Will you flee? (Ashlyn)

[Damon Graas R5]

Damon was nervous. More nervous than he cared to admit. Ashlyn would pick up on it. She had already picked up on it, when Morgana had come over in the library the other day and invited Ashlyn for the Graas’ full moon poker nights. Ashlyn had picked up on his nervousness and had turned to question it before answering to Morgana, but Damon had avoided answering then. There would be no more such luck tonight. And there was nothing he could do about it, so Damon forced himself to pull his hands out of his pockets and to stop playing with the spare chain found in the pockets. Yet, when rounding a corner, Damon still couldn’t help but smile at the sight of that pretty blonde head bowed over a thick tome. “Ashlyn,” Damon called softly and smiled as he caught her eyes, “Ready to go? We have a bit of wards to go through.” Damon shrugged with a light smirk at the look in Ashlyn’s eyes: “Graas’ like their privacy?” Smiling in a way that he hoped was disarming, Damon waited fro Ashlyn to pack up and rested his hand lightly at the small of her back as he guided her out of the library.

Mom and dad had picked a secluded part of the dungeons as a sanctuary for Morgana during full moon. It was far out of the way of the rooms some older Slytherins had fixed up for themselves, far from the Slytherin common room and potions classrooms, far from any secret passageways leading out of the school. Ashlyn didn’t seem to be recognising the part of dungeons they had got to either. Lifting the edge of an old tapestry, Damon motioned for Ashlyn to go through and into the hallway behind it. Stepping through after Ashlyn, Damon made sure the tapestry had fallen to hide the passageway again. Only then did he fish out his wand and set to work to grant them a safe passage as they reached the hallway leading to the room that mom and dad had warded in Morgana’s first year in Hogwarts. A muttered identification charm, a tap of his wand against an appropriate stone in a wall, a spell to momentarily disable the invisible nets. Pulling the heavy wooden door open, Damon peered in and smiled as the heads of all his siblings and Lita snapped up. They were the last ones there, it seemed. “Welcome to tonight’s gambling heaven,” Rister joked lazily, as they stepped inside, and Damon threw a simple locking charm on the door behind his back.

Joining the rest, who were sitting or lying in a circle on the floor, Damon motioned for Ashlyn to join them. Two decks of cards were mixed and cards were distributed again. The mood was kept light with easy jokes, teasing, mild bickering over whether peanuts or almonds were better, but as time passed Damon started feeling edgy again. Ashlyn didn’t know his brother so well, but Damon could read worry out of them as well. Rister was tugging on his pony-tail occasionally. Gabriel was running his finger in circles around the rim of his glass. Jared was tapping a rhythm with only his index fingers. But Damon firmly avoided Ashlyn’s questioning eyes. He was the card-dealer, when it happened. When Morgana was reaching for a new card, her hand trembled violently. A tremble that had nothing to do with tiredness or any sort of effort. For a moment Damon simply stared at that elegant hand and the spasm of muscles under the pale smooth skin. Then everyone folded and handed the cards back to Damon. He took the decks and stood, turning to face a wall as he set to work at sorting the cards into two separate decks again. While Lita and Leandra stayed with Morgana, Damon and his brothers all found reasons to turn their backs to their sisters with Gabriel absently doodling something on a bit of parchment, Rister and Jared staring at a painting hung on the wall. “Watch,” Damon nearly commanded, as he jerked his head towards the corner of the room where his sisters had retreated to a large bed, when Ashlyn stepped next to him.

Werewolf transformation didn’t include clothes, so Damon and his brothers didn’t watch Morgana changing. But they had seen their father transforming often enough to know what it consisted of. It started slowly. A tremor of a limb, a spasm of a muscle, a flexing limb. The flashes and spasms would become more rapid, more violent, giving glimpses of the aim they were heading towards. And they heard the soft whimpers and groans of pains, coming from Morgana’s throat, even if she tried to muffle them. It would be hellish minutes to listen to it, to know your little sister was in pain like that. And when the transformation was complete, there would be no sound for a moment. No sound, no movement. Until the glowing yellow eyes of a wolf would snap open. Damon heard the sharp intake of breath from Ashlyn and turned. Morgana made a pretty wolf, Damon registered again somewhere in the back of his head. She was still small and her werewolf form would grow as she as a human would grow. Currently she was only about the height of a large dog or a normal wolf, as opposed to dad, whose head in werewolf form would easily rise to a grown man’s shoulders while he was standing on all four paws. From previous nights like these, Damon also knew that the thick, pitch-black, slightly wavy fur covering Morgana would feel like ebony-spun silk to touch. But this wasn’t like the previous nights with full moon. This night could make him or break him. He wouldn’t be able to truly blame Ashlyn, if she would turn and flee now. He couldn’t. But he didn’t want to loose her. And Morgana was his little sister. Damon let out a low breath as he tried to reign in his emotions, not that Ashlyn would be able to make much sense from that jumble of fear and caution and hope and tiredness and every other emotion possible. Damon himself couldn’t tell where one emotion began and where one ended.

