With the glass box in their possession, the employees made their way to the reception area.Ava looked around while heading to the reception. He glanced at Ian. He was using his phone for something. With a throat clearing, she uttered,"You need to get a chain as well. How are you going to wear it?"Ian looked at her and shook his head. "It will come with it," he replied."Oh."When they arrived at the reception area, the receptionist smiled at Ava and handed her the bag. After taking a peek inside the bag, Ava removed the bill to make the payment.As soon as she looked at the bill, her eyes grew wide in shock.It was very expensive. It was greater than the amount that her mother earned in a single month.She scolded herself for coming there. She did not expect the pendent would be this costly.She glanced at the bag, thinking about what she would say to Ian. It was his birthday present. How could she tell him that she did not have that much money? The thought of having to unpack it e
Ian brought Ava to a restaurant. It was half an hour away from the shopping mall.Ian pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit. His unexpected calm and gentle demeanor astounded Ava.As if he noticed her questioning glance, he said,“I am not this gentle. It's just that I am trying to be patient with you."Hearing him, she looked away from him and replied, "You don't need to. Just be who you are."He raised a brow and looked at her with a sly grin."You will flee from me if I begin to be myself in front of you. I don't want to scare you."She glanced at him, swallowing her breath. He signaled to her to place an order by pointing his eyes toward the menu card.Ava looked at the menu and realized it was quite an expensive restaurant. However, she could afford the prices of regular dishes, so she pushed the menu toward him and said,"Order what you like."He grabbed the menu and nodded his head with a smirk.She wondered why he was smirking. What was on his mind?He called the wait
It was evening when they arrived at a club. Ian assured her that he would get her back home before her parents left. So Ava was relaxed.After he parked the bike, they strolled together in the direction of the club's gate.The guards stopped Ava, but when they noticed Ian was behind her, they nodded their heads at him.They were about to hold Ava's hand to place a seal on her wrist; however, Ian grabbed her hand and pulled her beside him."No need to seal her hand. She is with me. Isn't it enough?" Ian asked them.The club guards exchanged glances before nodding at Ian."Yeah, sure."They stepped aside, allowing Ian to enter the club with Ava.Ava was new to club things. She only went to parties hosted by her friends or Stephen. They usually turned their places into clubs.Ava cast a glance at the people who were dancing wildly. The smell of liquors was stronger. The music was loud, but not throughout the entire space.With a quick glance, she noticed a dancer pole dancing in one area
Ian's hands froze around Ava's cheeks when he heard her. He was kind of in disbelief."What did you say?"Ava removed his hands away from her cheeks and replied,"You heard me right. I don't need to repeat it."He frowned at her. "Why are you asking something impossible?"She laughed at him. "Something impossible? The boy who did not consider the possibility of destiny before breaking the mate bond now speaks of impossibility. Nice joke, Ian."Ian stared at her for a while without saying anything, as if he were processing her words in his mind."Are you asking me to lose the match so that Luke can win it?"Ava's brows lifted by his question. Though Luke needed to win the match, she did not have this intention before saying that.She just did not want to trust Ian. That was why she asked him something that he would not do.It was really impossible to lose the final match for Ian Dawson. It would destroy his reputation on campus.Ava believed he would not do that for her. In fact, no on
Ava was stunned. One year was too early for Ian to rule the pack. She wondered whether Ian was aware of it.Would he be able to run the pack at this young age and with a lifestyle where he did not follow any rules?"That means Stephen is going to be the Gamma of our pack next year as well. We are celebrating this good news," Angelina said with a cheerful voice."Thanks, Mom," Stephen said.Ava looked at her brother and smiled at him. "Congratulations, brother. Soon you will be our gamma."Stephen patted her head and replied,"Then your brother will protect you forever."Harper and Angelina smiled when they saw how much love there was between the brother and sister.Ava spent some time with her family. They sat at the table to have dinner together. Harper and Angelina told them many things that they needed to know about their house.Angelina stated that she had told the maids everything and that they would be at home all the time. Harper said they would try to come back soon."You are
After hearing her mother, Ava was taken aback. Her memories of the past were limited to dreams. Her mother always tried to avoid telling her about it. She only knew that she was from another pack, and this pack's Alpha and Luna saved them by giving them shelter here."But, Mom, it was a war, and we were trying to save our lives. Because of the war, we lost dad..."Ava paused as she reflected on her father's death. She closed her eyes and bit her tongue, fearing that she had reminded her mother of him.Angelina lowered her head, clearly upset. Ava hugged her mother and mumbled,"Mom, I am sorry. I didn't mean to—"Angelina stopped her and said,"It's okay, my baby. He was a beautiful part of my life. I can never forget him."She broke the embrace and looked into Ava's eyes, then uttered,"But you have to listen to me."Ava did not understand why her mother was so concerned about her. The war was over, and who would remember them? Even if they remembered, what was the problem? They were
