Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The Following Morning.

The appetizing smell of blueberry pancakes and coffee coaxed Avalyn out of her deep slumber. Her eyes gently fluttered open, and the first thing her pretty green gems noticed was a chair and a shirtless man occupying it. When the scene registered in her brain she let out a scream and moved from her spot, hands from behind grabbed her shoulders to keep her in place. She looked over her shoulder at who held her, a short woman offered a peaceful smile.

“Good morning, Luna, how are you?” she checked Ava's forehead for any signs of a fever, then her neck, and at last her chest. “Physically, you seem to be alright. How are you mentally?”

“Luna? My name isn't Luna and...where am I?” she panicked.

“Home.”

She turned to her left, her eyes going as wide as stadium bulbs. “...N-Nox? Is that... You?”

The Alpha's lips curled into a pleasant smile. “The one and only,” he stood and walked to the bed, preferring to sit by his mate's side. Finally, he has reunited with the woman Artemis, their beloved Moon Goddess, sent for him. She is now far away from that blue-eyed bastard, and the man is certain Bloody wouldn't be able to locate them.

Avalyn's eyes roamed over his body, Calvin Klein underwear peaked from the grey sweatpants he wore, and on his feet, she spotted black socks. Her cheeks flushed seeing Wave's upper body for the first time without a shirt on. His muscled torso was enviably defined, and on his left arm, the tattoo of a wolf howling before a full red moon above a dense forest thrived against his tanned skin. Below it was his name written in cursive. She didn't know he had tattoos, still, they looked exquisite against his smooth, toned skin.

“Dr. Lafiya, you may go,” Nox's order brought her out of her admiring thoughts.

The doctor bid them farewell and hurriedly left.

“How are you feeling, Ava?” he touched her arm, his smile subtle, eyes filled with warm tenderness. “I hope the journey didn't take much out of you, little kitten.”

“Kitten?” Ava's brows shot up. “What is with the nicknames? First, it was bunny now kitten.”

The man's smile flipped. “He calls you bunny?”

Sensing the obvious shift in his mood the young-looking woman pursed her pillowy lips. “He used to, but after that night... Not anymore.”

Even though the Alpha knew she was lying to him he let it slide, his only goal was to spend as much time as possible with his mate. Even though he took her away from Bloody, he knew the man wouldn't let it go. Donatello is a very persistent man and stops at nothing to get what he wants. All Nox wants is to take her away from this area and back to their rightful home, yet he cannot, rushing things would only bring more problems.

And frankly, all he wants is her in his arms.

“Ava...” he leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to where her ear met her jaw. “Would you mind if I showed you around my pack? I'll teach you everything you need to know about werewolves. And don't worry, you're safe here, I promise.”

A fiery blush crept onto her face. “Sure, I would like that very much, Nox,” briefly her mind drifted to Bloody. Once again her plans were ruined but surprisingly–or probably not–being around Nox brought her peace, and much comfort.

After having breakfast with the Alpha and taking a warm shower she wore an oversized cashmere sweater with the collar hanging off her shoulder. She was also provided with black boots and ripped jeans. Outside the wooden mansion was a whole community–people lived in harmony! Each person sported effulgent smiles and walked around with an aura of pure enthusiasm. It was weird. As a person used to gunshots, violence and constant reports of mobsters robbing banks the ambiance the surrounding provided was unrealistic.

“Hey!” she flinched when someone popped up from nowhere waving at her. It was a short male with shoulder-length silver hair, amber eyes, and gorgeous pale ivy skin. “Whoops! My apologies Luna, I had no intention of scaring you. I wanted to say welcome to our Pack!”

“Why is everyone calling me that? And no one has told me where the hell I am!” she frowned and crossed her arms.

“You are the mate of the Alpha and the soon-to-be female leader of this Pack. Oh and, this place is known as Blue Moon Valley,” he bowed a little. “Good morning, by the way.”

While beta Storm spoke to Ava, Nox stood at some rose bushes with his Gamma. Drinking in the sight of how beautiful his mate looked in the sunlight. The yellow light casting down made her eyes look clear and bright, almost lucid, her skin radiated with color and her orange curls appeared more vibrant than ever. She was a stunner. No wonder why Bloody wanted to keep her with him.

“She's a 10,” the Gamma joked.

“Shut up, Fritz,” the Alpha nudged him in the ribs.

