Ava’s POV
Was it just my ingenuity? Was it all just one-sided love?
I was in love with them without a doubt about what I was feeling for them. The haul kept pushing me to them, and sometimes I felt it wasn’t me. I felt as if something was controlling me. I was being controlled by an unknown magic. I lost control when I couldn’t see them, and I wanted to scream in rage when I thought about or caught a glimpse of them with another woman.
Why? What was going on with me? Why was I feeling this way? Despite everything, why was my heart beating faster whenever I was with them?
I had always despised them. I despised being near men after having experienced rape, torture, and pain, but why were they different? Why did I see them in a different way? They were uninterested in me at all. They only thought of me as a friend.
Why wasn’t everything going my way? Why was I the only miserable human on the planet? I believe I was meant to be alone in this life, with no one to love me. I was bound to die alone.
“Oliver,” I called for her. “Do you think I should tell them how I feel, or at least I should let them know?”
“Ava, I don’t want to see you get hurt,” she said after a brief pause. “I understand you fell in love without realizing it, but I don’t want you to fall in love with the wrong people. I don’t want to see you hurting or crying. It hurts to see you in pain.”
She clasped her hands across her chest. I was surprised Oliver cared so much about me. I couldn’t help but admire her honesty as she proceeded.
“Ava, I don’t want you to get me wrong, I’m not judging you. I only want what is best for my friend. I want you to get out of the pit of darkness you’re in. I want to see you happy and in a new light.”
I contemplated, and everything Oliver mumbled was true. She was right. I didn’t know them well.
“Oliver, something must be wrong with me. I can’t control my feelings. I think someone is controlling me. They are out to get me. I think about them every single day of my life, anytime I am not with them. I feel stray. I feel sad. I feel like I can’t do anything without them. I feel like my body and soul belongs to them, but anytime I am with them, I feel like I can do anything. I feel powerful. I feel like the Earth is underneath my feet. Am I sick?” I blurted out.
***
Oliver’s POV
I was surprised and tried to process everything. I believed every word she said, but I didn’t understand why the word was being nudged by an unknown force.
Is it true? I’ve never seen anyone with magic. Magic, does it exist?
“Why is this happening to her?” I asked myself.
If she was being controlled, as she claimed, it meant she didn’t love them. She felt compelled to be near them at all times. Damn! I should figure everything out for her.
“Stop crying, Ava. Wipe your tears away,” I told her. “You will be fine.”
“No, Oliver. I’m not fine. This isn’t me. I had always disliked the scent and breath of men, but everything changed when I met them. I changed in an instant. Do you realize how much I crave their touch even though I never let any guys make contact with me? Why are they different? I’m strong, but I never hesitated to show them my weakness. I don’t need anyone to depend on, but I’m starting to rely on them. Don’t you think there’s something wrong here, Oliver?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Nothing’s wrong if you’re in love. We just need to figure out what and where it goes wrong,” I tried to reassure her.
“What if… What if they were sent to me by Mr. Drake? What if I will be forced to return?” she wondered.
I was shocked to see my best friend wobbling and cold sweat dripping down her forehead. She was terrified and panicking. Oh, shit!
“Ava, stop. No, Ava!” I screamed when I realized she was no longer responding to me.
Oh my goodness!
“Ava, wake up!”
***
Ava’s POV
My eyes gradually opened. I woke up not knowing where I was.
“Oliver,” I managed to call her, my voice came out weak.
“She’s awake,” I heard her say to someone. “I’m glad you’re awake, Ava! You make me worried!”
“Where am I?” I inquired, taking in my surroundings.
“You don’t remember anything that happened? Ava, you’ve been admitted to the hospital.”
“H-Hospital? Why?” I stammered as I struggled to get up.
“Hey, don’t get up. You’re still frail,” a familiar voice said, causing me to come to a halt. “Just lie down and tell us everything you need.”
“I want nothing, but why are you here, Aiden? I asked him.
“We were both concerned about you when you missed classes, so we called to check on you, but Oliver answered the phone and notified us you were admitted to the hospital,” he explained.
“Oliver, how long have I slept?”
“Three days and one night,” she answered.
My eyes widened. “What? Three days?”
I slept for three days?
“Did you stay with me?” I asked my best friend, who raised her brow at me.
“Duh! Who else do you expect to stay with you, silly?”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
“Give her some time to rest. Stop talking to her,” the silent Ethan said for the first time today.
“All right. We’ll come back to check on you,” Aiden said.
Ethan approached my bed before kissing me on the forehead and exiting the room.
“Rest well, darling. I will be back to check on you,” Aiden said as he walked away.
I turned to face my friend. “Oliver, you shouldn’t have called them,” I said when I noticed they were gone.
“It isn’t my fault. They kept calling. They called me the day you were admitted, so I gave them the hospital address right away. They both arrived on time and without delay, and they refused to leave after,” she explained.
“What? Don’t tell me they’ve been here in the hospital the whole time?!” I exclaimed.
“Yes. They insisted, so I gave up and told them to do as they pleased. They’ve been sleeping in front of your room, taking turns checking on you.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise as she explained and shared everything with me.
“When you were having dreams about your past, they were the ones stroking your hair to calm you down,” Oliver continued.
Should I say I was shocked? No, I was indeed shocked, or perhaps beyond that. They must be disappointed with me.
“How much did they know about me? I mean, my past,” I queried in a weak voice.
