Chapter 3

Asher.

Clarissa turned her head and watched him come out of the house. He knew he was staring at her, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to look away. Chalking it up to her new makeup and dress, she nodded her head upwards, calling him over to her.

“Do you think you could help me into the van, Ash? I want to save as much strength as possible for today.”

It took him a second to register that she was speaking to him. “Ash? A little help here?”

He wouldn’t need help. She was barely over a hundred pounds, and her chair was extremely lightweight. Asher knew he wasn’t as muscular as some of the men in the shifter world, but he constantly was working out, and was more toned than the average man.

“Yeah, sure, sorry.” He walked over and lifted her with ease into the van before climbing into the driver's seat and turning the engine over.

He had already checked the address his mother had supplied. Meeting this man on their property was not about to happen. There was too much risk involved, and always a possibility of a clan member being spotted. While theirs wasn’t the largest kin in the shifter world, their numbers were close to eighty, and it was their isolation that allowed them to maintain steady growth over the years. He knew of kin in the States with numbers less than 20.

Their kin had moved to one of the farthest points in Alaska that they could in order to survive. The fact that they were snow leopards was lucky, because not every animal species could survive in such extreme conditions.

His great-grandfather had brought them here from Russia many years ago. They had settled in a remote region in the Seward Peninsula, not far from the Bering Strait. Luckily enough, his grandfather had managed to secure rights to the land being a protected, national park, which meant hunting was virtually nonexistent, and unwanted visitors there were limited.

Under normal circumstances, there was no one up here but the few tribes of Inuit people that generally left them alone. They seemed to have enough respect for the native wildlife that they themselves were rarely an issue. Leaving the reserve now to head for a larger city seemed like an unnecessary risk with the amounts of humans that were being reported in the area, and the missing kin members, but it would keep her safe, and with some luck, happy.

He glanced back at her in the rearview mirror, and saw she was looking out the window with a look that could only be described as awe. He sometimes forgot how much in this world he took for granted. There was so much she had never seen from the inside of their home.

He regretted that he had never taken the time to show her any of his world while he could. He was about to lose her forever and he couldn't even remember a time the two had shared a meal together. He dreamed about her, of course. Couldn't help but think of her when he closed his eyes. Her perfect lips, the slight curve of her body, the way she always made him smile.

Asher gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles going white, and forced himself to focus on anyone else in the car but her. The last thing he needed was to walk into her wedding full of desire for her.

His gaze fell to his sister. She would be the perfect distraction. Eva was chatting away happily as her bonded mate, Liam sat helpless, unable to get a word in edgewise. He laughed to himself as the two of them locked eyes in the mirror for a brief second and his look clearly said, “Help me”.

He cleared his throat and considered helping his brother-in-law out a bit. "Ev, do you think you could spare Liam this weekend for a few hours? I want to go for a hunt."

Liam looked at him with complete gratitude. He couldn't blame him, he had been sitting listening to his wife talk about weddings, flowers, dresses and makeup for hours. Eva looked a bit shocked by the interruption, but recovered well.

"Um I think so, we don't have any major plans aside from this. Where are you going?"

"We'll probably stay on the edge of the reserve. Don't worry, I won't take him far." Asher winked at his sister and looked back towards the road. It didn't take long for Eva to resume her conversation with no one in particular. She seemed to be speaking to the car at large, occasionally directing a thought at Clarissa.

Aside from the occasional nod of the head, or affirmation sent to Eva, Clarissa was barely acknowledging that she was being spoken to.

His mother sat on the other side of her, with her eyes closed. Asher knew she wasn’t sleeping, and couldn’t blame her for the respite from conversation. As much as he loved her, his little sister could be exhausting.

“Not much further now,” he said, turning the van. It was hard to believe they had been in the van for five hours. They had elected for the meeting to take place in Wales, a small town about 4 hours away from the reserve, because it had an airport that the newlyweds could leave from directly after the ceremony. He knew the travel would be difficult for her, but once she was settled it would be worth it.

He glanced at the clock. Twenty minutes to go, and he would have to watch her be given away to someone else.