Chapter Five

Avery's point of view

I walked with the Lycan for several minutes in silence,I did not know what to say and he didn't seem like the type that enjoyed idle conversation except maybe it was to ruffle one like saying he was my mate.

The moon goddess would be kind enough to give me a new mate after the last one died due to unfortunate circumstances but she wouldn't ridicule me by giving me a mate that was also a Lycan. Not only were they the ones that attacked my home and brought on this catastrophe, werewolves also hated lycans and had hated them before I was even born.

That was a story I never understood when I was younger. Werewolves and lycans were once considered allies, the lycans protecting the werewolves as they were generally stronger and then after some time, the alliance just ended and they started fighting each other. Dad always told me the lycans were jealous of the fact that werewolves could go full wolf whereas they couldn't, turning into some sort of monster when they turned.

With my mind lost in thought, I had realized that the lycan.... I needed to know his name had stopped in front of an apartment building. The building wasn't anything special, the paint peeling off its body and the look that it could collapse at any time. Are those pipes outside the building? It looked like a deathtrap.

"You can't possibly be living here" I whispered softly. The words rushed out of my mouth without me even realizing it. I hope he did not hear me.

The Lycan clenched his teeth signifying that he heard what I said. He opened his mouth, about to say something but seemed to decide against it because he just shook his head and started walking in.

If I had thought that outside the building was bad, it was just hiding the absolute rottenness of the place. Inside smelled like a pack of rat had died and was hot as hell or at least the reception was, there was various stains on the wall and the guy at the reception looked like he was drinking all through the night.

What was this place? How did someone with enhanced senses stay in a place like this?

"Aahhhh Ryan" The guy at the reception slurred as soon as he saw us "You brought home another lady friend and this one looks absolutely.........tasty"

I shifted towards the lyc...Ryan without meaning to, trying my absolute best to stay far away from that guy but it seemed Ryan had other ideas. He walked to the guy and stood at his front, his eyes eyeing the bottles of beer that clustered the workspace with disgust.

"Come closer" He told the guy, his voice dangerously low that even my ears were almost unable to pick the words up.

The guy gulped, the look of fear evident in his eyes. However he obeyed and came forward and Ryan whispered something I couldn't pick up into his ears. The guy nodded to show he understood or he agreed.

And with that, Ryan was done and we were heading towards the elevator at the side of the reception. Curiosity burned inside of me to figure out what he said to the guy but I kept my mouth shut. Times like this made me miss my wolf's enhanced hearing.

We entered into the elevator and Ryan took the wheels, pressing the number 5 and staying far away from me. Should I start a conversation? I was still thinking of what to do, biting my lips nervously and bouncing on my foot when Ryan spoke up.

"Stop doing that"

Or rather commanded me.

I raised an eyebrow "Stop doing what?" I asked, my hands moving to adjust the straps of my bag.

"Stop biting your lips that way, it's distracting"

Cue an eye roll but I stopped biting my lips "I don't think we're mates, perhaps your wolf is delusional" I said after a second of silence.

The elevator dinged signalling we were at our destination, the doors already sliding open. Ryan walked out without another word and I followed, he removed a key from his pocket when we reached door number 6 and placed it in the lock, unlocked it and opened the door.

"I hope my room is up to your standards"

There was nothing I could say so I just walked in and it wasn't what I expected. The living room was neat, not a speck of dust floating around. It was sparsely furnished though, having only a television set, a round table and some mismatched couches. I moved towards one of the couch and picked up the only thing that was out of place, a notebook with some words written in an handwriting I could not read.

"Anyone ever told you not to touch the private properties of others" Ryan said. His voice was everywhere and nowhere, bouncing off the walls and she finally located him when he plucked the book out of her hands. His cologne assaulting my nose with the smell of Jasmine.

Did not expect that.

"What's in there?" I asked. I dropped my bag on the couch closest to me after observing for bedbug and then sat down.

"And if you don't want anyone touching it, you shouldn't just put it anywhere. What if I was one of your lady friend and I was morbidly curious"

Ryan dropped the book on the table and took a seat across from me. He looked at me like he was trying to discover something but wasn't quite seeing it. And instead of feeling shy, I stared at him back. He wasn't bad looking in the general sense, wasn't even average looking. His dark hair fell across his face, his eyes seemed to be shifting colour in the light, from a dark blue to a stormy grey. They were certainly beautiful. And was that a tattoo peaking from his neck.

"...I have a roommate" He said finally. He was still staring at me like he was trying to figure me out.

I did not know how him having a roommate was any of my business. All I wanted from him was the map or directions to the Gilbert pack, I did not care the slightest about him and his roommate. And I told him that without removing a single word and in a tone that meant business.

