Chapter 16: The Return
346 Words
The wind in Silver Fang territory smelled the same. Pine, snow, and blood.
Ava stood at the border line for 3 whole minutes without moving. Three years. Three years of training in the North, of broken ribs, of learning how to fight without a pack. No one recognized her. Her hair was shorter. Her eyes were harder. The weak girl they threw out was gone.
She crossed the line.
It took less than 5 minutes before someone saw her.
"Who goes there?" A scout's voice. Then his eyes widened. "Ava?"
By the time she reached the pack hall, a crowd had formed. Whispers everywhere. She's back. The mate-less one. Alpha said never to let her in.
And then he appeared.
Darius. Her ex-mate. The Alpha who rejected her in front of 200 wolves because she couldn't shift. He was bigger now. Arrogant as ever.
He stepped in front of her, blocking her path. His smile was cruel. "Look who crawled back. The weak one. The mate-less mutt."
The crowd laughed. Same as before.
Old Ava would have cried. Old Ava would have begged.
This Ava smirked.
"You're loud," she said, her voice low. "For someone who couldn't keep his own Luna."
His smile dropped. "You have no right—"
"I have every right," Ava cut in. She let her aura slip. Just a little. The power she'd hidden for 3 years rolled out like heat.
The air got heavy. Wolves behind Darius took a step back. Their ears flattened. That wasn't a weak wolf's pressure. That was an Alpha's.
Darius felt it too. His jaw clenched. "What are you—"
"I didn't come back broken, Darius," Ava said. Loud enough for everyone to hear. The whole pack went silent. "I came back as your worst mistake."
Silence.
Then Alpha Rowan appeared at the top of the steps. Her father's brother. The man who let her be exiled. His eyes narrowed. "You're not welcome here, girl."
Ava lifted her chin. Met his gaze without flinching.
"Good," she said. "Because I'm not here for you."
END.
- Writer
