Chapter 96
-Ava’s POV-
Pain rippled through my entire body, sharp and searing, as if every nerve had caught fire. For a moment, I thought I might still be unconscious, trapped in some cruel dream. But when I forced my eyes open–despite the heavy weight of my eyelids -I realized I was awake. And alive.
I blinked, struggling to focus on my surroundings. The wreckage the screaming tires, Grayson–they were gone. Instead, I found myself lying in the middle of an open field. The sky stretched endlessly above me, a pale gray that seemed neither day nor night.
“Grayson?” I croaked.
There was no answer. Of course, there wasn’t. I pushed myself up onto shaky elbows, my muscles trembling under the strain, and scanned the field. Nothing. Just emptiness.
“And this,” she said, gesturing toward me with a lazy flick of her wrist, “is why you’ll never get anywhere, Ava Pierce.”
The voice stopped me cold.
It wasn’t just the words that made me freeze–it was the voice itself. Familiar. Unnervingly so. My breath caught as I turned slowly, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
There she was. Me.
Or at least, a version of me.
Instinctively, I took a step back. Her smile widened.
“Stop it,” I snapped, my voice trembling with equal parts anger and unease. “I am not in the mood for this today. If you’re going to try to kill me, just get it over with already.”
Her laughter was light, almost musical, but it held no warmth. “Kill you? Why would I want to do that?” She tilted her head, studying me like a scientist might study a particularly dull specimen. Then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished–only to reappear behind me.
I whirled around, my heart pounding.
“I’m not here to kill you,” she said with mock sweetness. “I am you, after all. Or at least, the better version of you.”
“Better version?” I scoffed, folding my arms over my chest despite the gnawing unease in my stomach. “You’re not me. And you’re definitely not the better version. I don’t hurt people. I don’t make them feel worthless. And I sure as hell don’t try to commit murder.”
Her smirk faltered, just for a moment. Then she clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. “Oh, poor, sweet Ava. And that is exactly your problem. Come on, walk with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I said firmly, taking another step back. “I don’t know what this is or how I got here, but I need to get back. There was a crash, and Grayson-”
She shook her head slowl, cutting in, her expression almost… sad “You don’t get it, do you? You never have. But fine.” She turned on her heel, walking away with purposeful strides. “Follow me, or don’t. Either way, you’ll see.”
I glanced around, taking in the endless field. There was no escape. No other path forward. Cursing under my breath, I ran after her.
The ground shifted beneath my feet as I moved, the damp earth giving way to something harder, colder. When I stopped, I
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Chapter 96
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realized I was no longer in the field.
I was standing in the empty hallways of the Werewolf Academy
“What the hell…” I muttered, turning in a slow circle.
She appeared behind me, leaning casually against a wall. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it?” she said, her voice light, almost playful. “But are they pleasant? Or are they memories you’d rather forget? June 24th.”
My stomach twisted violently, and my heart slammed against my ribcage. “Stop,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Her laughter echoed through the hallway as she vanished again, and I felt the familiar dread settle in my chest.
The bell rang, sharp and shrill, and students began pouring through the halls. They moved past me, oblivious to my presence, like I wasn’t even there.
And then I saw her–me–hurrying down the hallway with books clutched tightly to her chest. I knew exactly where she was going.
I followed her, my steps heavy, my stomach churning.
She threw open a classroom door and sighed in relief when she saw it was empty. She moved to the front of the room, taking her usual seat.
And then his voice came.
“Well, if it isn’t the lovely Ava Pierce. Little Miss Perfection.”
My breath hitched as I turned to see him–Austin.
He sauntered into the room, closing the door behind him with deliberate slowness then locked it. The smile on his face sent a chill down my spine.
“Come on, Ava,” I whispered, though I knew she couldn’t hear me. “Get out of there.”
But she didn’t. She turned to him, irritated. “Austin, what are you doing? The professor is going to be here in ten minutes.”
He grinned, pulling a key from his pocket and dangling it in front of her. “If you’re so eager to play teacher’s pet, why don’t you come and get it?”
She sighed, standing and walking toward him. I wanted to scream at her to stop, to run, but I was powerless, frozen in place as the scene played out exactly as I remembered.
Austin’s grin widened as she reached for the key. And then everything changed.
His eyes
darkened, and his claws began to extend.
“They were right,” he murmured, his voice dripping with malice. You will make a good fuck.”
She froze, realizing too late what was about to happen.
“No,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes.
He grabbed her, slamming her against the professor’s desk. She struggled, but he was stronger, his claws tearing through her shirt.
“Stop it!” she cried, her voice desperate.
But he didn’t.
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And I couldn’t move.
“Keep watching,” the other me said, suddenly standing beside me Her tone was cold, detached. “This is who you really are.”
I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. “No. No, that’s not true.”
