赤裸裸的滑稽故事

Ashleigh furrowed her brows at her mother in confusion.

"You?" she asked quietly. "But… why would you do that?"

Corrine took a deep breath.

"To protect Winter."

"I don\'t understand…." Ashleigh whispered. "Winter isn\'t under attack. So how is keeping Axel locked down here protecting it?"

Corrine clenched her jaw and looked away.

"There is more to winning a war than running headfirst into the fray," she sighed. "You have always relied too much on the simplicity of a fight to solve your problems."

"What?"

Corrine looked back at Ashleigh with irritation.

"When you were children, if you got into an argument with your brother, you always chose to spar to decide who was right and wrong. Then, as you got older, whenever you were questioned or made to feel inadequate by another person, your immediate reaction was to challenge them. To argue or fight with them about something you knew more about."

Ashleigh clenched her jaw, turning away.

"My darling girl, you are strong and brave, a warrior through and through. But you lack the patience and understanding to reason your problems and think ahead."

Ashleigh felt a growing frustration in her belly.

"Even now, you are worried about Caleb, but you attacked your brother rather than process that fear. So instead of treating your suffering heart, you created an even deeper wound."

"We are supposed to be talking about how you decided to tie the hands of the Alpha of Winter," Ashleigh growled. "This is a war. Fighting is required!"

"Watch your tone," Corrine warned.

"I\'m not a child anymore!" Ashleigh snarled.

"Then stop acting like one!" Corrine growled back, a soft green glow in her eyes.

Ashleigh swallowed and hesitated. It was enough to calm some of the fire in her heart. She took a deep, cleansing breath.

"Why did you make Axel take an oath to remain in Winter during this war?" she asked with all the calm she could. "Every other alpha is fighting, not just for their own pack, but all the wolves."

The glow in Corrine\'s eyes fell away.

"As I said, to protect Winter," she replied.

"How?"

Corrine swallowed. She seemed to search her thoughts for a moment, finding the right words to explain her meaning to Ashleigh.

"Your father was a great and wonderful man," she began. "Loving, kind, and passionate about his role as Alpha of Winter. Everything he did, he did while considering that role. But he always thought that the best way to serve as Alpha was to maintain the pack that his own father had brought back from a troubled time."

Corrine paused, letting out a gentle sigh before continuing. Ashleigh felt what remained of the fire in her heart slowly die away.

"When Wyatt was a boy, there was strife between the packs, and Winter was caught in the middle of several more minor feuds. The Alpha before your grandfather was not an evil man, but he was old and tired. He made terrible decisions for Winter because they were easy. Unfortunately, those decisions allowed outsiders to enter Winter and cause much trouble.

"Your grandfather was among a small group that could see the growing problems across Winter. They took their concerns to the Alpha but were ignored. Eventually, this led to a civil war, and in the end, it was your grandfather that won and took the title of Alpha."

Ashleigh was familiar with the story. Throughout its history, the leadership of Winter was rarely a bloody event. Still, her grandfather had taken the mantle by defeating the previous Alpha in combat.

"Because of his experience, your grandfather\'s leadership was very traditional. He brought back old customs and reinforced others. As a result, Winter\'s borders became much more closed off, and her people much more reserved."

Ashleigh listened closely, even though she had heard it all before. It was different to listen to it told by her mother. In the past, when she read the histories, it made sense, and she felt nothing in particular about the decisions her grandfather had made. But listening to Corrine now, it somehow felt sad.

"My family was lucky we were allowed to stay," Corrine continued. "We had snuck in, and we were outsiders. By all accounts, we should have been kicked out immediately. But your grandfather took pity on us. And when it was decided that we would stay, I made it my goal to serve Winter and prove to the Alpha that he had not made a mistake in his mercy.

"I trained and studied. I learned every tradition and value of Winter and made them my core beliefs. I fought harder than any other in the south to earn my rankings until I was recognized and invited north. And when I met your father and felt the bond, your grandfather immediately recognized me. He smiled and told me that the Goddess had rewarded his mercy and my hard work with this blessing."

Corrine took a breath and smiled at Ashleigh.

"Wyatt worshipped his father," she continued. "While he was still alive, he followed him everywhere and did everything that was asked of him. He never argued or talked back. Even when I was pregnant with Axel, due any day. Your grandfather sent Wyatt to scout in the southern territories. Again, he didn\'t argue, just did as he was told."

