AVA
The first Monday in June was always an interesting one at school. It was the first day of the formal summer training season. The weather was warm enough that everyone was expected to train outdoors, and all indoor training was put on the backburner unless absolutely necessary. It was never necessary.
I stood in front of the mirror in the changing rooms at school, yanking my curly brown hair into a rough bun to keep it out of the way during my training session with Beta Alexander. Normally my green eyes sparkled with excitement at training with the Beta, but today, not so much.
At lunch time, I was cornered in the cafeteria, my lunch dumped straight over my head. I could have taken down the people responsible easily enough, but the Beta and I had determined that I needed to keep what I was capable of under wraps just until I was ready for it to become public knowledge.
My wolf was special, and once that knowledge was out, there was no turning back. Artemis was a beautiful black wolf with striking yellow eyes and a silver crescent moon on her chest. It was a unique colour; not many wolves were true black. That combined with the fact I could hide my scent was a lifesaver though; I could run as my wolf through the woods without worrying about running into people I didn’t particularly want to see.
I pulled my sports bra and leggings over my curves, having to do what I refer to as the ‘skinny jeans dance’ to wiggle the leggings over my curves. Once I was ready, I dragged myself out to the training grounds, ready to get my training session rolling.
“Ava, how was school?” Beta Alexander threw his arm around my shoulders when I reached the training ground.
I grimaced. “Not great, Beta.”
“I’m sorry, Ava. If you would tell me what is going on, I could help you out.”
“It’s fine, Beta, I’ve got this. Not long anyway and I think I’m ready to start kicking their backsides.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Ava, because I had a request for you.”
I met his eyes, one eyebrow raised.
“I want you to start joining me for the pack training sessions. I need a second pair of hands to teach the sessions, demonstrating new moves, feeding back where improvements can be made and the like.”
My eyes were wide.
“It’s time, Ava,” Artemis’ voice ran through my mind. “We’ve got this. You’re strong, independent, and fierce. It’s time the pack saw what we can do.”
I smiled, both in my mind and in person. “Okay, Beta. Let’s do this.”
His arm around my shoulders tightened, pulling me in against him. He really was like an honorary adoptive father to me.
“Thank you, Ava. We can start from Wednesday.”
“Looking forward to it, Beta!”
He smiled. “Good. Now go run your laps.”
I grumbled under my breath as I started my run. I loved my training sessions with Beta Alexander, and I understood why stamina at a run was necessary, but I hated running loops around the training field.
Once I’d run my ten kilometres, I stopped in front of him, taking a drink of water. “New personal best, Ava, well done.” He smiled. “Shall we spar?”
We took up our positions on the large mat we had out just for us two, circling each other, looking for our opening. “Let’s do this, Beta,” I taunted, a grin on my face.
He moved first, feigning a punch to the left side of my face, but bringing his leg around in a roundhouse kick instead. I dodged both, jumping over his leg and dipping under his arm. It was a complicated thing to land, but one that was made easier by my height.
He laughed when I landed it. “Damn, you’re making that look easier every time.”
I smirked back at him, before darting under his arms to land a series of punches to his stomach, before spinning around him to target his kidneys and finally an elbow to the back of his neck.
He growled at the hit, spinning back around to face me, but I’d already moved again so I was behind him. I was fast on my feet; I had to be. My size meant I’d never be able to overpower an opponent with strength, so I had to be faster, more agile.
I kicked straight into the back of his knee, kicking his legs out from under him, letting him buckle to the floor. Wrapping my arm around his neck, I attempted to get him in a chokehold, but he threw me backwards, spinning to straddle my waist, my arms ending pinned above my head.
I let him think he’d pinned me for a second, just enough for him to drop his guard. As soon as he did, I brought my legs up, running them around his back and using my grip to flip him onto his back.
The match went on for a long time, both of us getting good hits in and knocking the other on their back, only for them to recover and return the favour.
By the time we called time on sparring, we were both dripping with sweat, but laughing.
“Jeez, Ava, I swear you’re faster every time we spar.”
I grinned at him. “I’ve had the best teacher, Beta.” I chucked him a bottle of water, which he accepted gladly.
