Chapter 31 - Resolution
The moment Ava arrived on the training ground expecting to find Nolan but instead found Kade with a worried expression on his face.
"You need to leave, Ava."
She rolled her eyes. "We've been over this. I'm not leaving."
"Why?!" His voice was louder than intended, but he didn't care anymore. "Why are you so stubborn? These people don't deserve you! If you stay here, you'll either get killed or become someone you're not."
Her gaze softened for just a moment before she turned away. "You don't understand."
Kade scoffed. "Oh, I don't understand? Explain it to me, then. Explain why you think staying here is a good idea."
She exhaled, shaking her head. "Because if I leave, then what? Do I just run away from everything?"
He reached for her hand, his fingers brushing against hers. "Ava, I see you. I see every part of you. The stubborn, the fierce, the kind. I see the way you fight for people who don't deserve you. And yes, I want to save you, but not because I think you're weak. I want to save you because this place will destroy you."
She searched his face, lips slightly parted, as if weighing his words carefully.
Kade took a step closer, voice dropping to a whisper. "Come with me."
Ava hesitated, and for a moment, hope flared in his chest. But then, her expression steeled, and she pulled her hand away.
"I can't."
Kade swallowed the lump in his throat. "Ava..."
"I can't," she repeated, voice softer this time.
He ran a hand down his face, frustration bubbling under his skin. "You're going to regret this. There are those who do not want you here."
She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I know that already, Kade but everywhere I am, there are those who do not want me. At least, here I am wanted by the alpha."
"So what was I to you then? You forget all about me the moment the alpha turns his attention to you?"
Ava stayed silent for a moment unsure the response to give to him. "I think Nolan should handle my training from now on."
Kade took one last look at her, memorizing every detail, every curve of her face, every stubborn line of her jaw. Then, without another word, he turned and left the training ground, feeling hurt and rejected.
The wind howled, carrying his heartbreak through the trees, but Ava didn't move.
She stayed, staring at the empty space where Kade had stood, heart aching, yet resolute.
*****
Ava didn't want to go to the main dining hall.
She really, really didn't.
But she was hungry, and she also missed Lily.
Lily was the only tolerable one among the alpha's concubines. A small island of sanity in a sea of narcissism and pettiness. With Lily gone visiting her parents, Ava had been left alone with them—Sarah and Nelly whose personalities ranged from "tolerable" to "why the hell are you talking to me?"
They all sat around the long mahogany dining table, forks clinking against their plates in eerie silence.
"Nelly... it's kind of funny how religious you are in giving us our monthly dose of contraceptives," Sarah said, her voice as sugary as it was venomous. "But Ava hasn't gotten any since she started visiting the alpha."
Ava, mid-bite, nearly choked on her food.
Wait, what?
She cast a shocked look at Lily, who subtly nodded in confirmation.
So... the other concubines were regularly given morning-after pills? Like clockwork?
Before Ava could even process that information, Nelly sighed, clearly not in the mood for this conversation.
"The alpha hasn't instructed me to give Ava any," Nelly said, her tone bored. "The moment he does, I will make sure to provide it."
Sarah scoffed. "I don't believe you. The alpha doesn't want a child, and the rate at which she has been throwing herself at him like the slut that she is..."
Ava put her fork down.
Oh, here we go.
"Sarah," Nelly said, rubbing her temples, "feel free to take that matter up with the alpha yourself."
Sarah huffed and crossed her arms, not liking that response.
"Anyway," she continued, her voice oozing with faux concern, "if she gets pregnant, the alpha will rip the little bastard out of her."
Ava sighed dramatically, resting her chin on her palm. "Sarah, remind me again. Who exactly made you the alpha's spokesperson? Did he give you an official title? Head Bitch in Charge, maybe?"
Lily choked on her water.
Sarah, however, was not amused.
Her face turned red with rage, but Ava simply picked up her fork again and continued eating.
The truth was, Sarah's jealousy didn't bother Ava.
What did bother her, though, was the tiny kernel of doubt Sarah had just planted in her mind.
What if she got pregnant?
Lucas was... possessive. Intense. Unpredictable.
