Braiden
As I enter the room, the first thing I smell is fear. My eyes drift across the room, finding the two people who, if I
had it my way, would be dead. They bow slightly, their gazes only briefly holding mine. Perhaps they can sense
what is to come. When Nick told me about their treatment of Ava when they were in a pack, a loathing for these
two settled de ep in my soul. One that could only be removed with their death.
But killing my mate's parents would probably not do me any favors, so I have refrained—a first on my part.
Darius smiles at me and rises from his chair behind his desk, sitting on an oversized leather couch instead. I take his
place while Samuel and Nick stand off to the side, Nick tense as he looks at Ava’s parents. Patrick and Gloria
Smith.
While my parents were no walk in the park, I knew love, something my Ava had been robbed of. And not just by
her mate rejecting her but first by her parents casting her off. The pack just followed suit. Maybe things would have
been different if these two had stood by her.
And all because she couldn’t shift. My theory as to why lies in an envelope on the table before me. Full body scans
taken while Ava was unconscious d epicted a horror I couldn’t quite fathom. Her body riddled with bits of silver.
Strategically placed at exact intervals from head to toe, bar the few that Ava had ripped out during her life when
she did shift. It
must have been excruciating. I had never heard of such a thing being done, and certainly, no normal wolf would
have survived. It was only because Ava was a white wolf, stronger than most other wolves, that she had.
Ava, who has taken a moment before entering, walks through the door.
Head held high and no sign of the emotions I saw just moments ago. That’s my girl.
Ava stands beside me, her eyes on her parents, who look back at her like she is a stranger. Well, she was. Forced
into the situation, not by choice.
“I have called you both here for answers. Remember that lying to your King is treason. Punishable by death. If I
sense you are not being truthful, I will use my Alpha command. Force the truth from you. It can be painful for
some, especially those weak and small in both stature and character, such as yourselves. For your sake, I hope we
don’t resort to that. Understood?” Fear se eps from Ava’s parents, so strong and pungent that Darius opens and
closes his mouth as if trying to rid his tastebuds of the acrid taste it causes.
“My-My King. We do not understand. Why are we here?” Patrick finally grows a backbone, his eyes darting from
me to Ava and then back again.
They have not heard about the exact details of the incident with Ava or her connection to me, though they were
informed that their daughter was injured. After the mandatory greeting of their King at the gathering, they retreated
to their assigned room as Gloria was feeling unwell.
“I want you to tell me about these.” I pull the scans out of the envelope.
Samuel takes a copy and hands it to Patrick while I hand Ava a copy, her eyebrows dipping in confusion.
On the other hand, her parents look at the scans not with the same confusion but with wide, fearful eyes.
“What is this, Braiden?” Her parents' heads snap up, the casual use of my name by their daughter more shocking
than the document in their hands.
“The doctor took precautionary full body scans while you were unconscious to check for injuries. We never
expected to see this,” I say to Ava as Nick approaches, taking the scans from her. His expression morphs from
confusion to rage, as did mine, when he sees what has been done to her. When you really start thinking about it, the
fury builds.
“You guys knew about this?” Nick asks Patrick and Gloria, his face red with anger and his voice full of disgust.
“N-not the extent of it, but yes, we knew about it. When Ava fell and broke her arm when she was eight, the doctor
picked up on the scan that silver was lodged in her skin and muscles, but we didn’t know about the rest. And when
he said it was just one or two, we left it. He said it wouldn’t make a difference to her,” Gloria answers, looking
between myself and Patrick as she talks, perhaps hoping for his reassurance.
“You didn’t think it impacted me? It is probably why it took weeks for the bone to heal. Other wolves healed in
days,” Ava spits out, her anger at her parents clear as they bristle under the attack.
“You were always different. We thought it was just the way you were.
When you came to us that small with all those cuts, how would we know what had happened to you? We couldn’t
argue with Alpha Maddox, Alexander's father. As Alpha at the time, he would have thrown us out.”
Patrick's words come out rushed and defensive, causing shocked gasps from Ava and Nick.
“What are you talking about? When I came to you? Are you saying—” Ava's voice cracks, her head shaking in
disbelief.
“Are you saying you are not my parents?” she finally asks, her voice filled with hurt and betrayal. I reach over and
lace her tiny hand with mine, the unconscious squeeze she gives it like a lifeline she is grasping onto.
Patrick and Gloria's gaze follow the movement, their eyes widening as they stare at our clasped hands.
“Answer Ava,” I growl, my eyes remaining on Ava's face, her hurt expression one I will never forget. She already
knows. I can see her going through every memory, picking apart every interaction. The possibility validating every
action they took when they discarded her like no parent would. Because they were not her parents.
“Yes. We are not your parents,” Patrick finally admits, no remorse or regret in his voice. They felt nothing for Ava.
Saw her as nothing more than a burden thrust onto them by their Alpha.
“Geezus. That explains a lot,” Nick says, shifting closer to Ava so that his arm touches hers. Her eyes meet his
before his hand squeezes her arm reassuringly. He would hug her if he could, but then she would break, and she
didn’t want to do that in front of these people. She has her pride— something I admire immensely about her.
“Twenty-seven years old, and you now tell me you are not my parents.
And only under duress. If this didn’t happen, I would have gone my whole life thinking what shitty parents I had.
Do you know how much fucking easier and less confusing it would have been if you just told me when I was
younger?! You guys fucked me up emotionally. Distorted my view of love. I wish I were more emotionally mature
to feel anything other than hate for you right now. But I’m not, and you have only yourselves to blame. The only
role models I had growing up. So this is on you.” Ava’s venomous words do the job everything else has failed to
do. For the first time since laying eyes on Patrick and Gloria, guilt flickers across their faces, Gloria’s eyes even
becoming glossy as if she might shed a tear.
The room is silent exc ept for Ava’s ragged breathing, which slowly evens out.
“What do you know about this?” Ava asks, holding the scan up.
“I swear, we know nothing. When you came to us, you could barely talk, even at the age of six. We asked you
about all the cuts on your body, but you couldn’t remember anything. And Alpha Maddox told us we would be
exiled from the pack if we ever mentioned it to anyone.” They were telling the truth, which was a pity as I would
have loved for them to commit treason. Their deaths would not have been quick.
“You will be treated in the same fashion as Ava has been. I will send out a royal notice to all the packs. No one will
give you shelter. From this day forward, you are shunned from the werewolf world and exiled from your pack. You
will live out your lives as rogues.”
Patrick's face drains of all blood while Gloria falls to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
“This is a mercy. You have no idea how close you have come to death today,” I say, looking up at Ava as she looks
at the pair emotionlessly.
No one will ever hurt my Queen again.