{~~Avery Sterling~~}The waterfall is majestic and stunning. Logan suggested we go in naked since we’re the only ones here. I’ll admit, trusting a radically vegan hippie to plan my honeymoon was a bold and disturbing choice. Third year in college she lugged me off to the rain forest where we camped for six weeks so we could connect with the gods who brought us here.It was my worst summer vacation. Six long weeks. But I got so much work done that I felt like I came back even smarter. I love Agatha, but my goodness, her ideas of fun are always nature-like. The lack of wifi is going to kill me, but thank god I got another honeymoon present from Logan’s parents as an apology for the way they acted at the start of my marriage to their son.And that one is for two months on a cruise. We’ll be leaving for that after a week of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.The water is cold, and the view is even better. I talk alot of crap about Agatha but the woman is far more connected to this world t
{~~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
{~~Avery Sterling~~}The waterfall is majestic and stunning. Logan suggested we go in naked since we’re the only ones here. I’ll admit, trusting a radically vegan hippie to plan my honeymoon was a bold and disturbing choice. Third year in college she lugged me off to the rain forest where we camped for six weeks so we could connect with the gods who brought us here.It was my worst summer vacation. Six long weeks. But I got so much work done that I felt like I came back even smarter. I love Agatha, but my goodness, her ideas of fun are always nature-like. The lack of wifi is going to kill me, but thank god I got another honeymoon present from Logan’s parents as an apology for the way they acted at the start of my marriage to their son.And that one is for two months on a cruise. We’ll be leaving for that after a week of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.The water is cold, and the view is even better. I talk alot of crap about Agatha but the woman is far more connected to this world t
{~~Logan Grey~~}My honeymoon is not at all what I expected. It’s one of those situations where you step back and think, How did I not see this coming? But I guess that’s what happens when you go with the flow and don’t plan out every last detail, just trusting that things will fall into place. We decided not to bring Hope with us, even though part of me wanted her to be here. She’s spending the week with my parents—her grandparents—which feels like a huge milestone, not just for her, but for me too. Avery and I wanted this time to ourselves, to really celebrate our marriage without any distractions, to focus on us for a change.We’re an odd pair to most people, and I know some didn’t expect us to last, but we’ve made it work in ways that surprise even me sometimes. Over the last year, we’ve settled into this rhythm that’s become second nature. It’s a good rhythm, one that’s brought us closer, and made us stronger. It’s funny—when you think about it, but it feels like so much longer.
\One Year Later/{~~Avery Sterling~~}So, you know how little girls always dream about their wedding day? It’s supposed to be this big, magical event, where everything falls perfectly into place, and for some, it’s the pinnacle of their dreams, right? But not me. I never had those kinds of dreams. You know how my life was, how crappy my sister and parents treated me. There was never much room in my head for fantasies like that. Growing up, I couldn’t even imagine what marriage would feel like because I was too busy surviving and getting through the mess of my family. But, okay, maybe deep down, I had some dreams. Everyone does, right? I just never thought they’d come true.And marrying Logan Grey—that’s a whole different thing altogether. I mean, when we started planning the wedding, I was so overwhelmed. There were just so many details, and so many decisions, and with everything I’ve been through, I just didn’t have the energy to care about floral arrangements or seating charts. So, I
{~~Avery Sterling~~}The almost-car accident shakes me up more than I expected, but Logan is fine, and I’m fine. It all happened so fast, and yet I can still feel the pulse of my heartbeat in my throat when I think about it. That truck had come out of nowhere. The driver didn’t even slow down. Had I not tripped over that stone while I was looking for a signal on my phone and he’d come to check on me... logan would have died a painful death before my eyes.So of course I was a fucking mess. That driver is crazy. Did he not see the car? Why did the car even stop? What was wrong with the engine? I have like six million questions!He called Ryan to come get us. I was in his arms on the side of the road, watching as other cars drove around the wreckage. They don’t stop but look on surprised at the mess. Whoever that driver was I hope to god his truck breaks down and he’s fired. Because what the hell?He should have at least stopped. Panic fills me but so does anger. The panic wins though.
{~~Avery Sterling~~}Logan and I had left Hope in the hospital. The tiny bundle of life—so fragile, yet resilient—was resting safely in the nursery, surrounded by the quiet hum of machines and the gentle presence of nurses. We’d return tomorrow, once we were sure they’d had time to scan her brain and ensure she was truly safe for release. My heart ached to leave her, but it was necessary. Thank goodness she was a baby, still too young to understand fear in the way that we did. She wouldn’t know the anxiety, the sleepless nights, the never-ending worry. All she knew was warmth and the safety of sleep, cocooned in blankets too big for her tiny form.The snow had started falling again, soft and silent, covering the world in a layer of purity that felt both soothing and unsettling. Logan drove carefully through the winding streets, the heater on low, warming our chilled fingers. We didn’t speak much, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. It was the kind of silence that sat between two peo
{~~Avery Sterling~~}I’m back in this beautiful pack, surrounded by familiar faces, and yet it feels so foreign after everything we’ve been through. the rain stopped while I was away and now we have a new season. The landscape is stunning, especially now, with the first snowfall of the season transforming the dense forest and the lake into a quiet, white wonderland. The snow blankets the ground in thick, untouched layers, making the whole world seem calm and serene, but cold—bitingly cold. It's as if the snow carries the weight of my worries. The weather has shifted dramatically over the past few days, moving from endless, gloomy rain to this sudden onset of winter. So, congratulations on freezing my butt off, even with all the layers I'm bundled in.Logan and I had spent last night at the lake house, a place of solace for us, trying to reconnect after everything that’s been thrown at us. It was bittersweet, those quiet moments by the fire, the crackling logs filling the air with warm
{~~Logan Grey~~}Avery is coming home today. Avery is coming home today. I’ve been repeating that sentence in my head for the past 48 hours, counting down the seconds like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. The excitement, the anticipation—it’s all bubbling up inside me, and I can barely sit still. I glance at the clock on my phone for what feels like the hundredth time, knowing it hasn't moved much since the last time I looked but somehow hoping the hands of time have sped up. It's been far too long since I’ve seen her.The air in the terminal is thick with the usual airport chaos—people rushing by, announcements echoing through the speakers, kids whining in the background—but it all fades into the background noise. I’m laser-focused, my heart pounding in sync with the roaring engines of planes outside. She’s been gone for weeks, and though it wasn’t that long, it feels like an eternity. We’ve been working tirelessly on the cure—sleepless nights, constant research, trial and error.
{~~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
{~~Logan Grey~~}Two days without Avery isn't an eternity, but it sure feels like a long time. I’m surviving, or at least I think I am. Tonight, I’m having dinner at my parents' place, and the whole family is here to celebrate the newborns. Felix’s child, Marley, and my daughter, Hope. It feels good to be around everyone, even if my mind keeps drifting to Avery. The house is buzzing with laughter and chatter. The babies are in their playpen, tapping at toys, oblivious to the joyful chaos around them. My parents are practically glowing as they fawn over their grandkids, doting on every little coo and babbling like they’re treasures.I sit back in a rocking chair, watching the scene play out before me. My brothers are in the kitchen, joking around while they cook, and their wives are on the couch, chatting and laughing. And Ronan’s children are lying on the floor coloring something. It’s one of those moments that feels picture-perfect, like a scene out of some old family movie. Even Rya