Ava's Mate(25)
Setting the table for the dinner she’d cooked, Ava groaned when her phone went off. “Hello.”
Her brother Griffen’s voice answered her. “I need you to go check on Arden. I can’t feel him in the pack and no one’s heard from him since he went out on night shift two nights ago. I’m on patrol until morning or I would check.”
Fuck! She’d forgotten about her brother. She’d been so caught up with her own life she hadn’t been to see him in over three weeks. She was the worst sister in the world. Thank God she saw him at work. Turning off the oven, she grabbed her keys and ran to the door, hoping everything was all right. “Sorry, Griffen, I should have checked on him.”
Griffen sighed. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I know you’re busy getting to know your mate. We’ve all been trying to give you and your mate time to sort things out.” He chuckled. “We all never realized how much you do for us all. Jamie, Devlin, and I are actuality having to cook and clean for ourselves.”
Ava paused at the door as what Griffen said sank in. She’d been so busy living her own life she hadn’t been taking over everyone else’s. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I won’t be doing that anymore. You guys need to look after yourselves more, and I need a life of my own. I can’t live yours. So tonight I’ll go check on Arden, but it’s the last time I drop everything for him. I had plans tonight too. But something needs to be done about Arden, I think he’s going feral.”
“Okay, sis. Tonight will be the last night I ask you to look after Arden. Us single brothers will split it between the three of us from now on.”
“Thanks, Griffen. I’m going to go check on him now and will call if anything’s wrong.” Ava hung up and walked out of the house, shutting the front door, and started the walk to Arden’s house.
* * * *
Logan couldn’t wait to get home to Ava. He had the night off and was counting down the minutes until he could do all the things he’d been planning to do to Ava when they had time to take it slow and enjoy.
Getting out of the shower he dressed in record time, ignoring all the jibes at him for his obvious rush to leave base. Getting in his Toyota four-wheel drive he sped to the house he shared with his woman. He parked and paused out front as the realization kicked in that he knew Ava was his woman. She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Everything about her called to him. She always thought of others before herself. He knew she cooked and cleaned for most of her brothers and had been the one looking after Arden.
He got out of his car and opened the door to the quiet house. A yummy aroma wafted to him and he followed it to the open planned kitchen-dining room, to see a table made up with candles, fancy plates, knives, forks, and wine glasses.
He looked around for Ava, expecting her to be close by. He searched the house, wondering where she could be. He called her mobile, but it went to voice mail.
When he didn’t find her he started to worry. He called Jamie, her brother. “Hello, Jamie, I’m looking For Ava. I’m home, and she has a nice dinner all organized and she’s nowhere to be found. Do you know where she is? I tried her mobile but got no answer. It goes to a message that says it’s unavailable or has been turned off.”
Logan could hear loud music in the background as Jamie yelled, “She went to Arden’s to help sort him out.” Jamie rattled off Arden’s address and hung up.
Logan debated for a moment what to do before he grabbed his car keys and went to Arden’s place.
As Logan got out of his car at Arden’s house he paused at the sound of a loud smash and Ava’s scream. He rushed to the door, opening it, and ran inside to the sound of growls and snarls. Arden stood snarling over Ava as she growled back.
“Butt out of my life.” Arden’s fist went toward Ava, but she blocked and kicked him. “You had no right to come in and pour all my alcohol down the drain. Get a fucking life of your own and stay out of mine. Don’t you have a human mate to convince to be your mate or has he run for the hills at your controlling, overbearing ways?” Arden sneered at Ava as she crouched down.
Logan watched at the side frozen.
“Is he sick of you already, Ava? Is that why you’re here? Logan finally figured out that he didn’t want a real life bitch in every way. Are you not with him now because he’s out finding a real woman, a human?”
Logan’s temper was at boiling point as he watched a tear slid down Ava’s face and her body shake with sobs as the comments made their mark. Logan ran toward Arden as he punched the wall beside Ava’s face.