AVA
A couple hours after that eventful breakfast, I found myself in the gym, kicking bags. The fight I’d had with Beta Alexander had become the talk of the pack, and both the Beta and Alpha referring to me as Artemis may have let it slip that I had my wolf already…
“Fuck,” I growled under my breath, kicking the bag so hard it split.
Footsteps suddenly stopping behind me had me spinning around, still trying to keep my temper and Artemis under control. It was the twins. As soon as I saw them, I turned back before they could notice Artemis in my eyes.
“Ava… talk to us,” Callum begged. “What happened this morning?”
“Just a dispute with your dad after our run, Callum. Nothing major.”
“Ava, that didn’t sound like it wasn’t major,” Oscar added.
“It’s fine, leave it,” I growled, kicking the bag again.
“Ava, please, talk to us,” Noah begged. I turned to face them all, my eyes closed, willing Artemis to calm down.
The looks on their faces when I opened my eyes said it didn’t work, and my eyes were still yellow.
I blinked a couple times, willing Artemis to calm, finally feeling her slink away to strop in the back of my mind rather than showing off her presence in my eyes.
“Your eyes, Ava… they were yellow?” Theo prompted.
“Trick of the light.”
They didn’t look convinced. “Have you finished your workout, Ava?” Theo asked. I nodded, pulling the gloves off my hands.
“I need to have a shower before heading to a meeting with your dads, I’ll see you all at lunch.”
“Ava, you can talk to us!” Noah called out as I walked towards the exit.
“I wish I could, Noah, but until Alpha Jacob gives me the okay, I can’t.”
Or if my hand gets forced, that too.
Alpha Jacob and Beta Alexander were already in the Alpha’s office when I got there. “Ava, take a seat,” Alpha Jacob motioned.
I nodded, sitting next to Beta Alexander who refused to look in my direction.
“Let’s get straight to this, Alex, Ava, shall we?”
I nodded, as did Beta Alexander.
“I know this is a tense situation for both of you, but you can not let your wolves lose control like that in public.”
I could feel in the air that Beta Alexander was thinking about protesting, just like I was.
“Before you two say it, it is completely understandable why you both lost control like that, and you both need to at least try to see it from the other’s point of view, or we’re just going to have all manner of problems. Especially because Artemis is supposed to be under lock and key for now.”
“I know, Alpha,” I sighed. “But Artemis is an Alpha. She’s in danger, I’m in danger, her pack is in danger. Your wolf wouldn’t like this any more than Artemis does.”
Alpha Jacob nodded. “Absolutely, Lloyd would be unbearable if the positions were reversed, and, Alex, I know Kieran would be too. At breakfast today, I even felt like I was going to lose control of my wolf. Like Kieran, Lloyd feels like his adoptive daughter is being threatened, and he can’t handle that.”
He sighed. “Now we’ve all accepted that it’s understandable that all the wolves in this room are angry, we need to come up with a plan.”
I nodded, getting ready to address their wolves directly. “Kieran, Lloyd, I know neither of you like this, but I still believe I should run a border patrol route.” My voice deepened as Artemis pressed forwards.
They both growled at us. “I need both of you to trust me,” she replied. “I need you to trust that I can take care of myself, and that I can take care of Ava.”
“Artemis… I do trust you, you’re strong, and an incredible wolf. But…”
“No buts, Kieran. You either trust me to do this, or you don’t.”
“Artemis…” Kieran sighed. “Let me run the route with you.”
I nodded. “It would be my honour to run a patrol route with you, Beta.”
Artemis really can lay it on thick when she wants to get her way.
I pushed her to the back of my mind now she had gotten what she wanted and calmed down. “Beta,” my voice was normal again. “I believe the best course of action is that you and I run the full border, check in with patrols, and look for any blind spots. We can then plug the gaps.”
“I agree, Ava.”
“Thank you, Alpha,” I nodded in his direction.
Beta Alexander looked deep in thought. “There is another problem we need to address, and that’s our sons, Alpha.”
I winced. Yeah, they probably know about Artemis right now.
“Ava?” Alpha Jacob asked.
“They are going to have put two and two together about Artemis by now, Alpha. They heard me fighting with Beta and us using our wolves’ names, and when I was working out earlier, they would have seen Artemis’ eyes.” I glanced at Beta Alexander. “They were also a bit suspicious about my 5am runs with you, Beta.”
He nodded, face tense. “What do you want to do, Ava? If what I’m seeing is accurate, you’re going to be spending increasing amounts of time with mine and the Alpha’s sons.”
“I think the boys need to meet Artemis.”
“If you’re sure, Ava?” Alpha Jacob asked.
“I am, Alpha. If they haven’t already, it might be good for your sons to meet Kieran and Lloyd too.”
They both nodded. “We can set that up,” Beta Alexander replied. “We’ll have to give them a condensed version of the rogue issue too. Have you met Artemis yet, Alpha?”
He shook his head, a smile on his face.
“She’s something else,” Beta Alexander smiled.
“I’ll message the boys to meet us at the training ground. The three of us can then run there in our wolf forms?”
They both nodded their agreement.
The Five
Ava: I have someone I’d like you all to meet. Be at the training ground in ten minutes.
Callum: Getting in the car now, little one.
Once we knew they were on the way and would beat us there, the three of us stepped outside, ready to shift. Beta Alexander went first; a beautiful grey wolf. Alpha Jacob went next, a dark brown wolf, a good four inches taller than Kieran.
Once they were watching, I let Artemis come forward, shifting into my midnight black wolf. Next to the alpha, I was only an inch or so shorter. The two of us dwarfed poor Kieran.
“Ava, Artemis,” Alpha Jacob whispered over the link, his head bowed. “You really are something.”
I bowed my head in respect back, before straightening back up and shaking my fur out.
“Shall we run?” I asked through the link.
“Let’s do it,” Beta Alexander replied.
Alpha Jacob didn’t say anything, he just yipped in excitement and sprinted towards the trees.
The three of us laughed through the mindlink, sprinting and jumping around each other so fast that we reached the training grounds in no time.
“The boys are already here, Artemis, Kieran. You two wait here, I’ll go first and then introduce you two.”
We all nodded.
I watched the twins’ faces all morphing through various degrees of shock as the massive brown wolf trotted up to them before shifting to reveal their father.
Alpha Jacob called Kieran through next, who shifted to reveal Beta Alexander, before calling me through.