Claiming My Wolf
Chapter 41

~~Ava’s PoV~~

I’m staring at the front door, waiting for Sadie to come home. I’m so full of questions I think I might burst.

Finally the door opens and I pounce on her before she even gets it closed behind her. “Is it true?!”

Sadie jumps from my sudden appearance. “God, Ava! You scared me!”

“Sorry,” I apologize, though I’m not really. I just want her to answer the question. “I heard you and Logan and Micah went out today and Micah didn’t come back. Is it true? Did he go rogue?”

It’s been all anyone in the pack has been talking about for the last couple of hours. The Alpha felt someone sever themselves from the pack, but he didn’t know who it was right away. Beta Aldric had to reach out to each of us by mind-link to confirm we were still here, and it was only when he got to his son, literally the last person on his list, that Micah failed to answer.

That led to a pack-wide search for Micah, and finally the border guard said he saw Micah go with Logan and Sadie earlier today, and then just ten minutes ago news had spread that Logan and Sadie were back but Micah wasn’t with them.

Gossip spreads fast when you can all communicate telepathically. And I had the inside scoop, since my cousin was one of the last people who had seen him.

Sadie makes a sad face. “I guess so. He ditched us when we were in the city. Logan and I tried to replace him, but we couldn’t, so we had to come back. The Alpha called Logan in the car to ask what happened, that’s when we found out he broke from the pack.”

I narrow my eyes as she speaks. There’s something weird about the way she’s saying all this, but I don’t know what it is. Why would she lie? “Did something else happen?” I ask, trying to guess what it might be.

Sadie looks a bit embarrassed before looking around to make sure we’re alone. “Mom and Dad are out,” I assure her. “And Aaron’s over at Laurel’s.”

He’s been over there a lot lately. My wolf has gone quiet about her, so I suspect something has happened between them, but I don’t know what it is. It’s all still very confusing.

Now that she knows we’re alone, Sadie walks to the living room and sits down on the couch. I sit across from her, waiting to hear what else she has to say.

“Micah kissed me last night.”

My mouth falls open in shock. If I had a million guesses what she had to tell me, it would never have been that. “Are you serious? Why?”

Sadie laughs. “Gee, thanks, Ava.”

Oh, s**t, I didn’t mean it like that. “No, that’s not what I… I just meant, I thought you guys hate each other!”

“We did,” she admits with a shrug. “I guess he changed his mind.”

“And what about you?” I ask, still confused. “I kind of thought you liked Logan.”

It’s not just me. Everyone in our class has noticed the way Logan has changed and how much time the two of them spend together.

“I do,” she confesses, and my eyes go even wider, making her laugh again. “It’s allowed, isn’t it?”

“Of course,” I tell her. “It’s just, you’ve got the two hottest guys in school fighting over you? That’s amazing! And completely unfair.”

Sadie rolls her eyes. “They’re hardly fighting over me. Logan just wants to be friends and Micah just left the pack.”

“Did Logan actually say that?” I’m surprised. I would have bet anything that he liked her too.

She nods. “He says he wants to wait and see who his mate is.”

Ah, that makes sense, at least to me. I can see Sadie doesn’t agree. “Well, let’s pretend they weren’t both being idiots. Which of them would you choose?”

Sadie g****s. “Come on, Ava.”

“Seriously! Say Micah comes back tomorrow and Logan changes his mind, and they both show up here declaring their undying love. Which of them would you go for?”

“You watch way too many romance movies,” she says, trying to stand up, but I’m not letting her get away that easily.

“It’s a simple question,” I tell her. “I know which one I’d go for.”

That makes her curious. “Really? Who would you pick?”

Before I can answer, the front door opens and Aaron and Laurel come in, holding hands. They’re both looking a lot happier.

“Hey guys,” my brother greets us. “Are Mom and Dad here?”

I shake my head. “No, they’re not back yet. Why?”

Aaron looks at Laurel and they share a small smile. “We’ve got something to tell them,” he says to me.

More gossip? This day is getting better and better. “What is it?”

“Maybe we should wait for your parents,” Sadie suggests.

“No, it’s okay,” Aaron tells her. “Everyone’s going to know soon enough.”

Then he pulls down the collar of his shirt and I see Laurel’s mark there.

“Oh my goddess! You didn’t!” I’m shocked. My brother and his straight-arrow girlfriend really marked each other without being mates? That must be why my wolf has been so quiet.

“What is that?” Sadie asks, looking concerned. “Did something bite you?”

The rest of us laugh. “It was me,” Laurel admits, pulling down her own shirt to show us her matching mark. “And Aaron bit me too.”

“They marked each other,” I explain to Sadie. “They’ve chosen each other as mates.”

A new light fires in Sadie’s eyes. “So you can choose?”

“It’s not encouraged,” I tell her honestly. “But yeah, if you really want to, you can.”

“I don’t know if we technically need to reject each other?” Laurel asks me, and I can only shrug. I have no idea either. That’s a question for the Alpha, I guess.

But for now, I jump up and hug my brother and his mate. “I’m really happy for you both.”

“Me too,” Sadie agrees with a genuine smile.

“Thanks, guys.” Aaron looks touched by our support. “Let’s just hope the rest of the pack takes it as well as you two.”

He sounds a bit nervous and I don’t blame him. Wolves used to get punished for going against their fated mate bond, but surely everyone will see this is a special circumstance.

This was the way it was meant to be, I’m sure of it. I only hope that there’s a second chance mate out there waiting for me.