In the morning,Ava's sleep was disturbed by her phone's loud ringtone. She reached over to the nightstand and grabbed her phone. She tried opening one of her eyes to see who had called her.It was Debra's call.She closed her eyes and pressed her phone to her ear."Debra," she let out in a sleepy voice."Where are you, babe?"Ava's brows furrowed. "Where am I? In my house, in my bedroom, in my bed," she mumbled in a sleepy tone."What! Babe, today is the final match. It's close to 10 am. The match will start soon. How can you be on your bed at this time?"Ava's eyes flung open, and she sat up on her bed."Oh! Shit!""Exactly!""Do I have some time to take a shower and get ready?" Ava asked, turning her head left and right.“You have thirty minutes. Come on, hurry up!”"Okay, I'm coming; bye."Ava hung up the phone and rushed to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and came out in a bathrobe."Why didn't Steph wake me up? He might have gotten up early and left," she murmured.She hur
Ava shook her head and mumbled to her friends,"Let's pay our attention to the match. Let's pray for Luke to win today. I don't have any doubt about Ian. He will not give in."Abigail and Debra fell silent.Ava fixed her attention on the game. She could see how the crowd cheered for Ian whenever he scored points for his team.Ian seemed quiet but focused. He was not looking anywhere as his eyes were fixed on the basketball. While his friends conversed during the game, he was not communicating with any of them.Ava observed that he did not glance at her again. It was like he finally decided not to look at her again."May the best team win," Ava mumbled in a low tone.Her friends heard her, but they did not say anything.When Stephen put the ball in the basket, Ava jumped and clapped for her brother.Stephen looked at her and gave her a flying kiss. Ava smiled at him and sat down again.Others looked at her, realizing they shared a strong bond, and Stephen adored his new sister."You sa
Ian's words caught Ava off guard. The wizards that were holding her hand laughed."You were well-known in our coven. They always said you had something in you that no other Alpha possessed. What about revealing that side of yourself to us?"Ian ignored his words as he stared at Ava. He lifted his hands to feel the circle. But the more he tried to touch the air, the more pain surged through his body.He did not want to feel defeated. In front of him was the love of his life. He had lost her once; he could not lose her again.He clenched his jaw, feeling rage for not being able to do what he wanted.The man Ian had let go a while ago grabbed the wooden stick they had brought to scare the young kid. He then charged toward Ian.Ian was so focused on saving Ava that he did not notice what the man was doing.Ava's eyes shifted to the man. Her eyes widened when the man approached Ian from behind."IAN, WATCH OUT!"She screamed, but it was too late. Because the man had already hit Ian's back
Except for Ava, who was unable to move, everyone turned their heads.When they saw the dark silhouette approaching them, their eyes frowned.Their eyes widened at the sight of the red eyes coming closer. It was as if they saw a power in those eyes, causing them to shake inside in fear.The man came to stand a few feet away behind Ava and muttered,"Bloody wizards…"Ava's eyes moved as she heard the deep voice. She did not need any time to recognize the voice. His voice formed a hope in her heart to finally get aid in this situation.She still had not turned. Her gaze shifted to her brother.Griffin was taken aback as his gaze fell on the person standing behind Ava. He murmured in confusion,"A-Alpha Ian?"All the wizards around them got alerted as their body was tensed.Ian's eyes shifted to the man who was wrapping his hands around Ava's waist. The man looked frozen. Ian's eyes moved down to the man's hand, and immediately he let out a low growl."How dare you touch her?"The man tre
Griffin suggested that they go to a club and have a drink. Ava agreed since she also needed to clear her mind.There was a club near the company, but Ava did not want to go because she might run into some of the employees. So they decided to go to a club that was quite far away."Isn't it the north side of the city?" Ava asked when she heard Griffin's suggested club."Yeah, but only wizards and witches go there. That can be our safe place."Ava turned to Griffin, who was sitting next to her in his car. "You almost forget you are a hybrid."Griffin grinned at her and nodded his head. "You are right. I shift a few nights a month. I enjoy my magic more."Ava patted her hand on his shoulder. "You should shift more because who knows when we will need your wolf to take over?"Being a hybrid did not mean only having two kinds combined. Their wolves were also very powerful."Okay, I will shift often."Ava and Griffin went to the nightclub. They got to know new people. Griffin introduced her t
