Ava’s POV
I open my eyes with a jerk and sit upright in the bed.
The sunlight is coming in against the curtains.
I must have eventually fell asleep.
I look over to the other side of the bed, Cameron isn’t here. Did he come back at all last night?
I chew on my lip and grab my phone.
It’s after 9:00!
I go to hop out of the bed when I notice a note on Cameron’s pillow with Ava scribbled on it.
My heart leaps.
I grab it and stare at my name on the note. This must be Cameron’s handwriting. It’s neat and small, and it gives me butterflies.
I gently unfold it.
Ava-
I didn’t want to wake you. I am joining training this morning. You can leave the room and go around the packhouse, but please do not go outside until I return. If you need me, text me.
-Cameron
His phone number is scribbled on the bottom of the paper under his name.
I quickly grab my phone and enter it into my phone as a new contact with a little thrill.
I sit it back down and it pings.
L: What are you doing?
Just woke up. Let me shower and we can get some training in.
I put the phone down and take a quick shower, get dressed, and check the time.
I can’t believe it’s nearly 10:00.
My fingers hover over Cameron’s name, wanting to text and ask when he will be back, but I resist since I’m still not sure of how upset he is with me and I don't want to come off as needy.
Instead I text Lily.
On my way down.
L: I’ll meet you in the dining hall!
I throw on my sneakers and head down, deciding to text Cameron after all, just to let him know where I will be.
Heading to train in basement with Lily.
I hesitate slightly before I press send and then quickly send a follow up text.
This is Ava by the way.
I flush after I send the second text. Of course, he knows who it is, who else would it be?
I shake my head and hurry down the stairs and towards the dining hall, thinking I’ll grab a muffin when I get there, and some strong coffee.
As soon as I reach the dining hall, I make a beeline for the buffet.
“Ava! There you are!”
I grab a cup for my coffee and start to pour while I wait for Lily to make her way over to me, rolling my eyes when I hear her heels clicking.
I shake my head as I pour creamer into my coffee. Surely, she knows to wear tennis shoes for training, we just went over this!
I stir my cup and turn around, immediately sloshing my fresh coffee down my grey tank top.
Shit.
Lily is dressed in her training clothes.
Rachel is standing next to her in another skin-tight dress, red this time, and super high black heels. She’s smirking at my freshly stained tank top. Her smirk looks remarkably similar to scary guy’s.
“I ran into Rachel and she said she would train with us! Isn’t that nice? Personal training with a Lycan!” Lily smiles widely at me and looks at Rachel with admiration.
I chew my lip for a second.
Rachel is absolutely that last person that I want to train with. I would rather train with her awful brother than with her.
At least he didn’t sleep with my mate.
Ugh.
Why does she have to be so perfect looking? I do not want her to beat my ass in training too.
“Uh, well…” I hesitate, not sure how to tell Lily politely that there is no way in hell that is happening.
Lily looks at me with big eyes.
“I thought you’d be happy to have a Lycan to train with us.” She sounds slightly hurt and I sigh inwardly.
“She is one of the training commanders back North, so she’s really good.” Lily persists.
Of course, she is.
Rachel gives me a sweet smile as she reaches behind me and grabs napkins, thrusting them at me.
“Yes, I would be happy to help you learn to fight.”
I feel my face start to burn.
Learn to fight?
I glance at Lily, but she didn’t even notice the dig.
Rachel is such a bitch.
“So nice of you Rachel!” Lily exclaims, beaming at her.
“Of course! Cameron told me last night how he had to go rescue poor Ava from patrol when the attack happened, so scary! I want to do my part to help. That way you can defend yourself next time.” She gives me a sickly sweet smile, her eyes challenging me.
My stomach drops to the floor as I stare at her, feeling sick.
Cameron told her about last night? When did they talk? Is that where he was all night?
Rachel’s eyes are fixed on me.
I tilt my chin up and take a sip from my slightly dripping and nearly empty coffee mug to show her that her words didn’t affect me.
Some of the coffee from the side of the mug gets on my chin and I swipe at it with the back of my hand after I pull the mug away, trying to act cool and avoiding Rachel’s eyes.
“Well, I’m sure they could use your skills at the training facility, we don’t want to keep you all to ourselves.” I smile at Rachel, pleased with myself for coming up with something so quickly.
I catch Lily’s eye and she looks crestfallen.
Rachel laughs and waves her hand dismissively at me.
“Oh, so considerate, Ava! I took the first training shift this morning, with Cameron.” She smiles at me as she says the last bit and I’m glad my coffee is gone, or I’d throw it in her face. “You missed it because you were sleeping in.”
She flips her perfect hair over her shoulder and gestures towards her outfit.
“We got all sweaty, so we showered, and I changed into this.”
My hand grips my mug so tightly that my knuckles are turning white.
We both know what she was implying by saying ‘we’.
I hate her so much. I didn’t think I could hate someone more than scary guy, but Rachel is definitely worse.
What a delightful family.
“Oh! That’s perfect then!” Lily squeals beside me and claps her hands together.
That’s it. I am going to have to fill Lily in so she stops bringing this horrible woman around me.
I can’t really see a way to get out of Rachel helping me without looking super petty, so I give her a smile.
“Well then, that does work out. We’ll see you in the basement in twenty minutes.”
She smiles. “Great! I’ll go change.” She looks at my shirt and waves her hand at it. “You might want to as well.” She smirks and turns away just as my mug gives a loud crack at the handle and my mug falls to the floor and shatters.
She turns around and raises an eyebrow at me and gives a little laugh.
“Whoops! You sure do struggle with those coffee mugs, don’t you?”
Then she’s gone.
“This will be great! Aren’t you excited Ava? I mean, obviously Ralph can’t help us for a few days, so it’s so nice that we have a Lycan to help us train!”
I try to tune Lily out as I bend down to pick up my broken mug pieces.
This is going to be humiliating. How do I get out of this?
My stomach turns as I think of how she blatantly tried to imply that her and Cameron were a ‘we’.
I mean, he is MY mate. He wants to be with ME.
My heart thuds hard against my chest as I think of Caleb.
Is Cameron already having second thoughts too?
Caleb said he regretted it the very next day. Cameron and I are nearly a week in, is that long enough for him to tire of me?
That just goes against everything I’ve ever heard about the mate bond.
I mean, it’s not completely unheard of to hear of someone rejecting their mate, but it’s a very rare occasion.
I stand and dump the mug pieces in the trash bin beside the buffet and turn to Lily who is looking at me with wide, expectant eyes.
Oh crap, what did she say?
“Uh…”
“Come on Ava! Aren’t you excited? I’m so happy I thought to ask!”
Lily looks so proud of herself, I can’t seem to bring myself to tell her that she actually should not have asked Rachel because she is a raging bitch who used to date Cameron and we do not like her, we hate her…because she is a terrible person.
Well, maybe this is my battle and I’ll keep it to myself.
I give Lily a faint smile.
“Yeah, it’s just great Lily, such a good idea.”
She beams at me.
“I’ll go change, you go down to the old training room downstairs, I’ll meet you there.”
She smiles and turns to leave, her high ponytail bouncing as she practically skips away.
I put my palm against my forehead and inwardly groan.
Well, this is going to be fun.