Ava’s POV - 5 Years Ago
I’m not usually a reckless person. But tonight I feel it. A stirring sense of restlessness in the bottom of my stomach. Maybe it’s just the alcohol, or maybe I need a way to escape the pit I’ve fallen into. Should I be afraid as I follow a handsome stranger, off into the dark? There’s a small voice at the back of my head, telling me that this is a bad idea. That I should be sensible. Fuck it. I’m always sensible. I’m always the sober ride home from the club. I’m always the one looking out for everyone else. Now I can’t think of anything else, because Mr. Gorgeous has stopped walking. We’ve stepped out from trees into a clearing. The ground drops away ahead of us, towards the rushing water of the silver stream. But I can barely hear it over my own frantic heartbeat. I’ve never done anything like this before, snuck away with a stranger. ‘Are you alright?’ His voice is low and husky, and it does something to my insides. My core feels hot. Like I’ve taken a shot of burning tequila. I pull in a shaky breath and look back over my shoulder, into the darkness where we’ve come from. Behind all the rows of tree’s I can just about make out the flickering lights of the disco set up, and hear the thumping of the bass. Should I be afraid of the man before me? I look back at him. Am I alright? No. I’m not alright.‘I’m glad to be away from the crowd,’ I admit, but it’s hard to find the words. Just looking at him, I feel off balance. I can sense the aura of his wolf, he’s not pressing down on Seren, but his presence is powerful. That’s dangerous. I don’t think that Seren could fight his wolf, I don’t think she could resist him. But my lips part and I try and suck in another breath, but it’s really hard with him standing so close, like my lungs aren't working properly. My thoughts are racing and yet I’m struggling for a single, sensible thing to say.‘I can see that,’ he’s frowning though, looking me over, ‘we can go back?’ He suggests.‘No,’ I respond automatically, ‘I don’t want to go back.’‘Oh…it’s just. You don’t seem that comfortable, and I can understand that,’ his voice drops, ‘I probably would tell my Sister she shouldn’t walk off with strangers.’I can’t help but laugh at that, some of my tension easing as I look up at him once more. I’m caught by his beautiful green eyes. There’s a blood moon in the sky tonight, and everything has a strange pink hue. It makes the world seem smaller, cosy and maybe even romantic. But I can’t look away from the stranger in front of me.‘You probably won’t believe, that I’m not in the habit of sneaking off with strangers,’ I say quietly and he grins. He takes a step closer and I can scent him. The smell of his wolf is driving Seren crazy and it’s all I can do not to moan out loud. He smells like pine and peppermint, and something mixed with sandalwood. My knees are weak and I feel a lump, building at the back of my throat.‘Tell me your name…’ he murmurs as he looks down at me. ‘That way we won’t be strangers.’I can’t look away from those emerald green eyes and I know that I’m totally lost. He hasn’t let go of my hand and he lifts it, pressing a kiss to the back of my fingers. They spark, as though he’s made of lightning. The intensity of his touch almost hurts. I can’t breathe, I can’t think. I can’t even remember my name.My lips part and I just stare at him. Goddess, I’ve never wanted something so badly, as I want the man before me. His broad shoulders are filling out the dark blue suit and for something so ordinary, it’s never looked so good. He’s as handsome as any sin I could ever name. I want to kiss him. I want to touch him, and Seren is whimpering, pacing within my thoughts and eager, desperate for the touch of his wolf against her. I don’t even care what he’s called or where he’s from. I bite my bottom lip and I move, before I can talk myself out of my own insanity. I lay my free hand on his shoulder. On my bare feet, I choose to put aside all the pain from Bella and Josh’s betrayal. All the lies that are running through my family and friends. I choose to lose myself in the moment.I press my lips against his, and there is a pause. A breath between us. I panic. Heart skipping a beat. I’ve drunk too much. I read too much into this, he’s not interested. I’ve made a fool of myself. But kissing him, even for a heartbeat, is the best thing I’ve done in a long while. I draw back, cheeks burning with embarrassment. Ready to apologise. Ready to turn and run. But he catches my other hand and holds me still. I want the ground to swallow me whole. But I’m not a coward. I force myself to look up at the man, watch the expressions racing across his face before he bows towards me.His lips brush over mine. By all that is holy, he’s kissing me back?! He’s kissing me back! He’s already stolen the air from my lungs, my own sense of self and I’m utterly lost. Thoughts jumbled together in a mess. There is only him. Seren is pressed against his wolfish aura and I feel the touch of his wolf against her. A quiet moan escapes my lips and his tongue presses against my mouth. His hands are in my hair, holding the back of my head as the kiss deepens. His tongue strokes against mine, and I’m utterly lost. Melting against him with a gasp.He drops a hand to the small of my back, holding me tight against his hard body. I arch, leaning back as he devours me. I give myself. Everything I have, heart and body and soul and Seren is wrapped up in his