{~~Avery Sterling~~}Agatha and I had been at it for hours, possibly days, though the passage of time had become something of a blur in the dim, candlelit room. The air was thick with the scent of dried herbs and burning incense, their heady aromas mixing in a way that both calmed and invigorated me. I had never spent so much time in the presence of a witch doctor before—not like this, not in such an intimate setting where every movement, every word, every breath was part of a delicate and complex dance of life and death.I’d seen witchcraft before. In university, we had a professor who dabbled in the ancient arts, using it to enhance her knowledge of medicinal plants and natural remedies. It’s why i wished I’d been chosen to be a doctor, it would be so nice to be able to do so much than what a nurse can. But even she had never worked with the sheer precision and raw power that Agatha wielded. It was... mesmerizing. I couldn’t help but be drawn in, watching her every move, the way her
{~~Avery Sterling~~} Love, that emotion is such a hoax. Actually, it’s not. It’s beautiful with the right person, ugly with the wrong person. But I can’t have the beauty or the ugliness when my love is unrequited. When I first met him, the Medic alpha in training, I was enamored. Mostly due to the fact that our pack has never had a medic alpha before. They’re usually assigned to the bigger, and more popular packs, ours was none of that. I was delighted. At the age of eleven, I was getting into the phase of having crushes, and the thirteen-year-old medic alpha was right in my sight. He was smart, charming, too good to be training to work in a pack like ours. No offense. I know my father worked hard but we had to be honest. I hoped he’d notice me, and we’d become friends. Move from friends to lovers. Yes, I had it all planned out in my head. I knew when we’d get married and have children, and blah blah blah. I was learning what it meant to love, and he was befriending my sister. Ne
{~~Avery Sterling~~} I said yes. I’m weak for him, I know. I’m disappointed in myself too. The more I thought about being his wife, the less the consequences seemed to be. Two weeks went by and we were set to be married. I’d had all my stuff moved here, Logan gave me a spot in his house to put them in. A large room. Not the master bedroom. I’m not sure why, but slowly it started to dawn on me. I am the definition of desperation. Who gets engaged to the man who spent half his life fawning over her sister? I must be crazy. I stared at myself in the mirror. We’re not having a big wedding. Logan’s invited his family, and my family is going to serve as witnesses. We’re having a court wedding. I tried to suggest something else but his response was chilling. Still, that didn’t stop me. First loves suck. I’m not ava. Why did I think him deciding to marry me would... this is so stupid. I don’t have to go through with it. My parents only paid for my fees but that’s all they did for me. I d
{~~Avery Sterling~~} The next morning I woke up feeling like my body was tired, and just in need of more sleep. I’m still Avery Sterling. Logan wanted to keep his last name for himself. This is truly the most humiliating thing I’ve done. I got out of bed, unable to sit with the shame but still hopeful that I could turn this thing around. I did my regular morning stretch, checked the time, and noted that I had two hours until I started my first shift as a medic alpha’s nurse. One who is also my roommate. I wanted to smile, but the shame was still there. I did this. No one forced me. I could have left. I could have left and told them all to fuck themselves. Kept some semblance of self-worth. I sighed and finished the last of my stretches. I went into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and washing my face. The girl in the mirror is beautiful. The girl in the mirror is worth it. I am worth a lot more than what I was given. It is not my fault they didn’t pay attention to me. I had to go t
{~~Logan Gray~~}“I don’t trust that girl. First, you bring me a gold digger, with the dumbest look on your face. Saying, oh this is who I want to marry, and now you bring me her sister? At least that one was a thief this one has no backbone. I must have done something wrong to you for you to treat me like this.” My mother was wailing, holding onto my father’s arm while my brothers stared at me.They had stopped by this afternoon to complain. As if that would change my mind. I was in love no less than six months ago, and not running my own pack had the woman I wanted to share a life with running into the arms of another man. Of course, that shit hurt.My family was ready to hunt and kill her. I wouldn’t let them. To them, she was a gold digger and selfish. But I know who the real Ava is. I know she would never have done this to me had that guy not brainwashed her.So I’m going to wait. She didn’t like Avery- what an ugly name- but she seemed to envy whenever her sister got any form of
{~~Avery Sterling~~}When the CMO asked one of the nurses in training to go and get my husband, I straightened up and told myself to wait for him to arrive. But the patient was screaming, and the CMO couldn’t figure out what to do, so I suggested I take a look. As the medic alpha’s nurse, I should be able to gather information so I can pass it on to him. So the medic alpha doesn’t have to stress himself, he can just focus on the patient.It took me five minutes but I figured it out. The man was refusing to tell us the real truth but I could see it.“You got an infection, that’s what shattered your hips. It’s common in zeta wolves over sixty who have sex with infected omegas.” the man stared at me in shock.“No, I fell.... I-” he looked at his wife, an older woman who was glaring daggers at me.“Are you insinuating that I gave my husband this infection?”“No. It’s a parasite. Something that omegas can contract if they’ve recently swarmed around in murky waters and didn’t clean their bo
{~~Avery Sterling~~}Today was a rough day, and all I wanted was to slip into bed. Tomorrow would be another hard one. I did the night shift until 12 a.m. when the CMO told me to leave. He couldn’t risk the lives of his patients if the nurse taking care of them was falling asleep.I was so grateful. The man was nice. In fact, everyone was nice. The problem stood with Logan and his family.I sighed and got into my car. The drive back was slow, I was too tired to go at the right speed and I wasn’t about to risk my life. I pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. Placing the car in park, I took out the car keys and stumbled my way towards the door. It opened before I could touch it. My face ended up planting in a strong bared chest.I grumbled and tried to straighten up.“You look like you’ve had too much to drink.” Logan’s voice wiped all traces of exhaustion from me. I moved quickly and forced a smile to my face. Goddess, he’s so handsome. Sometimes I can’t breathe around him.
{~~Logan Sterling~~}She wasn’t a virgin. It irked me for some reason. I almost found it on the tip of my tongue to ask who she had lost it to. Last I checked, she was socially inept. No social media accounts, no long lines of boyfriends. The disappointment annoyed me for whatever reason.I value virgins. Ava and I had given our first to each other. I guess I expected the same from her sister. What a joke. I rolled my eyes as I settled behind her. From the back, I could tell she wasn’t Ava, but I will never work on making Ava jealous if I stop making comparisons.At least in the public eye. I murmur to myself, easing my palm over her back. She paler, when she blushes it goes all the way to her back. Not an attractive quality, but I don’t hate it either. I almost sighed, forcing my mind to think of Ava. She wouldn’t just let me do anything, Ava loved being in charge.Sex was whenever she wanted it, and it wasn’t as often as I’d like but I respected my woman. I picked up the lube I’d co