FIVE

AVA

The look on Keegan's face was that of disbelief and confusion. This had to mean that he wasn't lying to me. The problem was that, my eyes had never been lilac. Never in my life. I moved backwards and Keegan frowned.

"Is this the first time this is happening?" He asked. I didn't give him an answer. I was too caught up in my own head which was already swarming with endless questions of possibilities.

So, I took off running.

"Ava, wait!"

Keegan's voice held concern but I didn't care. I needed to see for myself. I ran until I got to the room I'd been assigned to. I hurried in, locking the door with shaking fingers. Then, I rushed to the bathroom. Once I got there, the sight of my reflection on the mirror hit me hard. For a moment, all I could do was stare. I didn't blink or breathe. I just...stared.

My eyes were gleaming with a mysterious brightness. A wave of dizziness washed over me and I stumbled out of the room, fishing my phone out of the pocket of my jeans.

With unsteady fingers, I dialed the number of my brother's wife, Rylee. She picked the call at once.

"Hey. Are you doing alright?" She asked.

"I-" I gulped.

"Ava?"

"Can you give the phone to Zeke, please?"

If something this mysterious was happening to me, there was only one person who could point out what was going on with me. Zeke was the oldest member of the pack. He was born as a hybrid who was both werewolf and Fae. Although his powers were slowly diminishing due to his curse, he was still as bright as ever.

"Is something wrong?" Rylee asked. I could hear her moving.

"Something happened to my eyes"

"Your eyes?" She breathed, her voice reflecting her concern.

"Zeke is here" she stated.

"Zeke, it's Ava. She wants to speak with you," I heard her say.

"Zeke! My eyes turned lilac today. I'm freaking out"

"Lilac? Put me on video call" he said.

"But, you can't even see"

"Silly. Although I've lost my vision, I don't need eyes to see energy no matter how far away you are."

"Fine."

After switching to video call, Zeke hummed.

"Now, this is interesting" he uttered, a smile tugging at his lips.

"What? Is this a good thing?"

Zeke's emerald eyes glimmered.

"Your soul tapped into divine energy. I believe it happened the night abundant energy was released into the air"

"You mean... the night our pack was attacked by the demon for the second time?"

"That's right. Your wolf is the kind that absorbs energy quite easily. This energy is only manifesting now because your body had to get accustomed to the new energy."

"Woah. So..."

"In summary, you are a Reka. Rekas are unique creatures, be it werewolf, vampire, kitsune and the rest. They absorb energy and leave a cooling or soothing effect on their environment or on the people around them. Your mother was one. Unfortunately, your father was a Sakun. Sakuns unconsciously feed on the energy of Rekas and weaken their ability to produce a soothing effect."

"What about my brother? He must be a Sakun"

"That's right. The only reason why it is suppressed is because of Rylee's presence. She is neither Sakun or Reka. Her abundant soul energy tames the Sakun in him"

"There's one more thing you should know about Rekas. It's important that you stay away from vampires"

"What?"

"Rekas have rare blood that can..."

The knock on the door startled me into ending the video call.

Heaving a sigh, I checked my reflection on my phone screen. My eye colour had gone back to normal.

"Who's there?" I asked.

"Venom" he responded.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and came face to face with Venom.

"Mind if we take a walk?" He asked and I nodded.

"Do you like the pack house so far?" He asked and I nodded.

"It's really nice."

"My father was the head of this pack. He was a rogue and so was my mother. They died during one of their missions together. I was ten at the time. I had to be responsible for the well being of my baby sister" he said.

"It must've been tough for you."

"It was."

"Shade seems to be quite nasty" I said. He smiled.

"She was different at first. The Shade I used to know was kind and hardworking. She has allowed her power to get into her head. Just like you said, she can be very nasty. Try not to make her hate you."

We walked for a while, following the moonlit path. We didn't say much, but there was no awkwardness between us.

