“Rose? Are you okay?” I ask her through the door.

She doesn’t respond. Aspen is urging me to open the door.

“Rose, I am coming in now.” I say as I open the door.

I look at her and I smile softly. She has fallen asleep in the tub. I reach into the water and pull the plug so that the water can drain.

Rose shifts in her sleep as the water disappears. She opens her eyes and smiles at me.

“Are you okay?” She asks me with a smile.

“Yeah, I am. Are you?” I ask her.

“I am okay, I woke up sore and I didn’t want to wake you. So I came in here to take a bath to ease my sore muscles.” She says to me with a blush.

“You should have woken me up. I would have helped you. I was going to let you soak last night, but you were already asleep.” I say to her, giving her a k!ss as I reach for a towel to give to her.

I hand her the towel and help her stand up. As she goes to step out of the tub her legs give out from under her. I grab her before she hits the floor, I scoop her up into my arms.

“Sorry, my legs feel so weak. Its hard to stand on them.” She tells me as I carry her into the bedroom.

I smile at her.

“That is normal, it will get better in time.” I say to her while setting her on the bed. I go to the closet and come back with clean p.anties and one of my T-shirts.

I help her get dressed and back into bed. As I pull the covers up over her, she pulls me in for a k!ss.

Once she pulls away, I walk over to my side of the bed and climb in next to her. She rolls so that she is snuggled up to me with her head on my c.hest. I wrap my arms around her and k!ss her forehead.

“Lets get some more sleep before the sun comes up.” I tell her.

“Do you think we can hide in bed all day? I want more time with just you before we have to go back to the crazy world that we live in.” She asks, snuggling closer to me.

“Yeah we can do that, let me link my dad and let him know that we need space today. I am sure my mom or your mom will bring us food to check on us. And we can have the day to ourselves.” I say to her.

“Thank you,” She says to me while leaning up for a k!ss.

I k!ss her deeply. I hear her gigggle.

“What is so funny?” I ask her.

“Lilly is asking why you bothered to put clothes on me when we should just take them off again.” She says to me with a blush.

“Well, if that is what you want, I am happy to take them off of you,” I say rolling on top of her, deepening the k!ss.

I pull back and see her smiling at me.

“I love you Rose,” I say to her.

She pulls me in for another k!ss, she takes me by surprise when she rolls me over and climbs on top of me. She leans down close to me and k!sses my neck.

She sits up straight and looks at me.

“I love you too Ash,” She tells me before leaning down and k!ssing me again.

I just relax and let her take control.