Braiden Fuck, she is exquisite. She looks like a fucking goddess. A true Queen. Her eyes are white, her head is held high, power se eps off her, and wolves near her bare their necks, instinctually bowing to her dominant energy. The only one to match and meet that call to stroke against it, being my own. “Did you see that, Braiden? She forced me to change. Forced me! Only you can command that. She has committed treason.” Selene’s voice is weak and shaky, usually, an act to try and garner sympathy. But at this moment, she feels exactly that. Weak and unstable. Truly threatened. Ava doesn’t even bristle under the accusation. I can tell that she is still in that fight-or-flight mode. Probably expecting some sort of retaliation from me as she still fails to see herself through my eyes. Something that needs to change. But in this deadlock we find ourselves in, where she still tries to push against our mate bond and her rightful place in this pack, I would need to force the situation forward. “Of course, she commanded you. She is my mate. My true mate. Ordained by the Moon Goddess herself. The only match for me. My Queen,” I say before finally dropping my gaze to meet Selene’s. “Your Queen.” Audible gasps are heard from pack members. I know that some suspected, but to have it confirmed sends a shockwave through the pack. Feelings flood the pack link. Surprise. Elation. Acc eptance. No wolf was ever unhappy for another when they found their true mate. The Moon Goddess never picked wrong, and the pack trusted that above all else. Having Ava force Selene to shift just confirmed that. Solidified what I already knew. Shock appears on Selene's face, and when I look up, surprise sits on Ava’s as she looks around and then back at me. I take a few slow st eps forward. “You tried to kill your Queen.” Selene pales at my words, wrapping the blanket one of the pack members hands her around her before standing up. “She bears no mate mark, and there has been no ceremony. She is not the Queen.” Selene's voice holds panic, as it should. “Irrelevant. You never use a kill move. It is against pack rules.” My eyes remain firmly locked on Ava, who seems to have recovered from the shock of my earlier revelation to the pack. “But—” I cut Selene off, tired of everything about her. Since finding Ava, my eyes have been opened to just how manipulative and self-centered Selene really is. Things I overlooked before and traits I would not want in a Queen or a mate. “Samuel. Take her away. I will deal with her later.” Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, Selene starts sobbing as Samuel carries out my instruction. “Everyone else, leave.” Pack members scatter so quickly that dust forms around us in their haste to get away. Ava and I are standing a couple of feet apart, but the look in her eyes makes the distance feel much wider. If only we could finish the mating process, I could feel how she feels. And she would finally know my feelings. I have
stayed away from her for the last couple of days. Though it has been mainly due to work, I also wanted to give her space. Give her time to decide what to do. With us. With her place here. I knew I wanted her, but she still seemed to be unsure. I wanted her to want me with the same certainty I did. Especially after what happened at the gala. I was falling for her. Had fallen. The feeling was so foreign I wondered if I would ever recover if she rejected me. Told me she didn’t want me. She spins on her heels, storming to the rock where her jersey is before walking toward our house. I follow behind, my height making it easy to catch up with her. “Ava.” She ignores me, continuing to speed walk down the path leading to the front door. While I shouldn’t be focused on this right now, I can’t help watching her ass in the paint-stained leggings she is wearing. The reminder of how she fell apart, the orgasm ravaging her after I spanked her, once again forces the blood to my cock. As it had all week. The taste of her lingered on my tongue still, slowly driving me insane. There was an itch just under my skin that had started after first laying my eyes on her at the mandatory gathering. One I could not get rid of. And I know the cure was the fiery woman opening the door to our house as she storms inside. She spins around, hands on her hips. I want to smile, but I don’t. “What the hell was that, Braiden?” I st ep closer to her and then shut the door behind me. “I thought it was obvious. Just stating the facts. Though it was barely needed after your wordless affirmation.” Her brow dips in confusion, though her anger remains. I can practically feel the heat from her body she is so worked up. “What are you talking about?” Her stance loses some of the confidence as her shoulders dip and her hands drop to her sides. “You ordered Selene to shift. Her wolf obeyed, even against her will. Only a true leader can achieve that, Ava.” I take another st ep forward as she eyes me suspiciously. “Surely every wolf can do that?” Inches s eparate us as I close the distance and then circle her. “No. Only born leaders. Like you,” I whisper into her ear, “and me.” She shivers and then stiffens when she realizes. “I’m not a leader.” Soft and breathy words as my head dips to her neck, where her scent is most potent. Just where my mark goes. “You are, Ava. Just like you are mine.” Her eyes close as I circle back around, my words of ownership not meant in a degrading way. But meant in the same way that I know I am hers. That no other will ever make me feel the way Ava does. No other will match me, fit me, fight me, like my Ava. “Braiden,” she whispers, her eyes opening again and the confusion in them making me stop my slow rotation of her. “You can feel it, Ava. I know you can. You are just fighting it.” Her gaze travels my face, blazing a trail across my skin as effectively as if her finger had touched my skin. I close the distance when I see her eyes dip to my mouth again, circling her in my arms before claiming her lips. God, she is fucking addictive.
