CALLUM“I’m sure you all have some questions for Ava, but I would appreciate it if you can hold off until after we’ve gone through everything that’s happened today,” Alpha Jacob said, before turning to Ava and my dad.“What happened when you two ran this morning?”“Three rogues by the river. I made Ava hide whilst I shifted back to talk to them. They were here on behalf of their ‘boss’, who believes his mate might be in this pack.”“Of course, we believe they’re actually talking out of their backsides, and he’s planning on forcing a matebond on someone,” Ava continued, before throwing a concerned look towards my dad. “This she-wolf they’re looking for is apparently a special woman with a special wolf.”Dad’s face was stressed, and just got more stressed as he looked at Ava. Was it her?“The three wolves fled before we could do anything about it. All three of them were in the group just now, two are dead, and the third is in the cells waiting to be interrogated,” dad explained.“What e
AVAThe next morning, the twins insisted on joining Beta Alexander and I at the training ground for our 5am run. Of course since they were on two legs they couldn’t keep up, but we took it in turns carrying them around the forest for a while. Callum loved it when I took him; Noah was nervous at first and thought I was going to crash into a tree, but when he settled, he just wanted to keep going.I high fived Beta Alexander after our run, chucking a bottle of water over to him which he caught easily. “Hey, Ava?” he shouted.“Mmm?” I turned to look at him, water bottle still in my hand.“Think fast.”He sprinted at me, going straight for my legs.I rolled out of the way, spinning back to my feet a few metres away from where I started. When he ran for me again, I was ready.I dropped to the ground and spun, kicking his legs out from underneath him.He skidded across the floor from the momentum that he had been carrying, scowling at me when he stood. I shrugged. “You always taught me not
AVAI took advantage of his distraction; darting behind him before flinging my massive body at him, knocking him onto his back. This time when Artemis had her jaws around his neck, he had no choice but to submit.The applause when he did was enormous, and only got louder as we both shifted back and lay on the floor trying to catch our breath. “Good fight, Alpha Jacob,” I laughed, noticing that my ribs were sore from some of the kicks he got in.“Good job, Alpha, Alpha,” Beta Alexander appeared over us, throwing us both spare clothes since we both shredded everything we were wearing.“What was the final time, Beta? Alpha Jacob asked, both of us still lying on the floor. “One hour and forty eight minutes!”“Jeez, no wonder my ribs hurt,” I laughed, before wincing at the pain.We both got to our feet, and it was only then that I realised Alpha Jacob had come off considerably worse. I winced when I saw his face. “Sorry about the black eye, Alpha,” I grimaced.He just laughed, pulling me
CALLUMI would love to know what Ava said to dad over the mindlink to distract him that much. Since it involved Oscar and I… I had a pretty good idea.I also was very aware that the only reason we were here and Ava wasn’t was because of whatever she had said.She walked in between us on the way back from the field, winking as she went, before pulling the t-shirt over her head, leaving it in one of the spare clothes stashes and shifting to run back to the packhouse.Noah and Theo were on the other side of the group, both still slightly shocked that they’d seen Ava take their dad down. Who wouldn’t have been shocked though?An hour later, dad finally let us go.The FiveAva: I’m lonely, boys. Come join me.Noah: Where are you, Princess?Ava: You’ll find out soon enough. No cheating, you have to work it out on your own.Ava: For now though… enjoy.She followed that message up with a photo of her having just gotten out of the shower. As soon as we saw that, Oscar and I sprinted straight b
AVAI made a point of not seeing any of the twins for the rest of that day. One way or another, they would learn to shut doors behind them like civilised people.I still hadn’t spoken to them by the time I got to the training grounds for what had become my regularly scheduled run with Alex. Not many people could keep up with Artemis, and I needed to run with someone who stood a chance.“Morning, Alex,” I called out when I saw him.“Morning, Ava,” he smirked. “Have you spoken to my sons?”“Not since yesterday. Nor the Alpha’s sons.”He laughed so hard he nearly cried. “Oh Ava, you really are my favourite. Shall we run?”“Let’s do it.”We both shifted, and after Kieran and Artemis’ usual display of respect, we ran straight into the woods. We’d been running for an hour by the time I noticed something was… wrong.“Alex,” I called through the link. “Can you feel that?”“Feel what?”“We’re being watched.”“Fuck. Okay carry on like normal whilst we try to work this out.”“We’re too far out
CALLUMI was left standing there dumbfounded when Ava left. The looks on Oscar, Noah and Theo’s faces said they had exactly the same thoughts.“Dad,” I asked. “What is Ava? How… Why can she…”“That’s a question for Ava, son. But as she tried to tell you, she doesn’t need to go to the hospital, wolfsbane doesn’t affect her.” He sighed, turning back to Alpha Jacob. “You and I should probably go and apologise to her, Alpha.”Alpha Jacob nodded, sighing too. “We fucked up, she’s going to be pissed, and rightly so. Her power when she commanded you was something else… I know I would have had trouble resisting if it had been focused on me.” He groaned.“Yeah, I had no chance of resisting that command, Alpha,” dad replied.“If she doesn’t forgive us, we’re going to have to come up with a plan to back her up because she’ll tackle this on her own.”“Wait, Ava commanded you, dad?”He nodded, a scowl on his face.“Boys, why don’t you go down for lunch and make sure Ava is okay? Beta Alexander and
AVAJacob and Alex never did really calm down enough to talk about the rogue problem like grownups. I tried, but Alex and I just had an argument again.Now, I just wanted to drown my sorrows in alcohol, and there were six lovely people I wanted to do that with.The Super SevenAva: I feel like dancing. Who wants to come to the club with me tonight?Izzie: I’ll be there! I miss you, sweetcheeks.Callum: Of course we’ll be there, little one.Theo: Dinner at the pack house first?Ava: I’d rather not, I’ll be honest.Oscar: We can help keep dad and Alpha Jacob away from you if you want us to, Ava.Ava: Oscar, I’m not asking any of you to join the side of an argument against Alpha Jacob and Beta Alexander. If you do that, you’re declaring for me, and there’s no going back from that.That would give them something to think about. At this point, the Alpha and Beta of this pack had acknowledged me as an Alpha in my own right, and therefore our wolves really would see this as taking sides. Sin
AVAThe relief I felt at having made up with Beta Alexander was enormous. Having your second in command fighting with someone that is your equal and like your daughter can’t be easy. As much as Alpha Jacob did need to apologise too, my biggest problem was definitely Beta Alexander.“Ava,” Callum called out from behind me. I turned to see the entire group on the front steps of the pack house. “Are you ready to go?”I nodded, turning back to Alpha Jacob and Beta Alexander. “I’ll catch up with you two tomorrow,” I said, voice low enough that the twins, Leo and Izzie couldn’t hear. “We need to work out how to deal with those rogues before someone gets hurt in the crossfire.”They both nodded. “I agree, Alpha,” Alpha Jacob replied. “Have fun tonight, tomorrow, we’ll crack on with this.”I gave them both a small smile before turning to walk towards the group.Callum and Oscar immediately threw their arms around my shoulders, wedging me in between them. Of course Noah and Theo were jealous,
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.