In the morning,Ava's eyes were opened by a ringtone. She reached out her hand to the nightstand and grabbed her phone.She saw it was Debra's call. She immediately sat up as if she felt deja vu.She remembered everything that had happened last night.She was baffled. Was she dreaming?Just like this, Debra called her yesterday to wake her up. Was it just a dream?She hurriedly received the call and asked,"Was I having a dream?”"What?" Debra asked with a confused tone."What day is it today? The match! Is today the basketball match?"Debra took a pause before replying,"Of course. That's why I was calling you. Where are you, Ava? You are late."Hearing Debra, Ava's heart trembled.So everything was a dream?'The kiss, the confession, the drive, and the feelings—was everything just a dream?' she thought.She lowered her head as her mood turned dull. Her heart became heavier.However, right after that moment, she heard Debra's laugh."Why are you laughing?" she asked."Silly, I was ki
Ava was surprised to hear Stephen.Seeing her surprised look, Ian cleared his throat."It looks like your sister doesn't like it."A chuckle came out of Ronald's mouth, and he muttered,"Maybe he doesn't want you to stay here."Ian raised a brow while looking at Ava and asked, "Is that so?"After giving Ian a quick glance, Ava immediately shook her head. "No, no. I didn't mean anything like that."The corners of Ian's mouth turned up in a smirk. He looked into Ava's eyes, giving her a look that made her feel shy.She averted her gaze from him as she blushed.Stephen noticed them and said, "If you don't want it, I can throw them out, Ava. What's your say?""You can do what?"The question was asked by Cyrus in a shocked tone.Paul laughed and said, "She is your sister. Who do you want to impress now?"After giving them a look that told them to be quiet, Stephen turned his attention to Ava. "Are you fine with it? If you don't then–""No, Steph. I don't have any problem with it."Ronald n
Ava lowered her head. It caused his nose to brush against her cheek. She felt shiver, but she did not react in front of others.The situation was something she could not react to.She was feeling embarrassed. She scolded Ian in her head for coming this close and made her feel like this in front of others.Ian let out a chuckle and moved away from her. He stood up straight and put his hand on her head.She felt him patting her head."Now eat calmly. If any of them tease you again, I will beat him, okay?"Ava did not know what to say or react. He sounded caring and concerned.He removed his hand from her head and walked back to his chair."Such a caring man you got!" Stephen muttered to Ava while shaking his head.Ava did not know if she had gotten a new disease because her cheeks had been getting heated frequently recently.How could she blush all the time?Ava finished her food hurriedly and rose up from her chair.Before leaving the table, she glanced at others and said,"Goodnight,
Ava blinked her eyes to understand what Ian meant to say.'Coffee date? Right now? Where?' she thought.She had no idea where Ian would take her. She remembered last night Stephen saying to her that she should not stay out the night before their parents' return. It was only because of her safety.Ava gave it a thought. She made up her mind and thought about going out with Ian."Then let me change my clothes.""No, need.""What?"Ian grabbed her and started to pull her out of her room.She closed the door behind her and followed the way that he was leading.While walking with him, she glanced at his tattooed hands.Her gaze went back to his face. His hair cut was giving him such an attractive look. His fair neck was even more appealing.'What are you doing, Ava?' she asked herself and looked away from him.She shook her head and said,"Control yourself."Ian paused walking and turned to her."When did I lose control?" he asked her.Her eyes widened as she realized she had said it out l
Ava heard him and slowly moved her hands away from her face. She saw him looking directly into her eyes.She gathered all her courage and asked,"Ian, do you love me this much? Will we always stay together like this?"He glanced at her hands and reached out to touch one. He held her hand and gazed at her."I will always be beside you. But..."Ava was startled."But?"His eyes darkened, causing Ava to be taken aback. She couldn't understand his sudden change."But what?" she asked again.Ian's gaze shifted to her hand. He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb and muttered,"Never think about cheating on me."Ava froze upon hearing him.Cheating on him? Why would she cheat on him? Wasn't she supposed to be the one telling him that? He was the bad boy of the campus who used to be with girls, so she should be the one asking him not to do it.However, she realized that, just like her, he was also insecure deep down. Because he had been waiting for her for a long time. He had told he
Ava put her hand on his shoulder and got on the bike.Ian grabbed her hands and pulled her closer. He then wrapped her hands around his chest and turned his head at her."I am your man. Hold me tight."His voice was deep. His gaze was intense. She bit her bottom lip and nodded her head at him.He smirked at her and turned back to the road.After putting on his helmet, he started the bike.She glanced at the black helmet. She recalled that when he had offered her his helmet, she refused it. So he had thrown his helmet on the road.'Did he buy a new one?' she thought, examining it.She gasped when her body pressed against his back while the bike moved on the speed breaker."Told you to hold me tight," he reminded her.She exhaled and shook her head.'Did he do that intentionally?' she thought and smiled.She held him tightly despite the fact that her chest was pressed against his back. She rested her head against his shoulder and enjoyed the ride.When they arrived at the university, sh
