AVA
My stress levels were still through the roof the next morning. We had an appointment with the doctor to talk about the chemicals that he’d found in my bloodstream, to see if we could work out what the long term effects might be.
My four Kings made a point of truly worshipping my body… but it didn’t help, not really. No amount of explosive orgasms was going to distract me for that long.
When we reached the hospital, it was crystal clear from the doctor’s face that it wasn’t good news.
Once we’d all sat down and exchanged pleasantries, he ran off a list of chemicals and compounds that were used to make this poison that was in my blood. It was a long list.
“We have people running simulations, my Queen, a
AVAThe whole thing with Paula… was a shock, and it wasn’t a shock I really knew what to do with. I'd known and loved this woman for a long time; she was key in helping me feel at home here, or, at least I believed she was.And now, to find out she betrayed me, my family and everything we stand for? No. That was a fact neither Artemis or I really knew what to do with. We needed closure, but how do you get closure when someone has maliciously tried to stop you ever having children of your own?I hardly slept that night. I just kept remembering my mum's face as she sobbed on the floor and the look of utter disgust that my dad gave Paula.The morning after, I got a frantic link from Alex. Far too early in the morning for problems to be coming up.
AVAWe had a time and we had a place. A time and a place that as far as we knew, Paula believed to be correct. Of course, we weren’t going to put all of our eggs in one basket, I didn’t trust her that much after everything she’s done, but… we had to try.We moved kids, the elderly and anyone else who couldn’t fight, including my parents straight to the safe room as soon as we finished talking through a plan. I couldn’t risk it any longer. I needed them safe.I needed my mum safe. Since it reduced the chances of me trading myself for her, everyone else was on board with that plan too. I assigned four members of my Queen’s guard to look after the safe room, and Jacob had assigned another six of his own warriors.
Three weeks laterAVAThe three weeks following Elijah’s arrest were chaotic. The police had their work cut out for them, as did the courts. In the end, Elijah was sentenced to death for crimes against the Crown, as were some of Elijah and Matthew’s closest and most dedicated cronies.As for the rest of them, they were locked up, and most of them would stay in prison for a very long time. A few were genuinely forced to cooperate by Elijah, and so had to undergo a lengthy rehabilitation programme to make sure no traces of his influence remained.I even succeeded in charging Minister Byron for encouraging the breaking of laws that were fundamental to the safety of millions of women and girls. He’d spend the rest of his life locked up too.
AVAThree days after the coronation, my Kings and I went to one of the Crown’s countryside properties to celebrate on our own. It was needed. With everything that happened in between us arresting Elijah and the coronation itself, we all needed to just unwind for a little while.We spent five perfect days enjoying each other’s company, swimming, relaxing by the lake, and just celebrating everything in our own way.We’d been through a lot in the last six months, and it was time we took the time to reflect, celebrate, and breathe a sigh of relief.The following weeks and months after we came back were chaotic.Of course, we had brief glimmers of normalcy when Theo and Oscar turned 18. We had to have a ball that the Kingdom could attend, but after, we hosted a party just for family and friends, and I spoiled the two of them rotten.My 18th birthday followed six weeks after theirs, and after the huge fuss that was my birthday for the Kingdo
7 years ago…AVAI was a nobody, or at least that’s what they told me.They told me I was a nobody and therefore worthless; I deserved to be bullied, because being bullied would make me stronger, more resilient. I know now that it was bullshit, but when you say that to a kid time and time again, they start to believe it.All day everyday, the heirs to the pack, both the Alpha and Beta twins, and even a lot of the girls my own age made a point of making my life miserable. To begin with, it was just verbal, but in my early teens, it became physical too. I had scars all over my back and the tops of my legs that would never heal properly because they were from before I shifted for the first time.Considering I shifted for the first time early... that says all you need to know.I got my wolf early, but they didn’t know that. I never smelled like a wolf because my wolf, Artemis, could hide her scent. Even before they can shift, wolves have a distinctive smell that identifies them; all wolve