wolf. I’ve lost her too, she’s completely enamoured with the power of his aura. I’ve never felt anything like it, never imagined anything could be so intense. So magical.With Josh, Seren was disinterested. She didn’t hate his wolf, but she didn’t like him either. She accepted him. But this is different and I remind myself that I’m not thinking about Josh. I’m not thinking about any of that. In fact, I’m very determinedly not thinking at all, as my mouth is ravaged by the tongue of a stranger. A perfect stranger; in every way. I can taste whiskey on his lips and I push closer still. He’s stroking back and forth at the base of my back, sharp little tingles of pleasure are racing up and down my spine. I don’t feel like I’m in control anymore, but maybe I lost that the moment he first looked at me.I’m clinging to him as the kiss breaks. I’m panting against his lips. His breath mingles with mine. I need more. He’s like a drug and a single kiss has me hooked for life. Craving and needing more.‘Don’t…’ I whisper and can’t believe myself, ‘please don’t stop.’He growls and bends, the sound sending little shockwaves of pleasure through my body. His arms wrap under my body and he lifts me up. My legs go around his hips, the long satin skirts of my dress hitched around my waist. He turns and I’m pressed against the smooth bark of a silver birch. My arms around his shoulders as he kisses me again. His hands digging into the flesh of my bottom as his mouth slants back and forth. He needs my cheeks and I gasp, breath catching as the kiss breaks. My lips move against his jaw, the stubble scratching my delicate skin. We’re bathed in pink moonlight as he gently nips the patch of skin below my ear. I whimper, head tilting back as he summons my inner wolf. There’s something dangerous, primal in the action and he licks the skin to soothe it. He’s pushing me against the tree trunk, hips rocking back and forth. I hiss, feeling the press of his erection against the exposed lace of my panties.This isn’t enough. I’m secure in his hold, my legs tight around him. So I’m brave, dropping my hand down over his shirt, I fumble with only one hand, fighting to free him from the buttons of his dress shirt. One of the buttons pings off, lost forever in the night and I swear beneath my breath. But he only laughs and moves to kiss me again. I can feel the full force of his erection and groan aloud. The sound swallowed by his kiss as he helps me unfasten the rest of the buttons, until I reach in. With a trembling hand I smooth over his pectoral muscles and groan again.‘Keep making noises like that, and I’ll have to take you now,’ he speaks between kisses. The press of his body as needy as insistent as my own trembling form. I feel like I’m made from lava, he’s set me on fire and I can’t wait. I don’t want to wait. I’m ready and I need this. I need him.‘Do it,’ I dare him, panting hard. He looks across at me, eyes flashing in the darkness. ‘Take me,’ I breathe.Five Years Ago: Kylar’s POVI just wanted to be closer to her. She stood up, moving away from the crowd and I feel the lurch of my wolf, Sabre. He wants to be with her, to scent her wolf. To taste her. It’s a feeling I can appreciate. She’s wearing a light green satin dress. It falls from a halterneck exposing the curve of her spine and sitting perfectly above her waist. I want to rip it off of her. But I temper the impulse. I follow her, watching as she weaves through the crowd like a ghost. Moving through it so easily, her slender frame vanishing between the heaving mass of people. Something I find more difficult, my shoulders bumping into a couple as they whizz past. I don’t care. I feel focused, like I’m walking into a skirmish. Hairs lifted over my arms and tickling the back of my neck. She’s alone. Stood by the bar, focused on the waiter who can’t help but notice her too. Maybe she doesn’t see the way his eyes flick over her beautiful face then, down to the swell of her breast
Ava’s POVI didn’t know that sex could feel so good. A tiny part of me worries that it’s just because this man is a stranger. That I’m enjoying the thrill of risk. But I know it’s more than that. His hand is on my hip as he pushes slowly within. My body is tight, walls clenching around him as I gasp. He feels hot, hard and enormous. I gasp, adjusting to the size of the man, feeling myself stretch in accommodation. There’s no pain, only a delicious sense of fulfillment, a strange completeness. He pauses, head bowed against my collar, his breath against my skin. Is it possible to love a stranger? He’s waiting for me, I know it, I can sense it. I can feel his care and consideration as the muscles beneath his skin are tightly bunched. The same hesitation before he joined us. I turn, kissing his cheek. I know he doesn’t want to hurt me. ‘I’m alright,’ I murmur against his skin and feel the ripple of desire shiver over his skin. As though all the muscles tighten for a heat beat before rel
Ava’s POVI’m lying in his arms, wearing his dress shirt. It was getting cold despite the summer air. I guess it’s pretty late. The boom of the distant party has stopped echoing through the forest. I can still hear people talking, but it’s a quiet murmur punctuated by the occasional ring of laughter. But we’re in our own world, and it’s perfect here. Beside the lapping waters of the river, still pink in the moonlight. I was dozing, naked upon the grass with his arm wrapped around me. But he noticed he was cold and sat up. Without a word he was on his feet, and stretched up with a smirk, retrieving my panties from where they’d hooked over one of the branches. I would have blushed, but I’m too tired to even feel embarrassed right now. Too tired and too caught up in the moment that I never want to end. Even as I tell myself that this is crazy, and he’s just a rebound. Seren huffs at me and I ignore her cynicism. She thinks that it’s more than just a one night stand, but my heart hurts f
