Fated Hearts (Echoes of Darkness Prequel)

27

Ava

H iding in an animal carcass is not how I envisioned spending my night…yet here I am. I was becoming tired, and Logan was gaining speed on me, so I submerged myself in the creek to keep him off my scent. I swam downstream until I saw a small cave and hid in it. Thank God for thick wolf shifter fur; otherwise, I would suffer from a bout of horrible hypothermia.

In the back of the cave was a humongous bear carcass, and I hid inside it. I guess being a loser and watching nature documentaries for so many years instead of going to parties paid off in the end. I once saw that wolves sometimes do this to keep their scent hidden from other predators, and it stuck with me. In my desperation, I had to try it. Well, I guess it worked because he hasn’t found me yet.

It took everything in me to shut Logan out from my mind and our bond, but the thought of him with someone else and the burn of his betrayal kept me going even when I thought I couldn’t anymore. Now, though, after hours of much-needed reflection, I feel stupid for letting my emotions run rampant and get the best of me. Logan said that with my wolf being awakened, I would feel everything in a heightened state, and boy, he wasn’t kidding.

God, I acted so recklessly. You would think I was still a teenager for the way I ran off.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad, and my heart feels as though someone stomped all over it and then stabbed it with a fiery knife for good measure, but I regret not letting Logan explain like he wanted to. And in the aftermath of my rashness, I’m faced with a decision; go back to the cabin or make my way home. Because I sure can’t stay here inside of a rotting carcass forever. At the cabin, I’d have to face Logan, my wounded pride, and the possibility of rejection. At home, I’d be simply running from my problems and avoiding closure.

In the end, I decide to go home and then maybe call Logan and ask him to meet me somewhere so we can talk. However, I’m not sure how I’ll do that since I’ll need my phone to call him, and from what I remember, my phone is still in the woods along with my Halloween costume, where I shifted for the first time.

Dawn breaks, and golden rays of sunshine illuminate the mouth of the cave, but I still don’t move. I’ll wait for the full day light; I don’t know where this cave is located, and I need the light to find my way back home through the dense forest. Ugh. I just want to curl up in bed and stay there for the foreseeable future. Some more time passes before I get out and let my wolf take over completely as I start running, the icy air filling my lungs with each inhale. I don’t know where the national park ends, but I trust my wolf will take me there.

At least two hours pass until I finally find my way down to Shadow Lake. If it snowed here, it surely wasn’t more than a light dusting, and it has already melted. The ground is muddy beneath my paws, and the damp, chilly air fills my snout. It smells musty, like decomposing leaves, pine sap, and wet bark.

There’s a house in the distance I spotted from a few miles back. I creep closer, using the tree trunks as my cover. My hope is I can sneak in and find some clothes and a shower in the house. Perhaps the theft will be a smudge on my moral punch card, but I can’t exactly shift and then go out into the world buck naked. Getting arrested for public indecency is not on my to-do list for the day. Or maybe I could get lucky and the smell of dead bear carcass wafting out of me like a pungent cologne will make the police pass out fast enough for me to escape. Just kidding.

Still hiding in the tree line, I watch a family of four leave in a minivan and listen closely to ensure no one else is inside the house. When I don’t hear anything aside from the rustling of the wind in the leaves, I approach the wooden front porch and round the corner, shifting when I reach the back door.

I say a prayer and turn the knob. ?Chingada madre! Pinche puerta. The door is locked, but I use some of my newfound strength to jingle it a bit left and right. After a few moments, it breaks, and the door opens with a soft creak. I quickly enter the kitchen and amble through the narrow hallway, searching for a bathroom. Pushing the door to my right, I find it, but there’s only a toilet and a sink, and I desperately need a shower, so I get out.

They already have the Christmas tree out in the living room, the lights flickering softly as I make my way to the staircase. The stairs to the second floor are lined with numerous framed photos of the couple on their wedding day and the kids at different stages in life. The house is small but well cared for, and guilt twists my stomach into knots for invading their home. I don’t have another option, though. I just hope they won’t notice someone was here.

Entering what seems to be a master bedroom, I slip into the en suite bathroom and immediately hop in the shower. I try my best not to throw up as I wash the disgusting scent off me. I have to wash and rinse about five times before I don’t feel like heaving anymore.

