Page 40 of Ashley & the A-Listers (Sweetverse)

40. LIFE CHANGING

ASHLEY

River was the one who put the key in, letting them in without even knocking.

Which felt silly.

The door opened within seconds, Dylan standing at the threshold, and behind him was a barely-held-back Cameron.

Dylan engulfed her in a hug, and Ashley was still too raw from all the sad emotions. The tiniest bit of comfort managed to crumble her walls, and she sank into him.

The bond opened back up, and Dylan squeezed her tighter.

“Hey,” he said, voice utterly soft, and the affection in his tone made a lump grow in her throat.

She tried to swallow past it, and couldn’t. Instead she buried her face in his chest and inhaled his scent and let it wash over her. The knot in her stomach eased just from being around her pack.

Ashley dashed the beginnings of tears into Dylan’s shirt and cleared her throat. “Hey,” she said, and pulled back, Cameron’s worry souring his scent.

She reached for him as he released River from his own deep hug, and came to her, wrapping his arms around her. He hugged her tightly, and Ashley embraced him, drawing in his scent, the tension easing from her shoulders as he surrounded her.

“You smell weird,” Cam muttered into her shoulder.

“It’s the cleaning,” she said, and caught Dylan’s eye from the kitchen.

He shrugged, but his nonchalance was just an act. Through the bond she felt a wave of… well, love. Her throat went tight.

“Missed you today,” Cam shared.

Ashley sighed, rubbing his cheek with her own, scent sharing. It felt right. This is what she’d been missing today, alone in her house before River joined her.

Her pack.

“I missed you, too,” she said, and meant every word.

“Welcome home,” he said, and the word struck Ashley as incredibly… true.

This was home. These people, at least.

River smiled softly at her as he leaned against the bar.

“What happened?” Dylan asked.

She glanced up with her head over Cam’s shoulder.

“I’m taking a leave from the gym,” she said.

Nope. Still hurt.

“What? Why?” Cameron asked.

“The paparazzi were swarming. It was a problem for the other clients, so I decided it was probably best if I wasn’t there to draw them.”

The silence was so tangible she wanted to reach out and strangle it.

“So Nic didn’t fire you?” Dylan asked, voice low.

Ashley wanted to scoff but couldn’t quite find the energy. “No, he wouldn’t. I have so much PTO saved up. It’ll buy me some time.” She had the feeling that even if she hadn’t had PTO, Nic would have figured something out. “It was my decision.”

“Just because it was your decision doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” Cameron said, eyes round and wide. “I’m sorry.”

Ashley sighed, reaching up to cup his face before combing his hair back. He nuzzled into her touch. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s not your fault,” she told him.

Cameron whined, the smallest sound slipping out. Ashley pulled him into her, a purr vibrating her chest that comforted herself as much as it did Cameron.

She was sad, and he could tell, because he was an omega tuned into an alpha’s need, much in the same way an alpha was tuned into an omega’s need. The cuddles were helping.

The couch swallowed them both, and then dipped on her right as Dylan sank into the vacant seat, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She sloped into him, pulling Cameron with her.

The only one missing was…

She lifted her gaze from a distant point over Cam’s head to the beta, who joined them, approaching cautiously.

“Get in here,” she said, wiggling the fingers of the arm around Cameron.

Instead, River sank to his knees in front of them and laid his head on her knee. “I’m sorry,” he sighed.

She ran a hand through his hair, too, just as silky as Cameron’s.

“It’ll be okay,” she said. “It’ll work out.”

And despite the gym-sized hole in her chest, with her pack surrounding her, she started to believe it.

Ashley would just have to find something to do with herself. What hobbies did she enjoy?

Crickets sounded in her head.

Well, you’ve got plenty of time to try some stuff out!

“Fuck. This sucks. I’m sorry,” Cameron said.

Ashley pulled back and stared down at him. “Don’t be. It’ll be fine,” she said.

Cam released her, standing from the couch and holding out a hand to her. She took it, and he pulled her up and over in the direction of the… nest.

“This calls for nest time,” Cameron said. “And you’re going in the middle.”

Ashley scoffed. “There’s no need for?—“

“No arguments. This omega has declared it. Dylan, you can come, too.”

“How gracious,” he mused from behind them, and Ashley’s lips twitched.

The deep blue of the nest was much more forgiving than the harsh white of the rest of the apartment. It made her miss her house. As she melted into the cushions, with Cameron and River to her left and Dylan to her right, she allowed herself to think of the future.

If they were a pack, where would they all live after filming?

Her house wasn’t big enough for a pack. Neither was this apartment.

What would a pack house for them look like?

There’d be a reading nook for Dylan, a writing room for River, the most colorful nest they could create for Cameron. A home gym for her.

A beautifully huge kitchen, so they could all dance around and annoy each other as they tried to cook together.

A sun room or a porch so they could smoke outside.

Maybe once everything settled down, they could talk, and find a perfect house for them all, something with enough room for them all to spread out, to find themselves amongst the pack.

Ashley sighed, and it slipped into a purr as Cameron nestled up to her.

She didn’t think everyone meant to fall asleep, but it was cozy and comfortable and it had been a stressful day.

A while later, Ashley was still staring at the ceiling and… Dylan shuffled next to her.

She guessed not everyone was asleep after all.

Ashley turned over to face Dylan, tucking her hand under her cheek. Cameron whined softly in his sleep and curled around her, trying his best as the big spoon.

“Hey,” she whispered.

“Hey,” Dylan answered, just as quietly. In the dim light, his gaze flicked over her face, and her stomach dropped. “I didn’t like not feeling you today,” Dylan said.

Ashley nodded. The emptiness of the bond hadn’t felt… right. “I know. I didn’t like it, either. I felt too distant. Too alone.”

“Don’t do that again, okay?” Dylan asked. “I’m your bond mate.”

“I know, I just didn’t want to dis?—“

“You’re not a distraction, or a burden,” he said, stroking her cheek. When she tried to avert her eyes, he tilted her head back in his direction. “I love you. I’m here for you. Shut me out because you need your space, that I understand. Don’t shut me out because you think it’s better for me . We’re in this together, as a pack.”

Ashley’s throat threatened to go tight all over again, and she swallowed. “Alright. Thank you.”

“I want to be here for you. Like I wasn’t all those years ago,” Dylan said. “I won’t let you down again.”

Ashley reached for him, pulling him close, thanking him with a soft kiss, just a brush of lips. “I’m scared,” she told him, offering a part of herself. She was scared of the future—of what her life would look like with them, without the gym. What if she couldn’t go back?

“I know, but it’ll be okay. We’ve got you,” he said.

Cameron nuzzled into her shoulder. “We’ve got you,” he repeated sleepily, and his arms tightened around her.

Ashley relaxed into them, letting them surround and hold her.

For what felt like the first time that day, she took a deep breath and it was filled with their scents. The childhood nostalgia of Dylan, the sweet treat of Cameron, and the inky smoke of River.

This was her pack.

Maybe she needed to start acting like it.