Braiden A dream and yet not. My fingers run through silky, soft, curly black hair, telling me this is real. The sle eping angelic face, the perfect mixture of Ava and me, rests on my thigh, and the little snore that comes from her is probably the cutest thing I have heard in my entire life. I cannot help the smile that splits my face—the first genuine smile in years. And then, there is the woman who has tormented me for four years. She finally gave in to exhaustion. But not without a fight. She fought me when I told her she needed to shift in front of me and that I wouldn’t let her out of my sight. She fought me when we packed up all their belongings. She resisted when I insisted we drive in the same car, even fighting me with her eyes as our daughter snuggled close, falling asle ep with her head on my thigh. Any doubt that this was indeed my Ava flew out the window when her hands flew onto her hips. That familiar stance she had taken with me on so many occasions before made me smile, and that action just made her angrier. Even now, as I look over at her, a frown still mars her sle eping face. Her hand protectively rests on Aliana's back. She has been a good mother. I can tell. Aliana is bright and beautiful, just like her mother. Motherhood has also changed Ava’s appearance. Physically, she is softer, and her hips are rounder. She is fucking gorgeous. My hand twitches with the need to touch her, but for some reason, she does not know who I am. Or at least the version of me that she knows is warped. Lacking intimacy as if we have never met. I pull the picture of me she had hidden under her mattress out of my pocket. It is faded and nearly torn in places from the years of handling. It was a picture of me at a conference I attended a little over three years ago. This is the picture she has of me. Black eyes, sullen expression. A dead soul encased in a body. No wonder she is afraid of me. I fold the picture and return it to my pocket. There was much to understand, but I also know the next few days will be difficult. On everyone. I need to understand what happened. So much had been taken from us, and someone had to pay. “My King, as requested, the pack has been told to make themselves scarce when we arrive. We have not told your parents and Selene what is happening, though I must warn you, they have been making a scene. They can obviously sense, along with the whole pack, that something is going on. We will ke ep them away until you decide.” Samuel's words invade my mind as I meet his gaze in the rearview mirror. With a nod, we approach the pack house. As already mentioned, not a wolf is in sight. The vehicle stopping immediately wakes Ava, who jumps with fright, her eyes frantically darting around the car until they land on Aliana. She sighs in relief and then looks out the window, taking in our surroundings. “This is the royal pack lands,” she states rather than asks, a frown drawing her brows together. Does she remember something? I want to know, but I don’t ask. Pushing her now might push her away from me. Samuel opens her car door, making her jump.
“My Queen.” Samuel's greeting is met with confusion. She looks at me and exits the vehicle before popping her head back into the car and reaching for Aliana. “I’ll take her.” I don’t give her a chance to argue, as I know she will, as I gently scoop Aliana up and exit the vehicle. “Ava!” Nick comes running up behind Samuel, tears already streaming down his face. Ava looks shocked as Nick envelopes her in a hug. While she doesn’t cry, tears brim in her eyes. She remembers him. “Nick? What are you doing here? And why are you calling me Ava? My name is Avril.” Ava pulls back, the confusion and emotion in her voice making my heart break. “What do you mean what am I doing here? I’m mated to Samuel. And your name is Ava. Don’t you remember?” Samuel mind-links Nick, probably telling him Ava has no memory of what happened. Realization dawns on Nick as he nods. “Something happened to you. But we should get you settled in before we get into it. I’m just glad you’re alive. We thought you were dead.” Nick hooks his arm through Ava’s, and it breaks my heart. I can see and almost feel the utter confusion engulfing her. She doesn’t know what is happening. She doesn’t know she has been tricked. Deceived. She looks behind her, gazing at Aliana and then me before snapping her gaze away. It hurts me, but this isn’t her fault. Whatever this is, has been done to her. Been done to me. I have missed out on her being pregnant, on the first years of our daughter's life, for fucks sake. Aliana stirs in my arms as I hug her tighter, and Samuel puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “My King. We will find out who did this. I swear on my life.” Samuel has stood by me all this time. While I have been a complete asshole, he has been here, taking it. I feel ashamed of myself. “Don’t, My King.” He shakes his head, understanding my feelings without words. “You thought you lost her, your mate. I think you handled it better than I would.” I smile at him and bump my shoulder against his, this bit of affection shocking him as he stiffens in surprise before relaxing. “I appreciate your graciousness, Samuel. But I know it has not been easy for you. I have not been easy. Thank you for staying by my side.” Samuel's eyes water with emotion and make me feel even guiltier. I have not shown him how much he means to me. I always just assumed he knew. I would do better. I would have to be with Ava and our daughter by my side. For everyone. “Everything has been arranged,” Samuel says as we approach my house. Our house. I now had a family to share it with. Nick and Ava stop just outside the front door before Nick carefully unhooks his arm from Ava’s. Panic suffuses her expression. “You’re not going.” Ava’s voice is bordering on hysterical as she looks from Nick to me and then back again. She is nervous. Understandably. Nick smiles and then takes a st ep back.