Storm and Ava looked over, and seeing them laughing about something they walked over to them. Ava's brows rose to her hairline when Storm launched into the arms of the sun-kissed man standing next to Alpha Nox. They lovingly stared at each other and cuddled as if no one in the world existed–but there were tons of people around and no one had a problem with it.

“What? Never seen gay wolves before?” Nox picked her up bridal style and chuckled. “That's Storm and his mate, Fritz. We went to the same schools and practically grew up together. They're my buds, and trust me, they've been fruity since fifth grade.”

“Damn, snitching on us now bruh?” Fritz kneeled to let a short Storm hop on his back. “Snitches get stitches.”

“You fucking touch me and you die.”

Watching the three men socialize reminded her of the group of men that once woke her up when she was at Bloody's place. And then she remembered one of them had sadly died during the encounter with Nox's pack members. It's funny how their encounters consisted of mostly arguments and sarcasm yet their presence is greatly missed.

“What happened to hoes over bros, you slut,” Fritz let go of Storm and put his fist up to fight Nox. “All of a sudden you're canceling everything man, that ain't cool.”

The Alpha snarled and shot him one pointed stare. “Watch that tongue. This is my mate and spending quality time together is of utmost importance.”

“Hell fucking yeah it is, c'mere baby let's show this fucker how mates cuddle,” Fritz grabbed Storm and they practically ate each other's face off with the kiss. Nox glared at them, he would eventually tell them to get a room, and they actually would.

“By the way, sorry Luna I ain't mean anything I said so don't banish me from the pack okay? You won't? Okay, aight, see you around,” Fritz winked at Ava, and Nox growled viciously, the pair laughed at their overprotective Alpha and disappeared to their cabin not too far away to do more than just cuddling.

Ava, who had not said anything and witnessed a man have a whole conversation with her, looked at Nox. “You guys are weird. Very, very weird.”

“We are wolves, sweetheart, don't expect animals to act human. You can take the wolf out of the wild but you can't take the wild out of the wolf,” he placed her on her feet and then led her behind the Pack-house.

Her day was spent with Nox and everything about him intrigued her. He was a fiercely protective man, a great person to have a conversation with, and polite to everyone he came across among other amazing things. Currently, it was around six in the evening and twilight had already fallen. After a long day of walking and discussing interesting things about his pack, life, dreams, and goals they were heading back. Ava loved how...calm Nox was, she felt comfortable around him–a different type of comfort. She could be herself with him, he didn't judge her and he certainly adored her.

She and the man walked side by side. He then suddenly stopped in the middle of the track and stared intensely at something, “Wait here,” Nox left her standing and disappeared into the forest. When he returned he was carrying a little white flower with four petals; it was a Jasmine.

Carefully he hooked it in her hair and cupped her cheeks, his bright-grey eyes took in every little thing her face had to show. A smile slowly formed on his lips, his thumbs moved to her eyes and tenderly rubbed them. The pads of his thumbs swept over the lids covering her emerald-green eyes, they felt her thick eyelashes and pressed down playfully on the tip of her nose–then they messaged her cheekbones. Ava shut one of her eyes and subconsciously pouted. Nox's hands went down and held her neck, his fingers soothingly massaging her nape. It sent shivers down her spine. She sighed and played with her fingers.

“I'm blessed to have you in my life, Ava,” he stepped closer and kissed between her brows.

Ava immediately pulled away and covered her mouth. No one had ever said a statement like that to her–she remembered vaguely her mother telling her how much of a curse she was as a child. She would say "Any man who had you would have endless misfortune. You're like a curse!" even though her mother didn't mean that–or perhaps she did considering what she had done–the words were imprinted in her brain.

So for a man, to look her in the eyes, and say something like that...

“Ava, why are you crying?” her concerned Alpha mate walked over, he picked her up in his arms and ran circles on her back with his fingers. “Don't cry, please don't cry, did I make you cry? I'm sorry if I was being too rough. I just...”

Ava felt sleepy as he whispered sweet words, stumbled on his apologies, and rubbed her back–him babying her and she loved it. She however didn't tell him why she was crying. Ava also felt deeply angry with herself. How can a man like this be right here with her, yet her mind repeatedly goes back to Donatello?

A complete asshole! A bully! A man who killed without mercy!

It was weird, truly. Why is it that when she's with Nox she thinks of Bloody, but when with Bloody she thinks of Nox?

Something is not right here. But the twenty-five-year-old was too tired to think anymore, she fell asleep in the arms of a man willing to destroy the solar system to see her happy.

Then again, so was Donatello.