She paused.

"Axel was a week old when he first met your father," Corrine sighed. "I was upset that Wyatt hadn\'t been there for his birth, but I understood."

Ashleigh felt a grip on her heart. She wanted to hug her mother, but Corrine continued before she could.

"At the time that your grandfather was killed, and Wyatt took the mantle of Alpha, he held tight to the traditions and values that his father had instilled in the pack. But his grief made him even stricter than his father, and later his guilt clouded his judgment for too long."

Ashleigh furrowed her brows.

"Dad was a great Alpha," she said, feeling a need to defend him.

"I never said he wasn\'t," Corrine replied. "Wyatt loved his people and protected them. He was a great Alpha. But Axel is better."

Ashleigh swallowed and furrowed her brows. She knew Axel had taken to his role as Alpha in the last few months. She would never deny that, but better than her father already? That seemed unlikely.

"In the short time that he has led Winter, he has established a trust between our territories that has been shaky at best since your grandfather\'s time. He has made allies that previously were seen as enemies. As a result, Winter is growing and flourishing even with war looming over us, and that is your brother\'s influence."

Corrine smiled.

"For so long, he hid behind his pain and his insecurities of the past that I don\'t think any of us could see the true strength in him," she continued. "But now, he has found himself, and he is leading Winter into greatness."

Ashleigh sighed.

"I understand what you\'re saying," she replied. "But, isn\'t part of being a great leader fighting alongside your troops? Not asking of them what you yourself would not do?"

"Do you think that Axel would not defend his people? That he would rush out onto the battlefield immediately?"

"I think he would," Ashleigh replied. "He may not have been trained the way I was or dad, but he has always been a protector. He has always defended the people he cares about."

"Yes, and as you said, he has not been trained the way you or your father were," Corrine replied. "He was not trained for war. Axel\'s strength lies in his heart."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you not seen the power of his love?" Corrine asked. "Bell, Alice, Winter... you."

Ashleigh furrowed her brows.

"Axel is strong and can fight, but his true strength is in his devotion to the ones he loves."

Corrine paused, looking at Ashleigh with a soft smile.

"He struggled when you first made him Alpha. But finding Alice, letting her go, deciding and enforcing Granger\'s punishment, and making his oath to protect Bell from her mate. Those were the moments when he grew and became the Alpha he is now."

Ashleigh chewed her lower lip. She could see the importance of those moments. She could even understand some of what her mother was saying, but it still didn\'t make sense why he couldn\'t join the fight.

"I still don\'t understand why he needs to stay in Winter."

Corrine licked her lips, thinking of how to make Ashleigh understand. But then, she took a deep breath.

"Part of leadership is knowing the strength of your troops, your people, and most importantly, yourself," Corrine replied. "He is, as you said, a protector, which means he wants to protect everyone. So I made him swear an oath so he wouldn\'t be divided.

"He wants to go out there and join the fight. He wants to run through the trees with his men and destroy the fae before they can kill anymore."

"Then why are you holding him back?" Ashleigh demanded.

"Because while he is out there, his people are back here," Corrine replied. "All of Winter and this sanctuary he has built. All of these people, unable to defend themselves, would still be here in Winter. So tell me, Ashleigh, what is a soldier that keeps turning their head to look behind them in a battle called?"

"Dead," Ashleigh sighed.

Corrine nodded.

"Axel\'s place is here," Corrine said softly.

She understood what her mother was saying. She swallowed and nodded. Though a part of her, that annoying part she couldn\'t seem to stop from acting on its own, couldn\'t help one final comment.

"And you\'re sure this oath has nothing to do with a mother trying to keep her son from going to war?"

Corrine clenched her jaw and let out an irritated snort.

"I could not stop my husband from running off and joining the scouts again. I cannot stop you, who has been chosen by the Goddess for a treacherous mission. But you think I can stop my Alpha son from joining the war?"

Ashleigh swallowed.

"Axel agreed to my oath," Corrine continued. "But only because he already knows the sad truth of Winter."

"What is that?" Ashleigh asked hesitantly.

"Ashleigh, you have read the history of our people. War always finds its way to Winter," she said coldly. "All I have really done is ensure that her greatest defender is here when it does."