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
Ava rolled her eyes and walked up to Luke. She heard Stephen reply to Ian,"He is Ava's friend. So, he is here for her."Luke cast a quick glance at Stephen and his friends. His eyes stopped on Ian."Luke, hi," Ava said with a smile.Luke turned his gaze away from Ian and toward Ava. He appeared to be amazed by Ava's appearance."Hi, you are ready to go out. Why don't we actually go out?"Ava could see that he was hesitant to enter the house. He was not on good terms with Stephen, either.Ava frowned as she grabbed his arm and said,"That is what I thought, too. But then I changed my mind. Why not let me show you around? I have a small library there. We can enjoy our coffee while sitting there."With a gesture, she indicated upstairs. Luke turned his head to look upstairs.Indeed, there was a beautiful small library set up. Two single couches with a small table were there for the people who wanted to enjoy reading books. There were small tree plants, which created a vibrant environmen
Ava rose up from the couch. Luke looked up at her."Let's go upstairs."After giving her a slight nod, he got up from the couch. Even though he was eager to respond to Ian, he was concerned that Ava was not feeling well around him.While Luke was making his way toward the staircase, he asked,“You will have to see his face if he comes here often?"Ava simply shrugged her shoulders. "I don't care. He is invisible to me."Ava took Luke to the library, which was located on the upper floor. They sat on the couches in a relaxed manner after Luke had grabbed some books."Wow. ‘Tales from the Past of Mystic Falls’. You have this book!" Luke said it with an amazed tone.She grinned at him. "Yeah, Dad organized all of the book collections for me."Luke turned his head to look at her and asked, "Ava, how is your life going here? Is everyone treating you well?"Ava thought about the love Gamma Harper and Stephen were giving her."I am very happy, Luke. I am living my life to the fullest. It's ju
Her lips were trembling as her heart started to beat faster. She stared at the person who she had fallen for before even knowing that he was her mate. Though she believed that she had lost her feelings for him after the rejection, she realized that something was still there to fade away.She let out a whisper."W-What?"Ian remained silent for a while as he observed her reaction.But then he backed away and burst out laughing.Ava was caught off guard by his laugh.She realized how foolish she was to believe this boy, even for a moment."Just look at your face! You really think I want you, don't you?"Ian said this and chuckled, shaking his head.She tightened her fists as she felt like crying. But she did not cry. Instead of showing her tears, she showed him her anger."A boy like you can never be with one girl. So keep laughing at your own joke."Ian stopped laughing and looked at her with cold eyes.She tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him.
Inside the car, there was a silence that yearned to be broken. But by looking at Ava's face, Luke thought he should keep driving without asking her anything.After a long drive, he pulled over the car to a coffee shop.Ava opened the door without saying anything and got out of the car.Luke stepped down from the car and followed Ava inside the coffee shop.He had been observing her sullen mood for a while. When they were in her house, he was waiting for her to have a conversation. But when she returned, she was empty-handed and asked him to go to the coffee shop he had previously decided on.From then on, she remained silent and looked angry.Luke pulled out a chair for her. She looked at him. There was a sudden amazement in her eyes. But then it immediately faded."Thank you," Ava said and sat down on the chair.Luke took a seat across from her and asked,"Ava, what's wrong? You look mad. Have I done anything wrong?"Ava shook her head and replied almost immediately,"No, no. Did I m
Ava froze in her tracks. She was aware of his feelings, as Abigail and Debra had already told her today. However, she had no idea how awkward things would become for her. She bit her bottom lip because she did not know what to say. Luke took her hand and said, "Let's go." He led her out of the shop and looked at her. "I understand it might be awkward for you. You–" "I knew about it," Ava interrupted him. "You knew?" Luke said with a broad grin. Ava glanced at him and mumbled, "Abigail and Debra told me about it." He paused as his smile faded. "So you did not notice it from your side?" Ava parted her lips, but nothing came out. She did not feel anything inside, indicating that she did not like him more than just a friend. "Ava, I know you don't have any feelings for me. But give me a chance. I promise we will end up together. I don't want to end our friendship. You can take your time, and when you feel it is okay to go for a relationship, you can tell me." Ava
Freya walked toward Ian and held his arm. It caused Ian to look away from the elevator door."Let's go."He began to walk and remarked,"Never ask me to come here with you again."Freya frowned at him and asked,"But you promised me that you would help me to get back my projects."“I don't need to see your Alpha's face again and again. I will speak with the sponsors directly.”Freya knew she was not the reason why Ian was here. He came here because of Ava. She was not a foolish woman.She kept quiet and decided to leave the company with him.While exiting the building, their gaze was drawn back to Dane and Ava.They had not left yet. Ava was sitting in the passenger seat inside Dane's car. Dane was standing outside, conversing with Griffin.Ian's steps came to a halt in front of his own car. He turned his head to look at the woman in his rival's car.She appeared careless and delighted. How could she be happy after cheating on him years ago?He got into his car and pulled out his phon
Ava had no idea how her heels twisted on the stairs. She reached for the stair railing, but her fingers slipped and she was on the verge of falling.Her body was waiting to hit the stairs, so she closed her eyes tightly.But before she could fall, a pair of strong arms encircled her waist.She was holding the person's sleeves tightly with her eyes squeezed shut.A familiar scent touched her nostrils, and she furrowed her brows. Her eyes sprang open in shock. She raised her head to look at the person. He held her in his arms and pressed her head against his chest as if to protect her.Ava froze when she realized that it was Ian.He slowly lowered his head to examine her face. Her brows shot up when she noticed a glint of softness in his eyes."Are you oka—"His gentle tone nearly shook her heart. However, someone turned him around before he could finish his sentence.It was Dane who reached her after Ian.Dane grabbed Ava's waist and pulled her closer to him. He pushed Ian's chest, gro