“Little. I guess not everything,” she replied, peeling some oranges.
“Oh, no! They must have loathed me by now, thinking I’m a dirty woman who isn’t pure,” I said, heartbroken.
“Ava, I don’t think so. What I see is different from what you’re saying, and stop calling yourself a dirty woman!”
“I don’t understand you. What do you see?”
“Those stealing glances. Those odd look in their eyes. It looked genuine. They were curious about what was going on with you, and their eyes were filled with love and admiration for you. I don’t believe it was ever one-sided in the first place. They love you, Ava.”
“Are you for real, Oliver?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m certain. I know what I see. That is the same look my father gives my mother. He looks at her with love, admiration, and desire. That is the same look I see in their eyes. My instinct was never wrong. I could tell they were in love with you,” she concluded. “Now let’s stop talking about them. Let me support you to sit. Eat the orange I peeled for you. We will talk about them once you’re back on your feet.”
***
Aiden’s POV
“You shouldn’t have called them,” my mate said to her friend.
I was hurt. She never wanted us as much as we wanted her. I knew she assumed we were gone. We couldn’t have heard her if we were normal people, but we weren’t. We were Lycans, not humans.
I knew Ethan had heard it, but he was just trying to keep his cool. I could tell he was hurt because we had wanted to claim her all along, but mother had advised us to give it time and not scare her since she was a human. We should never force her to be in a relationship with us. We should make her fall in love with us before we decide to claim her.
I didn’t know how to express my feelings to her because I’d never done so before. I’d never approached a woman before because they were always the ones who approached us. I didn’t know what to do. I suppose I should have asked my friend Travis how I could get closer to her.
Travis was the son of my father’s Beta, as well as our best friend. He was a man whore, just like Ethan, but they didn’t get along. He was always complaining about Ethan snatching his bitches. They both fucked everything under the skit. I must act fast or run the risk of losing my friend.
***
Ethan’s POV
I was the most popular man whore in the pack. Elders said I took after my imperial father, but I never believed them because my father only loved and wanted my mother. He had never looked at anyone but her, so how could a man whore fall in love?
Did they have a heart to love when all they wanted was fun and pleasure? Women were fucked for entertainment. I’d always thought I didn’t have a heart and that no woman could ever invade or dominate it. I desired no woman until I met her, my mate, my beautiful chosen one.
Then, I realized I had a heart. I finally found the one I couldn’t live without. I finally found my other half, the controller of my heart, my queen, and everything. I was finally in love, and it didn’t matter if she was human or not.
Even if all the Lycans rejected her, I would remain by her side. I would pick her over the throne. I’d be willing to die to protect and love my mate. She was the woman who won and conquered my stone heart.
I was restless when I found out she was absent from school. I never caught a whiff of her scent in the air. Aiden dialed her phone number right away. She picked up after the second ring, but it wasn’t her. It was her best friend, Oliver.
She informed us that Ava was admitted. Aiden and I rushed to the hospital when she gave us the address. I was heartbroken when I saw her lying on the bed, motionless. Her beautiful, bright skin had turned pale. Oliver insisted that we leave when our visit was over, but we refused.
How could we close our eyes and sleep peacefully knowing that our mate was in the hospital on a sick bed? What kind of mate would do such a thing?
We asked Oliver about Ava’s illness, but all she said was that she fainted. How could someone faint if nothing triggered her? Something was wrong, but she wasn’t saying anything. We couldn’t put any pressure on her to tell us because we knew our mate would tell us when it was time, and we’d just have to wait. She eventually gave up after realizing she would never win against us because we were staying.
We guarded her room as we checked on her every second. All of a sudden, we heard her scream. Both Aiden and I dashed inside her room.
“No, please! Stop, master!” she screamed aloud.
What was happening?
“Master, please forgive me! I will obey you!” she begged, sobbing.
Who was she begging in her dream? It felt terrible as her body was twitching in a tumor.
“Ava, calm down,” Oliver cried out in her ear.
We were blown away. She didn’t seem as surprised as we were by the whole thing. I guess this had been happening to her, and judging by her reactions, it wasn’t her first time witnessing such a scenario.
She was trying to calm her down when she screamed again. The scream was different this time, and we were both shocked by the next thing she muttered out.
“Master, your slave knows her wrong! Please pardon me and stop whacking me! It hurts a lot…”
My heart was shattered into millions of pieces. She called herself a slave.
Who dared to hurt my mate?
Anyone who was a part of it should be prepared. None of them should have a happy ending because I would torture and cut their flesh piece by piece, inflicting the most horrible and painful death sentence on them. Every pain they caused her must be compensated a trillion times over.
***
Ava’s POV
I was back on my feet and feeling good. Oliver had been gushing about the twin brothers and how caring and nice they had been to me over the last week.
“You guys should just go for what you want,” she always said.
Everything was going smoothly between us. we were back to being friends, and none of us opened up to each other. I was sad, but I couldn’t just go and plead with them to date me. I would look like a bitch to them because what if what Oliver was saying wasn’t true? What if everything she saw was just their care for me as a friend?
I couldn’t afford to lose our friendship over a selfish act. Aiden and Ethan were the type of guys that every girl dreamed about having as a boyfriend. Everything was fine until they both vanished, leaving no trace of their whereabouts.
They appeared and again disappeared, leaving no trace of themselves behind.