Ava’s POV
Using magic always takes its toll on the body. Throughout the entire evening, I had been drawing on my magical abilities to resist that mysterious pull I felt toward Joseph. When I finally crawled into bed, complete exhaustion washed over , and I drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I woke with a start to find myself pressed against the very man who’d shattered my heart. There in that bed, his body molded against mine, his scent enveloping like a fog I couldn’t escape.
An indescribable sadness washed over . This man, who I believed had truly loved , had betrayed in the most primal way possible.
I shifted away, preparing to leave the bed, which imdiately roused Joseph.
"Ava, are you leaving?" His voice was rough with sleep.
I nodded wordlessly, quickly changing into my clothes.
When we stepped out of the bedroom, we bumped right into Ryan, who was hands down the most obnoxiously peppy morning person on the planet.
"Well, well, look who’s finally joined the land of the living! Hope you two lovebirds enjoyed that mattress." Ryan’s eyes glinted with mischief as he sipped his coffee.
"Shut up, Ryan!" Joseph cut his friend off, though he couldn’t completely suppress a smile.
"So, Ava, how was that chamomile tea working for you?" Eleanor chid in with a knowing smirk, causing to laugh awkwardly.
Ryan refused to let us leave until after lunch, insisting we all needed to "process yesterday’s emotional rollercoaster."
Throughout the morning, Joseph hovered near , protective and attentive. When it was finally ti to go, I had no choice but to leave with Joseph to avoid the inevitable interrogation that would follow if I tried to make other arrangents.
We drove to my apartnt in silence. Joseph was visibly tense, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. He pulled up in front of my building and grabbed my hand before I could escape.
"Ava, when are we going to talk?"
"Joseph, we can talk during the work week. Call and we’ll schedule sothing."
"Can I call you later tonight?"
"Joseph, could you just give so space? Let process everything that’s happened between us." I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache forming.
"Alright." He sighed deeply. "But rember, I love you."
"Joseph..."
He looked at like he was fighting so kind of battle inside his head. Then, like he’d made up his mind, he pulled close. His mouth found mine, hungry and urgent, kissing with the kind of need that left us both gasping when he finally let go.
"I already miss you, Ava!" he called as I exited the car.
When I got ho, Mom was already waiting for . Not wanting to get into anything about Joseph and what had happened, I quickly said I needed a shower. Really, I just needed a few minutes to get my head straight. After that, I ca back to the living room and told Mom all about Alpha Draven and Caroline getting back together, making sure to ntion how happy they looked.
"It’s rare for fated mates to overco such obstacles," Mom remarked thoughtfully, then turned her penetrating gaze on . "Ava, do you ever long for that kind of happiness?"
I froze.
She continued, "Having your wolf, finding your fated mate."
I squeezed her hand. "Of course. Isn’t that what every werewolf dreams of? But that’s not in the cards for . I don’t have a wolf. I’d be happy just finding soone who truly loves for who I am."
I suddenly realized the conversation was veering dangerously close to Joseph.
Mom gave a sad look and said, "Yes, finding a human who truly loves you would be better."
I knew perfectly well that by "human," she ant "not a werewolf."
"Anyway, I’ve got to head to work," Mom said, rising to leave for her evening shift.
Finding myself alone in the apartnt, I welcod the solitude. I needed this ti to think and sort through my emotions. My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I hesitated when I saw an unknown number, but answered anyway, thinking it might be important.
"Ava, divine Ava!" I imdiately recognized Steward Garcia’s voice and closed my eyes in disgust.
"This man isn’t just insufferable, he’s relentless," I muttered to myself.
"Darling, drop the act. I know you’re interested. You’ve already tried my son; now let show you what a real man can do."
"Exactly how familiar do you think we are?" I snapped, my patience with this man completely evaporated.
"Don’t deny it, sweetheart. You want it, and I can—" I cut him off before he could finish.
"You know what? Crawl back into whatever hole you slithered out of and pretend I don’t exist. Oh, and by the way, I’ll be sure to tell Kyle you said hello."
I hung up, feeling like I was about to lose it completely. This man was seriously testing what little patience I had left. I figured the situation called for ergency comfort food: a massive pizza and a whole tub of ice cream. I stuffed my face while watching "Pretty Woman" for like the hundredth ti, sobbing like so heartbroken teenager.
I woke up on the couch surrounded by empty pizza boxes and ice cream containers all over the coffee table. My phone wouldn’t stop buzzing.
"Oh my God, I was about to call the police," Eleanor blurted the mont I answered.
"Hey, Elle. Good morning to you too," I replied groggily.
"Morning, gorgeous. Now tell why you didn’t go ho with Joseph. I called him, and he said you wanted to go ho last night." I was still half-asleep and in no condition for Eleanor’s interrogation.
"My mom’s been working a lot of overti lately, and she had the night off," I explained.
"Really? No other reason?" Elle was clearly entering her investigative journalist mode.
"I wanted so mother-daughter ti. That’s all."
"Yeah, right, whatever you say!" She finally backed off. "Joseph will pick you up, but I wanted to call personally to tell you the news."
"What news?" I asked, getting up to clean up my ss from last night.
"Carrie and Alpha Draven are moving in together, and we’ve been recruited to help. Today’s moving day!" Eleanor’s excitent was infectious.
"Oh my Goddess, that’s fantastic news!" I said, genuinely happy for my friend.
"So get ready. Save the making out with Joseph for later. We need you there."
I said goodbye to Eleanor and was about to call Joseph when my phone rang with his na on the display.
"Ava, good morning. How are you?" Joseph asked.
"I’m fine. You?" Our conversation was painfully polite.
"Missing you..." he sighed, then quickly continued, "Did Eleanor call you?"
"Just got off the phone with her."
"I’m here, at the entrance to your building."
"You didn’t have to co."
"But I wanted to." His voice softened.
"Joseph, I just woke up. I need to shower, get ready, have so coffee..."
"I’ll wait. No rush."
"Ugh, Joseph!" I took a deep breath. "Since you’re waiting, you might as well co up."
A few minutes later, my doorbell rang. I opened the door to find him staring at with such intensity it was like he wanted to devour whole. Only then did I rember what I was wearing—or rather, what I wasn’t wearing.
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