Damon glanced at Rister. He was the heir and thereby would usually handle such situations, but his oldest brother returned his glance with a completely blank expression. Obviously he was leaving this one to Damon. “Morgana is a born werewolf. She was probably conceived sometime during the month after dad had been bitten and before his first transformation,” Damon said blandly, finding it easier to explain if he pretended to be talking about some stranger. “Wolfsbane potion helps a full werewolf quall their aggressiveness and allows development of a train of thought, but dad said that he doesn’t think like a human during the transformation. He smells a mate on mom, his own offspring on us; he can recognise and control himself, but not by sensing or thinking like a human does. Morgana retains human way of thinking, as she’s the child of a werewolf and a human, not turned after being bitten; but she can’t help the transformation on full moon. Her first transformation came when she was about seven.” There was no need to point out that the transformation was as painful as that of a regular werewolf. Ashlyn had seen that herself. And no need to explain why the Graas’ played “poker” on night with full moon. Damon fell quiet and Morgana slowly stood from where she had been lying on the bed, with Leandra absently smoothing her fur. Morgana picked her way to the edge of the bed and soundlessly hopped onto the floor, stretching luxuriously for a moment before stilling in a standing position, as the Graas’ and Lita waited with bated breath.

[Ashlyn Swallow G5]

How was she ever supposed to relax when she constantly had Damon’s nervous emotions flaring up and disturbing her mind? It had all started after Morgana’s invitation to join them for a night of poker. Ashlyn had been about to refuse – staying up all night just to play poker, and with a group of people she wasn’t overly comfortable with no less? It simply wasn’t practical or logical – but there had been something that had made her agree. That had been a few days ago, and she hadn’t ceased to sense Damon’s apprehension ever since. So Damon knew about whatever was going to happen, Ashlyn concluded as her eyes skimmed over the words of a book that she barely remembered picking up, and it put him on edge but he wasn’t planning to tell her about it. It was most likely some sort of test, she decided after some consideration. Kris and Cleo had already had the chance to decide her worthy of being bonded to their son and now it was the kid’s turn. Well that was fine, Ashlyn huffed bad-temperedly. She could pass or fail this little test of nerves that the Graas’ were planning for her and it wouldn’t change a thing. Damon would still be bonded to her and it would still be her duty to act as a knight to him. The now familiar anxiety, mixed with something that reminded her of affection, assaulted her senses and Ashlyn lifted her head even before Damon called her name, shooting him a cool smile as she collected her belongings and slung her bag over her shoulder.

“Are you planning to murder me in an even more abandoned part of the dungeons?” Ashlyn questioned dryly, narrowing her eyes with suspicion as Damon led her into a part of the dungeon that she didn’t recognise at all. There were no actual rules against gambling, as far as Ashlyn knew. It would be disapproved of by the professors, she guessed, but not to the extent that such an unpopulated part of the castle would be needed. And why all the wards? It seemed far too excessive. Damon’s siblings were on edge too, Ashlyn noted as she entered the room and saw their heads snap up warily. Lita was slightly less tense than the Graas’ though, she couldn’t fail to notice as the brunette greeted her cheerfully before sending a reassuring smile to Damon. “I don’t know why Rister considers it to be heaven,” Lita smirked and winked impishly, “because he has a terrible poker face and equally terrible luck. Now go and sit by Damon and try to peek at his cards. Cheating is sometimes the only way to win against him.” Ashlyn gave them all an openly suspicious look before settling into place next to Damon and joining the game. It wasn’t just a simple poker night, she was sure of it, but now was not the time to voice her misgivings.