Every bit of her is. Before long, she is clinging to my shoulders, her moans stroking my cock as I lift her so that her legs wrap around my waist. She grinds against my length, the sensation almost causing my legs to buckle. By the time we get to the room, I feel like I might explode, Ava’s whimpering bringing my beast into the equation as it answers to hers. I place her on the bed and then hook my fingers into her leggings, meeting her gaze before I continue. She gives me a shy nod, and then, ever so slowly, I peel her leggings away from her body. She squirms under my perusal as I take in the revealed skin, p eppered with goosebumps. With less clothing in the way, her scent engulfs me. Fuck, I want to roll in it like a cat with catnip. Slowly, I run my hands up her legs until I get to the band of her cotton panties, the damp patch in front alluding to how aroused she is. I dip my head, my tongue adding to the moisture as I lick her through the fabric. “Braiden. No one has ever... done that.” Seven little words. Their impact is like being punched. I was the first to taste her. I would be the last. The feeling overwhelms me, and the importance of the moment at the gala, and now, becomes more apparent. This is a big deal. For her. For me. Slowly, I pull down her panties, and then I take my time on my knees in front of my Queen as I bring her to orgasm. Not just once. Twice, three times, until she begs me to stop. When she is fully satisfied, I get a cloth and clean her up before placing her in bed and climbing in beside her, pulling her close. She doesn’t resist but wraps her hands over mine. The small action giving me hope. “Our relationship cannot just be based on sexual attraction and the mate bond, Braiden. You don’t even know me. I don’t know you.” Her words are not angry, just resigned. Like she knows that she is grasping for straws. I am wearing her down. I can’t say I feel any regret about it. That would be a lie. “I know parts of you, Ava.” She rolls around in my arms to face me. “Like what? And don’t tell me it's my vagina.” A small smile plays on her lips, and I feel relieved. I don’t always want to be arguing with her as fun as I find it. “Dammit. You caught me out.” I kiss her on her nose, enjoying this moment of levity. “You like your coffee strong. It might as well be black, but you still add the dash of milk for the color. You don’t like eating breakfast, but if you have to, it's crispy bacon and scrambled eggs with a dash of salt and p epper. Any other way, and you don’t eat it. Your favorite book is by E. Benjamin, a poetry book. I, personally, like the one titled ‘Wilting Wildflowers,’ but your favorite is ‘Trying.’ You love painting flowers but prefer drawing pictures of people in their natural surroundings. When you are mad, you put your hands on your hips like you are scolding a child, and when you are happy, truly happy, your smile reaches a point where a dimple can be seen on the left side. Almost like now,” I say, touching the little dimple with my finger. “You’re smart, brave, strong, shy, sensitive, talented, caring, empathetic, and apparently, an excellent fighter.” She laughs, and the sound is so beautiful I smile. I wish she laughed more often, that thought forming into a challenge. That’s what I wanted her to do. Laugh more. But first. “I want to know you, Braiden. But you haven’t been around much. I thought it was because of the gala, that you might be avoiding me after what happened.” She blushes, and I smile, the thought that she is embarrassed after what we have done just alluding to her innocence.
“Every moment I have had with you so far has been nothing but memorable, Ava, in only the best way. Don’t doubt that. I was giving you space, and work has been hectic. But I realize now that we don’t need space. We need to be around each other. How about we go on a date? Tomorrow night. After we attend the pack dinner together.” I wait for her response, the emotions flying across her beautiful features. “Okay,” she says finally, a small smile on her lips. “There is something else, Ava. Something we need to talk about.” I hesitate, not sure how to broach this topic. “What. What is it?” Ava asks, her smile from moments ago gone. “The silver in your body. We analyzed the piece I picked up from the night of the gathering when you shifted. It’s infused with wolfsbane. We can’t figure out how it was done, but that’s beside the point. When we tested your blood, you showed signs of metal toxicity.” I wait for her reaction and am surprised when there is none. I sit up, and she follows, pulling the blanket close to her. “You’re not surprised?” I accuse her when she says nothing. “I underwent a routine checkup a couple of weeks ago when I wasn’t feeling well, and this was highlighted to me,” Ava says so nonchalantly. I can’t help but feel angry. “I can only assume by your calm reaction to this news that you are not aware of the implications of this,” I say, getting up as a feeling of overwhelming disbelief runs its course through me. “I am aware,” she says, looking away. “Tell me, Ava. Tell me what this means,” I grit out, wanting to hear it from her. Seconds pass before her gaze finally meets mine. “I am dying.”