Chapter Chapter Eleven: A Promise
The blinding sun woke Ava the next morning as she groaned and went to roll onto her back but froze. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light before she blinked a few times and looked down to find that her right hand was currently in Lucas’s left. She didn’t know how they had ended up this way, nor did she remember rolling from one side of her bed and almost falling off of the other just to be next to him, but it looked like he had done the same, and now their fingers were in-laced with one another.
Ava wanted to move her hand away, she wanted to let go but as she went to move, she couldn’t. His sleeping form captivated her, and although the blankets were wrapped around his waist and he was still fully dressed from the day before to respect her boundaries, she found him to be utterly stunning. His dark brown hair was a tangled mess, and his touch seemed to feel softer than usual due to the warmth of his from sleep. Everything about him made her heart stop but jolt with such affection that it both scared her and made her feel excited.
Shane had never made her feel this way, yet Lucas had made her feel like a completely different person in the span of a week. Shane forced her to feel like she owed him her heart but Lucas was patient and willing to wait for her and that made her heart beat even faster. Ava was told that the vampire race was all selfish and greedy but as she grew, she came to realise that it was her species that was like that, not this kind, gentle man who was currently sleeping uncomfortably just so he could touch her.
She realised then that she was ready. Ava was ready to be his mate and allow him to be with her. She was ready to pack up her things and leave the only place she had ever called a home to live with him and start a new life. She was ready to announce to the world that she was a happily taken woman with the man of her dreams and she was ready to give her body to him when he wanted it and have his permanent mark on her neck. She was ready for whatever life throws at her and with that in mind, she squeezed his hand a little and made him stir.
He had the same reaction she had, wanting to roll but pausing as something felt amiss. His eyes slowly opened and for a moment she could have sworn that his eyes were green before they shifted back to their normal light brown. His gaze shifted from their fingers to her wide, alert eyes. “Good morning, my little wolf.”
Her eyes widened even further, her lower half awakening as she had to close her legs a little and hide how red her face had just turned. The husk in his voice was the most sexist thing she had ever heard in her life and mixed with how he looked right now, she wished her brothers weren’t home so that she could fully mate with this man right now. “Morning.”
Her mumble came out a little more strained than she had intended as she was frozen in his eyes. Ava couldn’t move, she couldn’t think and she definitely didn’t want to get up because she could have sworn that she had just created a giant, wet puddle in her bed. Lucas went to speak again but a loud bang and a swear made her jump and finally pull her fingers away from his.
She sat up and looked towards her slightly cracked door to find Cole peeking through and Gene on the ground where he had fallen. “How long have you two been standing there?”
They both grinned and tried to close the door a little more as if they hadn’t been there. “Long enough.” Cole chuckled as he stepped over her brother. “We weren’t here.”
Ava groaned and threw herself back down onto her bed before she placed her palms on her face. “I hate having brothers sometimes.”
Lucas chuckled, sitting up himself before she felt his fingers wrap around her wrist and gently move her hand away from one of her eyes so that she would look at him. “This is why I don’t mind living in a castle. My brothers are nowhere to be found.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“I heard that!” Gene grunted from her door as he finally stood and poked his head through. “And I will be following you around that castle, I refuse to get lost.”
“I’ll just find Raphael and leave him to deal with you.”
His eyes widened, his face turning a shade of red before he slowly disappeared back behind her door. “Don’t tell Cole.”
“Don’t tell me what?”
Ava snorted as she kicked her blankets off and stood. She needed to pee and knowing that both boys were out there meant that she could use the bathroom before they hog it. As she stood, she had forgotten that she had dressed the night before into one of her nightgowns, the fabric was thin and could make out every part of her body as she heard Lucas groan. When her eyes landed on him, she felt her breath hitch and her heart race while his eyes slowly moved from her face down to her breasts and then further down to her exposed calves. Ava didn’t want to stand there and she didn’t need to as a weird squeak escaped her throat and she quickly left the room and closed the bathroom door with a loud thud.
She had never felt more excited in her life. The way he was looking at her, set her body on fire and if she wasn’t careful, she would give into her bodily desires and find that she would be asking for that serum of Cole’s after all. Ava tried to shake off the feeling as she did her business and quickly cleaned herself before getting dressed. She had stored many dresses in this bathroom just in case her period decided to leak through and cause a mess and it has happened many times which has now led to her clothes being spread throughout the house.
She felt better after bathing. Her hormones had calmed down and she didn’t feel like jumping Lucas and embarrassing herself. Ava could hear Gene and Cole laughing and a few chuckles coming from Lucas before she finally opened the door and was greeted with breakfast.
She ate quickly, taking notice that Lucas’s eyes kept flicking over to her as she listened to what Gene and Cole had to do that day. It was likely that they weren’t coming home until early in the morning which meant that she was going to be left alone all night. Somehow the idea thrilled her but she didn’t want to ask Lucas if he wanted to stay again and sound desperate, although at this point she was.
“Alpha also wants to see me at some point today.” Cole randomly said as he collected the dishes and placed them in the sink for later. “I don’t think it will be anything urgent.”
Ava felt her gut churn. Her Alpha has been distant the last few days and she has been waiting for his next task for her. Killing the Shadow Pack’s Alpha was only the beginning and they all knew this. “Be careful.”
Cole smiled, wrapping her into a hug as he swayed their bodies. “I always am, now I have to go.”
“So do I,” Gene mumbled as he came over and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
She hummed and watched them leave. Her heart slightly felt heavy as she watched them go but she had to dismiss it. This was what they did to keep their positions in the pack, if they stopped, they would be kicked out and they would be rogues which isn’t something they want to become. Ava didn’t know how to live as a rogue and the lifestyle was hard, there was nowhere to settle on an island filled with kingdoms and towns.
“Did you want to go exploring with me?” Lucas asked as he came up behind her and watched her family leave. He could probably feel how sad she was in that moment and was trying to make her feel better but nothing was going to truly work until she knew that Cole was safe from their Alpha. “I saw an island when I first arrived. It was small but it felt strange and I would love to see what it holds.”
She finally moved her eyes away from the front door and looked up to meet Lucas’s gaze before she smiled. “There could be anything on that island.”
“There could be.” He agreed. “But with you beside me, we can brave it out together.”