Chapter Twenty-One: The First of Many

Lucas’s gentle touch shook her out of her deep sleep as she opened her eyes with a groan. Ava didn’t mean to fall asleep, but once she had finished getting herself ready, she found herself back on the bed, and then the next thing she knew, Lucas’s face was in hers with a bright smile.

“We can organise this for another time?” Lucas said softly while he tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “You’ve had a rough week.”

“No, I’m okay.” She yawned as she sat up and stretched. “These beds are comfy.”

He chuckled. “Mine’s better.”

Ava rolled her eyes and pushed his shoulder earning another laugh before she stood. “Take me to dinner, I’m hungry.”

“As you command, my lady.”

She felt her face heat, but she ignored it and took his outstretched arm. Her fingers wrapped around the fabric perfectly as he led her out of the room. “Not that I don’t like your company, but where is Mack?”

He pouted. “Did you not want me coming to get you?”

Ava placed her head on his shoulder and hugged his arm closer to her chest. “Of course I did. I just…Mack feels like the mum I never got to have, which is weird because I’m sure I’m older than her.”

He kissed the top of her head. “You are, and it’s not weird. She’s a mum to all of us by instinct, she just has that natural quality. But to answer your question, Kendrix started to get fussy and she couldn’t come so, she asked me instead.”

“Oh.” She mumbled before she smiled up at him. “I hope he’s okay.”

Lucas looked down, the look in his eyes was unreadable but she knew the look and felt her face flush. “He is a Woods and a Lockheart, that kid is more than okay.”

She nodded but didn’t say anything else. He led her slowly down the halls as if he was taking his time to be alone with her. Ava wasn’t going to complain, despite how hungry she was, she was nervous about meeting everyone for the first time. Mackenzie was nice enough but she didn’t know about everyone else and her experience with Abby only heightened her nerves. Abby was gorgeous and so was Mack, Ava could only imagine what Nymeria looked like and that only made her feel plain and boring compared to them.

By the time she realised that they were standing by the double doors that led into the dining hall, she felt her heart in her throat and her hands shook against Lucas’s skin. His hold on her was comforting but not enough for her to calm down as he opened the doors and they were both greeted by smiling faces. Zack sat at the end of the table with a bright smile on his face, Kendrix in his lap while his little eyes looked up at his dad. Zack was visually older than his brothers but the resemblance was there and she couldn’t help but smile at the familiarity.

To the right of the table sat Mackenzie who had been talking to Zack at the time and next to her sat August. His blond hair and grey eyes stood out amongst the other men and beside him was his mate, Nymeria. Ava couldn’t look away from her for a moment as her blood-red eyes stared into Ava’s soul. Her blood-red hair matched her eyes and her whole persona screamed death but somehow she was well-mated with August which surprised Ava. Next to her sat a bearded man who she assumed was Simon and then there were Figus and Pipèe with their six kittens.

To Zack’s right sat Raphael, his bored face slightly brightened at the sight of Lucas and Ava before he went back to being in his head which Ava found to be quite funny. It looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here and from what Lucas has told her, he has always been like this. Abby sat next to him, her hand in his lap as she waved. Ava took one look at her and then at August before she realised that they were siblings and found that her breath had hitched. It was a strange observation but she realised that they knew and relaxed. Next to Abby were two empty chairs that she assumed were where she and Lucas were sitting and then there was Cole and Eugene. They looked out of place but that didn’t stop Eugene from eying all of the men in the room and it didn’t stop Cole from glaring at said men.

“Ava, baby! You made it!”

She found herself stepping back slightly and into Lucas’s slide as Gene spoke. “Am…Am I late?”

“Of course not,” Zack said as he raised his goblet towards her. “It is about time that we finally meet the woman who has had my brother whipped over for the last four years.”

Her eyes widened as she looked up at Lucas who only shrugged and chuckled in response. Ava had a crush on him that whole time not realising that he felt the same way and now she felt a little better about it. At least it wasn’t some little girl fantasy like she tried to convince herself over and over again.

Lucas led her towards the chairs, pulling one out for her before she sat down and allowed him to push it in. She felt a little awkward as she sat and smiled up at Abby who overpowered her in height. As a matter of fact, she was the shortest one in the room and suddenly she felt like a child amongst adults. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Abby said as she poured Ava a glass of wine. “I don’t count seeing you as a mist in this very room as meeting you.”

Ava smiled and took the goblet before she sniffed the liquid. It was strong and she never had wine before but she had also never been in a room filled with friendly people who were welcoming either so it was a first for many things tonight. “Thank you and it is nice to finally meet you as well.”

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t come.” Mack suddenly said from across the table. “This one puked on me.”

“You’ve had worse things on you.” Abby snorted causing Gene and Cole to choke on their drinks and the rest of the table to roll their eyes as Raph raised an eyebrow and smirked at his mate’s comment.

“Everybody pay up.” Raph chuckled as he sat up and held his hands out. One by one, August, Zack, Lucas and Figus pulled out copper coins and placed them in Raph’s hands.