After I dry myself, I make a beeline for the closet and rifle through the woman’s clothes to find something to wear. Her hips are much narrower than mine, so I have to take a pair of sweats from her husband’s wardrobe, a tee and a hoodie from hers, and a pair of old-looking sneakers that I don’t think she’ll miss too much. The shoes are a number too big, but I can manage walking in them. Before I exit the bedroom, I also grab a light jacket.

As soon as I’m dressed, I get out of there and try to remember the way to the parking lot where I left my car before the Halloween party. Not like I have my keys or anything, but from there, maybe I can try and get a cab.

I don’t know how long it takes me to get to the parking lot, but it’s definitely longer than the half hour Tony and I walked to the Halloween party. Luckily, once I get there, a girl is ambling toward her car, and I ask her to call a cab for me. She offers to drive me to the city, saying she’s on her way to the Raven district anyway after her run.

As we coast through the morning traffic, it turns out she has a bit of a motor mouth. Once she starts talking, she doesn’t stop even for a second. She tells me all about her toxic ex and how he manipulated her. Ha, me and you, sister. At least I don’t even have to talk. I space out and nod when I feel it’s appropriate. Not before long, she drops me off at my apartment building. I thank her and get out with a heavy sigh.

Punching in the code for the front door, I enter the building and go straight to the super’s office on the first floor. I rap my knuckles against the door and wait for him to answer. Exaggerated, almost cartoonish moans and the distinct sound of skin slapping together travel through the door. He’s either having sex in there, or he is watching porn. I think it’s the latter, though.

“Just a minute,” he bellows, panic lacing his tone. He takes his sweet time to answer the door, and when he finally opens it, his face and neck are beet red, and I don’t miss his laptop and the mountain of used tissues on his desk. He’s a short man with a balding head that shines brightly in the overhead neon light, an aquiline nose that points slightly to the right, and a beer belly that’s spilling over his belt. There’s a wet stain on the crotch of his brown pants, and I do not want to think about where that came from. “What can I do for you, Miss Perez?” he asks, wiping at the beads of sweat accumulating on his receding hairline with the back of his hand.

“I lost my keys and can’t get into my apartment. Can I borrow the extra key you have?”

“S-sure,” he stammers and goes to the wall where all the keys are hung. “You’re renting 7C, right?”

“Yup,” I answer, popping the p .

“Just make a copy when you can and bring it back to me, please,” he says, handing me the key with the hand he most likely didn’t wash after jerking off.

I take it between my thumb and forefinger and try to suppress the disgusted shudder that passes through my body. Ugh . He closes the door in my face hastily after I thank him. Before I get to the elevator, he is already resuming his morning activities, the exaggerated moans reverberating in my ears and making me cringe.

The elevator doors slide open with a ping, and I shuffle inside. A weighted sigh leaves my lungs while I rest my head on the back wall. I’m so fucking tired. Of everything. Despite my best efforts, just like Sisyphus, I roll back down the hill as my thoughts, yet again, wander off to Logan. He’s imprinted himself so far beneath my skin that I still feel his touch in every cell, every nerve ending. To make matters worse, I’m still sore after he nailed me to the table and fucked me like it was the last time.

A snortthat quickly morphs into a whimper escapes me at the irony of that…because it really was the last time. Damn him and his lies. The back of my throat burns with unshed tears. I try my best not to break into heaving sobs at the mental image of him at the altar with another woman. It’s honestly a miracle I managed to keep my shit together as long as I did with the way I feel my chest caving in and my battered heart hemorrhaging all over.

C’mon, Ava, just a few steps, and then you can lose it once you’re inside.

As I step into the hallway, it takes me a few seconds to register that Chloe, my best friend that it feels like I haven’t spoken to in months, is sitting on the floor next to my door, her knees drawn to her chest and her back resting on the wall. It’s as if God himself took pity on me and sent my best friend as divine intervention to help me glue my broken pieces back together. My knees almost buckle under me in relief. She sips from a take-out coffee and scrolls on her phone as loud music plays in her earbuds, oblivious to the bloody war slashing my insides to ribbons.

The hallway is a blur as I start running toward her like my life depends on it. She lifts her head when I almost reach her, her eyes widening, probably more in shock at my speed than at seeing me. But like all humans do when faced with the supernatural, she quickly brushes it off. With a loud squeal, she throws herself at me, enveloping me in a tight hug. Even though her peach scent is way too strong for my new wolfish nose, I inhale it deeply. I missed her so damn much.