We moved on to swimming; he had me tread water for what felt like an eternity whilst holding a 100 kilo crash test dummy with him attempting to distract me. All I had to do was keep the head above the water, hopefully not letting my ‘Alpha’ drown.
“That’s enough for today, Ava,” he called out, his voice proud as I dragged myself back out of the pool. “Tomorrow we’ll do strength training and defensive techniques.”
“Sounds like a plan, Beta,” I gave him a high five as we turned and walked back in the direction of the main compound.
AVA"Is this really necessary?" I grumbled, stumbling over what felt like the hundredth root as Oscar's hands remained firmly clasped over my eyes. The midnight air bit at my cheeks, my breath forming small clouds that I couldn't even see."Stop whining," Theo said, his voice warm with amusement as he guided me from the left. "We're almost there.""It's freezing, I'm tired, and these shoes were not made for hiking through the woods at midnight," I complained, though there wasn't much heat behind my words. Curiosity had overridden my irritation about twenty minutes ago."Just a few more steps," Noah promised from somewhere ahead."You said that ten minutes ago," I muttered, but allowed myself to be led forward.
AVAHours later, we finally emerged from our suite, dressed in our finest. I smoothed the crimson velvet of my gown, the gold embroidery catching the light as we descended the grand staircase. My Kings flanked me in their matching formal wear—black suits with crimson accents that proclaimed our unity to all who saw us."Ready?" Noah murmured, offering his arm.I nodded, taking a deep breath as we approached the massive double doors of the grand dining hall. The guards stationed outside straightened, then swung the doors open wide.The scene that greeted us stole my breath. Every table in the vast hall was filled, the space transformed by evergreen garlands and twinkling lights. Though many festival visitors had returned to their own territories for Christmas Day, a
AVAThe first light of Christmas morning filtered through the curtains, casting a golden glow across our bedroom. I blinked awake, momentarily disoriented by the tangle of limbs surrounding me. Last night's Christmas Eve celebrations had ended with the five of us curled together in our new matching crimson pajamas, reading winter tales until we'd drifted to sleep.Christmas. The realization jolted me fully awake, excitement bubbling up inside me like champagne. I carefully extricated myself from between Noah and Theo, my heart racing with anticipation."Wake up!" I bounced on the mattress, jostling my four sleeping Kings. "It's Christmas!"Groans answered me as they stirred reluctantly."Come on, get your asses up!" I tugg
AVAI woke to whispered voices and the unmistakable feeling of being watched. Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, painting a golden stripe across our massive bed. As consciousness fully returned, I realized I was thoroughly tangled in a knot of warm male bodies—Callum's arm heavy across my waist, Oscar's legs intertwined with mine, Noah pressed against my back, and Theo's hand somehow laced with mine despite being on the far side of Callum.And they were all very much awake. And very obviously up to something.I cracked one eye open to find four pairs of eyes staring at me with barely contained excitement."What are you lot going on about at this time in the morning?" I grumbled, voice still rough with sleep. I made a half-hearted attempt to burrow back
AVAI woke with the dawn, feeling more refreshed than I had any right to after dancing until the early hours. But today was special—the part of the festival I'd been looking forward to most."Everyone up," I called, nudging my sleeping Kings. "The Kingdom Run starts in an hour."Noah groaned, burying his face deeper into his pillow. "Five more minutes.""Not a chance," I said, yanking the covers off all four of them. "This was my idea and you're not making me look bad by being late."Theo sat up first, ever the dutiful one. "Coffee first," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.Within thirty minutes, we were dressed in simple robes, easy to remove before shifting. I could bare
AVAI stood at the window of our suite, watching the sun start to dip below the horizon. Below, the courtyard glowed with thousands of twinkling lights strung between towering evergreens. The moment I'd been planning for what felt like forever had finally arrived."Ready, love?" Noah's voice was warm against my ear as his hands settled on my waist.I turned to face him, heart skipping at the sight of him in his tailored suit. The white gold tie clip gleamed against the black fabric, the tiny ruby at its centre catching the light."Almost can't believe it's here," I admitted, smoothing my hands over the crimson fabric of my gown. "The nineteenth of December. Our first Christmas festival."Noah's blue eyes softened as he rea