08

The next few weeks were torturous, gaining Ava's trust was something I knew would be hard. She was slowly but surely beginning to trust me... at least I thought she was.

We had got to the point where she wasn't completely terrified and could be in the same room alone with me. Although to say we talk would be a complete lie. Getting any form of conversation out of her was extremely difficult. I wanted to get to know her better, understand her life and what she had been through but her guard was up.

This was going to be the first time I had left her at the house alone, but I trusted her with Lucy. As I tried to introduce her to the rest of the pack she got shy and slightly scared, especially towards Kayden and I never understood why.

Our bond was growing stronger and I could feel it because being away from her physically hurt me. I don't know if she felt the same but it was killing me inside, I was constantly craving to be back with her.

Kayden and I had organised a meeting with our allied packs to discuss what we were going to do about Lucien.

After a long three hours of discussing we finally came to the conclusion that we would invade and attack until none of them are left, we just need a game plan which will require detailed planning. Even if I have to be away from my mate to protect her, I will.

Finally getting back to the pack house felt like a relief, although the weather had completely taken a turn. The skies are covered with grey clouds and heavy rain had started to pour.

As soon as we enter the house, my natural instinct is to find Ava. I make my way into the kitchen and find Lucy and Sophie chilling by the island. Sophie was one of my pack members and extremely close with Lucy.

"Where's Ava?" I ask instantly and they both turn to look at me,

"Hey Alpha Jaxon." Sophie smiles at me.

"She's outside." Lucy says before looking back down to her phone.

"What do you mean outside?" I feel my eyebrows begin to furrow.

Lucy looks back up for me before extending her arm out to the window by the sink. "Look for yourself."

I quickly rush over to the window and see my mate outside in the rain. She was standing barefoot on the wet grass, the rain completely drenching her.

"What th—" I cut myself off. "Why is she outside?" I ask harshly.

Lucy shrugs. "She wanted to go outside, said something about not seeing the rain."

I look at her like she's fucking crazy. "Are you stupid? What if she ran off? What if she got hurt?!" I exclaim towards her.

Lucy rolls her eyes. "And you're the one saying she needs to trust you?"

"Lucy— "I say as I rub my eyes with my fingers.

"She promised me that she wouldn't run off, she just wanted to see the rain."

"And you believed her?"

Lucy narrows her eyes and looks out the window. "Uhh... yeah." She says in a 'duh' tone. "She's been out there for ten minutes and she's still there."

"Ten minutes?!" I literally shout before scurrying my feet towards the door.

I make my way down onto the grass and approach Ava, completely ignoring how cold and bitter the rain is on my skin.

"Hey!" I shout over the loud rain and lightly grip her wrist to get her attention.

She turns to me and she is smiling. Not even smiling, she is beaming. Just looking at her made me catch my breath.

The way her dark wet hair is stuck across her forehead and cheeks. The rain drops that had completely covered her skin and how they had clung to her eyelashes.

Her eyes were lit up with excitement and happiness and I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"What are you doing out here?" I question snapping myself out of my trance. I quickly take off my jacket and wrap it around her tiny little frame.

"The rain, it's amazing." She says as she holds out her hands so the droplets hit her palms.

She looks up to the sky and closes her eyes.

I can't even stop myself with what I do next, the bond was growing strong and the urge to not touch her was killing me. I needed to feel her skin.

Reaching up I cupped her face with my hand gently, completely catching her by surprise her eyes finally look at me.

I furrow my eyebrows at her slightly. "You've never seen rain before?" I question.

She laughs almost ignoring the fact that my hand is on her face. "Of course I've seen rain. It's just been two whole long years since I've seen rain and it just... it just—" She cuts herself off.

I find myself slowly rubbing my thumb along her cheekbone and stare into her mesmerising brown eyes.

"It just what?" I ask as I look down to her lips, rain drops onto them continuously.

"It makes me feel so alive. It reminds me that I am alive." She says before pausing and looking away to think. "It's like I can actually feel something that is real! I can go outside, I can feel the rain, I can breathe out here!"

Smiling down to her, I slightly grip her face tighter which causes her to look at me again. Her big bright eyes still beaming at me. "You never fail to amaze me, you know that?"