“Oh my God, Ave! I’m so happy that you’re okay, but I’m pretty sure you’re breaking my ribs,” she yells in my ear. The sound is so loud to me that a sharp pain pierces my brain and makes my jaw clench. I resist the urge to press my fingers into my temples as I relax my hold, hoping I didn’t do any real damage. I’m still adjusting to the fact that I’m not human anymore. That I’m not as breakable as I once was. Well, physically speaking, because my insides are raw, like an open wound left under the blistering desert sun.

She pulls back. When she sees my expression, she cringes. “Oops, sorry. I yelled, didn’t I?” she whispers exaggeratedly after taking the earbuds out and pocketing them.

I shake my head incredulously, smiling so largely my cheeks hurt. “What are you doing here, Chlo?”

In stark contrast, Chloe’s eyebrows drop in a deep frown as she gives me a withering glare. She flaps her hands in disbelief before folding them in front of her chest. “First off, I want to strangle you, you bitch. Did you throw your phone off a cliff or something? Because, truly, I can’t explain otherwise how in the world you could ignore all my calls and messages for days on end. You made me sick with worry.”

She lets out a cleansing breath. “I’m here because the next stretch of the tour is in the US, and the band’s playing at a club in the Raven district Friday night. I thought Knox would surely push me off the plane if I was going to mention you one more time on the way here.” The death stare quickly transforms into guilt as she rambles, “We arrived last night, and I came to see you. You weren’t home, though. So, um, don’t be mad at me, please, but I called your Mom and told her I can’t get ahold of you. I didn’t know what else to do. Ben traced your phone and said you’re supposed to be at your apartment. Clearly, you weren’t, so I decided to come back today and wait for however long was necessary until you showed up. I was planning a trip to the police station, to be honest.”

As if the fog of fury finally lifts from her vision, her beautiful onyx eyes travel from my toes all the way to my face, and a glint of worry shines in them when she takes in my disheveled appearance. “What the heck are you wearing? You kind of look like shit, Ave. Are you okay?”

“I kind of do, don’t I?” The admission is effective in wiping away my smile completely. The moment Chloe hugs me again, I finally lose it and start ugly crying with whole-body sobs and snot going down my face. I try to talk, but the words come out all warped through my hiccups.

“Where’s your key?”

I drop it in her extended palm, still unable to form a word. After she opens the door, she grabs my hand and, like a mother hen, she fusses over me, urging me to sit before she ambles to the kitchen. She returns with a glass of water that she places on top of the coffee table. In the next second, I’m wrapped in her arms again. It takes me ten full minutes to compose myself, and I finally notice my phone and keys on top of my coffee table, where I always keep them. I pull back with a frown.

Who the hell brought over my things from the woods?

Chloe takes my hands in hers, her eyes locking with mine. “Talk to me. I need to know who we’re murdering tonight because I have never seen you like this, not even after finding out you only had a few months to live.”

“I don’t even know where the fuck to start,” I say, sniffling, my voice nasally and scratchy. Of course, I can’t exactly tell her I’m a freakin’ wolf now and that I shifted for the first time when I witnessed Tony getting mauled by a rogue at the Halloween party. And then there’s the fact that I have a fated mate. Had Ava, you had a fated mate. If that part was even true. It felt true, though…like I finally found the missing part of my soul. Raw pain rattles my insides like an earthquake when all the moments I shared with Logan flash through my mind for what feels like the umpteenth time today.

I free one of my hands from Chloe’s hold and take a few sips of water, trying to swallow the tears that burn the back of my throat. Inhaling a calming breath, I tell her what happened between me and Logan while leaving out all the weird supernatural parts and Tony’s death. So, I basically had to lie a lot.

“Well, at least there’s a bright side,” Chloe deadpans, lifting a shoulder after I finish my story. “You finally found someone that knows what a clit is.”

A laugh bubbles out of me, but it quickly turns bitter. “Yeah…too bad he’s got a fiancé, and he’s getting married.”

Her upper lip curls, and she rolls her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Ugh, I hate men with a passion. They are the absolute worst.”

I arch an eyebrow at her. “Except for Knox, right?”

She sticks her tongue out at me. “He doesn’t count; he’s a sweetheart.”

I nod, agreeing with her. “I know. I also hate all men besides Knox. How is he, by the way?”

“They have rehearsals all day at the venue they’re playing Friday night. You wanna go? Listen to some of their new songs?”

“Yeah…I don’t know about that. To be honest, I don’t feel like seeing Jude right now.”

