~NOAH'S POV~
I fell to the floor with a thud and a dull ache rang in the back of my head. My heart pounded against my ribcage and it took the intervention of the goddess for me not to have a stroke.
"Is that all you got, Richards?"
I jolted up at the sound of that high-pitched voice and resumed the battle stance I held minutes ago.
"I'm not even tired.”
The smirk on her face dropped and her pouty lips drew into a line.
In this pack, there are two important rules that you must follow in your life. The first is to never mess with the alpha and the second is to never anger Ava Miller.
And I didn't just anger her, I pissed her off.
She circled me as a predator would do to its prey and I did the same, both our eyes became instruments of observation and intimidation.
The arena cleared in seconds, the tension in our bubble drew the attention of everyone else and in no time whispers began to fly.
"Don't they ever get tired of this?"
"How can they get so serious five minutes into training?"
"How can a single fight be so predictable and yet so exhilarating at the same time?"
Before our onlookers could take their next breath, we pounced on each other, and what started as a simple training session quickly turned into a fight filled with blood and tension.
But that's what excites me.
In the pack, people fought me as though their lives depended on it, meaning that they would run for the hills if the fight lasted more than four minutes. It was fun at first but after the first three days, it got boring and very uneventful.
But with Ava, she fights as though her honor is on the line and that's the difference.
She isn't the kind of person to surrender because of the title you possess. She isn't the kind of person to give the upper hand to an adversary in power and she isn't the type of person to give up when there's no way out.
But she is the type of woman who would keep fighting for the course she believes in even if it costs her the air she breathes or the blood that flows through her veins.
She is honest, Just, loyal, and a woman I trust with everything I value more than my own life. Unlike a certain woman, I know.
Anger clouded my judgment and my reaction time was slow causing me to unintentionally create an opening that I almost couldn't recover from.
Ava charged in and just as she was about to land her finishing blow, I pulled a fast one on her and then slammed her petite form into the floor. A goddess-awful sound filled the room and I didn't need a degree to tell me that those were the sounds of her bones.
"Surrender," I spoke in an authoritative voice and she reluctantly bowed her head admitting defeat through gritted teeth.
A round of applause sounded throughout the arena and just as I was helping Ava back to her feet, the unthinkable happened. Something so unexpected that not even our omniscience goddess could have seen it coming.
My heart got abnormally tight and it got harder to breathe with each second that passed.
This can't be happening.
I fell to my knees and panting laboriously, desperate to force air into my exhausted lungs.
"Everybody out, Now!!" I heard Ava's voice followed by the sounds of retreating footsteps but it was only after the arena had obtained a deafening silence that Ava knelt by my side and aced my head on her lap.
"Listen to the sound of my voice, Noah. I need you to snap out of it, okay?"
I nodded my head as best as I could and concentrated on anything that wasn't the throbbing pain in my chest.
The hand gently ran through my hair. The sound of Ava's soothing voice and the feeling of how lucky I am to have her by my side.
Slowly, the dreadful pain faded and my breathing got back to normal. I peeled myself from her warmth and sat on the floor beside her.
"What did the new doctor say about your illness?"
"The same thing every other doctor said."
It's no secret that I have battled with this illness since I was young and it's also no secret that the omegas which is the legislature of the pack tried to take it away from me but it would have to be a rainy day in hell before I allow that.
I pulled my legs to my chest and placed my head on my knees. If any other person saw me like this, then they would gorge out their eyes and take it to a blacksmith for cleaning.
But it isn't anyone else, it's Ava, the only person I trust.
"I wish you were my mate, Ava."
She turned to me and a sad smile formed on her lips as an unfamiliar emotion ran through her eyes, but it was gone before I could decipher it.
Yes, I wish the woman we accused of being a spy for the Celix pack was my mate, instead of the monster I have to break for massacring half of the pack and my entire family.
***************
CIARA’S POV
"Stop laughing at me!"
"I'm sorry, I just can't help it."
My chest hurts from all the laughing I had done if it hadn't been for the restraint holding up. Seconds later, Ava joined me and we laughed as though our lives depended on it.
I was here when she was caught for being a spy to the Celix pack, our biggest rival whose alpha is Anthony Richards, Noah's younger brother and the man who would have had my head if it wasn't for Ava, and brought into the cell, she escaped days later and tried to free me too but being the prideful bitch I am, I said no and missed my chance of freedom.
Now she is the training buddy to my mate and I'm here rotting in an unclean cell and yet, she not once forgot about me and the realization almost makes my eyes water.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
I looked at her beautiful face and in seconds a sincere smile was plastered on my lips.
"It's nothing, I'm just thinking of how lucky I am to have you."
She returned the smile and stared out the only window in this stupid cell and it was then that I made up my mind and spoke.
"I need to tell you something, Ava."
She turned to me and her carefree eyes hardened telling me that she was more than ready to be serious.
"What is it, Ciara?"
My heart rate quickened and my breathing accelerated but the moment she held my hand and gave me a reassuring smile, I knew that there was nothing I couldn't do.
