King Cameron’s POV
I’m trying not to make a scene. I made clear instructions on who should be coming here for reinforcements, and Rachel was NOT on that list.
I feel a fresh wave of anger at her as I remember the hurt look on Ava’s face as Rachel introduced herself as my girlfriend.
I should have corrected her right then and there, but I was aggravated at Ava. I had just told her not to go running around by herself, and that is exactly what she does.
The amount of panic that I felt when I went to check on the training and no one knew where Ava was, was surprising. As relieved as I was that she was nearby and fine, I need her to listen to my instructions moving forward, for her own safety.
With the craziness of everyone wanting to talk to me and discuss the situation and where they should go, Ava freaking disappeared before I had a chance to talk with her and explain.
I have an idea where she ran off to, especially since Alpha Caleb disappeared as well.
I scowl. I really need to talk to Ava. She has some explaining to do about her past with Alpha Caleb, and I need to explain that Rachel is NOT my girlfriend, that she shouldn’t even be here.
It seems to be harder to connect with Ava than I had originally thought, as we can’t seem to find time to talk for more than a few minutes…especially because any alone time together turns physical, as is common with the mate bond.
“So, put these in King Cameron’s room?” A confused young boy is grasping Rachel’s suitcases at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at Rachel who smiles down at him. The boy’s eyes seem to glaze over as he stares at her.
Rachel has that effect on people, and she knows how to use it to her advantage.
I shake my head as I walk over.
“No, those do NOT go in my room.” I turn to Rachel. “What are you doing here? I told you not to come.”
She lifts a shoulder and tilts her chin down as she waves her hands dismissively at me.
“I thought you could use both the emotional support and my fighting skills.”
She nods her head to the boy and points up the stairs.
“No!” My voice carries across the hall and several conversations come to a stop around us.
Rachel’s eyes go wide as she raises an eyebrow at me.
“No need to get so worked up Cameron.”
“Rachel, I’ve told you, I found my mate. Whatever you and I were, whatever we had, it’s over. You shouldn’t have come here.”
She scrunches up her nose as she looks around the hall.
“You have got to be kidding me. You found your mate, here? A werewolf?” She makes a face. “Obviously, you’re confused.” She lays a hand on my shoulder and gives me a patronizing smile. “Let’s go up to your room and talk about it.”
I grab her hand and push it away from me, trying to keep my cool. Only Rachel would ever dare talk to me this way. She has the same over inflated sense of entitlement as Chris.
An elderly woman who has been helping the newcomers find their rooms walks by and I hold up my hand to her.
“Excuse me. This woman needs to find a room outside of the packhouse. Can you help her?”
Rachels eyes shoot darts at me.
“Of course! We have visitor lodging outside of the packhouse, we have several staying there, let me show you dear.”
I firmly turn my back on her and weave through the hall, nodding to some of my men, but the crowd is thinning and no Ava.
I make my way towards Alpha Caleb’s office.
I smell her scent before I see her.
She’s marching down the hallway, her fists clenched at her sides, looking determined, an amused looking Ralph behind her.
She points her little finger at me as she makes her way toward me.
“We need to talk!”
I nod. “We do.”
She looks slightly taken aback at my response, hesitating slightly before stopping in front of me and putting her hands on her hips.
“You never told me about Rachel.”
I sigh and look over her head at Ralph, raising my eyebrow at him.
He holds his hands up in mock surrender and walks away.
“Let’s go up to our room Ava.”
She hesitates again. I can tell she has worked herself up to this confrontation and doesn’t want to lose steam.
I grab her hand and lead her towards the stairs.
We don’t talk as we make our way back to the bedroom.
As soon as we enter the bedroom and I shut the door, Ava turns around and points her finger into my chest again.
“You never told me you had a girlfriend! Were you ever going to tell me? Do you want to be with her, because if you do, tell me now! Don’t change your mind later, I can’t deal with that…”
I grab her finger and gently push it away from my chest, raising my eyebrow at her.
