Chapter 5
I stared at him, heart pounding so loud I could barely hear anything else.
You’re mine, Ava.
Those words echoed in my mind like thunder rolling through a stormy sky. They thrilled me. Scared me. Confused me.
“Ian… you can’t just say that,” I said, my voice shaking.
“Why not?” he asked. He stepped closer, his eyes dark with something I couldn’t read—rage, desire, desperation, maybe all three. “Because I’m an Alpha and you’re not? Because people will talk?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Because all of that. Because this is real life, not some fairy tale.”
He grabbed both sides of my face so gently it made my chest ache.
“I’m not trying to be your fairy tale,” he said, breathing hard. “I’m trying to be your future.”
My lips parted, but no words came out. How could they?
No one had ever said anything like that to me before.
He looked at me a moment longer, then slowly let go and stepped back, giving me space.
“I get it,” he said, quieter now. “You’re scared. So am I. I’ve never felt like this before. Never wanted someone this much and hated myself for wanting it at the same time.”
That made me look up.
“Hated yourself?” I asked. “Why?”
He shrugged, but his eyes betrayed the truth. “Because wanting you means wanting something I can’t protect. You’re fragile, Ava. You think I don’t see it, but I do. And the second the pack knows you’re mine… they’ll want to break you just to hurt me.”
That made something click inside me.
“So you do care what they think.”
“No,” he snapped, frustrated. “I care what they’ll do. You’re not like the girls I mess around with, Ava. You’re not for playing. You’re—”
He stopped himself. Looked away. Then finally said it.
“You’re the one.”
A heavy silence fell between us.
I didn’t know what to say. What do you say when the most dangerous boy in school—the future Alpha—just claimed you like you’re the center of his entire world?
So I did what I always did.
I ran.
I left him standing there behind the gym. I didn’t stop until I was home, in my room, locking the door behind me. My chest was heaving. My hands were trembling. My thoughts were a mess.
I collapsed onto the bed, not knowing whether I wanted to cry, scream, or smile.
That night, I had a dream.
I was running through the woods, like when I was little. But this time, I wasn’t being chased. I was chasing something. Or someone.
A pair of dark eyes were always just ahead, just out of reach.
When I woke up, the morning sun was already breaking through my window. My body ached like I’d run miles in my sleep.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
“Meet me at the training grounds. 8 AM. Don’t ignore this, Ava.”
I didn’t need a name to know who it was.
Ian.
I debated whether to go. My mother’s warning rang in my ears—We have no one to protect you, Ava.
But something deeper inside me whispered back—What if you don’t need protecting? What if you need to stop hiding?
I didn’t reply to his message. But at 7:50 AM, I left the house.
I didn’t wear my oversized dress today.
I didn’t wear makeup either. I didn’t have to.
I just wanted to be seen.
And if Ian Dawson really meant what he said… then it was time to find out what that meant.