3. Bad Dream

 Nikolai

I got up early and made good use of the hotel's fitness center. I was in there for two good hours before I made my way back to the suite. I wondered if Ava was awake. How would she react to finding me gone? I had Andrei stand guard at the door so that no one except me could enter. And so that she wouldn't run away. I was sure she wouldn't do that, especially after last night, but I didn't want to take any chances when we were on foreign soil.

"Any movement?" Maybe she had tried to leave but found Andrei and changed her plans. Or maybe his presence made her anxious. Hopefully he assured her that I was coming back. I should have left a note.

"Nope. She's probably still sleeping. It must have been a long night for her," he replied. As always, his face was impassive when he was on duty but his eyes reflected a mix of concern and agitation. Concern for Ava and anger at the situation we found her in. She didn't deserve it.

I nodded. "Thanks, you can take a break. We leave in an hour." I entered the suite and went straight to the bedroom. Ava was still sleeping, the blanket cocooning her. Cute.

Quietly, I turned around and walked into the bathroom. I stripped out of my sweaty clothes before stepping into the shower area.

I was taking a shower when I heard her enter. I looked over only to catch her looking at me shyly from the corner of her eye. I grinned and she quickly looked away, blushing. She started brushing her teeth and I finished my shower, both of us stealing glances at one another.

By the time I stepped out, she was waiting for me with a towel in her hand.

I took it and wrapped it around my waist, mainly to cover my boner. I felt the scorching heat of her gaze on my skin. She was staring at my chest and abs. And the drops of water rolling down my skin.

Her cheeks pinked and I smelled a hint of arousal on her. I noticed that her hands were clenched into fists. I decided to have a bit of fun with her.

“You’re staring,” I stated.

Her blush deepened and her eyes snapped up to look into mine. She was about to say something but she fell silent instead. Her lips parted and her pupils dilated.

I was quite enjoying the effect I was having on her. I wanted more.

I bent down and her face tilted up as if she was expecting me to kiss her. But I didn’t. I moved past her lips and whispered in her ear, “You can look and touch.”

I heard a slight hitch in her breath.

With slow, unsteady moves, she raised her hands to rest them on my shoulder. I froze. I felt like she would stop touching me if I moved. Our eyes made contact and I noticed that she had small gold flecks in her irises. Beautiful.

She lowered them, then her hands. They slid down my collar bone and rested on my pecs. I felt the slight twitch of the muscles in her palms. She was trying to feel more without having to be any more obvious. Or bolder. I wondered if she realized that my heart was beating faster.

Her hands moved again before they came to rest on my abs. My muscles tensed. This time, instead of trying to feel me by keeping her hands in one spot, she slowly and gently moved her hands up and down, feeling the ridges and indentations. Goosebumps rose on my skin and I saw the corners of her lips curve up.

She looked up and her eyes widened slightly.

I couldn’t control myself. I snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against me. A small squeak escaped her and her hands dug into my skin.

I bent down and captured her delicious full lips. I felt no need to hurry. I took my time. We had all the time in the world after all. The kiss was slow and gentle and passionate.

It hadn't even been twenty-four hours since my eyes rested on this beautiful woman and she had already monopolized my thoughts. She made me feel things I thought I was incapable of feeling and do things I believed I was too much of a monster to do.

I suddenly tasted the salty taste of tears. I pulled back and realized that she had tears running down her cheeks.

"What is it, Ava?" I asked softly. My heart clenched tight. I couldn't stand her tears, whatever the cause. She quickly wiped them away and shook her head.

"What is it, Ava?" I demanded quietly in my Master-tone, knowing she would have to  answer me that time. I needed to know the source of her pain so I could do something about it.

"I’m just so grateful for you. I’m so happy," she whispered.  Fucking hell. That was the last thing I was expecting.

"Get used to it, my Ava. You’re going to be just as happy for the rest of your life.” I smiled, and then kissed her forehead.

I would sort out the mate deal later. Ava might or might not have been my mate but I knew that she was a perfect fit for me. She was my exact opposite - sweet, caring, and submissive. Had I been paired with someone like me, we would have driven each other crazy. 

Her deep brown eyes looked into mine as if she didn't know what to make of me. I winked at her and then smirked. I was never letting this angel go; she was bound to me forever. She may have escaped the hell she was in but there was no escaping me.

"We're late. We should leave," I told her. Vladimir had delivered a dress, as per my instructions. We got ready and walked downstairs, my hand wrapped around her perfect, little waist. Alexander and Isabella were already in the car with the rest of my men.

"You're late," he grumbled. "Bella, meet Alpha Nikolai Volkov. He helped me find you," he introduced me, his eyes softening at her sight. 

"Thank you, Alpha Volkov." She gave me a smile.

"You're welcome. And call me Nikolai. This is Avalyn," I nodded at her. I wanted to see how Ava would react to other people.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Isabella smiled at her, extending her hand towards her.

Ava looked at me and I nodded, encouraging her.

"Nice to meet you too," she said shyly and shook her hand. At least she wasn't afraid of meeting other people. I wanted her to be a confident person and have friends.

The ride to the airport was short. We got out of the car and walked towards my private plane.

"You can take the room on the left," I told Alexander after an hour had passed. It was going to be a long flight; they might as well get comfortable. He picked up a sleeping Isabella and left.

Ava was gripping the armrest, looking afraid.

“Are you scared of flying?” I asked.

“Yes, Master,” she whispered through clenched teeth.

“If you want, I could give you some sleeping pills. You could sleep through the flight.” We had eight hours to kill. I didn’t want her to be uneasy throughout the flight.

