Ava was shoved into a truck, she sat in the darkness and waited for the truck to start moving.
"She has been put in a truck and the truck will follow you as you leave." Jax informed him.
Ryder nodded. "Ryder, don't you think she has suffered enough, just let her be" Lily begged on behalf of Ava.
"I don't think she has suffered enough, she dared to hurt you and I am not okay with that. Besides, I don't feel safe leaving you with her." Ryder brushed away her worries.
He turned to Jax, "I will be on my way now. Take good care of my sister"
"I will" Jax assured him.
Ryder walked to his car escorted by Jax and Lily. He kissed Lily on her forehead and gave her a hug before entering his car and driving off.
As he drove off, the truck followed him.
After some hours of driving, Ryder got to his pack.
He stopped his car and the truck stopped as well, the guards who were on duty and his Beta Jayden came out to welcome him.
"Welcome back, how was the ceremony?" Jayden asked.
"It was okay, Lily was the most beautiful Luna bride." Ryder said with a beaming smile.
"Thats good to hear" Jayden said. He looked at the truck, "What is in there?" he asked.
"A prisoner." Ryder replied. The guards who had driven the truck came down to open the back of the truck. They brought out Ava who was still in her shackles.
Jayden looked at Ryder in confusion. "What is going on?"
"she bullied Lily while Lily was recovering in the pack and even tried to kill her. I brought her here to punish her" Ryder answered.
"What the hell! Why can't you just let bygones be bygones?" Jayden asked.
"I can't do that. I have to give her the same treatment she gave to Lily" Ryder said.
He turned to his guards and instructed them to take Ava to the prison.
Ava was taken to the prison while the other guards returned to Creekwood pack with the truck.
............................................................
Ava sat on the damp cement floor of the prison. Thoughts of Ryder filled her head, she thought about how his face had been so cold earlier. It was like he wanted nothing more than to tear her to shreds at that moment.
She knew he would never see or acknowledge her as his mate. It was just her fate that her mate turned out to be Lily's elder brother.
The door of the prison opened and Ryder walked in.
"Stand up!" he barked at her. She scrambled to her feet instantly.
He walked closer to her and held her chin with his hands, he punched her chin so hard that her eyes watered from the pain.
"Do you know how much I love and cherish my sister?" he asked menacingly.
Ava kept quiet. "I love her very much, she is the most precious part of my life. You hurt her and I can never forgive you for that. You might be my mate but I will never acknowledge you, I will never accept you and I will never love you." He told her. Ava felt a painful jolt in her heart when she heard these words.
"Do you understand me?" Ryder asked.
"I do" Ava answered.
He pushed her to the ground roughly and left.
'don't cry, don't cry' Ava told herself.
Ryder went back to the general pack house where he stayed and sat at the table sipping a bottle of water, he had gotten from the fridge.
Jayden came to meet him. "What's wrong with you? You have been tensed up since you came back from Creekwood pack."
"I am fine" Ryder assured him.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, it must be the stress of the journey"
"Okay, then go have some rest okay." Jayden told him.
"Okay, I will do that now" Ryder replied.
He stood up to go to his bedroom. When he had gotten to the door, he turned around, "Tell someone to give the prisoner food and water" he ordered.
"Okay, I will take care of everything" Jayden replied.
Ryder nodded and went to his bedroom to sleep. During his sleep, he dreamt of Ava.
............................................................
Ava's father, Dustin Shields came home from his trip and was informed that Ava had been taken away to Fireblood pack.
He looked at Jax who had sent for him to give him the news sadly. "I know you are disappointed with me, but there was nothing I could do" Jax said.
"You know, after Lily came, I begged her to give up on you because I saw how you looked at her. Do you know what she told me? She told me she was never going to do that. She trusted you so much." Dustin told Jax.
"There was nothing I could do." Jax said resolutely.
"We both know that is a lie, there were things you could have done, you could have kept her here." Dustin said.
Jax handed him a piece of paper, "She said that I should give this to you."
Dustin took the letter and opened it.
'Dear Father,
By the time, you are reading this, I would have been gone. Don't worry about me and don't come here to try and get me, it's too dangerous. I am sorry for bringing shame to you, it was never my intention to do so. Please try to live your life stress free and worry free. Don't get into a fight with Jax, it's not worth it. Take care of yourself, I love you so much and I really hope I get to see you again.
Your loving daughter
Ava.'
Dustin held the paper close to his chest, as if by doing so, he could hug his daughter.
He composed himself and looked up at Jax.
"From today onwards, I am not a member of this pack. I denounce my membership of Creekwood pack."
