Her Passion 22

Ethan's POV:

It had been a few weeks since Ava had been with us, and I was pleased to find that it wasn't the last time, and although things didn't get so heated, I was content and happy with her presence alone. If she wanted to wait, that was fine with me, her presence was enough, even if my wolf didn't see it that way.

Today was one of those days when Ava didn't sleep, and I'd to resign myself to waking up alone, surrounded by her delicious and lively scent, which only made me long for her even more. Since that night she'd stayed when it was too late for her to go home, I couldn't sleep properly without her, feeling out of place and constantly tense when I wasn't pressed against her, her head on my chest or our legs intertwined. She was my soulmate, my other half, so it was no surprise that I felt like I was missing half of me when she wasn't around.

Although things were going well and I hadn't approached her parents about it, she knew that I knew she hadn't run away. She hadn't asked me directly, but since I couldn't stand her, she'd put two and two together. That's what Leo had been worried about, her reaction to him spilling the beans, even if he couldn't help it because he couldn't resist an alpha command. It didn't seem to bother her, but I knew she was hiding something, just not what.

Sighing, I rubbed my face roughly before getting ready for school because I really wanted to see Ava again. I couldn't wait to look into her beautiful emerald green eyes, run my fingers through her dark curly mane, or pull her against me. This was pure and absolute heaven for me.

When I was done, I grabbed my bag, my hair still wet from the shower, and took two steps at a time as I stormed down the stairs and into the kitchen. I paid attention to the members of my pack that were there, unfortunately Sophia was also present. She'd kept a low profile since the incident in the cafeteria, thankfully, because the fact that she'd blamed my mate in front of the whole pack meant that most of them were avoiding her more than usual.

Not that I blamed them, the only reason the guys hung out with her was because she was easy.

"Ethan baby, morning."

I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and Ella and Charlotte stared at her from their mates' side. Everyone had come to Ava's defence, even Benjamin, who'd hated rouges with a passion, enjoyed her dry humour and company so much that he even asked when she was coming over. Charlotte was incredibly pleased with his sudden change of heart; the sex ban he'd told me about had been lifted. He was pleased, to say the least.

"I'm not your baby, Sophia, so stop with the names!" I snapped, I didn't want her doing that shit when Ava was around. The last thing I needed was more problems with the bitch, she was on thin ice as it was.

"When are you going to realise we're mates? Ethan. This... Bitch of a sister of mine is nothing, you're just confused," she whined and a growl filled the room as soon as she dared to insult my mate. Did she have a death wish, hopefully so.

I dropped my bag next to the door and stormed towards her. I knew my eyes were most likely my wolves as my hand wrapped around her skinny neck and my grip tightened just enough for her to feel it.

"We're not mates! We'll never be mates and I'm damn glad of that! But if you dare insult Ava again, I'll rip you to shreds, do we understand each other?" I snapped at her, my tone full of anger and authority while my body shook trying not to strike on the spot and finish her off once and for all. Unfortunately, I couldn't act at the moment, but it wouldn't be long before I could get rid of the bitch.

Her eyes had widened comically as I'd rushed at her, fear and panic flashing in her gaze as she realised that perhaps it wasn't best to insult Ava, especially in my presence and that of the pack.

"Do we agree?" I snapped, vaguely aware that all eyes were on me, but as
I'd expected, no one commented on my rough treatment.

"I... uh..." was all she could chuckle out, and I rolled my eyes as she tried to claw at my hand to get me to loosen my grip. I loosened it slightly, but continued to hold her tightly as I leaned forward so that my gaze burned into hers, and the scent of her perfume burned lightly in my nose. Wasn't it enough to have a strong sense of smell without having to flood the whole room with that scent she called perfume?

"Do we agree?" I snapped, vaguely aware that all eyes were on me, but as I'd expected, no one commented on my rough treatment of Sophia. Honestly no one cared, I mean who was stupid enough to insult the Alpha's mate?

"I'm your... Consort," she stupidly tried to get out, and my grip tightened again as she tried to fight me off while I picked her up off the floor so that her toes barely grazed the wooden floor.

"Do we agree?" I tried again and felt her try to nod before abruptly releasing her from my grip, causing her to stumble as she tried to regain her balance by holding onto the counter. She was breathing heavily, trying to replenish her burning lungs, but even that didn't bother me in the slightest. It was her own fault, she had to learn the hard way.

It was Leo who broke the tension, Sophia stared accusingly at Leo/Levi as if he was interfering with an Alpha to protect the so called sister who treated him like shit, just like his parents did when he swore his loyalty to me after deciding that the last thing he wanted was to be an Alpha. Not only did he have no chance of fighting me, he didn't want the responsibility that came with it. It was understandable.

