Chapter 4

“Ava…” the tiny voice of the young, extremely beautiful yet intimidating woman called. Shirley and she turned, and her mouth fell open in shock. She wasn't expecting the Lady to be out there in the dark; it was extremely dangerous given the fact that Rogues had been making several attempts at invading the Pack.

“My Lady.” They bowed before her, the surprise visibly evident on their faces. “I didn't expect to see you here.”

“I didn't expect to see you out here either,” she countered. “You have been quite adventurous tonight, I see.”

“Lady Fleur…”

“No,” she interrupted, a mysterious smirk cutting across her lips. “You owe me no explanation as to why you're running out by this time from the Prince’s quarters.”

Ava's mouth twitched, not having any reason whatsoever to explain herself to the Lady who had constantly paraded herself as the Pack leader's betrothed. Every slave in the Pack knew they'd be married if the mate bond between them was clear enough. Ava had always wondered why, but now she knew why the Pack Leader hadn't done what was expected. She was his Mate. Was he aware, or was it just her Wolf acting weird because of her feelings for him? She was sure that was not the case. She knew her feelings earlier when he held her weren't born out of her long love for him. Her wolf had declared him her Mate.

“Shirley, is that not?” Lady Fleur asked, turning towards Shirley standing close to Ava, her hands in hers. “Yes, my Lady.” The extremely prideful Lady from a prestigious family in the Pack knew their names; that was really unexpected. “Go ahead, I have something to say to Ava,” Lady Fleur said, her voice calm yet commanding. “Alone.”

Ava glanced at Shirley, who squeezed her hand in silent support before reluctantly turning towards the quarters. Ava watched her go, wondering what she wished to talk to her, dismissing her friend. “I have no intentions of hurting you, though I believe I don't have to explain myself to you,” Lady Fleur started, causing Ava to stare back at her. “I have every right to see you or any slave wherever, however, and whenever I choose.”

Ava nodded again. Everyone who had encountered her was right. She was an arrogant woman. “I would like to know why you have chosen to meet with me, my Lady.” Lady Fleur turned to face her, her eyes piercing into Ava's. “You sensed your Mate bond with Logan earlier today, did you not?”

Ava gasped slightly, her eyes meeting Fleur’s piercing gaze. How did she know that? Did the pack leader tell her while she was asleep? “I beg your pardon, my Lady?”

Fleur smiled, her face reflecting under the moonlight. She was indeed a beauty with silver eyes, a kind of eyes distinguishing herself and her family as a clan known for generations as a strong, witty, and extremely intelligent family. She was a silver wolf. In the Moonwalker Pack, the eye colour distinguished a wolf from another. “You know what I'm talking about, Ava, and to be fair, you really don't know what's at stake if you acknowledge that buzzing feeling you have for him because he's not who you would like to be with if you knew what his father did.”

“My Lady,” Ava called, shocked. Was this some desperate act to make her back off? She loved the Pack leader, no doubt, and wished the moon goodness would be kind enough to make him see her, but the difference in status was glaring right in her face.

“Logan knew from the beginning that you were his Mate,” Fleur said, causing Ava to stare at her in shock. “He found out long before you turned sixteen, but he can never be with you, not when you're a slave whose parents were killed by his father.”

“What?” Ava echoed, confusion etched on her face as she stumbled backward. What was she talking about? Fleur took a deep breath. “There are things you don’t know about this place, about Logan, and about your past, Ava.”

Ava's heart skipped a beat. “I don't understand your words, my Lady.”

“Annaverita Statham, daughter of Alpha Lukas and Luna Mitchell Statham, who were murdered alongside many others in the park ten years ago.” She stared keenly at her. “Isn't that who you are? A golden princess of the Waterville Pack.”

Ava staggered backward as the echoed cry from her mother resurfaced. “I don't expect you to understand. You’ve been told lies, or you just haven't been told you have been diligently serving as a slave for a Pack who killed your very parents. Not to mention the fact you're mates with the killer's son.” She nodded pathetically. “Your parents must be really disappointed.”

Tears welled up in Ava’s eyes as she processed the revelation. How was this possible? Her saviour brought her to the same Pack responsible for the demise of her family.

“Whoever brought you here must be trying to tell you something, something you ignored all this while.” Fleur's voice echoed, her expression softened, but her eyes remained hard. “Logan’s father, Alpha Ryder, is the one responsible for your parents’ death.”

Ava’s mind raced. Everything she thought she knew was unravelling before her eyes. She felt a surge of anger burn through her. “What have we ever done to him?”

Fleur smiled. “No one opposes the Alpha and stays alive to breathe the same air as him. Whatever your parents did is your business to find.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Ava shot her a disdainful look. “What do you stand to achieve?”

“Are you really bothered about what I stand to gain from revealing what you need to know?” she asked calmly. “The Prince is my concern, of course, and I will proudly eradicate anyone who stands in the way, but you, my dear, need to find the answers you require. I'm not your friend, so consider me doing this as an enemy.”

Ava started, her hands clenched in a fist as her eyes glazed over Fleur towards the very part she had been running away from a few minutes ago. Anger, disappointment, and disbelief overwhelmed her. She turned towards Fleur with bloodshot eyes before walking past her towards Logan’s quarters. “Where are you going?” Fleur asked, surprised.

Ava turned slightly, hatred burning in her cold blue eyes, capable of freezing anyone to death. “Isn't it logical to have a word with the murderer’s son?”