The mood relaxed gradually, helped along by the joking atmosphere that Ashlyn had come to expect from the Graas siblings and Lita. Hell, Lita was almost a Graas herself with her dark hair and the easy interaction between her and the other six. The older girl had never hidden the fact that she considered them to be her family but Ashlyn had never cared to ask whether they felt the same. She had never seen anyone else be accepted as Lita was, and that was enough evidence without any verbal acknowledgement. The Ravenclaw hadn’t quite accepted Ashlyn though, the blonde knew. It was probably hard, just as it had been hard for Ashlyn to adjust to a life with ten new people in it. Her cousins, the Graas’ and Lita. The mood changed again suddenly and Ashlyn couldn’t help but to scan the room attentively. She could feel Damon’s tenseness as if it was her own, but the others looked mostly normal. Lita, perhaps, was a bit more concerned with the younger boys than she had been before, smacking Jared’s hands lightly when he started tapping and tugging Gabriel’s hand away from his glass before lowering her voice to whisper to Rister confidentially. When everyone folded, Ashlyn followed their lead and handed her cards back to Damon as her confused eyes begged an explanation. Lita gently pushed Ashlyn toward Damon, patting her shoulder soothingly, before joining Leandra and Morgana in the corner of the room. “What exactly am I supposed to be watching?” Ashlyn demanded harshly, bristling when she felt the bond tugging at her and forcing her to obey Damon’s command. Trying to fight against it didn’t work when she was already intrigued and so Ashlyn scowled and gave in, turning her head to face the girls.

She had been curious at first, intrigued. What could demand so much secrecy and need to be concealed with such vigour? But then Morgana had started trembling more violently, whimpers ripping from her throat and it had taken all of her control not to step away in horror. Her cousins, Layla in particular, had brought out the more protective side of her personality and it horrified her to see a young girl in so much pain. There was also confusion, as her mind forcefully denied what she knew to be truth. Morgana wasn’t...no, she couldn’t be. The professors would never allow it. But they had, her traitorous mind pointed out triumphantly. It had been allowed many decades ago and the man had become a professor for a year. Why wouldn’t it be allowed now? The yellow eyes burned into her and Ashlyn’s control snapped slightly, as she inhaled sharply. The sound made Damon turn around again and, wordlessly, Ashlyn threw out an emotional plea that she knew he wouldn’t understand. She didn’t even understand it herself. Tell her it wasn’t true, tell her it was real, leave her alone, hug her tightly, say that nothing had changed, let her know that nothing would ever be the same again. Damon’s chaotic emotions overwhelmed her own and Ashlyn let out a silent whimper, her hands covering her ears as if she could block out the feelings that attacked her. “Damon!” Lita’s panicked cry at seeing the blonde girl’s state broke through her frenzy and Ashlyn forced her mind to close; emotionally shoving Damon as far away as possible without apology. She couldn’t deal with his feelings in addition to her own. Her own mind was too conflicted to support Damon as well as herself.

Ashlyn tilted her head silently, listening to Damon’s explanation and then watching Morgana. Her face was calm, completely closed off, but her fingernails were digging into the skin of her palm and nearly drawing blood as she watched Lita slowly crouch next to Morgana and pull her hands through her fur, speaking quietly to the werewolf. She had been raised to fear werewolves. They were supposed to be sub-human; ferocious, wild and uncontrollable. But Ashlyn knew Morgana. Morgana was nothing like the werewolves in the stories that her aunts had used to keep her in line and under control. Ashlyn laughed mirthlessly, her eyes locked on Damon’s expectantly. “What did you expect to happen once you had shown me Morgana’s transformation? If you wanted me to run away screaming then I’ll partially oblige if I must, but I absolutely refuse to scream. It’s undignified.” For the first time, a hint of fury showed on her face. “Did you not think to warn me?” Ashlyn hissed vehemently. “Or are you completely unaware that most purebloods are raised to fear and despise werewolves?” She shook her head, unconsciously backing away from Damon slowly. “There are easier ways to get rid of me than showing me my childhood fear come to life,” she told him, her voice hoarse and weary. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lita open her mouth indignantly and then be silenced by a sharp glance from Rister. Typical. Lita would always rush to the defence of the people she considered her brothers and sisters, even Ashlyn knew that.

[Damon Graas R5]

Damon didn’t know what to expect. On one hand he knew Ashlyn. Probably had seen sides of her she had closed off from everyone else. He hadn’t chosen to be bonded to Ashlyn, but he had grown to not mind the bond and as he now discovered, he almost even liked being attached in such a way to the girl. But he had always been raised in a family. He had always been supported and he knew his obligations were to support his family as well in times of need. Ashlyn might be more than willing to hex and fight back, but there was also innocence and protectiveness in her. She made her stand, but she didn’t bully. And Ashlyn had taken to Damon’s sisters easier than to his brothers, so Damon couldn’t really even begin to phantom what he reaction would be like. He didn’t even know what his reaction would be if Ashlyn would decide to flee. He could sense Ashlyn’s turmoil as well, until she pushed him away. Damon understood that. It was easier to sort things out by oneself at times. He understood and simply forced down his own emotions, calling on every bit of his self-control to do so.