“I should have said two minutes not five,” August muttered as Nymeria rolled her eyes.

“You shouldn’t beat on her at all.” She then turned her red eyes towards Ava. “Abigail has a tendency to have an unfiltered mouth.”

“I can be fucking filtered when I want to be.” Abby scoffed with a laugh. Ava choked and jumped, it wasn’t the first time she had heard someone swear but she wasn’t expecting to hear the words amongst a royal family and have them all laughing. “You’ll get used to us and you boys will too.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will,” Cole said with a smile before he turned his attention towards Figus and Pipèe. “Although I am curious about uh…”

“Us?” Figus questioned. Ava wasn’t expecting him to talk, she knew companions could but he still gave her a fright when he opened his feline mouth. “Don’t mind us, we’re here for the free food.”

Ava sat up a little and felt herself cringe. “I hope you don’t mind that we are wolves. When we are in our forms we are in full control.”

Figus waved her off. “Don’t worry about us kid! You’re scents fucking stink but we’ve gotten used to it being around these damn Vampires.”

“Hey, we don’t stink!” Lucas scoffed just as plates of food started to come out. Ava wasn’t sure where these maids had come from but the smells made her stomach growl. “Besides, you’re getting free food from us damn Vampires.”

“Won’t argue with that!”

Ava moved slightly so that her plate could be placed down in front of her. The pork, potatoes, vegetables and grave made her eyes widen. She wasn’t used to having so much food placed down in front of her face and once her eyes landed on the bread and butter, she couldn’t help but look up at Lucas in shock.

Everyone dug in, Kendrix clapped in happiness as Zack offered him small pieces of his food for Kendrix to suckle on. There were a few moments when Mack offered to hold him but Zack would softly pout and hug his son closer to his chest. For an asshole king, Mack and his child had softened him and Ava kept that mental note to herself, the scene was adorable and she wasn’t about to ruin it.

Once she noticed that everyone had started eating, she sat forward and picked up her fork. There were many to choose from but she had watched Lucas and made a mental note before she got started. The meat melted in her mouth and her eyes slightly brightened from the taste of all of the flavours. She almost danced in her chair as she listened to the conversations around the table and smiled knowing that her brothers were comfortable.

But her smile slightly faltered when she made eye contact with Simon. His purple orbs straight straight at her as she shuffled closer towards Lucas who looked down in concern before he realised why her mood suddenly changed. “What is it, Simon?”

“How much power have you tapped into little one?” Simon finally spoke, ignoring Lucas’s question.

She opened her mouth, realising that the table had fallen silent and were all waiting for her answer. “I don’t know. A bit but I’m not brave enough to go any further.”

He nodded. “That is good. You will be trained by Abigail as soon as possible. We need you ready.”

Ava bit her lip and looked down at her plate. “Ready for when Sawyer comes, you mean?”

He nodded again, this time with a light smile curving on his bearded lips. “Smart girl. It is a relief when I don’t need to explain what is coming for the thousandth time.”

“That is because you speak in riddles!” Nymeria scoffed with an eye roll. “You still are!”

“No, I understand.” Ava shrugged earning yet more surprised eyes on her. She didn’t understand the looks but she shrugged them off just the same. “Marley is trapped in the crystal heart and he is coming for our help knowing that each prince would have a mate of their own with their own abilities. Mack is needed to keep everyone calm, and Nymeria is needed if something goes wrong. Abby is needed to teach me how to not kill everybody and I’m needed to set Marley free.”

“How the hell…”

Mack’s unfinished words made everyone nod besides Simon who raised his goblet to her. “Intelligent and beautiful. Just what this castle needs.”

The rest of the girls glared at him but nobody said anything else as their evening flew by. She ate so much food that she didn’t think she could have any more until dessert came out and she realised that she did have room after all.

An hour went by, then another as she found herself holding Lucas’s hand that had someone found itself on her knee. Her head rested on his shoulder while she laughed and talked to everybody. This wasn’t as scary as she initially thought this was going to be and she was thankful for that but then Ava found herself looking up at Lucas and realised that she wasn’t as nervous as she would have been because he was there with her. He would never have allowed her to walk into this room if he didn’t think she was safe and that earned him a kiss on the cheek that made him slightly blush and smile down at her with a questioning look that she ignored.

By the time the evening was over, she found herself yawning again as they all stood and departed the room. August walked Cole and Eugene to their room so they wouldn’t get lost and Lucas did the same for her as they walked down the halls and back towards her room but for some reason she had paused and started down at her door handle.

Ava wasn’t done with this night, it was too perfect and she wanted to end it the best way she knew how. Her eyes moved from her door, her heart suddenly picking up speed as she looked into Lucas’s eyes. “What is it?” He questioned softly as he removed some hair from her face.

Ava bit her lip, she knew that if she didn’t do this now, she would never be able to again. “I want you to mark me.”