Braiden
“My King,” Samuel greets, interrupting our moment in this haunted room as Ava’s crying subsides.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. There is no electricity in the building, and it’s getting late. Shall we come back tomorrow? I
have arranged the accommodation nearby as requested.” Luckily, I had sensed this might take its toll on Ava, and
when we arrived, I had sent Samuel off to look for lodgings for the night, leaving Nick there to finalize the
arrangements, no doubt, as he was nowhere in sight. And these two were always together.
“Come. It’s enough for today. Tomorrow is another day.” Ava doesn’t even fight me on this, allowing me to retrace
our st eps and lead her out of the building to a waiting car.
Just before Ava climbs in, she turns around, her eyes moving across the face of the building.
“What is it?” I, too, look back but see nothing.
“Nothing. Ghosts of our past, perhaps. It felt like someone was watching us.” The hairs on my neck bristle, and
after Ava climbs in, I mind link one of the royal guards nearby to send someone to swe ep the building.
I learned long ago that instincts were never wrong.
We drive the short distance to a large mansion in the middle of nowhere.
“As we are in Alpha Nial’s territory, he offered us his summer house for use,” Samuel explains as we pull up in
front of the majestic building.
Nick emerges from the front door, his face full of concern. He knows this would be hard for Ava, who has been
quiet the whole way here, her gaze fixed on the scenery we passed. Nick meets her as she exits the vehicle, pulling
her into an embrace. Her eyes start watering again, but she blinks the tears away and smiles at him.
“At least some of my memories are coming back,” she says to him, forcing a smile onto her face.
“Still. The way that is achieved is not pleasant. Are you sure you are up to this? We can just take a video of the
place instead of you physically going there again tomorrow.” Nick's suggestion is met with a grateful no from Ava.
I expected as much. Being there and seeing it on a screen was completely different. The smell, the touch. It all
served to jog one's memory.
“Well, there's a massive tub in the main suite. I ran you a bath. Should help you relax.” Ava looks back at me as
Nick herds her inside.
“It’s fine. We have some business to attend to. I’ll see you just now.” My words elicit a small smile and a nod
before Ava disappears inside with Nick —a good friend. I was glad she had him. I was also thrilled he was mated
and to a man. Their closeness wouldn’t sit well with my wolf otherwise.
“Did they find anything?” I ask Samuel when I am sure Ava is out of earshot.
“No, but there was an unknown scent. We tracked it to the back of the building, but with many homeless people
living there, the scent was lost. It could just be a rogue passing through. There is a small group of them in the
woods close to the building, living side by side with the homeless.” While Samuel's scenario is plausible, we had to
be careful tomorrow. The last thing we needed was to be ambushed unpr epared. I would call for more guards to
accompany us.
“Okay. Tell the guards to be alert. I need to blow steam off. Is there a gym somewhere?” Samuel mind links Nick,
who confirms there is. After relaying the information, I find myself minutes later de-stressing as I move from
machine to machine. I needed a run in my wolf form, but I couldn’t leave Ava. The pent-up energy needs a release,
and after the tenth set of push-ups, I decide punching something might just do the job.
The reinforced punching bag hangs in the corner, calling me. I remove my sweat-soaked shirt and start pummeling
the inanimate object as if it
were a real one. The Butcher. The sound of my fists hitting the bag echoes around the wall-to-wall mirror-covered
room.
As wrapped up in that visual as I am, that all flies out the window as the door to the gym slowly opens.
Ava st eps inside, closing the door behind her. The little minx is in a tank top, and some barely fucking their cotton
shorts hugging her curvy rear.
One I know fits in my hands perfectly. Her brown hair is in a high ponytail, and her makeup-free face glows from
the bath she just had. It never fails to amaze me how gorgeous my mate is. My wolf prances around proudly, a
growl es caping me as I watch the sway of her hips.
Her eyes roam my torso, and then she looks away, blushing. She heads to the boxing ring in the center of the room,
pulling herself up and climbing in.
I wander over, curious as to what her intentions are.
“Should we spar?” She leans against the ropes furthest away from me, her beautiful green eyes caressing me and
calling me to her—a siren.
“I could do with releasing some... pent up tension.” She smiles sweetly, the innuendo not lost as my dick twitches.
“Do you think that is a good idea?” I ask her, remembering what the doctor said and that, at this point, we cannot
mark each other. I wonder if my self-restraint will hold, tumbling around in a ring with her looking as alluring as
she does now.
“Are you afraid?” she goads, raising an eyebrow as she waits for me to answer.
“I see my little minx has become bolder. Remember what I said about playing with fire?” I warn, pulling myself up
and entering the ring.
This is a bad idea. But when her arousal hits me, I know there is no saying no. It is more potent than usual. More
fragrant. Sweeter. Like I can even taste it on my tongue.
“Are you ready for me?” Her question makes my dick stand to attention, letting her know that, in all ways, I am
ready. She smiles and then pushes away from the ropes, her stance changing to one a fighter would take.
“Rules?” I ask her, getting into a similar stance.
“There are none.” Her eyes shine with laughter before she lunges forward, her fist landing a surprisingly strong
blow to my stomach.
Her next punch I dodge, but she recovers, jumping back before she attacks again. This goes on for half an hour, and
she lands more blows than I expected. Once again, I have underestimated her. I cannot hit her. But I do cage her in
my arms more than once, her body bucking against mine while she tries to es cape, only arousing us further. It is
like we are in some sort of sexually heightened state. This shouldn’t be as fucking erotic as it is. But for us, it is like
for eplay, her eyes now completely white and filled with lust.
Mirrored in my black ones.
On her final move, she jumps towards me, throwing us both off balance. I catch her before she hits the mat,
cushioning the blow as I land on my back.
Before she can move, I roll us over, pinning her to the floor with my weight and grabbing both her hands to capture
them above her head. My thigh is between her legs, and I add some pressure, rubbing against her core.
Her eyes are wild, her breathing ragged.
“You are driving me crazy, Ava.” I shift my body down, my rock-hard cock now rubbing against her moist center. I
can feel her heat even through all our clothes. Come to think of it, she is hot all over, like she has a fever.
Fuck. My wolf pushes forward, nuzzling her neck, her moans drawing my need out like pulling thread through the
eye of a needle.
We can smell it now, all over her skin—the warning earlier about playing with fire ringing more true now than
ever.
Ava is in the beginning phase of her heat.