Days passed with Ava's hard work on the project. Ava had been working at the new office. There was no time for her to go home early.The relationship between her and Dane was improving, though. He looked after her at work. Always, he reminded her to eat regularly.He even agreed to go with her to the reunion party. Ava was thrilled about it. She was grateful that he had agreed.Dane said it was nothing to be thankful about. Since everyone was going with their partner, she also had the right to go there with her partner.Ava's daily life was going well because she had not seen Ian again.She felt relieved that Ian did not say anything to Dane about their past. But she made the decision to tell Dane everything. She was afraid that Dane would be mad if he got to know that she was with his rival in the past. It was the reason she always stopped herself from telling him about it. But she knew she could not hide it from him forever. Since she was not with Ian anymore, it did not matter at a
Hearing his assuring statements, Freya felt relieved. There was a grin on her face as she gazed at his handsome face.She noticed him raising the bottle and swallowing the drink. The movement of his Adam's apple caused her to move closer to him.She put her hand on his chest and fiddled with the button of his shirt. He cocked his head to the side in order to look at her face.While Freya was getting closer to his face, she began to unbutton his shirt.She tilted her head and kissed him on the cheek. She moved her lips close to his mouth and whispered,"It's been six months since we decided to live our life together in the future. But you never tried to kiss me."She closed her eyes, knowing their lips were only a few inches apart.As just her lips were about to touch his, he gripped her jaw, stopping her from kissing him.She was shocked by his action as her eyes flung open. She was startled when her eyes met his dark orbs."It's because I don't like it.""D-Don't like what?" she mumb
The night was completely dark. There was no moon to light up the ground. There was only darkness that was engulfing outside.Ian was sitting on the floor, with his back against the bed.There was an empty bottle lying on the floor. He held one bottle in his hand.The redness surrounding his dark orbs was maniacal. He was going through an emotional breakdown. A cold man like him could not cry. But his emotions were visible in his eyes.Bringing the bottle close to his mouth, he chugged a few more gulps. The bitter taste and the high level of alcohol burned his throat.But he did not stop drinking.In the last four years, Ian Dawson had made an image in the werewolf world. People knew the young man was cold and heartless. He showed no mercy and was ruthless toward others. He did not even let go of his own parents, mocking them if they opposed him.If anyone saw him in this condition, they would be shocked.He had the bottle in one hand and one hand that was resting on his knees. His oth
Because the car was silent, Ronald heard everything. His eyes were on Ian.Ian's eyes grew intense. His one hand, which was gripping the steering wheel, clenched tightly.Ronald's gaze moved to his other hand. His fingers were bleeding. Because of his pressure, the glass broke, and the sharp edges cut his fingers."Ian!"Ian removed the phone from his ear and threw it near the gearbox. Ronald gulped, not knowing how to calm his anger.He was surprised to know that Ava was with Alpha Dane. Wasn't it something unbelievable? He could never have imagined thinking like this before.Ian moved his leg away from the brake pedal and slammed on the accelerator.On the busy road, the car moved like the wind. The speed of the vehicle astounded the people.To get past every other vehicle on the road, the car swerved to the left and right.It was obvious to Ronald that his best friend would not listen. He recalled Ian's accident. He hurriedly pressed the emergency button, letting other cars behind
Ava said whatever was on her mind and walked out of the room. She felt her cheeks getting wet as she made her way to the canteen. Realizing that she had nearly revealed her vulnerability to the man, she quickly wiped away her tears.Crying was not a sign of weakness. She was in anger and she did not want to burn everything around her. That was why her anger flowed down with tears.She entered the canteen and took a seat at one of the tables.She looked out the window from where she sat at the table.She recalled the incident that happened many months ago.It was a night when she was partying with her friends at a club. It was a birthday party, so they had their own spot in the corner to celebrate while cutting the cake.She was drunk that night.She was not aware that a man was following her. In the name of helping, he led her to a room and began to open the button on her shirt.She was not in her right mind, but she understood that something was happening with her. She became traumat
Ian's hand had frozen around her waist. His muscles tensed as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water on him in the cold weather. That time the bone froze, and his hands also froze like that.Ava moved back and stood on her feet. She saw how he was unmoved. She slowly unwrapped his hand from her waist. She brushed his shoulder as if removing invisible dust."It's okay. That happens sometimes. Your reaction is so natural. But..."She looked into his eyes and asked,"Don't you think you are overreacting? I mean I thought you would be happy after learning that. You hate him and he got a whore like me-"She could not finish speaking as he grabbed her waist once again. This time, he spun her around and pressed her against the wall."What did you say?" he asked."Y-You heard me," she responded, taken aback by his unexpected action.She gasped when she saw how instantly his eyes turned red. She was not startled by looking at them. His red eyes were filled with something that looked like
Ava blinked her eyes when she heard Ian. She realized that there were so many things about her that he did not know. Everything had changed in four years. But she was surprised that he still remembered that she was afraid of darkness. She remembered once he told her, "Come to me whenever you feel afraid of the dark. I will always be there for you." Ava's face turned cold as she shoved the old memories. He was the man who put her in the darkness, the darkness from where she needed three and half years to come out. She gathered her strength and pushed his hand away from her mouth. "Alpha Ian, what the hell are you doing?" Because of her push, his other hand, which held a lighter, moved. The flame blew out. The room returned to darkness and silence. The man in the room expected her to ask him to light it again. However, she proved him wrong when she stated, "No, I am not afraid of the darkness. Not anymore." His brows furrowed as he was not expecting this. He was mad