But Ashlyn didn’t flee on spot. She listened to Damon with a blank face and Damon felt a small spark of hope start in him. At least she listened. Perhaps she was then considering giving it a chance too. This hope allowed him to regain full control over his emotions again. And he also felt a spark of pride for his girl, even though Ashlyn would loudly protest at being called that. His girl stayed sharp and snappy, even when emotionally shaken down, which she obvious was. Damon was glad that Rister’s glares kept everyone else deadly quiet though. Rister had the same authority their father had, if he wished to call on it. And this was a matter he and Ashlyn would have to sort through themselves. “I didn’t know how you’d react. I’ve worried over it for a long time. But I didn’t know how to even start explaining it,” Damon responded softly, understanding that Ashlyn’s words were sharp, because she herself was hurting and confused right now. It was part of human character to inflict hurt back, if you yourself felt wounded. “Our backgrounds are different, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any less complex sides to me and my life than there are to you and yours. We are bonded and this…? It was Morgana’s secret to tell, but it was easiest to just show you now as I don’t think I could have lied to you throughout my life about it. Hiding it any longer would have made it only harder.”

Ashlyn backed away from him. She might not have noticed it, but Damon did and it hurt. Hurt far worse than her words could, even though the hurt from such a gesture flashed over his face for just a moment, before he cooled is expression again. In stead Damon stepped forward, having seen the flinch passing Morgana’s body at Ashlyn’s words of despising werewolves. She might look like a werewolf, but she understood and felt as a human. Damon stepped forward and kneeled and Morgana slunk over to her. Her front paws on Damon’s knee as Damon wrapped his arms around her neck. Burrowing his face in the fur at Morgana’s neck in a gesture meant to soothe both himself and Morgana, Damon rested for a moment as a half-whine, half-purr escaped Morgana’s throat. But this position was probably tugging on Ashlyn’s bond-fuelled need to protect, so Damon raised his head again and sent an almost apologetic glance at Ashyln. “I suppose I didn’t think of that. Werewolves can be dangerous. We’ve all sworn a blood oath to kill dad, should he ever pose a danger to someone in his werewolf form. But dad is a werewolf. A werewolf I could use as a pony while I was a child, werewolf over whom I climbed, on whose ears and tail I pulled, between whose paws I fell asleep. I’ve seen both dad and Morgana change and I rather feel respect for every werewolf, who has the spirit to go on with their life despite everything.” “When I learned what a Cruciatus curse feels like, dad told me that only someone full of hatred to the brim can make Cruciatus equal to the transformation,” Rister supplied quietly, slipping his hand over Lita’s mouth, as seemed about to ask in fury when Rister had experienced the Cruciatus on himself.

Silence descended for a moment, as Damon thoughtfully stroked Morgana’s fur. “I don’t want to loose you. We’re bonded and I am growing to love you. One day, when we’re both ready for it, I do plan on proposing. But Morgana, even if forced to change form on full moon, is my little sister,” Damon mused, talking to himself as much as to Ashlyn. “I won’t blame you if you turn and flee right now or if you need time to think this through, but…” But if Ashlyn wanted them to work, if she wanted them to trust each other fully, if she wanted Damon and accepted him… Then she would also have to accept this. The decision whether she would continue backing away as she had started to do or whether she would be able to see if it could work, would have to be Ashlyn’s. And Damon told her that much: “The choice will have to be yours.” Damon patted Morgana’s shoulder affectionately, and Morgana removed her front paws from his knee, allowing Damon to stand up, as he looked at Ashlyn straight on, leaving himself bare of any protection from her gaze or probe through the bond.

