Chapter 2

Ava POV

"Have you seen this?"

I leaned forward to look into Anna’s phone.

Aside from the cute picture of a green-eyed cat pouting on what looked like a very soft pillow, I didn't see anything worth gasping. "What? I don't see anything."

She scoffed, shoving the phone closer to my face. "Look well. There's a ball."

"Ball?" I asked disbelievingly. It was the twenty-

first century. Balls weren't a thing anymore. "Be for real."

But even as I looked, I could see she wasn't bluffing.

"Alpha Arthur James has announced he would be hosting a ball at his Villa to formally celebrate his reign as Alpha, and he has stated he would be picking a bride too." Anna read out loud.

"Holy shit. He has just released a shitstorm, and he doesn't even know it."

I was lost. I didn't want to seem like I'd been living under a rock since I was born, but the question begged to be asked.

"Who the hell is Arthur James?"

The silence was deafening. After a few beats, Anna moaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

I chuckled helplessly, but something weighed at the back of my mind.

There was a picture of the man in the newsletter. His blue eyes were like the morning sky after it rained, and as I stared into them, it felt like he was looking back at me. For some reason, his eyes picked at me, and I didn't like it.

"You haven't heard of The Devil Alpha?" Anna asked.

"Nope. Not once." I replied, my eyes scanning the contents of my latest lycanthropy book. I hadn't relented in my search, instead had somehow found new zeal to continue.

"Why is he popular?"

When she didn't respond, I raised my head to look at her. "Don't look at me like that, or I'll burst out laughing."

She sighed, leaning back. "You've got to get your head out of those books and face the world out there."

I went back to my reading. "The world out there is a massive clusterfuck as we know it, so no thanks. Besides, Devil Alpha?" I scoffed. "What a ridiculous name."

"Only Ava Charlie would call the scariest name in the werewolf world ridiculous. I really envy you. If I went through life as nonchalantly as you do, I'd be on the Panel of Witches by now."

The Panel of Witches were the highest-ranked witches in the world. They oversaw the actions of every witch, enforced rules that shouldn't be broken, punished evil doers, and ensured that the witch world ran smoothly.

From what I knew, the Panel of Witches were grumpy old ladies, and Anna would do terribly there.

"He's looking for a bride,” Anna said out loud. “I think you should attend."

My head snapped up, my heartbeat picking up rate strangely. "Why would you say that?"

She shrugged a shoulder, staring up at the ceiling. "Every person who matters in this world will be present. You might find your mate."

My heartbeat slowed. "Who says I want to find a mate?"

She met my eyes. "You don't want to?"

"Of course not." Did I?

I mean, it would be nice to know that I wasn't

entirely an outcast. Maybe by finding a mate, I'd find a pack. But I'd still have painful transformations. No matter what I did or who I

married, I was still tainted with human blood.

Even if I managed to marry an Alpha which was highly improbable, it wouldn't change anything.

I was desperate to change the topic as those blue eyes of the man gnawed at me again.

What was it about him that troubled me so?

I cleared my throat, swallowing. "Do you know about Jack Williams?"

She nodded. "He was the only witch that came close to finding a cure for lycanthropes. Why?"

I gestured to the book in my hands. "I'm reading about him. He fascinates me."

"Keywords, Anna. Came close. He only managed a brew to prevent painful transformations on the full moon. He married an Impure, so he threw his entire life into his work. My grandmother told me it worked, but I don't know."

My skin prickled. "It worked?"

It wasn't a cure, but it was something. I could find it and modify it. I had witchcraft and science at my disposal. Jack hadn't.

"Do you know the ingredients?"

She shook her head. "I don't. Legend says it died with him. Though I did hear somewhere that he passed it on to his daughter but that was over two hundred years ago. It's long gone."

The ray of hope that had sparked immediately died with her words.

Why hadn't he documented it? What sane person didn't document their research? How on earth was I supposed to begin?

I sighed exasperatedly, throwing my head back on the sofa I was curled up in, annoyed at the realization that I was back at square one.

****

"Sweetie, I'm attending an event in two weeks. Would you like to come with me?"

I wiped the corners of my mouth with a napkin, leaning back to look at Jennifer.

"Uh... I don't think so." I didn't like attending events. Unlike my adopted mother, I was not a social butterfly. "But what's it about?"

"Arthur James celebration ball."

I almost choked on my spit.

"Ava, are you okay?"

Ever since I saw his picture earlier, I couldn't get his face out of my mind. Those eyes. It was like they were following me everywhere.

"I'm fine," I murmured, clearing my throat.

Jennifer eyed me uncertainty before nodding.

"Alright. I know you don't like crowded spaces, but I'd love it if you came with me just this once. Lucien's father was a good friend of mine, and I wanted to offer my condolences and my congratulations as well."

"Yes, he's Alpha now."

"Do you know of him?"

I wasn't entirely sure I wanted my mother to know that I hadn't been able to stop thinking of him since this afternoon. And she had no idea I was friends with a witch, and I wanted to keep it that way. "Saw it on the news."

"Think about it. You might end up enjoying the experience."

"I doubt that," I murmured, getting up. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, mom." I kissed her cheek

before leaving the dining room.

I had things to do. If there was a possibility of finding any of Jack Williams descendants, I needed to know. Other than his wife, there wasn't much about any of his other family members.

Whoever had written the book obviously hadn't known much about the man or anything about his family except how much he loved his wife and what he was willing to do for her.

I was going to have to check for family names to see if I could find anything.

One good thing about being a scientist, I had access to a lot of information a normal person wouldn't.

I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my room, now naked. I had about two weeks until the next full moon. Two weeks until I had to chain myself up like an animal.

Surprisingly, there were no scars on my body. I didn't know why but I healed pretty fast. Given how much pain was inflicted on my body during the full moon, I was thankful I didn't have the scars to show for it.

I didn't forget the ball in two weeks. Whenever I closed my eyes, just like now, those blue eyes were there, mocking me.

My wolf stirred, and I could feel her agitation at the image. Even she was roused at the thought of him.

No one had ever made me feel so... out of sorts.

A part of me wanted to meet the man so I could better understand what it was about him that made me so apprehensive, but another part of me, the more sensible part, knew I probably shouldn't.

I mean, if he made me so on edge and I hadn't even met him, what would happen when I did meet him?