She heard the shaking male voice before she could even register what happened.
“Goddamn it, Ava!
You could have been badly hurt.” Her tightly shut eyes peeled open instantly.
She found herself standing on the grassy bush path at the side of the road, someone looking down at her worriedly.
Her blurry vision slowly cleared, and she realized it was Zaden.
She looked towards the road where the motorcycle had crashed into a parked car instead and gasped, “Oh, Goddess…” There was blood on the streets, and that could have been her.
Avielle felt tears stream down her face, and she hugged her belly protectively just as Zaden pulled her into his arms, murmuring into her ear.
“It’s okay, you’re safe.” She was too shaken to realize the intimacy of that action or have the rationality to pull away from the hug.
“Breathe, Ava, you’re fine.” Avielle pushed back from the hug when a semblance of her mind had returned.
“I didn’t know…
I didn’t even hear anything…” Her voice shook; she didn’t even know what she was trying to explain.
“Shh, nothing bad happened.
You wouldn’t have gotten hurt, Ava, not on my watch.
I’ll protect you and keep you safe.” She knew such a high promise wasn’t something she could rely on.
Nevertheless, she nodded gratefully and extricated herself away from the close proximity to the alpha.
“Thank you, Alpha Zaden, for saving our lives,” she said warmly.
His eyes flicked to her stomach, then back to her face as he nodded.
“Come, let me take you home,” he offered.
Avielle was about to politely decline when his gaze suddenly narrowed onto her face, and his eyes darkened.
“Did someone hit you?” He queried, anger bleeding through his tone as he reached over to touch her face.
Avielle realized that the bruise from Tania’s slap earlier must still be visible on her face.
She couldn’t feel the pain anymore, which meant her wolf was healing it, albeit slowly due to her pregnancy, but the bruise must still be showing.
She stepped back, avoiding his touch subtly.
“Oh, that’s nothing, actually, it was just an accident in the kitchens.” “A kitchen accident doesn’t look like five finger marks, Ava.
Who was it?” Tania was a spoilt and pampered princess.
Avielle knew that Zaden hearing about what happened would only lead him to confront her, which would further anger the young woman and cause her to target Avielle more.
“Alpha Zaden, please…
can we not talk about it?” Something flickered in his eyes, but he reluctantly nodded.
“Alright, only if you let me take you home.” Avielle looked around to find the people gathered around the accident, now shifting their interest in her direction.
The last thing she wanted to do here was attract any attention to herself, and Zaden’s undisguised interest in her was doing just that.
People might begin to start digging into her identity.
“Alpha Zaden…” “Just Zaden to you,” he corrected patiently, as if he wouldn’t stop until she learned to start addressing him by his name the way he wanted.
“Zaden…” Avielle gave in with a sigh, and genuine joy lit up his face.
“Great, we’re making progress.
Oh, and I don’t take no for an answer, so don’t bother refusing,” he said, already opening the passenger door to the shiny black SUV.
Without another word, Avielle slipped into the vehicle.
Maybe she should let him take her home so she could clear any hopes he might have that she would go to the ball with him.
“What kind of music do you like?” He asked while driving, fiddling with the display screen.
“Anything slow and romantic,” she replied without thinking, and a few seconds later, a familiar warm and mesmerizing melody filled the car.
Avielle’s eyes flicked up to look at him in shock.
“That’s my favorite song!” She exclaimed, seeing his seductive lips curl up in a smirk.
“I guessed you might like that one.
Turns out we have the same tastes in music,” he replied, staring at her intently for a few seconds until Avielle looked away, breaking their locked gaze.
“Goddess, you’re just so damn beautiful.
I want to tear out the hands of whoever hit you, but I know you don’t want me to pry, so I’ll step back.” Avielle didn’t say anything.
She wondered if he would still want to tear out that person’s arm if he knew it was his own sister.
She also wondered if he would show such interest in her if he’d seen her in the past with the scars on her face.
Throughout the drive, it was mostly a one-sided conversation.
Avielle did reply a few times out of politeness, but she didn’t want to give the man any hopes that she might be interested in him too.
When he parked outside Avielle’s apartment building, she didn’t hurry to leave the car, trying to figure out a way to start the conversation about his invitation to the Raven ball.
He suddenly leaned over, unbuckling her seatbelt, causing Avielle to hold her breath.
He paused momentarily, brushing her hair away from her face.
“Sorry, is that too forward?” He chuckled to himself and leaned back in his seat.
She could hear his heartbeat due to her heightened hearing, and she cleared her throat.
“No, it’s fine,” she said to break the awkward atmosphere.
“Uhm…
Zaden.” He beamed at her.
“It feels nice to hear you say my name.” She smiled faintly.
“I don’t really understand why you would give me such a privilege.
You’re the alpha.” “Are you sure you don’t know why?” His eyes turned serious, not shielding the raging desire in them.
Avielle looked away, staring at anything she could see outside her side of the window.
“You know I’ve been wondering what pack you came from originally.
Your aunt mentioned you were from High Mountains pack, but you don’t seem to me like someone who grew up in the mountains.
You’re bold even though you’re quiet.
I can see a fierceness in your eyes that you try to hide.” Avielle felt her heart skip a beat.
What she feared might be happening already.
He was beginning to suspect.
“Are you sure you’re really from High Mountains pack?” Avielle’s head swung up to look at him, and the look in his eyes made her heart stop beating completely.
This wasn’t just a casual question…
and it seemed a lot more than just suspicion.