Ava / Chap. 3

Within the hour, the smells of concrete and smoke washed over my senses, irritating my eyes and nostrils; I've made it to the village. It was a small town tucked a little away from city life, perfect spot for a pack of werewolves to settle down and blend amongst them. Hiding in plain sight I guess.

Closing in the edge of the village, I found myself facing a bit of a dilema; I couldn't just waltz into the town like this, I'd cause a massive panic and jeopardize our kinds secrecy! However, hiding in a bush held quite the risk of being exposed half naked or caught mid transformation...

There. My Wolf turned our attention to a small alleyway between two buildings where a huge dumpster resided filled to the brim with trash. A groan rose at my throat at the thought of the smell assaulting my nose. No way I'm hiding behind that! I'd risk getting my dress dirty and smelling like an absolute mess. There had to be somewhere else...

A door swung open, the smell of sweat, cigarettes and booze pouring outside as a trio of men stumbled into the alleyway, swaying on their feet. I crouched and kept low to the ground, watching them silently as they mumbled incomprehensibly between each oother stumbling around in a drunken stuppor.

"Fuck man, I'm so wasted!

- Yeah, the hell you put in those drinks anyway Ryder? That shit hits hard!" The two turned their heads the red head of the trio, which I noticed seem to have a much clearer state of mind than his wasted buddies.

Ryder gave smirked, pulling out a cigarette before he jammed it between his lips and lit it up, puffing out a stream of smoke as he spoke. "A bit of Moondust." He casually pulled out a small flask of purpleish liquid, swirling the liquid before their eyes. "You asked. I delivered."

Those three are Wolves. I thought to myself, recognizing the word as a werewolf term, although I couldn't exactly recall for what.

"Shit." My attention was pulled back onto Ryder as he gazed at his watch, spitting out his cigarette onto the concrete. "Let's go, the ceremony begins in ten."

A gasp caught in my throat as panic bloomed in my chest. Ten minutes?! Oh shoot, that means I'll be late too if I don't hurry up! With no other options available, I ducked further behind the bush, hastily shifting as I pulled my dress out of it's basket and slipped it on. Once I was covered, I stood up, smoothing any rogue wrinkles I could reach and hid my belongings into the bush, lifting up the dress' fabric as I awkwardly trotted my way through the alley. My high heels clicked loudly against the concrete, causing me to grit my teeth as I made my way through the concrete roads.

Excruciatingly long minutes passed as I trotted hastily from one path to the other, hoping I'd eventually stumble onto the main road when a voice called from behind.

"And who's this!" Halting my steps, I gazed over my shoulder as a trio of men approached me, the scent of cigarettes and booze hitting me like a wall as they reached me, the same men I'd seen wasted outside the bar.

"Looky here!" Slured the first one, awkwardly stumbling into me as he spoke. "What a pertty dress youz have!" His eyes slid up my the contour of my legs before be settled at the slit of my breasts, a large smile lifting his lips.

A gust of wind slipped between my legs as the second man lifted the edge of my dress in an unflaterring attempt to peak at what was beneath. I was quick to slap his hand away, only to receive an amused cackle in response.

"Aw, don't be so tense now... We just wanna have a bit of fun with ya."

I felt my stomach twist into knots as anxiety clawed at my innards. I turned my gaze towards Ryder, who hadn't done said anything so far... My mouth opened slightly to speak, but the words kept dying on the tip of my tongue. He smirked then took a first step towards me, crimson eyes devouring me from head to toe.

"I recognize you." His icy tone sent shivers down my spine. "You're the Omega from that little cottage out in the woods." He stepped so close, his putrid smoke filled breath blew onto my face as he spoke. "Heard good things about you. Though, you're quite younger than I imagined." His finger tips brushed a rogue strand of hair against the back of my ear, the gesture turning my blood to ice.

"I-I don't know you..." I stammerer, unable to speak my mind or look him in the eye.

"The name's Ryder. Maybe you've heard about me when my friends came to visit you last year." My heart dropped at his words, bubbling confusion into my mind.

A large hand suddenly grabbed Ryder's shoulder and shoved him aside, sending the red head tumbling aside. Towering a couple of feet above me, a muscular blond man stood between me and the group, giving out a low growl as he spoke. "The hell you think you're doing?"

His menacing tone was met with a chuckle from the red haired as he casually brushed his leather coat from the accumulated dust. "Why don't you get back your precious master, lapdog? Mind your business and I'll mind my own.

- You should've been at the ceremony an hour ago. And shouldn't you be with your mate?