AVAThe first Monday in June was always an interesting one at school. It was the first day of the formal summer training season. The weather was warm enough that everyone was expected to train outdoors, and all indoor training was put on the backburner unless absolutely necessary. It was never necessary.I stood in front of the mirror in the changing rooms at school, yanking my curly brown hair into a rough bun to keep it out of the way during my training session with Beta Alexander. Normally my green eyes sparkled with excitement at training with the Beta, but today, not so much.At lunch time, I was cornered in the cafeteria, my lunch dumped straight over my head. I could have taken down the people responsible easily enough, but the Beta and I had determined that I needed to keep what I was capable of under wraps just until I was ready for it to become public knowledge.My wolf was special, and once that knowledge was out, there was no turning back. Artemis was a beautiful black wol
AVAI hated the lessons I had on Tuesdays. Double maths, biology and geography was torturous. Fortunately, today was different. Mr Jones, our maths teacher, jolted me out of my thoughts. “Class, we have a new student joining us today. This is Isabella, she has transferred here from a pack in Wales, and will be finishing her schooling with us. I hope you will all welcome Isabella.”I glanced around the room, suddenly realising the only empty seat was next to me. She sat down, more graceful than I could ever hope to achieve, holding out her hand to shake mine. “Isabella, call me Izzie,” she smiled.“Ava,” I smiled back.She was tall, slim. The exact opposite of me. She had that kind of figure everyone thinks they want. It wasn't just me that noticed either. Leo, our future Delta, turned to stare at her, no embarrassment at all. I shook my head, suppressing a giggle, before pointing him out to Izzie. “You've already got an admirer,” I laughed. She giggled, before retorting back at m
AVAI woke up bright and early the next day, looking forward to what the day would bring. Artemis was excited to show off in training. Even though we wouldn’t be shifting because very few people knew that I could, she was still looking forward to putting everyone in their place if needed.It was going to be a good day!I was up early enough that I headed over to the training ground, planning to let Artemis out for a run. Beta Alexander was already at the training ground when I got there, which is surprising since it was 5am… I was expecting to be the only one.“Ava? What are you doing here at this time in the morning?”“Artemis is feeling cooped up, she needs to run before school today.”Beta Alexander nodded. “Want me to run with you? I’m going to be letting Kieran run too.”“Go for it, Beta,” I smiled, before ducking into one of the little shacks to shift.I trotted back out just minutes later, shaking my fur out. Beta Alexander was still standing in the middle of the training groun
AVAThree days after the coronation, my Kings and I went to one of the Crown’s countryside properties to celebrate on our own. It was needed. With everything that happened in between us arresting Elijah and the coronation itself, we all needed to just unwind for a little while.We spent five perfect days enjoying each other’s company, swimming, relaxing by the lake, and just celebrating everything in our own way.We’d been through a lot in the last six months, and it was time we took the time to reflect, celebrate, and breathe a sigh of relief.The following weeks and months after we came back were chaotic.Of course, we had brief glimmers of normalcy when Theo and Oscar turned 18. We had to have a ball that the Kingdom could attend, but after, we hosted a party just for family and friends, and I spoiled the two of them rotten.My 18th birthday followed six weeks after theirs, and after the huge fuss that was my birthday for the Kingdo
Three weeks laterAVAThe three weeks following Elijah’s arrest were chaotic. The police had their work cut out for them, as did the courts. In the end, Elijah was sentenced to death for crimes against the Crown, as were some of Elijah and Matthew’s closest and most dedicated cronies.As for the rest of them, they were locked up, and most of them would stay in prison for a very long time. A few were genuinely forced to cooperate by Elijah, and so had to undergo a lengthy rehabilitation programme to make sure no traces of his influence remained.I even succeeded in charging Minister Byron for encouraging the breaking of laws that were fundamental to the safety of millions of women and girls. He’d spend the rest of his life locked up too.
