So he opened the door, and as soon as Ashley was inside, he slammed it and pulled her close. Her comfortable heat, curves, and scent helped ease his anxiety a fraction.
She murmured, "Are things worse than what Cris told me?"
He nuzzled her cheek a few seconds before replying, "No, but I like knowing you're safe with me."
Ashley sighed. "I've been surrounded by Protectors ever since this morning. If you keep worrying about me walking a quarter of a mile, you're going to turn into a shitty leader real quick."
His human, blunt as ever.
With a chuckle, he met her gaze again. "I know. But until we're officially mated, I'm going to be a little on edge. I'd blame it on my dragon, but we're both just as eager to claim you with a ceremony in front of everyone."
She touched his cheek. Her soft fingers made his dragon hum in contentment. "Wes, it'll happen soon. But first, we need to deal with these idiots thinking to liberate, whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean, the humans here. Call me crazy, but I don't think Jose or Gaby are going to like the idea of their mates being carted away."
The sibling pair of Jose and Gaby were devoted to their human mates and more than a little possessive of them.
He gestured toward the loveseat off to the side. Only once they were both seated—Ashley close enough his thigh touched hers—did he elaborate on the situation. "Basically, there's little I can do myself. Under normal circumstances, you'd put in a call to the ADDA office, their police team would come to enforce the laws, and we could mostly ignore them. However, if the ADDA police show up and find the League guys, the human bastards could share our secret about last night. You'd be fired, and then half of the future you want would vanish." He took her hand in his. "So what other options are there? I'm open to any and all ideas."
Ashley tapped her chin. And while it was one of her habits to help her think—Wes had picked up on most of them over the years—he was impatient. Each tap only made him more so.
His dragon spoke up. Stop acting so fucking irrational. You're better than this.
Normally, yes. But this is our mate we're talking about. I don't unders
tand how you're so calm.
Because Ashley is smart and doesn't put up with bullshit. Just give her a few minutes. It won't kill you.
Ashley's voice prevented him from replying to his beast. "I say keep an eye on them for a few days, long enough for us to investigate the possible loopholes your mother mentioned." Ashley explained what his mother had said the day before and added, "There's one I've been thinking about, too. Something to do with clan leaders in good standing. However, it might be quicker to reach out to any allies and see what they say. Surely you get along with at least one of the nearby clans? I know it's technically illegal to make formal alliances, but I'm sure there's plenty of things ADDA doesn't know about."
Wes didn't hesitate to nod. Ashley wouldn't betray them. "I sometimes talk with the leaders of StoneRiver and SkyTree. Unfortunately, StrongFalls keeps to themselves."
"Then you talk with their leaders, and I'm going to talk with your mother again to see if she can give me more details. That way, I'll have a better idea of what we should be looking for in the dense text of the ADDA handbooks and rules."
Despite the enormity of what they needed to do, Wes traced Ashley's cheek and murmured, "You're so damn amazing. With you at my side, PineRock is going to become stronger than ever."
Her cheeks colored, and he wished he could kiss her cheek, over to her mouth, and tell her with action how he admired her.
But all he could do without risking everything was bring her hand to his mouth, kiss the back of it, drop it, and say, "Then let's get to work."
Chapter Ten
Ashley finished her rather long-winded conversation with Wes's mother and retreated to the bedroom she was currently using as her base on PineRock.
Even though Cynthia had tried to casually drop questions about Wes into the conversation, Ashley had managed to keep it on track.
For the most part.
When Cynthia had dangled a story about Wes escaping the house at age two and how he'd run around the clan in his underwear until someone could catch him, she hadn't been able to pass it up.
It seemed the restrained façade Wes had used all these years hid quite a lot. Yes, he'd been a kid in the story, but she wondered if the adventurous, more carefree version of him was buried deep inside somewhere. The teasing at breakfast must've only been the start of it.
Not that finding out there was more to learn about Wes had changed her path. She wanted to mate the man and spend her life finding out everything she could about him.
However, none of that could happen if they didn't make it so she could stay on PineRock.
But thanks to Cynthia's listing of various rumors she'd heard, Ashley might just have the lead she'd been hoping for.
She quickly booted up her laptop and tapped her fingers against each other as she waited for it to load. Why had she shut it down completely? Each second that ticked by prevented her from securing her future.