Chapter 148
-Grayson’s POV
“Are you sure about this?” Carter’s voice came through the line, calm yet cautious.
My wolf growled at the answer I was about to give, his disapproval ringing loud in my head. I shoved him back, unwilling to let him influence this decision.
There was a pause on the other end of the line before Carter spoke again. “I’ll say it again–you werewolves are way too complicated for my limited–interest brain to comprehend. But Based on what you just told me, I have to ask–are you sure
about this?”
It was my turn to pause, the question digging into the doubts I was trying to suppress. When I saw Dylan kiss her in the ballroom, all I wanted to do was rip him apart, limb from limb. But then there she was, Ava, standing between us again. She wasn’t choosing him, she’d said, but she didn’t want bloodshed.
But he would always be her fated mate.
That truth twisted inside me like a knife. I hated the thought, hated how much it consumed me, but it was the reality I couldn’t escape. I had chosen her, over and over again, but maybe that was the problem. Maybe there was a reason for all the back and forth, the constant push and pull between us. Maybe no matter how much we held on, we would never find common ground because we were never meant to be.
Llet out a bitter laugh. Funny how one moment, one single flash of realization, could change everything I had been so sure
about.
So I had made up my mind.
I needed to find the woman who was made for me.
“Grayson?” Carter’s voice pulled me back, impatient now.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I said, my tone firm. “Find her.”
There was hesitation on his end again, and then he said something that lit a fuse inside me. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know that some things are better left as they are.”
Anger surged through me, and my voice hardened as I snapped, I don’t pay you millions to play counselor, Carter. Find Ava’s twin sister. You have a week.”
I ended the call before he could respond, my hand gripping the phone so tightly I thought it might break. My wolf growled in my head, angry and restless, as I paced the room. I wanted to throw the phone, wanted to destroy something, anything, to release the frustration clawing at me.
It was all her fault.
Ava had unraveled everything. I was trying–trying so damn hard–to be better, to leave behind the man who had thrived on threats and hate. For a moment, I thought I’d succeeded. Things had felt lighter, clearer, like I’d finally stepped out of the darkness.
But now?
Now, anger coursed through me, hot and consuming, and all I wanted was to burn everything to the ground.
I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside me. That was when frantic knocking broke the silence, loud and insistent.
1026 Tue, Jan
Chapter 148
I strode to the door, yanking open to find Eliza standing there her face pale and her eyes wide with
“What is it? I demanded, my voice sharper than I intended
panie.
She started speaking so quickly her words blurred together. “Ave the pushed someone there was blood–and then she Fan–Isabella went after her—I didn’t know what to do
1 stared at her, my expression blank as I tried to make sense of the jumble of words. “I didn’t understand a single thing you just said. Start over. And calm down.”
She sucked in a shaky breath, her hands trembling and she opened her mouth to speak.
“More breaths,” I ordered, cutting her off again,
She paused, steadying herself, and finally spoke clearly. “I think Ava is in trouble.”
My wolf growled in my head, his agitation growing. “Isn’t she in the grand hall, ending that ridiculous ball?”
Eliza shook her head frantically. “Something happened. That’s what I said before! She shoved a pregnant woman–and like with that guy, you threw, she flew across the hall too. There was so much blood. Ava ran away, and when we found her, she started having a panic attack. Then she turned into her wolf and dashed off. Isabella went after her, but I don’t know where she is now!”
Her words hit me like a freight train despite all the contradicting words I just told myself.
My wolf snarled, and my feet were already moving before my mind could catch up. Ava was in trouble.
“Where did she go?” I barked, my voice rough as I grabbed Eliza’s arm.
*
“I–I don’t know,” she stammered. “She ran into the woods. Isabella tried to follow, but she lost her!”
I didn’t wait to hear more. My wolf surged forward, and I didn’t fight him. I let him take control, shredding through my clothes as the shift overtook me.
The transformation was instant, and the world sharpened around me–every scent, every sound, every heartbeat amplified. I caught her scent immediately, faint but distinct, and I launched myself forward without hesitation.
My paws pounded against the earth as I ran, faster and faster, following the trail she’d left behind. Her fear was palpable, mixed with the earthy tang of the woods and something else–something faint but wrong.
The trees blurred past me, the wind cutting through my fur as I tracked her. Her scent led me deeper into the forest, further from the safety of the estate. My wolf growled low in my chest, his worry mirroring my own.
As I pushed forward, Ava’s scent grew stronger, cutting through the damp forest air like a beacon. My wolf urged me onward, the primal need to protect her overpowering every other thought. But then, I began to hear voices–low, gruff tones carrying over the sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves.
I slowed my pace, ears twitching as I tried to make out the words
“There is another one!” a voice barked.
Before I could react, a sharp sting hit my side. I snarled, whipping around to see the faint glow of a tranquilizer dart embedded in my skin. The drug began to seep into my system, a sluggish heaviness threatening to drag me down. My wolf growled in defiance, shaking off the haze and forcing me to keep moving.
“Got it! Another hit!” someone shouted.
Another dart struck me, this time in the shoulder. The sharp pain only fueled my fury as I tore through the underbrush.
Chapter 148
The voices grew louder, more distinct.
Tonight, we’re just getting lucky!” One of them exclaimed, his time triumphant.
The realization hit me–they weren’t werewolf hunters. They were regular hunters, the kind who kill wolves for sport. My rage flared, hotter and sharper than before. They didn’t know what they were dealing with, but that didn’t matter. They had Ava.
I charged ahead, ignoring the weight pulling at my limbs, the drug fighting to slow me down. My wolf snarled as another dart fired and grazed my flank, but I didn’t stop.
“Why isn’t it dropping?!” one of them yelled, panic lacing his voice.
I broke through the final line of trees, and there she was. Ava, caged like an animal in the middle of a clearing. The sight of her–her wolf form slumped and motionless, streaked with blood–sent a growl ripping through me that echoed across the clearing.
The hunters turned, their flashlights blinding me momentarily as they surrounded me, weapons aimed. There were so many of them–too many–but I didn’t care. My wolf was ready for a fight.
I lunged forward, and the last thing I heard was one of them shouting, “Take it down, now!” before a deafening crack echoed through the night.