Ava gave them a puzzled look. "Who?"Debra pushed Abigail and walked over to Ava and said, "Don't listen to her. She is just pulling my leg for nothing. Such a bad friend!"Suddenly Ava recalled the interaction between Stephen and Debra. She wondered if Abigail was talking about him.However, she dismissed the thought because she knew her brother would never chase any girl like that. After all, he was one of the members of the Power Gang. Those boys did not chase women; women pursued them.She was about to ask who it was again, but she stopped by a ringtone. She saw who had called her.She received the call and spoke, "Beta Bruno."Debra turned her head to Abigail, making faces at her. Abigail glared at Debra, indicating not to tease her.Ava smiled when she noticed her friends' silent bickering."Freya is coming back to the pack today. So I am not going to come to the company. Tell Alpha I would spend some time with her."Hearing about Freya, Ava felt awkward. She recalled the day wh
Ava left the office in the evening. She had nothing in her mind. She only wanted to go home and sleep. She had worked all day and eaten little. Dane's words kept replaying in her head every time she thought about her future.It looked like fate had never decided happiness in her life. All it wrote for her was suffering mentally.She was depressed and alone in this pack.On her way, Griffin called her, asking her to meet him. She refused by saying that she was tired. She said she would meet him tomorrow evening.The sky was slowly getting dark. The orange shadow in the sky faded into the darkness.Ava paid the cabbie and walked toward her house.It was a house with three bedrooms. Dane suggested this house, so she never considered moving out, even though it was too large for one person.She took out the keys and was about to open the door when she heard the sound of another car from behind.She turned around and was stunned.The car stopped near her house, and two people were getting o
ONE WEEK LATERAva awoke to the sound of a loud alarm. She opened her eyes and did not consider sleeping for a few minutes longer. She sat up slowly, grabbing the phone and stopping the alarm, which would continue to snooze if she did not turn it off.She glanced outside the window. It was early in the morning.Another day arrived, and she had to pass it. She believed she would have to cooperate with her fate without questioning it much.She left the Mystic Shadow Pack one week ago. She did not tell her mate before leaving. That was why her wolf was really upset with her, refusing to shift again.Ava was in real trouble. Her wolf's resistance was really hurting her, making her weak.All week, she could only practice her powers as a witch, but she could not shift and run.The last time she had shifted was when she met Ian and realized that he had become her mate.Ava's phone rang in her hand, drawing her attention away from the window.She received the phone call while getting out of t
"Ava, why did you decide to leave now?" Ava's mother, Angela, said with tears in her eyes.When she and Harper returned home, Ava said she was leaving tonight. She was shocked to hear that, as well as Harper."Mom, Dad, I told you that I would be here for my birthday. My birthday had passed, but I remained here for the competition. Since everything is over now, it's time for me to return to where I belong."Her voice was calm, just like her face. There was no emotion in her eyes that could show her inner feelings.Angela wondered if anything had happened to her daughter. She had spent her entire life protecting her daughter from the Thunder Howl Pack, convinced that Alpha Dane would force her into a relationship. However, after learning that Ian had rejected her daughter as her mate and that Dane treated her gently, Angela realized Dane was the ideal match for her. Ava and Dane were fated, and her ex-husband's decision was not wrong when he promised to marry Ava off to Dane."If you n
Dane's eyes darkened as soon as he heard Ava.Ava observed those eyes and scoffed at him. "What happened? Lost all the colors from your face?"He clenched his jaw and grabbed her arm, pulling her closer to him."You can't be with him."Ava looked into his eyes, noting his fury. "What's wrong? Why didn't you think about it when you spent the night with your mate?"Dane tried to compose himself, losing his grip on her arm. “Look, Ava. I never slept with her after we broke up. She tried a few times to seduce me when she was drunk. I always ignored my wolf and the desire to be close to her. But I lost myself in front of my wolf last night.”He let go of her arm and cupped her cheeks. She looked away from his face. Not wanting him to touch her, she attempted to push him once more.Her eyes landed on the hickeys Freya had purposefully left visible in his chest.If Dane had said that everything Freya said was a lie, she would have ignored it. But he himself admitted everything.Now what woul
Ava was in a really bad mood because she thought last night she almost cheated on Dane. She should have managed to stop Ian from kissing her or getting close to her.So today, in the early morning, she left her house only to confess what had happened and apologize to him.However, as soon as she saw Freya, she was shocked. Her shock turned into the endpoint when she heard Freya's words."Your m-mate? What are you saying?" Ava asked Freya with a confused look.Freya gave her a poker face. "Don't tell me you don't know that Dane and I are mates."Ava felt the ground slipping beneath her feet. She could not just believe it.Freya and Dane were mates?How come she did not know about it?Freya noticed her expression and scoffed at her. "Why do you think my brother despises you so much? Because you snatched his sister's mate away from her. You destroyed my life, Ava. I was so happy with him. But you entered our life and ruined everything."Ava blinked as she did not know what to feel. When