Chapter Three

Ava was a tense ball of nerves all through the week, she had known from the first day she met Kris that they were meant for each other, that was almost a year ago.

She shouldn't be this nervous, it was just Kris.

Maybe it was because she never imagined this happening,  she had resigned herself to the future of living alone before Kris walked into her life.

There was no way she would have gotten married to a human without them finding out her secret that she was a shifter who could turn into a wolf at will.

Sighing, she stared right through her laptop's screen as her black cat, Sugar who was running up against her leg, no doubt seeking attention. 

Throughout the week, she had been anticipating and dreading Friday and now it was tomorrow. 

Her stomach coiled in a bundle of nerves even as excitement streaked through her, if she hadn't already gotten her heat earlier in the year she would have mistaken the feeling for preheat symptoms. 

"Sugar?" She called her cat, brushing down the fur on his side as she cradled him close to her.

An answering meow replied to her, he was already used to his human endlessly talking to him.

Ava couldn't help it, whenever she had a new idea and she didn't want to bother Brooke or Kris, she would ramble about it endlessly to Sugar, the cat didn't seem to mind, purring and meowing occasionally, at least he didn't fall asleep while she was at it.

She was already done with the book and had already emailed it to her Editor, and even though she didn't have anything to do on her laptop as she wasn't starting any new book for a while.

She found herself opening the device and staring at it for several minutes before realizing that she didn't have a job.

She had slowly started cleaning up,  the wedding was going to be incredibly simple, just them, the priest, Brooke, and Niall who was going to fly back to attend.

Kris would want her to move in before then if he could have his way and Ava saw nothing wrong with this.

"I'm so relieved and yet nervous at the same time." She admitted to her cat. "Does that make sense?"

Sugar meowed, looking up at her with matching green eyes as his owner.

"Maybe I should take a walk." She blurted out, she was so restless she could barely think straight.

Sugar perked up at this, reaching out his front paws to paw at her.

"Of course I'm not going to leave you behind." She got up after switching off her laptop for the umpteenth time that day alone.

It was late afternoon so they would just make the short walk to the park, more like she would make the short walk to the park because she was the one carrying Sugar.

Then they would sit in the park for a while and Sugar could stretch out his paws in the small, private park.

Hopefully, this time he wouldn't come back with any killed creature for her.

She pulled on a jacket and pushed her legs into her shoes, making sure to properly lock up.

Just as she started down the stairs, the very familiar image of Kris waiting for her to get inside her house flashed through her mind and at the same time her phone rang, she could already tell who it would be.

Kris…

"Hey, baby. " his familiar voice came across the speakers, sending a tingle down her spine.

"Hi, Kris." She replied shyly, adjusting Sugar so she held him with one hand, her other hand occupied with holding up her phone.

"Did I call at a bad time?" He asked reflexively,  knowing that she didn't fancy him interrupting her while she was absorbed in her writing.

"No, no." She quickly dismissed that thought. "I told you I already finished it up."

"Yeah." He muttered dryly. "You called me at 3 am to inform me." He recalled it fondly.

Ava grinned sheepishly, moving her head to the side to move her curls out of her eyes. "You always complain about how I never tell you enough about my writing."

"I'm not complaining, Ava." He said seriously. 

Ava's smile only grew wider, she liked it whenever he said her name. "Thank you for the flowers." She remembered to say."

She had woken up late from not sleeping in time the night before to find out that he had come in early in the morning to move her from where she had uncomfortably fallen asleep at her desk to the bed.

Her sweet boyfriend had also brought flowers from his mother's garden, just how she liked it.

"My pleasure, baby." She could hear the smile through his voice. "Are you walking?" He asked with a slight frown.

"Yeah, Sugar and I are taking a short walk to the Park." She informed him.

"Say hi to the furball for me and don't stay out too late." He reminded just like he always did.

"Of course, bye Kris,  see you tomorrow." She ended the conversation, hanging up so she could slip her phone in the pocket of her loose pants.

Ava could not remember how her day ended but too soon it was morning and she was running around trying to get ready on time before her boyfriend would show up.

Sugar just sat on her bed and watched her panic, occasionally licking his paw, he was not impressed.

Usually, they both slept in till the sun grew warm but she was already up so early.

They would have to come back to pick him up because she had dinner with Kris and his mom, Brooke had been clamouring for Sugar's visit.

She had already picked out an outfit, a cute, short, white dress. It had a plunging neckline, short puff sleeves, an open back design with lacing detail, an elasticized waistband and a flounced skirt. 

She was dressed in no time, her feet encased in sleek, black flats.

She just brushed out her curls and applied gloss to her lips, never being the one to put on too much makeup. 

She paced the length of her room, occasionally stopping in front of her mirror to look herself over.

After she got tired of pacing she sat down on the bed, her stomach in knots.

"You don't think I woke up too early, do you?" She asked Sugar, letting the cat crawl on her lap.

A glance at the clock told her that she indeed woke up too early, it was just 8:30 am and Kris had promised to come to pick her up by 9 am.

What was she to do for thirty whole minutes?

Sugar meowed plaintively up at her, pawing against her to remind her that she hadn't fed him yet.

She does that in relief, grateful to have something to occupy her while she waited, just as she was done with taking care of her cat, she heard the tell-tale sound of Kris's car.

She opened up the front door before he could make his way up the stairs, smiling down at him brightly even as Sugar meowed around her legs, equally excited to see him.

Kris froze up, his heart thudding painfully in his chest, it wasn't possible to fall in love with one person over and over again, right?

He didn't bother with words, taking the last couple steps in one single stride and sweeping Ava into his arms, kissing her hard so she would be as breathless as she made him.

"Hey, furball." He squatted to pick up Sugar after he and Ava had separated.

The cat had been pawing at him restlessly, uncaring that he was almost ruining their kiss, when Sugar wanted attention, he would get it by hook or by crook.

The black cat immediately curled up in Kris's arms, purring in content.

"You spoil him too much." Ava muttered, shaking her head at them. "I'll be right back, I need to grab my purse." She added, leaving Kris seated on one of her couch.

She caught her reflection one last time when she got to her bedroom, giving herself a reassuring smile.