AVA
It was another five days before I was discharged. Callum and Oscar were the same day they woke up,
Noah two days later, and Theo was the day after.
It was a good thing I was discharged when I was or I could not guarantee that I would have been able
to keep my shit together.
It was amazing to wake up in my own bed, surrounded by my four mates again. We hadn’t had that
privilege since before Theo was kidnapped. Oscar behind me, Callum in front and Theo and Noah
laying across my legs and stomach was my happy place.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Callum pressed his lips against my forehead.
“Hey, you,” I replied, my voice still sleepy.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m good, I think, glad to be back,” I smiled. “I’m a little bit weak, but I’m okay.”
“Ava… you were discharged from hospital yesterday evening after being forcibly marked multiple
times, losing Artemis, losing a lot of blood and nearly dying multiple times. And after saving all of us.
I think you’re allowed to feel weak.”
“You’re doing so well, Ava,” Oscar whispered in my ear. “You and Artemis are incredible, and we’re
so unbelievably lucky to have you.”
I smiled, turning my head to kiss him, feeling Noah and Theo stir against my legs.
“Good morning, Princess,” they said in sync.
“Morning, boys,” I replied, a genuine smile on my face. “I missed this. I missed you all.”
“Trust me, babe. We were lost without you,” Noah gave a small smile.
I smiled, but that was interrupted by my stomach growling.
“Right! I’m hungry. Let’s go get breakfast.”
“We missed breakfast, Ava,” Callum smirked.
“Why? How? What’s the time?” I scrambled to sit up.
“Just after one,” Callum chuckled.
“Fine, let’s go get lunch,” I rolled my eyes, trying to get out of bed.
“I think the pack would forgive you if we ate in bed rather than in the dining room, Ava,” Theo’s
voice was concerned.
“Perhaps, but I need to get out of bed.”
They all grumbled as I made them move so I could climb out of bed and have a shower. I was
standing in front of the sink, taking the ties out of my hair when I caught a glimpse of myself in the
mirror.
CALLUM
At Ava’s scream, the four of us jumped up and sprinted to the en suite bathroom. “What happened…”
she growled, inspecting her neck, before turning and checking ours.
“Babe… the marks faded, when you were unconscious,” I replied, voice careful.
“Apart from Elijah’s?” she sobbed.
“Elijah’s isn’t a mating mark, Ava,” Oscar said. “His bite is just a bite, it will heal.”
She met Oscar’s eyes, tears in hers. “Are we sure? It looks… it looks like a mating mark,” the pain
was evident in her voice, it was enough to make the most controlled wolf homicidal.
It was true that Elijah’s bites looked bad; they did look more like a mark than a healing wound, but
they weren’t. He hadn’t broken any of our bonds to Ava, so try as he might… it didn’t take.
“I know they look bad, Ava,” Theo wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing a kiss to her
forehead. “Our bonds are all still there, little one,” he continued. He pressed one hand to her chest,
over her heart. “We’re all still here, you haven’t and won’t lose any of us.”
It was good to know Theo was no longer holding back… but if he kept going on, he was going to
make the rest of us look bad.
AVA
“I mean it, Ava,” Theo whispered into my hair. “We’re all still here. We’ll come through it all. We can
all mark you and you can mark us. Once you’re ready, you can claim your throne.”
I couldn’t begin to describe how happy I was that Theo had gotten over his fear and is no longer
holding back from me. He’s the last piece of my puzzle.
“Thank you, Theo,” I replied, burying my face into his chest.
“Ava,” Artemis suddenly whispered in my mind.
“Artemis! I’ve never been so glad to hear your voice.”
“You too, Ava,” she chuckled.
“Do you think we can shift?”
There was a pause whilst she stretched her legs in my mind. “I think so.”
I swapped back to talking out loud. “Boys, want to run?” I grinned.
We all ran outside, ignoring the looks on the faces of the wolves lining the corridors. As soon as we
were through the door of the packhouse, we shifted, in perfect sync.
My shift hurt more than normal, but that was to be expected. I’d lost a lot of blood, and Artemis had
been knocked out for a long time. I missed my sarcastic, horny wolf.
“Aww, Ava, I missed you too.”
Even if she did have a habit of listening to my thoughts.
The five of us ran together for a while, but I tired quickly, much faster than normal. Artemis and I
stopped by the lake and shifted back, sitting cross legged and looking out over the water.
It was peaceful, and it was a type of peace I thought I’d never see again after Elijah marked me. Now
I just needed to work out what to do from here.
“Selene…” I murmured in my mind, trying to reach out to her. “I could really do with a chat right
now.”
Nothing. Nothing at all.
“Selene, please,” I sobbed. “I need you.”
Still nothing. No response, no acknowledgement, no warmth, nothing.
Fuck. Why couldn’t I talk to Selene?