He laughed. Full on laughed, his head moving backwards. Pretty sure tears even came out of his eyes. What was so funny to him was not to me.

"I am sorry for laughing but you want to take on the Gilbert pack by yourself" He said when he calmed down "You can't even turn into your wolf and your senses aren't complete, I'm pretty sure this would be the shortest ambush if you can even call it an ambush"

He was right off course. I did not have my wolf yet and wasn't even sure of getting it anytime soon. I would be at the mercy of creatures bigger than me with claws and fangs, stronger than me. I admit there was a flaw in my plan and I did not know how I was going to solve it.

"So you're saying I shouldn't have my revenge"

"I'm saying you should wait for a while, I can help you ....."

My ears perked up at the offer "Help me? How? Even my therapist couldn't do anything to help my situation"

He shrugged "I was a late bloomer, members of my pack even thought I would never transform but not my mother, she had all this techniques we would try until I finally transformed" He scratched at his neck towards the tattoo unconsciously "She helped me with my second puberty if you can say that"

That made sense. Some werewolves were late bloomers, gaining their wolf conciousness at age eighteen while others got theirs at age sixteen. Some did not even get at all and left the pack out of shame while others stayed, they never got a mate though.

If he was offering to help me, that meant my revenge scheme would have to wait for some time. And I had not planned for that.

"How long are you planning to help me?"

He had this look in his eyes as he thought about it, he wasn't sure about this and he wasn't sure about the outcome.

"Probably three months"

What the fuck. You had got to be kidding me.

"Well how long do you propose, it is your revenge plan after all" He stared at me waiting for an answer.

"You have a roommate and I don't plan on staying here but I have nowhere to go...."

"You could go back to your pack" He offered innocently.

I glared at him and he raised his hand in defense. I continued "I think one week should be enough"

"One month"

"One week"

"Three weeks"

"Two weeks and that's final. End of discussion"

His eyes were bright and though his lips were set in a straight line, I already know he was amused. It was there in his eyes. He found this situation funny.

"Let's hope your wolf wants you as badly as you want revenge because two weeks is a short time, very short time"

He left me without another word, through a door at the side of the living room probably to his room, and he carried the book with him. He probably thought I was going to check the contents and find out he was secretly inlove with pornography or something weirder than that.

Left to my devices, I surveyed the room searching for something out of the ordinary. No way, two people lived this neatly without even a single stain. It was unheard of. The room was bigger than it seemed, along side the television, couches and chair, the ground was adorned with a lovely dark blue rug and a clock perched on the wall. A large window stood at the right side of the room, perfect to sit down and read whatever, fresh air or as fresh as City air can be caressing your face. Streaks of light was already breaking through, Dawn came forth with it's beauty.

The clock read six forty four am. I've been on the move since dusk. Dad would be so worried now, I brought the burner phone out of my bag. I could call him now, after all there was a breach in my plans. I knew the number but I just couldn't dial it. I wasn't ready to talk to my father, wasn't ready to hear him try to convince me out of this and beg me to come home because I knew if he called me, I would come. I would come as fast as I could and I wasn't ready for that.

My ears picked up the lycan's movement and I sat up straight, one hand still holding the phone and the other cleaning my eyes of tears I did not even know had gathered.

"Wow I did not know you would be able to keep to yourself Luna" His voice was smooth now but the tired undertone was still there.

I rolled my eyes which seemed to have become something I was always going to be doing now and set the phone down. I turned to face him and I would be lying if I didn't do a double take, he must have taken a short shower when he left because his dark hair was damp and so was the T-shirt he was wearing which clung to him like a second skin, showing his muscles. He looked quite tasty.

"My eyes are up here Luna" He said before chuckling to himself "I have always wanted to use that line on a girl and now I got to use it on my mate"

This guy wouldn't just let that lie go. There was no way I was going to believe he was my mate, the moon goddess wouldn't be so cruel to me. She just couldn't.

"Stop saying you're my mate because you're not"

"And why would I say something that wasn't true, what could I possibly gain?" He had this amused look on his face as he asked the question. He was messing with me.

"You're trying to seduce me"

Wrong thing to say. Very wrong because that just made him laugh. He seemed to be doing a lot of that since I met him, laughing at some of the things I said.

"No need to be angry but I am not trying to seduce you, you are my mate and I know it and you would know it too if you had your wolf" He chuckled, his phone dinged signifying he just received a message "I got to go but I'll be leaving you here, my roommate should be back at any moment though"

I asked the question before I lost the nerve. I couldn't keep thinking about it.

"What did you tell the guy at the reception"

"If you must know, I told him you're my wonderful mate and he should stay away"