"I should go!" Ash suddenly declared, startling Fenrir out of a half sleep.

She was still locked in his strong embrace, body curled up against his own. They were cuddling and the realization threw Ash into an instant panic. No, no this was bad, this was the last thing she wanted. She bolted upright, adrenaline coursing through her veins, only to be pulled back down with a little chuckle.

"Oh no you don't. We need to talk."

"Talk?!" with some difficulty, she managed to put a few inches between their bodies and blinked up at Fenrir. "What's there to talk about?"

No talking, her inner voice was screaming, talking is always about feelings and feelings are not allowed. How would Sean feel if you developed feelings for Fenrir? Ugh, stop thinking about Sean, Ash silently scolded herself. Shouldn't she be able to move on, to have a life? Fuck, it was too much to think about.

"I have a few...conditions." he announced, carefully watching her reactions.

"What?" Ashling growled, hopping up onto her knees to glare down at him. "You didn't say anything about conditions."

Fenrir shrugged lazily and folded his arms behind his head.

"You distracted me."

She felt deceived, he realized, watching her lips purse and her nostrils flare angrily. Fenrir hadn't meant to but he guessed that he had done that, she had distracted him though.

"You were distracted because you wanted to be! Out with it then, what are your conditions?"

The wolf pursed his own lips together to keep from smiling at the sarcastic air quotes Ash employed. He wouldn't have imagined enjoying an angry woman laying into him but Ashling was pretty damn cute.

"You stay for the entire hour, each and every visit. No taking advantage of me and then skipping out right away." he paused for some sort of reply but didn't get more than a blink. "You come even when you're not in heat…"

"No!...why? This is all about a pup and if I can't get a pup during that time, I don't need to be here." Ash huffed. What was he trying to pull? "Does this have something to do with you telling the guard I'm your fucking wife? Why would you do that?"

Another shrug in reply. Of course it didn't matter to Fenrir, he didn't have a life outside of Azkaban, he didn't have anyone else to consider. Ash's head was buzzing with thoughts of Sean and scolding herself for pretending that he was still alive. She should have known this was going to happen, there were always strings attached and emotions to consider. She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.

But she wanted this child more than anything, it would be worth it in the end, it had to be.

"They asked who you were...should I tell them instead why you're really here?" Fenrir asked, wagging his brows.

Ashling huffed discontentedly. Having them know that would be mortifying and a deatheater was just the type of man to go through with that threat.

"Fine, I'll stay the entire hour but I'm not coming every single day when I'm not ovulating."

The wolf squinted up at her, considering how much he really wanted to compromise. Fenrir needed to consider the long haul and the fact that he didn't want to lose her right away after she got pregnant. Maybe it was just his loneliness talking, maybe it was just her magnetism, but either way he was feeling attached.

"Every other day then and every full moon whether you're due here or not." he sat upright and leaned in close. "Trust me, that visit will be worth your while."

Damn it, he was doing this just to spite her. But what was she going to do if Fenrir backed out? There was no way she could do this again with another man, just the thought of it alone made her feel like a whore.

Ash sighed in defeat. "Is that all?"

Fenrir's heart was doing flip flops inside his chest, he had won, she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"I want to see you a few times while you're pregnant and meet my pup at least once."

Ash looked at him for a long moment like someone who couldn't believe what they'd heard, simply couldn't comprehend it. Her lively, intelligent eyes went completely blank and then a shadow passed over her features in the blink of an eye and she was back.

It wasn't the look or the stinging slap that wiped the smile off his face but the declaration that followed.

"I hate you Fenrir Greyback!" she growled, lip curling in disgust before seeming to wilt altogether and then burst into tears

She leapt off the bed somehow finding her clothes through a haze of tears and hurriedly dressed. Fenrir jumped from the bed, badly wanting to hold her or find some words of comfort but nothing more than a retraction of his statement would have done that and he wasn't willing to let go. Not that there was much of a chance anyway as Ash was gone in a heartbeat, hand covering her mouth to hold back the sobs.

Ash only made it to the apparition point outside of the prison before completely breaking down. She collapsed onto her butt right on the pavement and just rode out the barrage of tears, hands covering her face in grief and shame. Why was he doing this to her? Why hadn't he told her up front so that she could have had a chance to back out? Instead he waited until it was too late, knowing how reluctant she would be to move on, what shame it would bring her. What was she supposed to do now, not return and just pray that she was pregnant? The chances of that were quite low. Ash and Sean had tried for almost a year without success, though his failing health may have been to blame. She should have found someone else but that would have required a. Telling that man the truth, b. Sleeping with multiple men to avoid having to tell said man the truth or, c. starting a relationship, which she just wasn't ready for. Fenrir was a criminal, he was used to unsavory dealings, which had seemed perfect as her plan wasn't exactly wholesome, but by trusting him she'd inadvertently set herself up to pay a hefty price. Ash knew that if she was unwilling to form a relationship with anyone or start over with another man she had no choice but to comply with Fenrir's demands. But where would it end, would he continue to make more stipulations? Suddenly Ashling had visions of visiting her own child, deatheater jr., in Azkaban, having taken on the ways of its father after years of visiting him behind bars.

After a long while Ash's tears dried and she began to calm and think more rationally. And she realized, with a little glimmer of hope, that the wolf didn't hold all the cards. Once she was pregnant there was nothing forcing her to return. If he didn't keep to his word, why should she? The thought of deception made her a little uncomfortable but it was a bargaining tool if push came to shove and it would be a last resort. Should Ash not return, there wasn't a damn thing Fenrir could do about it.

Fenrir flopped down on his cot and immediately regretted it as one of the loose springs skewered him right in the spine. He shifted around a bit but couldn't get comfortable and quickly gave up. Who fucking cared anyway? He was an ass, a complete piece of shit. Around him the men were talking and banging on the bars, riled up for gods knew what reason and he was ready to rip through the bloody bars and shred them all to bits. How was a man supposed to bloody well think?!

Shit...no wonder Ash hated him. Yep, not only had he made Ashling cry, she'd said she hated him. She hated him and the knowledge cut way deeper than he would have thought. He should have said something, anything to make her feel better. Just take a hit to his pride and admit how bloody lonely he was, he'd seen the sadness in her eyes, she would probably understand. Fenrir had also seen the internal struggle in her eyes when she'd come to him, the battle between her maternal instincts and the preservation of her integrity, but had still pressed on with his selfish needs. The wolf raked his hands down his stubbled face and groaned. The fuck was wrong with him? He needed to see her, he needed to make things right. He would have to back down on at least one of his demands. Fenrir loathed the idea but if he didn't, she may abandon her dream, and him in the process, altogether. It had to have been asking to see the pup that pushed Ashling over the edge. He'd remembered to look this time and she hadn't had a claiming mark on her shoulder, which meant to him that she had no man at home. She must simply have wanted to be alone then, which was both the stroke of luck that had brought her to him and a gigantic roadblock.

One thing was for sure, he'd had the right of it avoiding relationships all those years, not that their arrangement was what one would call a relationship...yet. I'm getting too carried away, Fenrir told himself, Ash doesn't want me. He tried to think back to his most meaningful connection with a woman and drew a complete blank. He couldn't remember his mother at all, wasn't sure if he had sisters. There had been a few females in his pack but as alpha he'd only cared about rutting with them to progress the pack and satisfy his needs. All his life Fenrir had relied on his instincts to get along but suddenly that safety net was gone and he didn't know what to do.