CHAPTER 6

~ Ava ~

I left the packhouse feeling partly shitty and partly avenged.

Yes, I was able to get back at Violet for the prank she did to me yesterday, but as always, my parents scolded me for doing it.

“Violet is your older sister. You should respect her,” my father, Magnus, stated in his black suit and brushed up hair when I was summoned in his study room. He wasn’t one of the ‘First Alphas’ in this land, but he still got great influence and power over his pack. Despite having over a thousand years of werewolf age, he still looked young; with thick black hair and only a few wrinkles.

My mother was with him, throwing an arm over his shoulder as he sat in his executive chair. Violet was present, too. My snake of a sister just wanted to rub it all in that she was their princess. I wished that Evelyn had my back, but she was too preoccupied with her teenage girlfriends to even care. She was almost always out of the house, but when present, she joins Violet’s pranks, too.

I was on my own in this family of five. What luck.

“Say you’re sorry and promise us this time it won’t happen again, Ava,” my mother ordered, dressed in a fancy gown. Her honey-colored hair swirled in curls as she just prepared herself for a groundbreaking ceremony they were to attend after lunch.

I clenched my teeth as I felt their eyes burn me.

No. Never.

I would never give them the satisfaction of getting a sorry or a promise out of me.

“No,” I stated, just as I lifted my chin up. “She started it. She should say sorry to me, but then again, I don’t even want her apology. It is useless. She can prank me anytime and anywhere she wants, but she must never use the orphans as pawns. If she does that again, an injured elbow won’t be what she gets as my revenge.”

“Ava, I am not done with you! Come back here!” my father boomed as I turned my back on them and exited his study.

I ignored him and continued on my way.

My father was a perfectionist and always wanted his reputation squeaky clean. I bet he saw me as his flaw...his black sheep because of my insubordination.

Luckily, they didn’t pursue the subject and released me, but I was fuming inside so much so that the only way it could be doused was to leave the packhouse and be with my real family: the orphanage.

This cycle never ends. I wished I could just leave my pack, be a rogue or live in another pack west, north or east of here, but I couldn’t leave the orphaned children, Bea and Michael, on their own. They needed me. I couldn’t let them down.

The Black Moon Orphanage House was my father’s answer to the many lost children ending up in our pack territory. Since we were located at the center of the map, it was an expected occurrence as more and more mates get massacred by the rogue pack.

My father saw it as an opportunity to better his reputation in this werewolf-and-lycan-only world. Families from other packs come here to collect their surviving family member, but those children who weren’t picked up, they stay in the orphanage and we take care of them.

This had been a ten-year operation already, and I was glad to say I was one of its founders. Bea and I used an abandoned house away from the main compound and created a haven for these poor children.

No one volunteered to become its governess. They didn’t want to be associated with the orphans and the gruesome story behind their lives, so I volunteered and, almost instantly, my father installed me to be one. I was more than happy to be in this position. At least through this, I get to escape the discord happening within my own family.

Like what I was doing now.

“Hello everyone!” I greeted as cheerfully as possible when I saw some of the orphans playing in the playground. I didn’t want them to see me in a bad mood, so I had to give them a fake smile.

“Good morning, Miss Ava!” they all chorused after they lined up and flashed their pearly whites on me. There were a dozen of them playing, in different ages and in different heights, but all with the same harrowing experience.

My heart bled for them. I was happy I could become their aunt, even if it was a temporary one.

“Play safe okay? And be sure to wash your hands before you eat lunch later,” I reminded as I tapped their little heads one by one. Little Briana was among them. She requested a kiss from me, so I stooped low and planted one on her forehead.

“Yes, Miss Ava!” they answered and went to playing again.

My heart finally lightened because of this, and the fake smile I presented morphed into a real genuine smile.

These kids always did it for me. They were my therapy from a life full of discrimination and hate.

Sighing, I opened the screen door and crossed the hallway to my office. When I admitted myself in, I instantly saw Bea giving Kitty a spoon of porridge.

The girl was already sitting up in her human form and looking healthy. Her face had a pinkish blush, and her eyes didn’t look sunken. This development eased my worry.

“How are you feeling, sweety?” I asked after I smiled at Bea and joined them on the futon.

“I have no more pain now, Miss Ava,” Kitty confidently announced.

“But she still needs bed rest because she’s yet to recover from her first shift,” Bea cut in while she gave Kitty a serious look.

“But I need to go back to the forest!” the girl exclaimed.

My brows twisted after seeing this heightened exchange.

“Wait. Wait. Hold up.” I quickly placed my hands up. “What’s going on here? Is there something I need to know?”

Bea sighed and placed the bowl of porridge on the coffee table.

“Kitty here wants to come back to the place where she fell last night,” she started.

“Woah.” My eyes rounded. “Why?”

“My husky puppy stuffed toy, Miss Ava,” Kitty filled in. “I dropped it somewhere in that area. I want to find it.”

“But you can’t do that now. Your rest and health is top priority first,” Bea argued, looking like a mother who won’t give in to her daughter’s demands.

I inwardly sighed and brought my hands up again. “Okay, let’s have Michael find it for you,” I suggested.

“Michael isn’t here. He has to attend the groundbreaking ceremony at his school today, remember?” Bea stated, reminding me of this occasion which I, as part of the Carter Family, was expected to attend. I didn’t want to attend, however. I didn’t want to stand with my parents and my sisters and act like we were a perfect, loving family. I doubt they would want me to attend too, so yes, it was better this way.

“Oh, yeah.” I twisted my lips and thought of another solution. “Then I’ll find it myself. I already know the area, so I think it will be a quick retrieval for me,” I volunteered.

Bea cocked her head to the side. “It will be quicker if you shift into your wolf form and find it.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know why I don’t want to do that.”

She shrugged and took the bowl of porridge again. “Just trying my luck, but yes, your idea would be great, Ava. Thank you for volunteering for Kitty.”

I smiled at the girl and grabbed her hand.

“Here, sweety, I promise to bring it back okay, so just stay and relax here. You will be reunited with your stuffed toy this afternoon.”

She flashed me a big smile and hugged me tight.

“Thank you, Miss Ava.”

Bea and I exchanged glances.

“Watch over the kids for me, will you?” I stated as I stood up.

She nodded. “You know I will. Be careful there. Remember about the rogue pack.”

The rogue pack...yes. Oh, goddess.

Because of her words, it reminded me of my encounter with the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack—the exact rogue pack in the rumors. I didn’t want to entertain thoughts about him and how he pleasured his massive appendage; or entertain thoughts of our conversation and what I...uh...did to his balls, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about him now, especially if I would be returning to that particular place again.

Great.

“Yes, I will,” I answered, and smiled at Bea once again. “See you guys later.”

I left my office while gathering up confidence for my quest this day. I had to find the stuffed toy stat and at the same time be wary of the rogue pack and their alpha. He said he was in a good mood last night. Who's saying he would still be in a good mood today?

I realized he could use my scent and look for me, or worse, my pack.

I winced and chastised myself for being careless. Goddess, I hope he wouldn’t include my pack. He could do anything to me; make me suffer or kill me like the other victims. I would accept it all as long as he wouldn’t include my pack.

I wouldn’t be able to bear it.

The Silver Moon Pack doesn’t show any mercy—that was the gist of all the horror stories I heard from the staff over at the packhouse and from Bea.

I could only hope and pray their alpha didn’t hold a grudge against me.