[Ashlyn Swallow G5]

The calmness of her mind was a relief. She hadn’t felt that reassuring lack of extreme emotion since bonding with Damon. All the time, sensing his emotions almost as strongly as her own and never quite managing to soothe either of them. She hated the vulnerability that the bond represented, but she also almost liked the feeling that she belonged with someone. It was like she was building a family that could replace the people who had never truly wanted her. Ashlyn had even grown to like them to some extent. Rister had gotten on so well with Layla that Ashlyn couldn’t help but to feel some vague affection for him, more appreciation for helping her youngest cousin than any true sentimentality. Jared was a fellow musician, respect for him was guaranteed. Gabriel – Ashlyn rolled her eyes out of habit – was arrogant and annoying but his antics rarely failed to entertain. She was fond of both Leandra and Morgana too, finding it easier to be around them than the boys sometimes. And Damon...well, Damon was just Damon. Ashlyn was never really quite sure how she felt towards Damon. He was still very much a mystery to her.

Her fingers felt slick and Ashlyn frowned at the sensation, her eyes flicking downward quickly. Red liquid was welling up on her left palm, covering her nails in a thin coat of it. Blood, her mind told her clinically. Her nails had been pressed against the skin with too much pressure and the barrier that the skin created had broken. That explained the faint stinging she had felt but left unacknowledged. “This was hardly explaining it,” Ashlyn pointed out harshly. “Explaining would involve more than a few games of poker and then ordering me to watch Morgana’s pain.” And there had been pain; absolute agony. It had bordered on painful just to watch it and, despite her anger, Ashlyn felt a faint flicker of sympathy for the family who had to watch their sister in pain every month. “You didn’t think this through very well,” Ashlyn told all of them deprecatingly, a sardonic smile playing about her mouth. “If I had reacted badly, then what would have happened? You would have knocked me unconscious and then altered my memory to make sure that I couldn’t tell anyone about your secret? It’s the sort of plan I would expect from a Hufflepuff, not three Slytherins and four Ravenclaws.” There were certainly enough of them to overpower her, but even that plan had a flaw in it. With them bonded as they were, Damon’s emotions would have notified Ashlyn that something was wrong and her memories, theoretically, would have returned over time.

Ashlyn, still confused and struggling for control, focused on everything but Damon. Which was why she noticed Lita pressing a kiss to Morgana’s head before forcing herself to her feet. As expected, Lita automatically took her place next to Rister, gripping his hand in a way that showed Ashlyn just how much her reaction affected not only Damon and Morgana but everyone else in the room also. Unwillingly, her eyes returned to Damon and she instantly stiffened, the urge to protect and defend sweeping over her until she gathered enough power to strengthen the mental walls that protected her from the demands of the bond. It wasn’t her duty to defend someone foolish enough to embrace a werewolf, even if that werewolf was his sister, Ashlyn told herself firmly. Besides, she couldn’t really bring herself to believe that Morgana would ever hurt Damon. They had assured her that Morgana still thought like a human after all. A half-remembered memory of years past appeared for a moment but disappeared equally swiftly when she tried to remember it fully. “My father,” Ashlyn started slowly, her eyes hazy and unfocused as she fought to regain the thought that time and inattention had all but erased from her mind. “He always wondered, though I didn’t realise he meant your family. ‘A werewolf and a human...the child would surely be only half-human’,” Ashlyn quoted softly. It was probably expected for people to wonder about the Graas’ but her mother had always hushed her husband fiercely, glancing around as if she expected Kris Graas to be lurking behind the couch, just waiting to pounce on them. But then James had probably banned her parents from seeing their daughter and Ashlyn had most happily forgotten about them and about their suspicions. No wonder they had backed down so easily when Damon had been in their house.

“I’m not going to marry you,” Ashlyn snapped automatically. This issue had come up before and she had given the exact same answer then. It had taken her long enough to adjust to him being bonded to her in one way, binding herself to him in another way wasn’t something that she thought she could really handle. “I don’t trust you,” she told him bluntly. “I don’t trust any of you.” This time, her gaze encompassed them all – Rister, Lita, Gabriel, Jared, Leandra and Morgana – before she shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know how to. I guess that’s just another thing you’ll have to try to help me with.” Because she wasn’t going to flee. It just wasn’t in her nature anymore. Besides, how could she leave the life that she was just beginning to adjust to? The life in which she wasn’t alone, where there was someone to support her and help her. Ashlyn didn’t wanrt to be alone anymore. It wasn’t a nice feeling.