Ava was silent. She had no idea what to say. She recalled that she started to think that Ian was not that bad at how he pretended or how he got the reputation. But later, after hearing about him from Luke, her mind had changed.In fact, because of Luke's statements, she could never dare to accept Ian's apologies."I know I did wrong. Yesterday I won the match, but I lost your love. I realized that I was never in your heart."Ava lowered her hands and rested them on her sides. She did not hug him back. He realized it and hugged her tightly."I am confessing all of this because I really want to stay close to you. I don't want our friendship to be over, Ava. I said wrong to you that day. I was mad that you chose him over me, forgetting the fact that you were never mine."Ava felt emotional. She did not know who was wrong now. In this situation, she decided to maintain her silence."I am a man, and I could see how other men look at girls. I have seen something in his eyes for you the day
Ava walked forward, ignoring her brother's table.She was mad at Ian. Not even one day passed, and Ian started to wander around with girls. She laughed at herself in her heart for what she had said to the girls this morning. They might have laughed at her too.She did not care about what others would say, but what about her heart?Did he get so bored with her in just one day that he needed a new girl now?When she was walking past Stephen's table, she heard him."Hey! Ava."She stopped and turned to look at him."Yes?""You can join us," Stephen said.Ronald nodded his head. "Yeah. I think someone needs your company right now."His gaze directly went to Ian after saying that.Ava did not look at Ian. Ignoring him, she said to Stephen,"Brother, I don't want to.""What do you mean? There is still some time left for the classes. Do you have other stuff to do?" Stephen asked while observing her hard expression.Ava almost rolled her eyes at his brother.'What can I expect from him either
The boy's friends rushed to him and took him away. "Let's go from here. He must be the head Alpha's man. Let's not mess with him."Abigail was not pleased by Ronald's action. She grabbed his collar and pulled him toward her."Why did you do that? He was about to kiss me."He glared at her and asked, "Have you lost your mind? You were going to kiss just a random guy.""So what?" She asked, blinking her eyes to clear her view."Wouldn't it be just a kiss? I have done it before anyway."After saying that, Abigail pushed him lightly and turned around to walk away.However, Ronald grabbed her wrist to stop her. She glanced at his hand and was about to turn to face him.But before that, he spun her around and pressed her back against the railing. "You want a kiss, right?"Abigail was shocked by Ronald's action. "What—"He did not let her speak as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.Abigail's eyes widened when Ronald's lips touched against hers. She was already drunk, so his li
Ian started to walk down the alley. While walking, he kept feeling pain in his arm. He clenched his jaw when he lifted his arm and glanced at it.He saw blood dripping out of the wound. It was so painful that it was making it hard for him to breathe steadily.There was a burning sensation in the wound, which indicated that the knife was poisoned or spellbound.When he recalled how that wizard tried to harm Ava, his eyes darkened. If he had not meddled between them, he would have killed Ava.Suddenly, his phone rang in the silent alley.He took a pause to pull his phone out of his pocket with his left hand.When he saw it was his best friend, he picked up the call."Speak," he said after inhaling deeply.As if Ronald felt something was off with him, he asked,"Bro, what's wrong?""Nothing. Where are you two?""We are in the—"Ronald's voice paused when Ian heard a voice from behind him."Where are you going?"It was Ava who picked up his pace and came to stand next to him.Ian did not
Griffing moved back along with her. He kicked them in the stomach in defense.He had never imagined that protecting his sister would be so difficult for him. He tried to beat them with his abilities and spells.When the wizards could not move anymore, Griffin turned to Ava and asked,"Are you okay?"She nodded her head in response. Her wrist, which had a small cut, had finally stopped bleeding.She frowned when she noticed Griffin's eyes had grown larger. She turned her head and saw the elder wizard hurry to her to stab her with the knife.Ava and Griffin were too shocked to move, or they could say they were frozen by some spells.Ava shut her eyes to embrace the pain as the death was too close to her.However, before she felt the pain, her body was moved by a hard push.Her body collided with Griffin's and they both fell to the ground.Ava did not know what had just happened."Alpha Ian!"Griffin's scared and trembling voice caused Ava's eyes to fling open. She turned her head and im
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