“You want to believe you’re the victim,” she continued, “but you’re not, Ava. Not entirely.”
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The scene continued to unfold, and I knew what was coming next. Past me reached for the pen on the desk, her last hope of defending herself. But instead of grabbing the pen, her claws extended.
She slashed at him, her eyes black with rage.
Austin stumbled back, clutching his neck as blood poured from the wound.
The other me smirked. “Not quite how you remember it, is it?”
For six years, as much as I tried not to think of this very moment, I clung to fragmented memories that refused to fade. What I remembered–what I let myself remember–was blanking out entirely. One second, Austin was on top of me, and the next, I opened my eyes to find him lying on the floor, blood pooling from his neck, his body completely still.
Now, standing here, forced to relive the truth, I felt the world tilt beneath me. My heart raced as I found my voice, trembling but audible, “My wolf…she–I–I did that to him?”
The words tasted foreign, like they belonged to someone else, someone darker, someone unrecognizable.
I kept watching, unable to tear my eyes away, as past Ava, driven by an untamed ferocity, slashed at him again with her claws. Her strikes were wild, unrelenting, and Austin, a predator moments ago, now scrambled in shock and fear. He barely managed to shield himself from the blows, his eyes wide and disbelieving, blood staining his hands as he tried to push her away. It was grotesque, surreal–me but not me.
“Stop,” I whispered, though no one could hear me. I wasn’t really there.
The version of myself I hated–the one who had dragged me into this twisted memory–broke the silence. “That was the first time your wolf surfaced,” she said, her voice calm and cutting like a blade slipping through ribs. “And it wasn’t just your wolf, Ava. That moment was the first crack in the facade you built. The facade of a girl who’s always kind, always selfless, always perfect.”
“There are three parts to you,” she continued, her voice dripping with cruel amusement. “There’s me, the version of yourself you despise. The one who speaks the truth, no matter how ugly. The one who isn’t afraid to hurt people to protect herself. Then there’s your wolf–powerful, primal, ruthless. She has no patience for weakness. She hates it, despises it in everyone, especially in you.”
I shook my head, trying to drown out her words, but they settled in my chest like lead.
“And finally,” she said, stepping closer, her eyes narrowing, “there’s this fragile little mask you wear for the world. The one that says, ‘I’m Ava Pierce. I’m good. I’m harmless.‘ You lock us away–me and your wolf–because you think it makes you more lovable, more acceptable. But do you want to know why your wolf surfaced then? And why she’s been breaking through more and more recently?”
I couldn’t answer. My throat felt tight, my mind spinning.
“It’s because you’re fighting it,” she hissed, her voice rising. “Fighting who you really are. Fighting what your parents made you into: a coward. A weakling too afraid to stand up for herself. And until you stop running, you will never be whole.”
Her words were venomous, each one striking deeper than the last. “You want to know why your wolf emerged at that moment?” she asked, gesturing to past Ava, who was still clawing at Austin like a wild animal. “Because deep down, you wanted him to hurt. You wanted to make himn pay for what he tried to take from you. And that’s not weakness, Ava. That’s survival.”
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Chapter 96
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I turned away, my hands trembling. The scene before me was unbearable. Past Ava finally stopped her assault, stepping back from Austin’s bloodied, motionless body. Her hands were slick with blood, her eyes wide with shock and horror. It was like she was waking up from a nightmare, only to realize it wasn’t a dream. She looked down at her hands, at the crimson stains that would never wash away, and her knees buckled.
“Stop,” I whispered again, my voice breaking. “Please, just stop.”
But my counterpart wasn’t done. “There’s more,” she said, her tone softening, though it was no less cutting. “A war is coming, Ava. One that will shake this realm to its core. And you-” she pointed a clawed finger at me, her expression deadly serious now-“you’re at the center of it. This moment,” she gestured toward the bloodied classroom, “was just the beginning. More death will come. More blood. And unless you accept all parts of yourself–me, your wolf, and the mask–you will never survive it.”
I turned to her, anger flaring in my chest despite my fear. “Why should I listen to you? You’re the worst parts of me. You’re cruel, selfish, everything I never want to be.”
Her smile returned, cold and humorless. “And yet, here I am. Because you need me. You need all of me if you’re going to save the people you love. You want to protect Grayson? You want to stop this war? Then stop pretending you can do it by being the ‘perfect Ava.‘ You can’t.”
My heart clenched at the mention of Grayson. She must have seen it because her smile softened, though it didn’t lose its edge. “And Grayson Blackwood? He’s your fate. The two of you are tied together in ways you don’t even understand yet. You’ll be his salvation, Ava. But only if you can embrace the truth of who you are.”
She turned back to the scene, where past Ava had collapsed to the floor, sobbing quietly. “If you don’t,” she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper, “the entire realm will fall. Thousands of wolves will die. And their blood will be on your hands.”