"Have you had dinner?" He asked me on our way back to my room.

"Yeah."

He turned to look at me, his eyes glowing. He brought a hand to the side of my face and gazed into my eyes.

"You have such beautiful eyes" he rasped.

"Thanks" I breathed.

"Oddly, they remind me of someone I used to know" he whispered. For odd reasons, my heart was beginning to race.

"Ava, let's eat together tomorrow" he said. I blinked, surprised.

"Okay."

"There will be a training session tomorrow. I'll see you after it ends. Deal?"

"Of course."

He dropped his hand from my face and turned away.

When we got the the entrance of my room, his gaze lingered on me for a moment.

"Goodnight, Ava."

"Goodnight."

I watched him walk away. Somehow, this man was into me. It was strange. But, the thought of it gave me some sort of comfort.

...

"My name is Shade. I am in charge of training the new recruits."

We were in a large field, the next morning. Dressed in black, the new recruits rigidly stood with their faces expressionless.

I did the same because I was not willing to draw unnecessary attention to myself.

Shade was dressed in a red, skin tight leather jumpsuit and her lips were coated with bright red lipstick. On her feet was a pair of black boots. She moved past the recruits who were lined up in an organised manner. We appeared to be no less than twenty individuals.

"I'm in charge here, do not forget that. I'm sure you're aware of how much harm I can bring to anyone who decides to become my enemy" Shade said.

I kept my gaze on Keegan who barely made eye contact with me. I was still pissed. He had been so close to rejecting me the night before.

"Am I that insignificant?" Shade stated all of a sudden. She'd just stopped in front of me.

"Ava Shelley, is it?"

Just before I could give her a response, she slapped me across the face, hard enough to send me sprawled on the ground.

I clenched my jaw, annoyance surging within me. She squatted in front of me, grabbing me by the hair. Shade's eyes were burning with hatred when she yanked at my hair and made me meet her gaze.

"You've been eyeing Key, haven't you?" She hissed.

"No, I haven't" I lied.

She slapped me again and pushed my face against the sand. I tried to free myself from her grip but she was too strong.

"I knew you would end up on my blacklist. Your face is just too annoying to ignore" Shade spat.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart aching because I knew that Keegan was watching.

I could feel his gaze.

When Shade released me, she punched me on the jaw and I bit my tongue. Blood pooled in my mouth and I spat it out, pissed.

"Don't you want to know why I am doing this to you?" She asked.

I coughed, keeping my head down.

"I'm simply not interested" I hissed through gritted teeth.

"You dirty bitch!" Shade growled and began to kick me in the ribs. Stars exploded in my mind's eye as pain rattled me to the core.

'Fuck, she's too strong ' I thought, curling up into a feral position.

All at once, she stopped hitting me. I heard her take a sharp inhale.

"Key, come over here" Shade ordered. I squeezed my eyes shut. He was the last person I wanted to see at this point.

"Now, listen carefully..." She said. "Key is my mate."

I froze, every muscle in my body turning to ice. Aura, my wolf whimpered in my head. She was angry but her pain was greater.

I shook my head, refusing to believe what she'd just said. If she was his mate, I would have felt the mate bond. If she was his mate, she was my mate as well. It couldn't be true.

"Want to know why?" She drawled, squatting beside me.

"I chose him" she whispered. Angry tears filled my eyes, my stomach twisting into knots. She was his chosen mate. She'd asked him to be her mate and he had accepted her despite the fact that he had a destined mate. The pain I felt was gut wrenching.

Shade grabbed my hair again and made me look at her. I probably looked like I was barely keeping myself from stabbing her to death.

"Your name is not Ava Shelley" she spoke. Dread filled me when I realized that my cover was about to be blown.

"You're here for Keegan. At first I didn't want to believe it. But, my instincts has never been wrong."

She leaned closer to me, her face only a few inches away from mine.

"You're Keegan's fated mated, aren't you, Miss Morgan?"