“This feels like déjà vu. I remember the first time I left you here, and look how that turned out.” He jests, pointing from Ava to Aliana. Ava blushes, and Nick laughs before patting her on the arm and leaving with Samuel. “You will be fine. He doesn’t bite... hard.” Ava gasps at Nick's parting words and then turns her back to me. I smile, enjoying her flustered reaction. She must feel there is something between us. She just doesn’t know what or why. Things have been confused for her by others, and I plan on setting them straight. “Do you want to get the door?” I ask her, trying to ke ep the humor from my voice and failing. She huffs and then st eps towards the door before opening it. Then she gasps, tentatively st epping inside. “You live here? By yourself?” I st ep beside her, trying to see my place through her eyes. I suppose coming from her tiny house in the forest to this must be pretty jarring. I forget she cannot remember all of this. “Not anymore.” I don’t bother waiting for her reaction, which I already know will be exasperation, before heading upstairs towards the spare bedroom which has been converted into a room for Aliana. Her items from her home already placed in it to make it feel more homely and familiar. I place her in the large bed, big enough for Ava or me to sle ep in if needed. I suspect this is where she would want to sle ep in any case. “I will sle ep here.” Ava’s eyes dart around the room, lasering in on the window. “Don’t try it, Ava. The place is fully alarmed, and my royal guards have surrounded it—not only to ke ep you here but also for your protection. Whoever took you from me took you for a reason. They will want you back. Besides, you wouldn’t take Aliana out in the middle of the night in an area you don’t know. The Underground has ramped up abductions. No werewolf roaming around alone is safe at the moment.” Her face scrunches up in confusion, and then her hands are on her hips. “Firstly, my name is Avril, not Ava. Secondly, I know how to protect my daughter. I have been doing it for the past three years. Thirdly, The Underground was looking after me. Protecting me from you. They don’t take wolves against their will. Wolves go to them willingly. Jerry told me.” The confidence in her words infuriates me, as does this man she seems to trust over me. The same man who was probably part of her abduction. Who put these false words coming out of her mouth in her head to begin with. Maybe even the man who had threatened Ava all those years ago. Words that had r epeated in my head over and over tormenting me. Maybe Jerry was The Butcher I had been looking for. “You are looking for me, but I will find you first. You are mine, Ava. Soon, we will be together again.” I take some st eps towards her, her hands falling from her hips as she st eps backward, the fear in her eyes killing me. “Your name is Ava. You were born with that name. I will show you your birth certificate and passport. Left behind when The Underground you are standing here defending, took you from me. The Underground that experiments on our kind—men, women, even children, Ava. Children like our daughter,” I say, looking over at Aliana, sle eping peacefully in her bed.
“The same Underground that implanted silver into your body, poisoning you to the point of death and then, if that wasn’t enough, poisoning you again with every manner of human illness—a walking cure to sell to the highest bidder. Think carefully about what they have been doing to you while they have been ‘caring’ for you. Filling your head with lies to make you complacent.” I take more st eps towards her as she takes st eps backward until she finally meets the resistance of the wall. “Filling your head with lies about who you really are. Queen of The Werewolves.” I close the distance between us, leaving only an inch of space as her eyes widen like saucers. Our scents overwhelm us, mingling so close together. It's intoxicating, and even she cannot hide its effect on her. “Who I am to you.” I lift my finger, and she flinches. And then I touch her face softly, the sparks I never thought I would feel again burning between us. Confusion flashes in her eyes as she inhales sharply, understanding what this means. I turn my neck, showing her my mark. The mark that matches her teeth exactly. The words echo around the room, a bombshell to her in the silence. “Mine. Mate.”