I guess I could understand where he was coming from, but I loved being Alpha and nothing was going to change that for me.

"Good for you buddy, bitch needs to learn a lesson," he said as if Sophia wasn't his sister, to which the boys snorted in amusement while the females of the pack giggled and snickered. I couldn't help but roll my eyes and tried to suppress a grin as I did so.

"Levi! Why didn't you help me?" Sophia couldn't help whimpering, her voice slightly hoarse from my attack on her neck. However, I could already see the bruises I had caused healing quickly, they would be gone in a few minutes at most. Even though she was a shifter female, she was healing strangely slow for a shifter, but we had adjusted to all shifter females being like that, we didn't have anyone else to compare it to.

"Me, help you, Sophia? Why would I do that?" asked Leo with a raised eyebrow, grinning as his head snapped to the door as Harper bounced in with a shy smile we had all come to know and love.

"I'm your sister!" she screeched before wincing. Harper winced at the harsh tone, which made Levi even angrier at his sister. They didn't get along well, but now that she had angered his mate, I could see the anger flashing in his gaze as he shoved Harper slightly behind him.

"Only blood related, but Sophia, you aren't my sister," he snapped and Harper rubbed his shoulders reassuringly, causing everyone in the pack to grin. She was a shy person by nature, but when it came to Leo, she seemed to come out more.

"I'll tell Dad!" she exclaimed. I was actually surprised that his remark seemed to hit her hard, her eyes twinkling, but again no one made any move to comfort her.

She had dug her own grave, and no one wanted to be in it with her.

"Whatever, Sophia," Leo murmured, frowning, pulling Harper close to him as he breathed in her scent to relax. It was clear that her comment had upset him, and I didn't like it.

"Right, get your stuff and get out," I said as I picked up my bag, and her eyes widened comically as she stared at me.

"What?" she stared at me, obviously thinking that I was going to kick her out. It was my right to do that, but unfortunately, it wasn't the right time. Her parents were staying with my own parents while their house was being repaired, and I didn't want my parents to have to deal with another selfish brat.

"Go to school! I'm not your fucking father Sophia, but I'm your alpha, you don't treat my closest friends like shit in my pack!" I snapped at her and grabbed her face as I grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the door. I may have sounded harsh, but she needed some petting to grow the fuck up!

"It's our pack," she corrected me and everyone stared at her in disbelief. Did she really think she was welcome here, she was hated!

"It's not your pack, Sophia, it's MINE! And as long as you are in my territory, you are under my rule and authority, if you don't like it, leave!" I snarled, trying to hide a smile as I noticed how Ella's eyes lit up as James playfully pinched her thigh, but she nodded respectfully, clearly agreeing with me.

I watched as Sophia was about to say something else, but she reconsidered and realised she had some self-preservation instincts.

"Good," she said before turning on her heel and storming out the door to go to her car, which she drove to school alone. Her parents had brought her her own car, and although there was a pack account, because not all of my pack members came from wealthy families, she didn't have a card to access it. That reminded me, though, to get one issued in Ava's name. I knew she didn't have much going for her, but for a rouge, she had done incredibly well.

"Fucking bitch," I muttered as I swung my bag over my shoulder before heading out the door, giving everyone a quick wave as they walked to their own cars and got out behind me.

When I arrived at school, I quickly walked in and looked at my watch, only to sigh when I saw that I was at least twenty minutes late for my first class. I didn't even realise that my argument with Sophia had taken so long, but she needed to be put in her place!

Walking quickly into the house, I frowned when I didn't sense Ava in the house. Although we hadn't mated yet, I could tell when she was around, and I was very aware that she wasn't at school like she expected to be.

Walking over to the front desk, I immediately caught the attention of the receptionist, whose eyes widened as she quickly stood up. I could practically feel the nervousness coming off her in waves, and I knew she would call her mate as soon as I left, after all, he could have a firm grip on her emotions and would be worried.

"Alpha... Sir, what can I do for you?" she asked as soon as I approached her, obviously hoping she hadn't done anything to incur my wrath. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I was far too interested in my mate's whereabouts to bother.

"Is my mate here?" I asked, already knowing she wasn't, but wanting to know if she had checked in before she went off somewhere. If so, she would be back soon, I hoped and counted on it.

The receptionist began typing on her keyboard without delay as her eyes ran rapidly over the screen, and my fingers tapped on the wooden desk, which certainly didn't help her nervousness. It was an instinct to be nervous around one's alpha, one of the reasons I had so much power over my pack.

"She didn't sign in, sir," she muttered nervously, and my nails dug into the wood, causing her to jump slightly away from me.

"Thank you," I said before walking away, pulling my phone out of my pocket and quickly scrolling through it to find her number. Where the hell was she?