Chapter 64
“What is it?” Mika asked as she tilted her head to look at her with full focus as she waited for her to talk.
“I was here last night,” Ava said in a low tone as if she wanted Mika to hear her say and also not hear her at the same time.
“What did you just say?” Mika asked in a subtle tone, as she did not want to raise her voice.
“Yes,” Ava responded, nodding her head slowly as she looked away from Mika.
“I don’t believe you. How could be out here all by yourself last night? And you know the condition that you are in.” Mika said with a stern look and Ava took a deep breath, wiping her face with her palm. She was strained out from sitting down on the ground for a while now so she resorted to laying down on her back, grunting and heaving a sigh while she did that.
“Ava, you still have not explained what you were doing here all by yourself. Why did you not call me?” She asked, scoffing as she bent her head slightly to sling her sight with that of Ava’s.
“I just came here to relax and clear out my head. You know, just did not want to disturb you. That ad why I came here alone.” She explained, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes slowly.
“That’s wild. You should have called me. Have I ever complained about it?” Mika asked, scoffing slightly as she took her gaze away from Ava, whose eyes were still shut.
“That’s not what I was trying to say. You know, at least once in a while I should not bother you about anything concerning me.” Ava tried to explain why she did that, but Mika did not seem to like what she did.
“Something happened yesterday while I was here, and I was almost scared to death,” Ava said and Mika tilted her head abruptly to give her a lot of surprise as different thoughts ran through her mind.
“What happened? Were you attacked?” Mika asked and fear was visible in her tone as she continued to stare at Ava, waiting anxiously for her to talk.
“No! I was not. Yesterday while I was here, I suddenly heard rapid footsteps approaching me. I knew it was not you because I knew that you would never run like that to this place. I don’t think there is anyone who knows that this place exists in Mist Wood, but that thought changed yesterday. The person literally ran to this place as if he were being chased and looking for where to hide.” Ava explained slowly as if she were counting her words as they came out of her mouth.
“Wait, the person met you here? Who could that be because I was certainly not the one that came here.” Mika said in a low tone as she continued to look at Ava with a sharp look.
“No, I was able to hide before he came here. He had a very familiar scent and I did not know who it was. I looked at him from a distance, trying to see if I could recognize him, but I could not.” Ava said in a low tone as she heaved a sigh and grunted, sitting up to look at Mika who was still in shock.
“A familiar scent? Scent of whom?” Mika asked as she was still curious to know who she thought it was.
“Alpha Damon. I was sure that he was the one who was here, but, I just could not….” She tried to talk, but her words were caught up in her throat as she did not find the right word to use.
“Come off that! What have you been doing? Don’t tell me that you have been thinking about that….” She tried to talk, but she did not know what to call alpha Damon at that moment.
“First of all, there was no way he would have known this place at all. You must have been thinking about him lately.” Mika added quickly and Ava chuckled, shaking her head slowly as she did not know what to say at that moment.
“Easy on that. You are getting it all wrong. I was not thinking about him at all. Trust me, I was sure that it was his scent that I caught. I knew he was here, but I only watched from afar at night. His face was not clear enough to be seen, as the moon was not bright enough to show his face. I hid there behind that tree until he was gone before I went home.” Ava said sharply as she gestured all her words.
“Do you think he was the one who was here?” Mika asked in a low tone, as she could still not bring herself to believe what Ava was saying.
“I don’t know, but I was sure that it was his scent that I caught. Maybe my instinct is playing a trick on me, or perhaps it’s the pregnancy hormones that are causing all these.” Ava said, and Mika shook her head slightly before she heaved a sigh, tilting her head away for the first time since she heard what Ava said about Alpha Damon.
“It better be one of those because I don’t see a reason you should be catching his scent,” Mika said and took a deep breath, tilting her head to face the sky.
“I just don’t know. My head is just so full and empty at the same time. I feel like I am drowning in my own world.” Ava said, lowering her head slightly as she exhaled rapidly.
“I assure you that you are not alone in this,” Mika said in an assuring tone, and Ava nodded her head as she did not know what else to say. Different thoughts ran through her mind and with a heavy heart, she only tried to calm her nerves but each time she tried, it just kept getting worse.
“I think it’s time.” She suddenly said, and Mika tilted her head to give her a surprise look as she checked her phone to see the time.
“But it’s just six pm. How can we leave now? I don’t want to leave now.” Mika complained bitterly as she had a pale look on her face.
“Who is talking about leaving? I am not talking about that at all. The peace I get when I am here is second to none. I love it here, especially when you are around.” Ava said, and Mika heaved a sigh of relief as she lowered her head for a moment.
“What then are you talking about?” She asked in a sharp but low tone as she brought back her gaze to look at her.
“I was talking about, taking a leave from work. You know, maternity leave so that I could take good care of myself and my growing child.” She said in a low tone as she gestured by placing a hand on her stomach and rubbed gently.
“I was thinking of that too. Now that he knows that you are pregnant, it should not be that hard for him to give you the leave, except if he wants to be the devil that he already is.” Mika said and Ava gave her a sharp look, taking a deep breath before she leaned backward to lay down.
“Yeah. I will do that when I return to the office tomorrow. I should have the letter of request ready by tomorrow.” Ava said, placing her hand on her face as she took a deep breath.
“What about alpha Jude?” Mika suddenly asked and Ava opened her eyes immediately at the mention of his name, causing her to stare deep into Mika’s eyes.
“I mean, he still thinks he is the owner of the child right?” Mika added even before Ava could come up with a straight answer to her initial question.
“Yeah… He still thinks he owns the child, but I am not ready to tell him the truth either.” Ava said with a tone of finality as she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She tilted her head slowly away from Mika and shook it gently.
“I think you should let him know. It should not be that difficult to do.” Mika said, and Ava gave her a stern look for a moment.
“How do you expect me to walk up to him and tell him about all of that.” She asked sharply and rapidly as if the words were coming as fast as she spoke them.
“Well, I don’t know, but I feel it’s better to let him in on it.” She said, and before Ava could think of something to say in reply, her nose suddenly caught the exact familiar scent that it caught the previous day.
“What is going on? Why are you sniffing?” Mika asked suddenly as she noticed what Ava was doing.
“I just caught a scent, like yesterday. The exact same one.” She said, and suddenly, they heard footsteps and the rustling sound that came with the foot-matching dried leaves on the ground.
“Can you hear that?” Ava whispered as she paid close attention, and the sound grew louder as it approached them.
“Yes. Someone is definitely coming.” Mika whispered and they both communicated with the eyes as they stood up gently, avoiding any form of noise as they tip-toed to the back of the big tree where Ava hid the previous day. They stayed there quiet, waiting anxiously for the person to show up, but the footstep started fading away as whoever it was went back.