[Damon Graas R5]

Damon smiled faintly. He could have prepared and hinted or even plain out told Ashlyn what was going to happen. He took the blame for bad preparation work. But then again, he thought of it differently. “I could have. But then you’d have come here today with prejudices. Seeing this side of Morgana was inevitable for you. Whereas knowing she was a born werewolf is one thing. Now that you actually saw what it means to her, it adds another layer to your thoughts,” Damon stated softly, with a simple shrug. Ashlyn knew Morgana as a quiet, simple, polite, according to Graas genes almost shy girl, who would be hard pressed to hurt anyone. Morgana was in Slytherin due to her organised plans, ability to see schemes and get her way, ambition, and dry wit, not out of malice. Seeing her in pain would give werewolf transformation a whole new perspective. “We would have let you go,” Damon stated simply, in response to Ashlyn’s accusation, “Despite what Lita said, Rister was right in calling this a gamble heaven today, as were gambling with Morgana’s future with sharing the best-kept family secret the Graas’ have. If you had run, we would have let you go.”

Seeing the blood in Ashlyn’s palms, Damon frowned and stepped forward. Glancing at the wounds Ashlyn’s nails had left in her palms, Damon concentrated for a moment. A simple tug on the bond and Damon felt a light prick of pain in his own palms. A silent gasp from Ashlyn let him know that she had lost the slight sensation of pain. “Mom gave me the idea,” Damon mused, as he peered at his palms. There was no sign of wounds like there was in Ashlyn’s palms, but the prickling hurt was I the same locations. “Not all knights would have been as self-sacrificing as you are. I’m not entirely sure how to explain that either. It’s mainly based on the question how can my knight fight for me, if she’s wounded or feels my pain? I don’t think I could cut you out from myself as you can do for me. But I can cut my own feelings and pain from you with that principle.” And that was telling a lot. He allowed Ashlyn free range to look into his thoughts and feelings – at least to an extent – without blocking any of it. He just put his faith in Ashlyn not to hurt him or use it against him. Well, he would have to trust the woman he was going to marry anyway, so this was a better start as some others.

“Well, I do say. It might come pretty handy when giving birth, if Damon can pull some of your pain to him,” Gabriel mused somewhere from behind Damon, sending a couple of amused snorts going around the room at his words. Damon managed to swallow his own laughter, even though he had to bend his head deeply over Ashlyn’s palm as he cast a simple healing spell so that she wouldn’t see his amused smile. He decided to go for the slightly more innocent topic instead, as Damon sent Ashlyn a calm smile: “Shame. I’d rather not stay single my whole life. You should really put some thought into the idea of making an honest man out of me one day.” Whereas the memory Ashlyn pulled out about her parents made Damon narrow his eyes. “And it’s a though that he will sorely regret.” The only way to describe the words Rister had uttered was a growl. Damon peered over his shoulder at Rister, whose eyes had narrowed into thin slits and danger seemed to ooze out of him. Even Lita removed her hand from his shoulder. “I can ask a relative to put your nephew in a bad position. Or have a niece fired. But if Rister as the heir to the Graas family-tree speaks up…” Damon left the end of the sentence hanging in the air, even if he was feeling cold fury in himself as well. There were plenty of rumours about dad, but dad didn’t care and no one ever dared to say anything in dad’s face, anyway. But stories about Morgana? That couldn’t be allowed to go unpunished.

“I want your owls tomorrow morning. We can hinder business a bit. Gabriel, organise a meeting with the Daily Prophets editor-in-chief for me,” Rister ordered quietly, before sending a wry smile towards Ashlyn in a sort of apology: “Everyone knows werewolves can’t have children. That’s why mom knows Morgana was conceived after dad was bitten and before dad turned for the first time. Also the reason why we can time our crazier tricks on full moon without people getting suspicious and why Morgana isn’t regarded warily. Such awfully demoralising and clearly untrue gossip about my family. I feel so wronged. Perhaps a public apology will soothe me, even though the family-tree must stop any business relations with your parents and their closest business associates. Perhaps not. I’ll think about it.” Rister placed his hand over his heart and sighed deeply, as if he were truly hurt. “And journalists aren’t as scared of Rister as they are of dad,” Leandra offered with a wicked grin. His siblings started bickering lightly over what the article should say as Damon smiled softly at Ashlyn and leaned closer to her ear. “But you do trust us, Ashlyn. You came here today. You ducked without question at the first word, when Jared fired that hex over your head yesterday. And you stayed and believed us now in knowing that Morgana isn’t dangerous. I’d say that shows a whole lot of trust,” Damon whispered softly into Ashlyn’s ears. Ashlyn wasn’t given a chance to respond however, as Rister called for their attention: “So, Ashlyn, ever played Monopoly with a werewolf before?”