AVAWe had a time and we had a place. A time and a place that as far as we knew, Paula believed to be correct. Of course, we weren’t going to put all of our eggs in one basket, I didn’t trust her that much after everything she’s done, but… we had to try.We moved kids, the elderly and anyone else who couldn’t fight, including my parents straight to the safe room as soon as we finished talking through a plan. I couldn’t risk it any longer. I needed them safe.I needed my mum safe. Since it reduced the chances of me trading myself for her, everyone else was on board with that plan too. I assigned four members of my Queen’s guard to look after the safe room, and Jacob had assigned another six of his own warriors.
AVAThe whole thing with Paula… was a shock, and it wasn’t a shock I really knew what to do with. I'd known and loved this woman for a long time; she was key in helping me feel at home here, or, at least I believed she was.And now, to find out she betrayed me, my family and everything we stand for? No. That was a fact neither Artemis or I really knew what to do with. We needed closure, but how do you get closure when someone has maliciously tried to stop you ever having children of your own?I hardly slept that night. I just kept remembering my mum's face as she sobbed on the floor and the look of utter disgust that my dad gave Paula.The morning after, I got a frantic link from Alex. Far too early in the morning for problems to be coming up.
AVAMy stress levels were still through the roof the next morning. We had an appointment with the doctor to talk about the chemicals that he’d found in my bloodstream, to see if we could work out what the long term effects might be.My four Kings made a point of truly worshipping my body… but it didn’t help, not really. No amount of explosive orgasms was going to distract me for that long.When we reached the hospital, it was crystal clear from the doctor’s face that it wasn’t good news.Once we’d all sat down and exchanged pleasantries, he ran off a list of chemicals and compounds that were used to make this poison that was in my blood. It was a long list.“We have people running simulations, my Queen, a
AVAProblems are like buses.For a while, everything is all hunky dory and there are no problems for anyone to worry about (apart from Paula being MIA, which she now had been for a week). But they are like buses. So after a period of calm… three come at once.We were woken up in the middle of the night by an emergency alert across the pack. Rogues.“Ava, you need to get to the safe room,” Jacob insisted. “They’re here for you, you know that.”“I’m not hiding, Jacob,” I replied as I ran around pulling shorts and a t-shirt on, before sprinting out of the room with my Kings behind me, the six members of my Queen’s Guard who were on duty quickly catching up. The other six were out look
CALLUM“Paula. Paula let Matthew out,” I growled. “Ava trusts her.”“I know,” dad replied, his voice pained as he winced under the weight of my aura. Realising that… I forced Ares to tone it back, but he was not calm, and he really wanted me to know that.“We need to talk to Ava’s parents.” Noah sounded just as pissed as I felt.I nodded. “You’re right. They’re close to Paula too.” I linked Jeremiah and then Ava’s parents, bringing them all to Jacob’s office as quickly as possible.
AVAThe next morning, I made a point of distracting myself from as many problems as I could. I went for a run with Alex, swam in the lake with my Kings, and made cookies with Paula.I needed to clear my mind of nonsense to give myself a chance to solve some of the pressing questions that were floating around my mind. What better way to solve a problem than to not think about the problem?It was shortly after the cookies went in the oven that I realised something. Something… big.Why wasn’t I pregnant?I had been having a lot of sex, unprotected sex, with four men for months. I had my usual monthly cycles, and everything seemed normal. But sure
AVAWe all needed to unwind with the party, but of course, we were still caught up in the middle of an absolute shitfest, so the happiness and chill-vibes were never going to last forever.I sat at the desk in my office, staring at the map of the Kingdom I had pinned to my whiteboard. My Kings, Jacob, Alex and Jeremiah were all with me, and we had extra guards on both my office and the packhouse door. I refused to get caught short again.Jeremiah and Alex between them were marking all the locations where there had been known rogue attacks and where there had been encounters with either Matthew or Elijah over the last few months so we could try to work out where either of them would be hiding. Was it going well? No.