“I would like that very much, Master. Thank you,” she replied.

I told the airhostess to get us some breakfast and a sleeping pill before I led Ava to the bedroom.  Ava looked around and took a seat on the bed.

Ava was sitting on the bed, looking around, but her eyes peeked at me every now and then. And whenever I would catch her looking at me, the pink in her cheeks would deepen.

"What is it?" I asked. It seemed like she had something on her mind.

I usually found the useless chit-chat annoying, but I wanted Ava to talk. I wanted to hear her endlessly. The only time she spoke was to reply to something I said. She hadn't uttered a word otherwise.

She turned shy and then asked softly, "Where are we going?"

"Silverwitch Bay, Jiv Island. We are going home, Ava." I smiled at her, staring into her chocolate brown eyes. I realized that I was smiling a lot in her presence. I liked it.

"Come in," I called out when I heard a knock. The air hostess came in with a cart and put the plates on the convertible desk beside the bed.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked us. Shaking my head at her dismissively, I turned back to Ava.

I took her plate and began feeding her. There was a look of utmost devotion in her eyes at that moment. Life was ironic. I had bought her as my slave and now I was becoming hers.

"You have not eaten anything, Master," she whispered and took the other plate in her hand, bringing a piece up to my mouth. I opened my mouth a bit wider and instead of having just the cranberry from her fingers, I bit her fingers softly too, sucking on them, my eyes trained on hers all the while.

"So tasty," I moaned, smirked, and winked at her. She giggled at that. She giggled! Fuck yes! I made her laugh! I wanted to pump my hand in the air and celebrate my victory. But I held back and stared at her, taking in her pure beauty while she giggled. Her eyes sparkled and the corners crinkled. Cute dimples dug into the middle of her cheeks, making her look like an angel. Her lips turned a shade darker and her nose turned up slightly. Goddess, she looked beautiful! I made it my life's mission to make her laugh as often as I could. Her laugh was my new favourite sound.

"You have a beautiful laugh," I said, brushing  a lock of hair behind her ear.

She stopped laughing and froze.

"Thank you," she finally breathed and relaxed.

I kissed her cheek and then handed her the sleeping pill and a glass of water. “Here.”

“Thank you,” she said before she placed the pill in her mouth and then chased it down with water.

I kissed her lips. “Sleep well, Ava. I’ll be right outside, okay?”

She nodded and then slipped inside the covers. I left her there and joined my brothers outside again.

"You finally met your mate!" Mikhail clapped my back, smiling.

"She is not my mate," I muttered quietly, but they heard me and fell silent.

"What?" Mikhail asked.

I shot him a glare. "Exactly what I said."

"Then how the hell are you already so whipped?" Mikhail asked annoyingly.

"Shut the fuck up," I grumbled, my hand itching to punch him.

"But you wouldn't do all of this just for any girl. She has to mean something to you," Vladimir said.

I nodded. "I feel a connection with her. It's like this thread that burns brightly whenever we are together." I frowned, not understanding it myself. "Maybe she is my mate. I'm not sure."

"I have this theory," he started, "since she has a very faint werewolf scent." I nodded. It was the first thing I noticed about her. "It is possible that either her wolf isn't present anymore or one of her ancestors were werewolves and she was blessed with a mate." It made sense. "And because of that, you aren't sure if she is your mate or not."

"I am an Alpha. The Moon Goddess wouldn't put me with an omega or a weak wolf," I said. It was the law of nature. The strongest wolf leads the pack. It's kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest. Pairing me with a human who had a werewolf ancestor didn’t make sense.

"Which is why I think that either her wolf is missing for some reason or the connection you feel with her is something else and you still have a mate out there."

My wolf growled out loud at that. He didn't like the thought of Ava not being my mate.

"We will have to do something to bring her wolf out..." he trailed. I could see the clogs of his brain working.

"We need to come up with a plan. And fast. I need to know if she is my mate," I said. I didn't want to lead her on if she wasn't. At least not more than I already had. Mate or not, I cared for her and I was going to take care of her.

"Consider it done," he replied. Knowing Vladimir, I didn't have to question it again.

I got up and went back to my room. Ava was fast asleep, looking like a damn angel. I’d have to start believing in heaven if she really was my mate.

My phone burped a text and it was an important email from Dimitri. I zipped open my laptop bag, pulled my laptop out, and turned it on. I got to work, replying to Dimitri and a few others.

Several hours passed by. I had finished a major portion of my work when the airhostess made the announcement that we were about to land and that we needed to get back to our seats.

“Ava, wake up.” I tried waking her up but I had no luck.

“Ava,” I repeated. I tried to shake her awake but she was still deep in sleep. She actually looked cute and I didn’t really want to wake her up. So, I picked her up, carried her outside and placed her on her seat. I put her safety belt on before I took a seat beside her.

Once the plane landed smoothly, I carried her outside and placed her in our car.

"Thank you, Alpha Nikolai, I owe you one. Call me when you need help. I mean it." Alexander gave me a look and I got the meaning. If I ever needed intel on Wintercrown, he had me covered. As rogues, information about other packs often came in handy.

"Yes, thank you so much, Alpha Nikolai," Isabella said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Pleasure was all mine. Stay safe." I nodded at both of them and bid them farewell. My pleasure indeed. Had I not helped them, I couldn’t have found Ava.

"Have you told Sofiya yet?" Mikhail smirked at me.

"She will know once we get home." I glared at him but secretly, I was dreading the prospect. He rolled his eyes at me. That woman was going to annoy the shit out of me for not telling her before bringing Ava home.