Ava picked the weeds from the ground, the shackles around her hands and legs rattled as she moved around. From time to time she would look at the happy couple who were surrounded by other guests.
That was supposed to be her position, she was supposed to be the bride to alpha Jax, the alpha of creekwood pack.
She and Jax had been betrothed at a very young age to each other. At the age of eighteen, if they had no mates, their engagement would be finalized.
It was very rare for vampires to find their mates. Most wolves simply mated with who they liked.
It wasn't always like this though, in the past, all werewolves had their mates. But slowly over the years that had changed.
Ava had thought that everything was finalized since at the age of eighteen, neither of them had sensed their mates.
Jax was everything Ava wanted in a partner, he was kind and clever, he was also very handsome.
When they had clocked twenty three, Jax had taken over the alpha position from his father and plans for their mating ceremony had already started. Things were going well until 'she' came to their pack.
Ava looked at her bitterly, the delicately beautiful Lily. Lily had been found outside unconscious. The funniest thing was that it was Ava who had brought her to the pack.
Ava was a member of the guardforce and while doing one of her rounds, she had seen Lily unconscious on the ground, she had called the attention of the other guards and they had carried her back to the pack.
If Ava had known, she would have left her out in the forest to die. She would never have brought her to the pack because the entry of Lily into the pack had brought trouble to Ava's perfect peaceful life.
Immediately Jax saw Lily, he became enchanted with her. Everyone in the pack had been charmed by the innocent looking devilish temptress.
Jax started to treat Ava coldly and he didn't even show interest in their mating ceremony plan. Much later, Ava was to find out that Lily was Jax's mate.
Back then, Ava had listened to a lot of evil advice from her so-called friends and constantly bullied and made trouble for Lily. She had hoped that Lily wouldn't be able to take it and would give up and leave Creekwood pack.
To her surprise, Lily had refused to leave. Instead she remained in the pack with the excuse that she had amnesia and didn't remember anything except her name.
The climax of the matter was when she and Lily had an argument over Jax and in a fit of rage she had attacked Lily.
Ava didn't really remember much about that day, the only thing she could remember was that she had wanted to kill Lily. That was the only thing that had been on her mind that day.
Lily had been rescued from her, she was already unconscious by then. Jax had been so furious that day, she had never seen him so furious before.
He had revealed that Lily was his mate and the future Luna of the pack. For attempting to kill the Luna, Ava had been sentenced to imprisonment and slavery. She became the pack's slave.
The only thing Ava regretted was that she had put her father to shame. Her father had raised her alone after her mother had died after rogue wolves had attacked their pack.
Her father had been so disappointed in her. But he didn't abandon her, he still came to give her food every day. He assured her that he would talk to Jax and get her released so they could leave the pack together.
She cleaned her tears, she didn't deserve such love and loyalty from him.
"Look how far the mighty has fallen" two female werewolves passed her, one of them looked at the disdainfully.
"She was always acting like she was better than everyone else because she was betrothed to Alpha Jax. Look at her now, a common slave" the other one replied.
"I heard the Luna's brother is coming soon and he wants revenge for all the bullying his sister went through"
"I heard that he is a bloodthirsty wolf and he really cherishes Lily, anyone who tries to hurt her always suffers by his hand."
They looked at her and snickered mockingly before leaving.
When Lily had woken up after Ava's attack, she had recovered her memory and remembered everything.
She was from Fireblood pack, one of the biggest and most influential pack, she was the younger sister of the alpha. Her elder brother Alpha Ryder was known to be a cruel and unforgiving person.
If he was really coming here, it meant that he would surely take revenge.
Her only hope was that he wouldn't harm her father.
She bent down and continued working, all of a sudden, she heard the most delicious scent, it smelled like vanilla and butter.
"Mate!" a voice echoed in her head,
Ava couldn't believe it, she had a mate? After everything she had done, she had someone who would love her unconditionally.
She looked around frantically, where was he? Who could this mate be? Was he someone from this pack?
She noticed someone walking in her direction, the closer the person got, the stronger the scent was, this was her mate!
He stood in front of her and Ava looked up at him in wonder. He was very handsome.
"hi" he said to her. Ava trembled at the sound of his voice. His voice was velvety smooth, just like butter.
"Hey" Ava replied in a croaky voice. He smiled at her, and Ava felt safe, this was her mate, he would love her unconditionally despite all her flaws and protect her.
One of the pack guard walked up to them and bowed to him.
"Welcome to Creekwood pack, Alpha Ryder. I hope the journey wasn't too stressful."
Ava's heart dropped to her stomach immediately.
This was Alpha Ryder, Ava thought. Lily's elder brother was her mate. What kind of fate did she have?Once he knew that she was the one who had bullied his younger sister and tried to kill her, he would hate her completely and he would never accept her as his mate."My journey wasn't stressful at all." Ryder replied the guard.He looked at Ava, "I am Ryder. what is your name?" he asked her.Ava bit her lip and didn't answer him.Ryder looked at her from head to toe. "why are you in shackles?" he asked again."Alpha Ryder. This is Ava, she was the one who tried to kill your sister. That is why she is in shackles." the guard answered on behalf of Ava.Ryder's face became cold instantly."I see, let's go. Where is my sister?" he asked the guard."this way, Alpha Ryder" the guard led the way and Ryder followed without looking back.Ava resisted the urge to cry. "don't cry, don't cry" she whispered to herself.She wouldn't cry, she resolved within herself. It was just her luck............
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 wa
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