Bruised (Not Edited)|✔️

Chapter 24

Ava's POV

Last night was amazing. With a wide smile, I rolled over in bed to face the man that stole my heart. I brushed a few stray strands of his black hair away from his forehead and admired his perfectly sculpted face.

My eyes roamed all over his face from his bushy eyebrows, to his long lashes that were almost touching his cheek, to his straight nose, to his strong jawline and then my eyes finally settled on his pink kissable lips.

He looked peaceful in his sleep and I didn't want to ruin his peaceful slumber, so I quietly slipped out of bed. As soon as I was off the bed, his hands instinctively reached out for me and I placed a pillow in the spot that I previously occupied. He immediately grabbed a hold of the pillow and brought it closer to his chest and let out a satisfied sigh.

I wanted to laugh at how cute he looked while cuddling a pillow. It was too adorable to not document. I quickly grabbed my phone and took a few pictures of him. 'I could use these against him in the future', I thought with a wicked grin.

I slipped on his shirt that he was wearing the previous night and went on deck to enjoy some fresh morning air. No one was on board apart from us, as per Jayden's request when he had the entire staff leave on a lifeboat.

He wanted us to be alone, so that we could enjoy the moment without any interruptions. Last night was definitely the best night of my life. He was kind and gentle the whole time, too afraid that he would hurt me.

He did hurt me though, not on purpose. I ran my fingertips along the mark that he gave me on my neck. The skin there had formed into a crown to symbolize the rank and power of my mate. When I first saw it, I was in awe at how good it looked. It looked like a cute little tattoo, so I wasn't complaining; I would wear his mark with pride.

I also marked him. It was the same as my mark, just a little bigger. The marking was the worst part of the mating process. When his teeth first sank into my neck it hurt like a bitch, but after a few seconds of him licking it, I felt unimaginable pleasure.

I had absolutely no regret of the events that transpired last night. Something changed between us, something changed for the better. Because my wolf was back after no communications for months, she was finally back.

"Hey. Why didn't you wake me when you got up?" a voice asked behind me and later I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I leaned back into his bare chest to enjoy the warmth it provided.

Every contact that our skin made left behind a delicious tingle which seemed to have amplified after we mated. I felt closer to him than I ever did before.

"You looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you" I murmured watching the sun rise.

"It's peaceful out here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I wish we could stay here forever" I replied with a hint of sadness.

"Hey. Look at me. Nothing will change between us when we get back" he said with me now facing him.

"How do you know that?" I was a bit too emotional right now.

"Because-because," it seemed like he was having a hard time getting the words out.

"See. You know that the minute we get back, everything will change" I shouted in his face, getting really angry for no apparent reason.

"Because I love you ok" he said grabbing my arms to keep me from walking away.

I looked up at him shocked at his revelation. He loved me. OMG, he loved me, three words, and eight letters. I never knew how happy it would make me to hear him say those three words.

"I love you too" I responded without any hesitation, because I really did love him.

It wasn't because we had sex. I think I've loved him since the day we first met, even though he was a complete asshole. But I knew that my heart belonged to this man standing before me, confessing his feelings.

I closed the gap between us and sealed our lips with a kiss. It was slow, sweet and sensual as we took the time to savor the moment as if it could last forever.

Pulling away, we were both sporting goofy smiles on our faces. I wish that this moment never end.

But of course, all good things must come to an end.

...

Two brown wolves stood before us, baring their teeth at each other. They circled each other waiting and watching to see who would make the first move.

To say Jayden was furious would be an understatement. What infuriated him the most was that the wolves didn't even bother to acknowledge his presence, even though we were standing just a few feet away from them for the past minute.

Jayden took long purposeful strides in their direction having had enough of them. If you haven't already guessed, we were back at the pack house, and this was the first thing we saw when we pulled up.

"Change" Jayden's authoritative voice boomed across the yard scattered with people.

All the bystander's bowed to show their respect to their alpha, while I stood from afar and watch the whole scene unfold.

"Both of you in my office. NOW!" Jayden boomed once again and stormed off in a fury.

The now naked boys, glared at each other while they covered themselves with blankets provided by other pack members. 'Men and their ego', I thought with an eye roll.

"Well don't you look radiant" a cheery voice teased from behind me.

"Katie!" I exclaimed and gave her a hug.

"It feels like I haven't seen you in forever" she said squeezing the life out of me.

"Can't. Breathe" I was able to get out, and she released me from her death grip.

"Sorry" she mumbled.

"You actually saw me yesterday before I left" I clarified.

"Yesterday was so long ago" I laughed at her response. She was such a drama queen at times.

"You smell different. You even look different" she said analyzing me, looking me up from head to toe.

"What? No. Oh shit, I totally forgot that Jayden wanted to see me in his office" I lied. I rushed to the entrance of the pack house, wanting to get as far away from her as possible.

"Kinky. Remember to use protection" she shouted so that everyone could hear. I didn't look back or respond to her, but I could hear her arguing with someone while I died from embarrassment.

I walked with my head hung low, not wanting to see all the stares that I was no doubt receiving. I didn't have a set destination, so while walking, I decided to stop by Jayden's office.

I knocked on the door and only entered when I heard a faint 'come in'.

"Hey babe. Could you discipline these two while I run off to an important meeting?" Jayden asked as soon as I opened the door.

"Uh-" I started unsure.

"Thanks babe" he said and pecked my lips. I didn't even see when he moved from behind his desk.

"Don't go too easy on them" he advised and was out the door before I could protest or say anything.

I looked at the two boys wrapped in blankets that were staring at me with their mouths hung low in disbelief. I was shocked as well. I knew he said that nothing would change, and he really meant it.

"Close your mouth boys. Wouldn't want any flies getting in there, now would you?" I smirked.

A/N

How are all my lovely people doing today?

The end of yet another chapter. Thanks for reading:)

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