Would he be angry? Would he cast her aside? Or...
Would he claim her?
Sarah must have sensed the hesitation flicker across Ava's face because she smirked.
Good. That was exactly what she wanted.
Sarah stared at Ava with open hatred, her nails digging into the table.
Ava, however, simply took another bite of her food.
Because if there was one thing she knew, it was that Lucas did have blinders on when it came to her.
And Sarah?
She hated that.
Good.
Let her.
*****
Later that night, Ava lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
She should have just gone to sleep.
But her mind was still buzzing with what Sarah had said.
What if she got pregnant?
Ava had always assumed Lucas wasn't the type to want children. He was a warrior first, an alpha second. But...
What if he wanted one with her?
The thought made her heart stutter.
It was dangerous. Dangerous to hope, to dream, to think beyond the heated moments they shared in the dark.
She turned onto her side, curling into herself.
Her life had never been in her own control. From the moment she was brought to the Silver Pack, she had been nothing more than a pawn. A concubine. A woman meant to serve the alpha's pleasure.
But now...
Now, Lucas looked at her like she was something more.
She had seen it in his eyes. Felt it in the way he touched her.
And that?
That was exactly what she wanted. She wanted him wrapped around her finger and then she would one day become his Luna. But if a child was going to complicate things, then she would ask for the contraceptives herself.
*****
Arriving at the Crimson Pack was way more overwhelming than Ava thought it would be.
She had spent the entire journey psyching herself up, imagining how she would step out.
But now, as the familiar streets passed by, nostalgia hit her.
She hated this place.
She hated the houses, the roads, the memories that clung to the corners of every damn street.
The last time she had been here, she was a nobody. A starved, broken girl with no power, no future, and no dignity.
But today?
Today, she wasn't just anyone.
Today, she was the favourite concubine of Alpha Lucas Raventhorn, the most formidable alpha in the region. And if that wasn't scandalous enough, he was here to introduce her as his Luna-to-be.
She couldn't wait to see the faces of the people who had once tormented her.
To make things even better, Zari had taken special care of Ava's looks that morning.
Her dress? Regal.
Her makeup? Flawless.
Her entire aura? Unbothered and immaculate.
She felt beautiful, inside and out.
So why the hell was her stomach in knots?
Lucas, of course, had insisted on making an entrance worthy of his ego.
He drove ahead of them in his sleek black Lamborghini while she and Zari followed behind in a luxurious black SUV.
Ava swore he did it just to be extra.
When they finally pulled up in front of Alpha Leon's estate, the guards rushed over to open the car door for her.
Ava stepped out gracefully, head held high, her confidence radiating off her.
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And then she saw him.
Alpha Leon.
Her former fated mate.
The man who had rejected her, watched her get beaten, humiliated her, and cast her aside like she was nothing.
Oh, this was about to be fun.
Lucas approached Leon first, exchanging pleasantries that were so obviously forced, it was almost comical.
"Welcome once again, Alpha Raventhorn," Leon said with a tight-lipped smile.
Lucas, of course, smirked. "Thank you."
The tension between them was palpable.
They despised each other, and it was glorious.
"I hope you don't mind my entourage," Lucas added, casually adjusting the cuffs of his designer suit. "Ava was feeling homesick, and she suggested we stay a few days after signing the contract."
Homesick, my ass.
Ava fought the urge to snort. She had never felt homesick for this hellhole.
But Lucas was spinning the narrative exactly how he wanted. Making it seem like she had power, like she had choices.
And Leon?
Oh, he hated it.
"Of course," Leon said smoothly. "You can stay here with us. We will make a room available for you and your people."
Ava almost laughed.
This was so clearly a trap. Leon wanted to keep an eye on Lucas.
But what he didn't realize was that Ava was the one he should be watching.
Because she was going to bring the Crimson Pack to its knees.
Leon glanced around. "Where is Ava, if I may ask?"
Right on cue, Lucas turned and smirked.
"There she is."
Ava stepped forward, watching as realization dawned in Leon's eyes.
It took him a full three seconds to register what he was looking at.