For all that he's not entirely aware of how much of a hand Helen's had in pointing Ashley the way she has, he has to admit that it's not a bad choice. He knows very well that there's as much of him in Ashley as there is of Helen, darker gifts that have been his legacy whether he'd wanted them to become so or not. Things that had only made it all the easier for the Cabal to turn her to their ends. But those are thoughts for later. Things that are put out of his mind as soon as is they come up; set aside for when he has more time to simply sit and think.

(Assuming he wants to return to those thoughts, but that's another matter entirely.)

A flicker of pain crosses his face, as she jerks on his arm, but something about it feels right, too. Like this is how things should be, and rather than try to pull away, he steps in closer. Without his teleportation there's less he can do to keep her from putting all of her weight onto his wrist, but he can at least do his best to minimize the damage. Plus, it puts him squarely in range as he swings up and around with his other fist, taking shameless advantage of the fact that holding onto his arm the way she is is likely to keep her from getting out of the way of the blow in time.