“C’mon, it will be fun, and I don’t think sitting here and moping will do you any good.”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“Fine, then we’ll do something else,” Chloe says, standing and striding toward my closet. “I’m kidnapping you to my hotel. They have the most amazing spa. We can spend all day there, and then you can sleep with me tonight. Knox won’t mind. We’re renting the penthouse suite.”

I turn sideways on the couch to see what Chloe’s doing. “I can’t. I’m supposed to be working tonight.”

She looks at me over her shoulder, then goes back to rifling through my wardrobe and stuffing some of my clothes in my overnight bag. “Can’t you call in sick or something?”

“No, we’re already understaffed,” I choke out, remembering Tony. “Besides, I think I should call Logan and ask him to meet me. I want to hear his side of the story.”

Chloe sighs. “’Kay, call him, and after you guys meet up, we can spend the rest of the day at the spa, and you’ll leave for your shift when you have to. Then I’ll grab Knox, and we’ll come to your bar when it opens. When you finish your shift, I’ll take you to my hotel. Do you have a bathing suit in here?”

“Check the underwear drawer. Take the red one; it’s my favorite,” I tell her as I pick up my phone. “And Chlo?”

“What?”

“I love you, and I’m so happy you’re here.”

“Aw, I love you too. You know you’re my favorite person in the whole world.” She blows me a kiss and saunters to the bathroom, probably to get my toiletries.

I know I have to mentally prepare myself to speak to Logan or else I will have my third heart attack of the year, so I take a deep breath in and let it out through my nose, hoping it will be enough. With trembling fingers, I dial Emily’s number since I don’t even have Logan’s. My stomach bottoms out when Logan picks up instead.

“Ava, baby, thank fuck. Where are you? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“I, um…” Turns out the breathing wasn’t enough. Clearing my throat, I try again. “I’m home…I managed to find my way home.”

“Listen to me, baby, please. I fucked up bad. I should have told you everything, but I got caught up in what was happening between us. I know I don’t have any excuse, but I want to explain everything to you. It’s not what you think.”

And I hate my simpering whimpering little heart, but hope filters strongly through my veins at hearing his words. “It’s not?” I breathe.

“I’ll tell you everything. I need to see you. I’ve been going crazy since you ran off.”

“That’s why I called, so we can talk. Can we meet somewhere?”

“I’ll come to your place. This is not a discussion we can have in a public place where anyone can overhear.”

“’Kay.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“See you then,” I say and hang up as Chloe comes back from the bathroom and dumps all my toiletries in my overnight bag.

“What did he say?” she asks as she strides to the couch and plops down beside me.

“He’s coming here to talk.”

“Oh, then I’ll probably need to make myself scarce. I kind of want to meet him, though, and dick-punch him for making you cry. I can stay and glower at him while you guys talk. You know, like one of those dads with the shotguns in the movies. Make him uncomfortable as fuck.”

I laugh out loud at the mental image of Chloe trying to intimidate someone Logan’s size and built like a tank. “I’ll be fine, Chlo. I’m a big girl. I can handle him.”

“Fine. I need to get something to wear for the concert anyway. Knox gave me his credit card and said to get whatever I want as long as he can rip it off my body after the concert. He’s always horny as fuck after he plays. But I can just go to the café where I picked out my coffee earlier and wait until you guys finish your talk if you want to go shopping with me afterward.”

“It’s okay. I’m not in the mood to go shopping, so you can do your thing, and then we can meet back here or tell me the hotel’s name, and we can meet there instead.”

“I’ll come get you. I even have a driver and bodyguard now,” she says, hugging me and standing. “Please change your clothes and go wash your face. You know I love you, but you look like you crawled out of a Goodwill box, and you can’t let the dickbag see you like this.”

“Yes, Mom, I’ll change.”

“That’s my girl.” She pats my head and winks. “Now, can you please tell me where I can find clothes that are rock star girlfriend-worthy? I need something sexy and edgy.”

“You can try that fancy neighborhood in the southern part of Ashville. I’ve never been there, but I heard the stores are super high-end, and you can only find designer stuff. If Knox is treating you, then you should take full advantage.”

“Oh, I definitely will. ‘Kay, I’ll see you later. Text me when you guys are done.” She takes her jacket from the hanger near the door and blows me a kiss before leaving.

Heaving out a deep sigh, I make a beeline for the bathroom, deciding to take another shower. If I can still smell the stench of dead animal on my skin, Logan will, too.