She trails off as she talks, chewing her lip.
“Come sit with me.”
I take a seat on the blue sofa and she follows slowly, sitting next to me, still chewing on her lip.
I resist the urge to pull her into my lap, for now.
I turn towards her and grab her hands.
I fight the urge to make a face, once again, Caleb’s scent is all over her. I close my eyes for a moment and exhale.
I open my eyes and look into her beautiful green ones.
“Ava, I dated Rachel before I met you, yes, but it wasn’t serious. We basically broke up every other week. We just happened to be dating again whenever I met you, but I instantly called it off the moment I saw you.”
Ava’s eyes are wide, and I worry she’ll bite through her bottom lip she’s chewing on it so hard.
“I’ve already told her again that it’s over, she shouldn’t have come. I want to be with you, my mate. No one else. Just you. Just Ava.”
“Can you believe that? Do you believe me when I say it’s over and I want to be with you?”
She looks hesitant, but she nods.
“Good. Now I have some questions for you. What is your past with Alpha Caleb?”
Her eyes go huge in surprise. She looks uncomfortable as she fidgets in her seat, trying to pull her hands away, but I hold them tight.
“Oh! Um…well. Caleb and I…well, we use to date.” Her eyes aren’t looking at mine, they are looking at our hands, the floor, her shoes…
Hmm. I was right. It still doesn’t make me want to yank Alpha Caleb’s head off any less.
“Go on.” I urge her on, even though I don’t like what I’m hearing.
“That’s it. We dated, he mated to my sister, that’s all.”
She lifts a shoulder and still doesn’t meet my eyes.
“So, you dated Alpha Caleb, and then he mated to your sister?”
She nods.
“How long did you date?”
Her shoe apparently becomes very interesting to her at that point.
“Four years.” Her voice is barely above a whisper.
Four years!
I release one of her hands and run my hand through my hair. That’s a long time.
“When did you say that Caleb mated to your sister?”
“Umm, about three months ago, on our eighteenth birthday.”
Three months ago is nothing, not after four years. And Ava is only eighteen? I know that large age gaps are very common in our world, but that seems so young.
I release her hands and stand up, pacing the small area beside the couch.
I can feel someone trying to mindlink with me, but I push them away.
Ava looks up to watch me pace.
Why does she always have Caleb’s scent on her? I can’t bring myself to ask.
“What about the beta, Ralph?”
She looks surprised. “What about him?”
“Any history there? You all seem close and I smelled his scent in your house.”
It’s my turn to be surprised as she rolls her eyes and looks frustrated, mumbling “damn it Lily” under her breath.
She looks back up at me and I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Lily and Ralph use to hook up sometimes, a casual thing.”
“So, you and Caleb dated four years, Ralph and Lily use to ‘hook up’, but then Lily and Caleb mated?”
Ava shrugs her shoulders. “Yup. I know, it’s all messed up.”
“And…you all still get along? No hard feelings? No…leftover feelings…”
Ava stands up and walks over to me, placing her hands on my waist and looking up.
“No. I was sad and hurt for awhile…but then I met you, and now I just want to be with you.”
I look down at her and feel relief. I bend over as she stands on tip toes so I can kiss her, feeling the now familiar urgency to be with her, wrapping my hands around her small waist and lifting her slightly to reach her easier.
She eagerly wraps her hands around my neck and I lift her up so she can wrap her legs around my waist.
I walk her over to the bed and gently lay her down, her legs still wrapped around me.
Her head against the pillow, she cups my face with her small hands and smiles at me.
“I’m so glad I met you, Cameron.” She pulls me closer and kisses me again.
Someone pounds on the door and Ava jerks her head away.
Not thrilled about the interruption, I tear myself away from Ava and grab her hand to help her sit upright. I walk towards the door and swing it open to see Darius standing in front of me with blood splattered all over his shirt and his face.
“King Cameron, there’s been another attack, you need to come right away.”