Chapter 101
-Grayson’s POV-
I knew she wouldn’t listen.
Ava was the most stubborn person I’d ever met. When she latched onto an idea, it was as if nothing else in the world mattered. She would chase it with the tenacity of a wolf on a hunt, determined and unyielding. Her passion was something to admire, but it also made her reckless..
I didn’t want to snuff out the spark in her eyes when she spoke about her theories. She believed in what she was doing, and I admired that about her. But this time, she was wrong.
Her theory sounded solid at first. The attacks targeting the founding families did seem to follow a pattern. She had pieced together the evidence and come to the conclusion that the next target would be the recluse Alpha who had kept himself and his pack hidden from the world for decades. It made sense on paper, but there was one glaring problem–he was already dead.
His death wasn’t public knowledge. His isolation had ensured that only a few people outside his pack knew. I’d received confirmation weeks ago through discreet channels. There was no reason for the attacker to target someone who was no longer alive or a pack that had already lost its leader.
The truth poked holes in Ava’s theory, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. Part of me didn’t want to extinguish her excitement, but the bigger part of me knew it would only make her more determined to act on her own. And that was the last thing I needed.
Instead of stopping her outright, I told her I’d send word to the recluse’s pack to warn them. That seemed to pacify her for the moment, but three days later, Rickon called me with unsettling news.
“Grayson,” he had said, his voice unusually serious, “Ava and Isabella are planning something. I’ve got reason to believe they’re going to try to break into the recluse’s fortress.”
And that was how I found myself sitting in a car with Rickon, watching Ava, Isabella, and Eliza attempting to do exactly that.
“I bet you $10,000 Ava can’t pick the lock,” Rickon said, crunching loudly on a bag of chips.
I shot him a glare, barely holding back my irritation. “What am a teenager? I don’t even know why you’re here in the first place. And stop chewing so loudly–it’s grating on my nerves.”
Rickon grinned, clearly enjoying himself. “Oh, come on, Alpha King Grayson,” he said, emphasizing my title in that mocking tone of his. “It was my intel that brought you here, so the least you can do is make this stakeout a little more interesting. Make the bet.”
“This is not a stakeout,” I snapped. “And no, I’m not making the bet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’d lose. Ava wouldn’t know how to pick a lock. Not with the way she was raised.”
Rickon laughed, the sound grating on my already thin patience. You’re no fun, you know that? All this power, all this brooding–it’s a wonder you haven’t driven yourself mad,”
I ignored him and turned my attention back to Ava and her group. They were huddled by the themselves, A moment later, Eliza took over from Ava, and within seconds, they were inside.
gate,
whispering among
I sighed, “Looks like I was right, I muttered under my breath.
Rickon, still crunching on his chips, leaned back in his seat, Sony plans on passing your I’m always angry gene to sorme
11.07 Mon, Dec 23 GY.
Chapter 101
poor kid anytime soon?”
1 turned to him sharply, my neck cracking from the sudden m
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He was grinning, clearly delighted at having rattled
“Stop it,” I said flatly. “I’m not in the mood for your nonsens
Before I could say anything more, something caught my attention. A prickle ran down my spine, my instincts kicking in
“What is it?” Rickon asked, sitting up straighter.
1
1 didn’t answer immediately, my eyes fixed on the fortress where Ava and the others had just entered. Something wasn’t right
“Grayson?” Rickon pressed.
“We need to get them out of there,” I said, already getting out of the car.
Rickon scrambled out after me. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice tight. “But something’s off. We need to move–now.”
At that moment, a scream pierced the air, sharp and chilling. My heart clenched. Before I could react, Rickon shifted into his wolf form and took off toward the fortress.
I let out an irritated sigh, following him at a brisk pace. I didn’t shift yet–there was no need to until I assessed the situation -but my wolf was clawing at the edges of my mind, ready to take over.
As we approached the fortress, low growls reached my ears. My instincts flared, and I shifted without a second thought, my wolf surging forward.
Walves emerged from the shadows, their eyes gleaming with hostility. Rickon’s wolf was already tearing into them, a blur of fur and teeth. I didn’t hesitate, throwing myself into the fight.
The air was filled with snarls and the clash of bodies. I tore through the attackers, my wolf reveling in the violence. But even as I fought, my focus was elsewhere. I scanned the area, searching for Ava.
Then I saw her.
She was standing a few feet away, frozen in shock as three wolves closed in on her. My heart dropped, and I didn’t think- woled
1 lunged, dufting mud air and intercepting the wolves before they could reach her. My claws tore through one, want I les aut a feral growl baring my teeth as the others and I barked at her gun hearing her scream out my name but hung on the waters tomar at th
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11:07 Mon, Dec 23 GV.
Chapter 101
Still, there was no time for doubt. I ripped through another attacker, my
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ring into its flank. I could hear Rickon
fighting somewhere nearby, his snarls and growls blending into the cacophony. But my mind wasn’t entirely on him. It was on Ava.
5
I didn’t know if she had gotten out, and that terrified me more than the wolves surrounding me. Then, out of nowhere, I felt
- it.
A ripple. A shift.
It was subtle at first, like an echo snapping through my psyche, a sensation so foreign that it almost made me falter mid- strike. My wolf stilled for a fraction of a second, its instincts sharpening. Something had changed. Something big.
And then I felt her.
Not just Ava, but her wolf.
The sensation hit me like a thunderclap, a surge of energy crashing into my mind. It was wild, raw, and untamed, her wolf’s presence brushing against my consciousness like a fleeting touch
Her voice followed, a whisper in my mind that sent my heart into overdrive and then I told her to take Isabella and Rickon and I would meet her back at my mansion.
But the thought echoed. She had shifted.
She had finally shifted.
go and
I didn’t have time to process it, to marvel at the impossibility of it. Ava’s wolf was awake, alive, and here. Another wolf lunged at me, and I spun, my claws slashing across its throat. The scent of blood thickened the air as it collapsed at my feet, But as I turned to face the next attacker, something else happened–something I couldn’t explain.
My wolf… howled.
It wasn’t a battle cry or a warning. It was a sound of pain, of anguish, reverberating through my entire being. And then, like a candle snuffed out by the wind, something inside me shifted again.
It felt wrong.
So wrong.
Panic clawed at the edges of my mind as I realized what was happening. My wolf, the powerful presence that had been my partner in every fight, suddenly felt distant–like it was slipping away.
And it didn’t stop. The connection was flickering, fraying at the edges. My body felt heavier, slower, as though my strength was being drained from within.
And then, just like that, it was gone.
I was forced into my human form, right in the middle of the baule.
I staggered, my body vulnerable and exposed. My claws were gone, my senses dulled. My wolf had retreated completely leaving me defenseless in the heart of an unrelenting fight.
“What the hell-?” I gasped, trying to make sense of it, but there was no time.
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The wolves around nie seized the opportunity, their growis growing louder as they circled and then they came at me all
