Nova's eyes widened in shock. Her lips began to tremble. "I-Ian, what are you saying?"Ian let out a deep breath when he noticed how she was looking broken. It was not that he had any soft spots for her, but she was the beta's daughter. He did not want to mess with any official's family before inheriting the throne.He was not interested in leading the pack in the future. But, as the only heir, he was responsible for the pack.His great-grandfather won the Mystic Shadow Pack several decades ago. Following that, his family continued to run the pack, fulfilling all of their responsibilities and carefully protecting the pack members. They never disappointed any of the members and always made the best decisions for them.His father, Alpha Martin, was one of the most powerful Alphas in their pack's history. It was the reason why people had higher hopes for Ian.Because Ian would have to maintain the pack like him, Alpha Martin behaved strictly with him. He always tried to discipline him. H
Alpha Martin stared at his hand, which Ian had just removed from his collar."Ian, what's wrong with you? Is this how you will speak and act with your father?" Carolina said, scolding him."If my dad doesn't know how to be a dad, forget about my manners then. I am not anyone's slave."After saying that, he turned to face the staircase. He then made his way there."You! Now you are going to talk over your dad? This is how I raised you." Alpha Martin said it from behind. His eyes turned red with rage.Carolina held Martin's hand."Martin."Alpha Martin snatched his hand from his wife's grip and kicked on the table close to the couch."How dare he behave like that? Tell him that he is grounded for a week. I will stop everything that allows him to live a luxurious life. What does he think about himself? A bad boy who can do anything he wants? Is this how he plans to lead this pack?"Ian's steps came to a halt. But he did not turn to his father. He was not such a kid that his father could
Just as he thought he should not care about her, he saw a boy looking in Ava's direction."David, are you going to sit or not?" Another boy beside the boy asked him.'David?' Ian thought.He had heard the name somewhere before. He raised a brow as if he realized something. That boy and his friends were from his university.However, Ian wondered why those boys took a bus since every kid there was rich.He shrugged his shoulders and looked out the window. His ears perked up as he heard what David told his friends."No, I am going to sit there," David replied.Ian turned his head to look at him once again. He saw the boy pointing his finger in Ava's direction.As the bus started moving, the David guy moved forward.But as soon as he took steps closer to the empty seat next to Ava, he felt a leg and almost tripped on the bus.Ian got up from his seat and said,"Uppss, you nearly fell on your nose. I am kind enough to let you sit here. I can take the seat you are aiming for anyway.”David
Ava listened to Ian's voice, and her steps halted.She frowned when she realized that he was following her.But why?Last night, she was really upset with herself. But then she tried to handle herself, saying that she had warned Ian enough.However, today she met Ian again. She would be lying if she said she was not surprised to see Ian on the bus.She had been riding buses for a long time, but she had never seen Ian, even though her route was a few stops later than his house.Today she wanted to take a bus, though her parents said to take one car with her. She just wanted to go back to her old life for a while, where no one knew her and she could live carelessly.But now, everyone was aware of her identity as the Gamma's new daughter, and people liked to gossip about her a lot."Why did you get off the bus?"She heard Ian again. She turned around and looked at him."Are you following me?"Ian walked toward her, which caused her to take a step back.He noticed her reaction and said,"
Ava's eyes flung open, and she pushed Ian hard on his chest."What's wrong with you? Why can't you just let me live?" She asked with a disbelieving look.Ian appeared to be stunned. He did not expect her to push him that hard. He raised his hand to smoke the cigarette, which he was still holding between his fingers."You called me dirty last night. How can I let you go so easily, nerd?""Stop calling me a nerd. You are worse than those bullies," she mumbled, her eyes stinging with tears.But she was not going to let this boy see her tears. She would not let him make fun of her emotions again.Ian's gaze darkened as he replied,"You can change your appearance. But for me, you are still that nerd I rejected."She closed her eyes and turned around. She did not want to be with him for a single moment. She tried to muster some courage against him, but he was a cruel boy who only knew how to make her feel bad.She still did not know what he wanted from her.She had only one option, which wa
Ian began to walk toward the table where Ava and his friends were sitting.Ava gulped at his furious look. She tried to break free of Luke's hand, thinking that Ian would do something to Luke since he had warned her at the bus stop about Luke.But Luke tightened his grip on her hand. She looked at Luke, and Luke shook his head, indicating that she should not feel afraid of anyone.Ian shifted his gaze from their hands and glanced at Ava. She averted her gaze and ignored him.She was ready to yell at Ian when she assumed he would stop at their table.But before that, he walked past their table and stopped at the table behind them.Ava turned her head and saw Paul and Cyrus joining Ian to stand close to the table."I-Ian"One of the boys seated on the table spoke out with fear in his voice.Ian gave him no more time to speak before punching him, causing the boy to fall from his chair.Ava gasped in shock. The people at the other tables rose up from their chairs and began to gather aroun
Ava looked into his indignant eyes. She could not understand him. She started to feel that she should never have fallen for this boy before their rejection.Her secret crush on him broke her heart. She felt mad at herself for feeling something for this type of guy in the past.She was afraid of what would happen when he became the head Alpha. He would be the most unfair leader in their pack. Their pack was not safe in his hands.Ian turned to the boy who attempted to flee. He grabbed the back of his neck and was about to hit his head against the table when Ava grabbed his wrist."Please don't!"Ava said it in a shaky voice. She feared that the boy would die.Ian's hand loosened as he let go of the boy's neck. The boy ran out of the cafeteria, clutching his stomach.Ian's eyes shifted on Ava's hand which was holding his wrist. He slowly turned his gaze to her."Go and hold his hand, not mine," he said, yanking his hand away.Ava nearly lost her balance due to it.However, a pair of arm
"It must be a date! Oh, how foolish you are! Yes, it's obviously a date, Ava," Debra said to Ava.Abigail nodded her head in agreement.After attending their classes, the three friends were walking on campus."I am not a fool. I also thought the same. But he was casual and said that he just wanted to talk to me, so..."Ava paused, mumbling, as she reflected on what Luke had said to her.He said he wanted to take her to a coffee shop. He had something in his mind that he wanted to discuss. They were such good friends that she did not take it that way."Trust me. Luke likes you. I have seen it in his eyes," Abigail said."Me too," Debra added.Ava was stunned. She had never seen Luke that way before. He was her friend—a very good friend. She had never thought of him more than that."I-I..."Ava's lips halted as she glanced at Ian, who was walking out of a building where the head office was. The dean may have summoned him for what he did to the boy this morning.Abigail and Debra followe
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