"I need to tell you that I…"
~CIARA'S POV~ A friend in need is a friend indeed.From the days of my childhood, I have never been able to understand what this phrase meant.Does it mean that it is only a friend who is in trouble that is a real friend or is it something else entirely different? I pondered on this very riddle and I had almost given up on it.Until now.Now I know what it means by a friend in need is a friend indeed. What it means to have a friend who is there for you in tough times, What it means to have someone willing to sacrifice everything for you.What it means to have someone like Ava Miller. That girl is a rare gem and anyone would be lucky to have someone like her.Just as she had proven to me.~FLASHBACK~"I'm pregnant, Ava."Mockery. My demons were mocking me, the words they spoke revolved along the lines of me being a worthless piece of flesh that no one cares about and I tried not to believe them, I did but as I saw Ava's face get pal
~CIARA'S POV~I sat in a pool of blood that used to be the fetus in my belly and my heart was saddened with each second that passed. I have cried till I can cry no more and cursed till I could curse no more, but nothing I did could ease the ache I felt in my chest.Because nothing can bring it back to me.I lowered my head and the tears that I thought had dried up flowed from my eyes like an angered river and a sob left my lips.How could you do this to me, goddess?I looked up into the ceiling and the anguish in my soul fuelled the anger in my chest.How could you forsake me after all I have been through? How could you take the only silver lining I had in this stormy condition you gave me for life?How could you let the evils of this world take my only joy?And how could you sit there and do nothing while the innocent people suffer for what they know nothing about.My heart raced and my breathing got ragged but my head was still hel
~CIARA'S POV~ ~FLASHBACK~ "Auntie, please could you help me get my bike?" I turned from my work and stared into the pleading eyes of my neighbor's child. I've seen enough teary eyes to know the real from the fake but if there is one thing I learned from all my years of being a teacher, is that when a child wants something he will go to any length to get it, until he does. And this little boy wants something. I smiled at the mischief that blended with the innocence of his eyes and I didn't have the heart to deny the child before me of his request, even though he had an ulterior motive because every child has an ulterior motive. To explore the life that we adults are too broken to enjoy. So I set off into the forest, to find the bike of a child who would lose it again. I moved with haste, determined to make it back in time before Nana woke up so I could prepare our meal. Except, I didn't go back. I couldn't go back. Not when I was attacked by wolves who were double my size and who
~NOAH'S POV~Perspiration coated my skin and heavy pants fell from my lips as I trained by myself in the field. It's been a week since I last visited that vermin and the anger I felt then still burns brightly in my soul. Who broke my toy before I could? Who had what it took to break the spirit that had been trying to shatter for weeks? But why does it bother me? I should be thrilled that she has lost her will to resist the truth. I should be ecstatic that I am one step closer to getting my revenge on that cursed woman. And yet…why does it bother me that her eyes have lost their shine? Why did my heart ache when I didn't hear her perverted comments? Why was I consumed with guilt when her broken voice bounced off the damn walls of that cursed cell?I fell to my knees in agony as a sharp pain ran through my chest. My breathing grew frantic and my heart pounded against my ribcage as dark spots st
~CIARA'S POV~I looked at the bandages wrapped around my wrists and thighs. Frustration sat in the pit of my stomach and my hands turned to fists.It has been a week since my first suicide attempt and every night as I'm about to escape this cruel world someone crawls into my cell like the coward they are and treats my injuries.But it wasn't just my wounds they took care of. The culprit also took it upon himself to clean my cell, leave me food, and change me into fresh clothes and underwear. Disgusted that a total stranger had seen me in a vulnerable state, I moved in every position possible trying to scratch my skin against the floor in hopes that their vile touch would leave the surface of my skin. It was pointless. Because the only part of my body that touched the floor was my feet. I wasn't moved by this. I wasn't moved by the sheer possibility that there might be someone who cared for me in this wicked world.
~CIARA'S POV~I sobbed bitterly into the bandages around my wrists. My heart ached from the tidal wave of pain that washed over my being and my soul wished to leave my body to call out to his, hoping to ease the pain we both felt. But I didn't let it. As I wailed in agony on the concrete floor, the metal door cracked open and I looked up expecting to see Noah standing before me with a look of longing in his eyes. But there was no yearning look or sad cobalt eyes to get lost in and there was no Noah Richard to cry with. There was only an ominous presence and the hatred-filled eyes of the bitch who took my peanut from me.Ava. "It's been a while, Ciara," Her voice dripped with hostility and I growled at the negative energy that oozed from her pores. She raised her hands above her head in mock surrender and a smirk crawled up her face. "Relax, Ciara. I just wanted to say hello to my best frien
~AVA'S POV~*FLASHBACK*The moonlight cast a glow on my face as the omega patrollers from the Gold Bay pack dragged me from the border where I was found to the main packhouse.It was my long-awaited opportunity for revenge and I didn't care if I got caught sneaking into the pack. I pulled on the restraints on my arms and discovered how weak they were. I was trained for moments like this so it wasn't hard to free myself from the young omegas who had caught me. Their eyes grew wide thinking I was about to make a run for it.I rose my hands up in surrender as they seemed ready to attack.“Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I just have sensitive skin you know… you were pulling on my wrists so much.”
~CIARA'S POV~I shivered from the cold.“Shh! You're okay. You're fine.” A man's voice whispered to me.My vision was hazy but I noticed that someone had put a blanket over me and I embraced it to myself. I noticed that I was in a real room and on a really soft bed. It felt like a band was playing drums in my head. It ached so bad that I felt my head would split open. I shut my eyes and grunted in pain. My body was badly bruised and I was in excruciating pain. I don't know for how long I had slipped in and out of consciousness but I was exhausted. Each time I opened my eyes, I was greeted by that pain, the pain of one with a battered body.“Here have this.” A pill was slipped into my dry mouth and I was lifted from the bed just enough to take a sip of water. I swallowed.“Thank you,” I murmured.