I cannot ignore the way that she nervously swallows and her cheeks begin to redden.

"Come on, let's get you inside you must be freezing!" I say as I drop my hand from her face and gently take her hand, leading us back to the house.

Whilst she takes a shower, I set up the living room so that it feels cozy and comfortable. I light the fire place and dim the lights, collecting as many blankets and pillows as I could find.

"You two getting along well then, huh?" I hear Lucy's voice. I turn to look at her and she's leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"I'm not jinxing it Lucy, I'm just taking it one day at a time." I say honestly and I watch as she smiles.

"Wise choice big bro." She nods.

A few moments later Ava appears in the door. I notice that she's wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of loose pyjama bottoms.

"I'll leave you guys too it." Lucy raises her eyebrows once and purses her lips before leaving Ava and I alone.

"Come," I say gently to her. "I've got blankets and snacks." I touch the sofa next to me.

I notice as she fumbles with her hands before slowly making her way over. She sits down leaving a little space between us. The urge to just have contact with her was creeping up inside me but I knew I had to respect what she wanted.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" I suggest and she nods instantly.

"What's your favourite movie?" I ask and I watch as she takes her bottom lip in between her teeth and she thinks.

I can't help but watch and think how her lips would feel on mine. Instantly shaking my head at my thoughts, my eyes look anywhere but her lips. My wolf was getting too excited and I needed to suppress any inappropriate thoughts. She wasn't ready and there was no way I'd touch her until she was.

"I-I think I used to enjoy She's The Man when I was younger." She says.

"She's The Man it is," I say as I find the movie on the TV.

I pass her a few blankets and watch as she snuggles into them, wrapping herself up like a burrito.

Half way through the movie she lifts her head and looks at me. "W-Where were you today?" Her voice is quiet. I find myself somehow shuffling a little bit closer. "No one would tell me why you all left..."

I smiled at her. "To make sure that no one can ever hurt you again." My voice speaks over the movie.

A confused frown falls on her face. "What do you mean?"

"We had a meeting with all our allied packs, I wanted to make sure that Lucien and his pack are going to pay for what they did." I tell her seriously.

I watch as she becomes alert and sits up on the sofa, her body now closer to me than before. "B-But what about you and your pack? He's dangerous, you're putting all of them in danger!" She says, panic evident in her voice.

"Hey, shh. Calm down." I say soothingly. "His pack have nothing on mine let alone all the other packs that are going to help us."

Her eyes flicker away from mine and her chest begins to heave quickly. I reach out to touch her hand gently and the sparks fly between our skin. The strongest I had ever felt it.

I know she felt it too. "I don't know if I'll get used to that." Ava says hesitantly as she pulls her hand away.

"Used to what?"

"Getting butterflies when you, urm when you touch me." She stutters slightly. "I've never felt anything like it before."

"It's the bond. You feel it?"

She nods vigorously as she looks at me.

"Can I ask you a question?"

She nibbles her bottom lip and I focus my eyes back on hers instead. "Yes." She replies.

"Do you remember who your parents are? What their names are?"

Ava looks away from me and towards the bookshelf whilst she thinks deeply. "I-I can't remember." She shakes her head.

"Do you remember where you grew up?"

"No." She whispers.

"Why are you so scared of my beta, Kayden?" I ask and her eyes snap to mine in an instant.

I remember her asking me about him, I remember how her body shook in fear. Whenever he was around she disappeared, it was strange and I wanted to know why.

Tears gather in her eyes and her hands begin to shake, I can sense how scared she is inside. Feeling her feelings would literally be the death of me.

Before I know it she pushes the blankets off of her and races out of the living room. I'm hot on her trail and follow her instantly. "Ava," I say to try and stop her but she never turns around.

"Wait!" I say as I lunge forward and grab her wrist.

She pulls it away with such force she almost falls backwards. "Don't touch me," she says quickly as two tears roll down her cheeks.

"Don't push me away Ava, I'm only trying to understand." I plead.

She shakes her head and backs away from me. "Leave me alone." She says before disappearing up the stairs.

"Ava!" I shout after her but she's gone before I know it.