- I told you, lapdog. You've got your business—" Ryder took a step closer, now an inch away from the tall man's face. "Don't meddle in mine."

Sparks flew as they fell silent, starring furiously into each other's eyes like some stand off. Ryder eventually looked away, face distorted into a strange frown. Taking a step back, his steely eyes fell back onto me as his lips lifted into a small smirk.

"See you around. Omega."

The trio took their leave and I gasped as I realized I'd been holding my breath all along. My back pressed against the brick wall as my legs suddenly turned to jelly, no longer able to hold my own weight.

"Miss?" My eyes open to the sight of soft blue pools. My breathe caught once again in my throat as I realized the blond man from before had now turned his attention to me. All traces of anger seemed to have been wipped away from his face, replaced instead by what seemed to be empathy and concern. "Are you alright?"

I swallowed the knot of emotion that had logged itself in my throat. "Yes... Th-thank you."

He nodded and smiled before his brows knitted into a frown. "Are you... The Omega?

- Yes... Why do you ask?" Fear regained it's icy grip onto my stomach.

"Shouldn't you be at the ceremony like the other girls?

- I was one my way but... I... Got a little lost." A gentle chuckled rumbled his laugh in response.

"I reckon you were. I can escort you to the mansion if you wish. Avoid you the trouble."

My lips parted with intention to refuse his offer, but I held my tongue in doubt. What if Ryder and his friends returned? Perhaps it's best if I kept close to...

"Y-yes. I guess your right." My cheeks flushed red with embarrassment when his smile grew wider, only to jump back in surprise when he offered me his hand.

"Cade, at your service.

- Pleasure." Our hands awkwardly shook, but the gesture was nonetheless very gentleman-like of him to do.

Keeping my head low, I followed suit as Cade lead me through the maze of streets and houses surrounding the mansion. Within a matter of minutes, the sound of a buzzing crowd reached my ears, telling me we were approaching our destination. Cade had been incredibly quiet the entire time and didn't seem to be interested in sparking a conversation, which to be completely honest, was perfectly fine with me; I didn't feel like talking much either.

At last, the mansion was in full view- albeit much larger than I initially thought, the mere sight of it sent a new wave of anxiety over me. My body froze, feet rooted to the ground as I stared at the large crowd gathered by the front yard. In its center, a row of young girls had started to form, each wearing their prettiest attire while laughing and gossiping about with the nearest contestant. I swallowed thickly, all my confidence swept with the wind. My eyes lowered to the package I've tightly held in my arms, suddenly doubting whether it was enough... if I could muster the courage to pull this off.

''Miss?'' A large hand gently touched my shoulder, once again pulling me away from my own thoughts and back into reality, but my mind felt hazy.

I wished to nod in response, but something weighed onto my shoulders and compressed my chest as a mixture of fear and anxiety bubbled to the surface. I felt completely paralyzed. What's wrong with me...? why can't I...? Why can't I breathe...?

''Cade!'' A new voice rang to my ears, startling me to look up as emerald green eyes stared in my direction. A male with jet black hair had approached me and Cade, his attention first turned towards the Beta as he spoke with a seemingly annoyed tone. ''The ceremony began twenty minutes ago! Where were you?

- Found Ryder roaming town with his two buddies. They managed to get themselves completely wasted before harassing this poor girl.'' Cade's arm gestured towards me, guiding the young man's gaze when he crossed sights with me.

At that moment, the world around me fell silent and time itself went still. A warm sensation bloomed deep within my chest, bursting into a sense of comfort and safety as it invited me to come closer, to bring him him closer. My mouth gaped, unable to speak as the words spewed and melted away onto my tongue. The strange sensation continued to grow and a howl rose from ym wolf's throat as warmth suddenly turned into a burning flame. Pain flashed through my chest, all air robbed from my lungs as my throat closed on itself. My whole skin burned under an invisible flame as memories flooded into my mind, memories that weren't even my own. I wanted to scream, to cry, lash out and run away, but my body didn't respond, forcing me to watch what felt like an entire lifetime flash right before my eyes.

Then it stopped. A second flew by and the flame suddenly died out, taking every memory with it. My vision became clear, but a buzzing sound rose in my ears, drowning out everything around me. All I could see was the male with black hair and his piercing green eyes before I felt my body fall into someone's arms. Staring at the sky, my vision swirled and narrowed as darkness embraced my mind and body. The llas thing I heard was a muffled voice amongst the cacophony.

-*-

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter ✨ this one was a doozy, decided to rewrite the second half from scratch cause I wasn't satisfied anymore with how the 'meeting' went originally.

Chapter 4 will be up very soon so stay tuned!