It’s dark when I wake. His arm is heavy around my waist, protective and comfortable. I should be this comfortable with a stranger, but I can’t deny my own sense of peace. Of safety in his embrace. My face is pressed against the grass and I stretch out, slow and aching from a night under the stars. He doesn’t stir, only breathes heavily against the back of my neck. It’s kind of cute. But I’m struck with the strangeness of what I’ve done. Never, I never imagined that I could have sex with a strange man, nor that it could be so good. What does that make me? Does it mean something about who I am and what I enjoy? I feel anxiety, worry and imagine the judgement of a thousand eyes looking on.I remind myself that I’m a consenting adult, and I don’t owe anyone anything. I shouldn’t even feel guilty about Josh, but some part of me does. I’m panicking and I know it. I’m easing away from my handsome stranger before Seren stirs and can stop me. Because I know she would want to stay. To meet the
Ava - Present DayHe’s just as gorgeous as I remember him. Maybe even more. He fills up all the space in the doorway, blocking out the light. I can’t breathe and I’m scrambling, desperate for something to say. I’m a professional damnit. I’m a doctor, and a Mother and as much as I try to cling to my identity. I’m thrown back to the night that we met. Mate, he growled and heat hits like a bucket of scalding water. Washing over me like a wave. I open my mouth. I’m lost for words as I turn and do the only thing I can. I run. I retreat back through the cabin, realising too late that there’s no exit. I’m not going to crawl through a window. I might crawl through a window!The heavy tread of his footsteps follow me. Echoing on the bare floor boards. Unless I really do jump through a window, I’m trapped. Grown woman, I tell myself. I’m a grown woman. I need something to excuse my behaviour so I grab my empty coffee mug and spin back around to face him. ‘Empty!’ I announce and shake it, littl
With the Wolf Pack village falling away behind me. I slam off the music, the sexy throb of the song doesn’t really suit my mood. I’m panicking. I can feel it in the tightness of my chest, my racing heart and sweaty palms. Midnight Forest is going to be my home. I know that. I can feel it in my bones, in my soul. But how can I live there, with him?Unless I leave? The idea sees me slow the car down, foot lifting from the peddle. I can’t breathe. I’ve been away from other werewolves for so long, I don’t want to give that up. I stop the car, leaning my head on the wheel. I want to raise my kids with other wolves. I want them to know their heritage.I don’t want them to know their father. A small voice whispers, why not? I grip the wheel and set off again. I can’t be late to collect them from kindergartenl. The village is a good thirty minute drive down country lanes until I reach the nearest human town. I pull up, scrambling out of my car, slamming the door behind me.My boys are stan
AvaHow I’m going to keep the existence of my twins a secret, I don’t know. It’s impossible, I realize as I drive back to the village. So I can’t. At some point he’ll realize that I have children. The village isn’t that big and it’s not like I can hide from him. I can’t shake off the memory of that Alpha energy either. So chances are, he’s important to Midnight Forest Pack. I pull up outside the house the Elders put aside for us. It’s cute, with three bedrooms upstairs and an open plan downstairs. I know the second I walk through the door, I’ll be tripping over the boys' toys. I’ll feel compelled to tidy up, so I turn straight for the Medical Centre instead. The house will have to wait. I’m still wearing my skinny jeans and a worker’s shirt over a long white vest. I roll the sleeves up, climbing back up the steps to the cabin, taking note of all the cobwebs that cover the overhang. I grimace, I’m not the biggest fan of spiders, but I’ll have to take a broom to that at some point so
KylarAva. After all this time, I finally have her name. I watch her vanish through the door into the back offices of the medical center. It takes all of my willpower to stay and not follow her. Sabre is growling at me, and I shut him down. She's afraid of me. She flinched when I reached towards her. Dr Ava Green is doing a good job acting confident and she’s brave enough to challenge me. But she’s afraid.I push Sabre away more firmly, kicking myself as I hear Ava moving around in the far office. My feet are burning, eager to follow her. I don’t want to let her out of my sight again. But I’m a grown man, and I could kick myself for my behavior this morning.Seeing her for the first time in all these years, was an assault to the senses. Elder Marie asked me to help the new Healer set up in the rundown medical center. I’m between mercenary assignments at the moment, enjoying my downtime back at the Village. Seeing my niece and nephew, Kate’s kids. I never imagined that I’d walk thr