What, what do you mean by that?" Jax asked, he was very shocked by what Dustin just said."Exactly what you heard, I am denouncing the pack" Dustin said."but that means, you are going to be a rogue wolf" Jax said."You already denounced my daughter as a member of this pack, the only reason I stayed was because of her. Now that she is gone, I have no reason to stay. So please Alpha Jax denounce me.""But where will you go? Do you plan to go to fireblood pack and ask for her freedom. I wouldn't advice you to do that. Alpha Ryder is known for being ruthless""Where I go is none of your business. Just make the denouncing declaration." Dustin said coldly.Jax sighed, despite everything that had happened between him and Ava, he still liked Dustin and regarded him as a fatherly figure."Fine, since you say so. I Alpha Jax of creekwood pack declare that from today henceforth, Dustin shields is no longer a member of creekwood pack. He shall leave the pack before today ends and never come back
"Why are you so angry? It was just a harmless suggestion." Jayden asked.Ryder himself didn't know why he was so angry, it was a normal thing. Female prisoners were usually sent as concubines to high ranking wolves. But, the thought of someone else touching her and making love to her made him so angry. It provoked a blinding anger in him."She won't be a concubine, make another suggestion." Ryder said."She can be a household servant" a woman said as she walked inside. She was Helena, she was Ryder's aunt."I am sorry for eavesdropping. I was just passing by when I heard you two discussing." she said."Do you think she should be an household servant, aunt Helena?" Jayden asked."I think so love, give her a room in the house and let her help me around the house" Helena replied."I dont think that is a good idea, she should be given a more harsh punishment that befits her crime" Ryder said.Helena resisted the urge to roll her eyes, this nephew of hers could be a bit pig headed. "Come o
Ava came out of the bathroom, she was thankful that the bathroom was inside the room, the thought of bumping into Ryder with just a towel was a bit uncomfortable for her.Helena had told her earlier that only Ryder, Jayden and her occupied the house along with any visiting werewolf or any of the pack members who had accommodation issues.Her work wasn't that much, preparing food for the family, doing laundry and cleaning the house. It was a far better option than being shackled in creekwood pack and seeing Jax and Lily being lovey dovey every day. She saw that Helena had left some clothes on the bed for her.She picked out a pair of jeans and a shirt and quickly put them on before putting the rest clothes in the wardrobe.She left the room and went down the stairs, she found Helena in the kitchen making breakfast, she was accompanied by Jayden. Ava lingered in the door way unsure of how to interrupt them. Helena looked up and saw her,"come here dear, don't act like a stranger" she
Vivian smiled at Ava. "you are nice, I like you" she told Ava.The acknowledgement of this little child meant the world to Ava."thank you Vivian, I think you are very nice as well"Ava stood up from her crouching position.Vivian held her hand, "come on, let's go to the forest. I know all the herbs and where they can be found""Then I will have to depend on you to show me everything" Ava told her.The three of them continued walking to the forest.They got to the forest and started picking some herbs. They had picked some herbs when Helena got a message from Ryder through the pack mind link."Helena. We have some visitors, I need your help with refreshments" he told her."okay, I am on my way" she told him.She looked at Ava and Vivian, they hadn't even picked up half of the herbs they needed."what's wrong Helena?" Vivian asked when she noticed Helena's worried face."nothing, it's just that Alpha Ryder needs me to come back to the pack house and do something for him immediately and
"I am okay Vivian" Ava assured her."are you sure? Your face looks swollen" Vivian said."I am okay Vivian. What about you? Are you okay?" Ava asked her."I am fine" Vivian answered.Vivian looked at Ryder, "thanks for coming to rescue us alpha Ryder"Ryder smiled at her. "you are welcome Vivian, next time do not engage with such people, go and call someone else for help so you don't get hurt, okay?""okay alpha Ryder" Vivian answered. Ryder smiled and ruffled her hair.Ryder looked at Ava, her face was swollen and her shirt had been torn during her struggle with the man earlier. He could see her fair skin which was exposed.He unbuttoned his shirt and handed it to her."cover yourself up" he told her trying his best not to ogle at her."Thanks" Ava muttered as she took the shirt from him and wore it. "did you think of fighting back at all? You were in the fucking guard force back in creekwood pack" Ryder asked angrily. "I am a prisoner, I don't have a right to fight back against me
For the past couple of weeks, Ryder had completely ignored Ava. It was as if to him, she did not exist.As Ava washed the dishes that morning after breakfast, she pondered what had brought about this character change. She didn't know why but she missed his scalding remarks and glares. Now that the only thing she got was his indifference, she felt uncomfortable.Or should she stir up trouble so that he would pay attention to her? She thought to herself.But what could she do that would be sufficient enough to get his attention. She thought long and hard until she got a brilliant idea or so she thought.She finished washing the dishes and arranged them. She dried her hands and went to implement her great plan.Some few minutes later, Ava was outside taking a walk. This was against the rules. Ryder had warned her strictly not to come out on her own.As Ava walked, she looked around. The few times she had come out, she hadn't been privileged to look around.Now she had all the time and le
Ryder carried Ava home. Helena, Vivian and Jayden who had joined them were shocked to see Ryder bring her home bruised."What happened to her?" Helena asked."a group of four girls claimed that she insulted them and they beat her up in retaliation" Ryder replied as he carried her to the room.Helena brought her bag of medical supplies to the room. Ryder gently lay her on the bed."Damn! They bruised her up badly" Jayden said."will she be okay?" Vivian asked worriedly as she stroked Ava's hair."she will be fine sweetie" Helena assured her.Ryder left them so he could change his shirt which was stained with blood."thank the goddess that Ryder found her on time" Helena said."Don't you guys think it's strange?" Jayden asked.Helena looked at him, "what is strange?""anytime Ava is in trouble, Ryder is always the first to sense it and save her" Jayden answered."what's strange about it? It is just a coincidence" Helena said."is it really a coincidence? The last time, he was hosting a
Ryder stood up and leaned closer to Ava on the bed."Do you think any of this is a joke?"Ava was a bit scared now, she had never seen Ryder this angry before."I don't think it's a joke" she managed to say."Do you have any idea how scared I was when I didn't see you or how worried I was when I felt your pain?"Ava kept quiet and didn't say a thing because she honestly didn't know what to say. Ryder was worried about her? Why was he worried about her? Didn't he hate her?"please don't get into trouble again, do you hear me?" Ryder pleaded in a whisper. She nodded in response. "I want to hear you say it""Yes, I hear you" she answered."Now lie down and get some rest" he told her as he helped her lie comfortably in the bed. "Ryder?" Ava called his attention. "Yes""those girls you took down their names, one of them, her name is Hannah didn't join them in beating me. She even tried to dissuade them. Don't punish her along with the rest""I have heard you. Now rest."Ava nodded and r