Ava's Pleas

Ava's POV 

I should have taken the guard’s advice. Worn a mask or veil, to save myself from this humiliation.

I blinked. My throat dried, my pulse raised, my palms wet with sweat. No... the moon goddess must be playing tricks on me.

This had got to be a mistake.

I asked for a mate, not Kael—the Alpha of BloodMoon Pack.

The room was silent.

So silent, I could hear my own heartbeat, threatening to leap out of my rib cage.

All eyes were on us: the ugly, scarred face, and the most powerful man in the kingdom kneeling in front of her.

“Mate,” he said again, firmer, his voice like thunder before a storm.

I gulped down at his amazing features—blonde hair, grey eyes, and a well-sculpted jawline. He was beautiful... the most beautiful I have laid my eyes on.

He stood slowly, his hands still under my chin, and I stood up as well.

I waited for it. The time he would utter those words out. I wouldn’t blame him. I wouldn’t accept me also if I was him.

So here it was—an even more public humiliation as the eyes of everyone present at the banquet glued to us.

And then he started, “I, Alpha Kale of BloodMoon Pack...” He paused, facing me. I closed my eyes as I anticipated it, but it never came through, and I had to open my eyes.

He took my hands into his, “accepts...” he paused, “what’s your name?” he whispered into my ears...

“Ava,” I said, slightly intoxicated by his words.

“Accept Ava as my fated mate,” he smiled as he announced.

I shrank. He must also be playing tricks with me.

My mother’s wine glass shattered. Vera froze mid-laugh.

“No!” she shrieked, her voice sharp as a blade. “That’s a mistake—she can’t be—”

“Enough!” The Alpha’s voice boomed, silencing everyone. He didn’t even look her way. His grey eyes were still stuck on me like a leech.

“Take her to the royal wings. She’s not a slave anymore,” he turned to a guard.

I froze. My legs unmoving. I felt like floating, drowning, or both—something to escape this.

“But Alpha... she smells,” one of the maids who was fantasizing about Kael spoke.

“Then bathe her,” he said simply.

…

It had been two weeks since the mating ceremony. I was officially 18 and also, I found my mate.

I was so happy at how life decided to smile at me. Vera and Mum had apologized for the way they treated me... I forgave them, and they have visited me like thrice in the palace ever since.

I was no more their disgraceful daughter. I was their soon-to-be Luna. All thanks to Alpha Kael for accepting me.

Not in my wildest dreams had I thought of being worthy of being his maid, let alone mate.

But why?

Why would someone like him accept this?

Me—scarred, chained, broken?

I didn’t understand, but I had to.

He had treated me nicely ever since, but he didn’t touch me. Was he giving me time?

I was excited at the luxurious life of the palace. I now had maids who attended to my every need.

Warm water now knew my skin for the first time in what felt like years. My hair was now clean and smelled of rose oil. I was adorned with soft silk.

I stared at my face in the mirror, glad someone had seen beyond my scar. Accept me. Choose me for who I am, and what I am not.

A slight knock interrupted my thoughts. “Greetings, Your Highness,” my chamber guard greeted as he came in.

“His Highness said he would be waiting for you tonight in the garden. He has a surprise for you,” the guard delivered his message before bowing and leaving.

My cheeks flushed all shades of pink. Alpha Kael was indeed spoiling me silly. I wondered what he had planned out for me tonight.

...

I walked through the garden in a light white gown, the cold breeze of the evening rushed through me... something I was already used to far back in my home.

“Ava,” he called out, as he walked closer to me. His grey eyes shone under the bright moonlight. His hair was tied back into a ponytail.

“I want to show you something,” he said, holding out a hand.

We walked away from the garden into the forest.

The air was cool, mixed with a lavender scent, and the sky was ever glowing.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“Not as beautiful as you are,” he replied.

I laughed, adjusting my curly brunette hair to properly cover my scar. “You don’t have to lie.”

He stopped walking. “I’m not.”

He turned me to face him, adjusted my hair out of my face. “You don’t ever have to be ashamed of this,” he said as he gave my hand a slight pat.

We continued to walk for a while, and my feet began to hurt.

My smile trembled. “Where are we going?”

“The stars are clearer past the trees,” he said, his voice like velvet. “I want you to see them.”

I should have run.

I should have listened to the way my gut twisted.

But I ignored every sign of warning and followed him.

I told myself I was safe. That I was finally wanted. That maybe—just maybe—this was love.

So I followed him. Like a lamb for slaughter, I was.

Then he stopped under the full moon’s glow and smirked. His eyes were different. Cold. Calculating. Empty.

He turned to me with a smirk...

Kael leaned close, whispering, “Thank you for being so easy to lead.”

My stomach sank.

“What...?” I breathed, my voice cracking.

And then—pain.

Sharp and blinding.

A dagger, right in my chest. My white nightgown—blood like red cherry.

I fell to the forest floor, choking, gasping, and then she appeared—Vera, from the shadows.

“You think I’d accept you?” Kael sneered, stepping back. “A scarred waste of a bitch?”

Vera laughed at his words as she wrapped her hands around him.

“I only needed the people of BloodMoon Pack to see me for the good and merciful ruler I was,” he continued, brushing invisible dust from his sleeves. “But after everything I did for her, she ran away into the hands of another, and now...” he turned to Vera, his eyes gleaming. “She’s dead.”

“How do you like that story, my love?” He chuckled darkly, and then they shared an intense kiss.

A kiss I had waited for.

A kiss he never gave me.

Pain surged through my chest again—not from the dagger, but from their betrayal... Every piece of me was completely broken.

“Yes, my love,” she said, and then neared me.

Vera bent down beside me, her smile wide and cruel. I reached for her, my hand shaking. She could help—I was her sister... “Help,” I whimpered, blood bubbling on my lips. “Please... Vera...”

She leaned in. I thought she would cry. That she had remembered we shared the same blood.

But instead, she twisted the dagger deeper.

A scream ripped my throat, but no sound came out.

Her breath was hot in my ear. “And I will be his queen, sister.”

She stood, smiled, and with that, they walked away, leaving me for dead. And I felt it—like an evil shadow engulfing me.

I stared at the moon above.

And with my last breath, I whispered a plea to the moon goddess:

“Please...”

My lips trembled.

“Give me...”

My chest burned.

“Another chance... Grant me

a rebirth...”

“Not like this...”

“Let me come back... stronger...”

“Let me... Make them pay... Pleas–”

I was still speaking when everything went silent.

Everything... went dark.