Chapter 3 Claiming her

Ava, dressed in a silver gown so long that it flowed on the ground, a silver scarf around her neck to cover the hickeys, as she slowly walked through the grand hall with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. The gown hugged her tiny figure, exposing the curves of her body. Her eyes were fixed on the man who was standing at the front of the hall waiting for her.

Ava held her chin high as she walked through the hall; she had covered the scar that Anthony left on her face with heavy make-up so no one would notice. The people watched with awe at her beauty, she could feel everyone's gaze on her.

When she got to the front where Anthony stood, the flower was taken from her. She forced a smile at Anthony when she saw the warning in his eyes asking her to smile. She looked around at the crowd as she tried to maintain the smile on her face. Her parents were there, and so were the Alpha and his Luna. The mating ceremony was packed with a lot of pack members with prestige backgrounds. She cannot mess this up, especially when she needs more contracts as an event planner.

Her eyes landed on Cynthia, anger filled every fiber of her bone but she tore her gaze away from Cynthia and they landed on someone that caused her heart to drop.

All these while, she had kept her chin up, not going to feel intimidated or scared but seeing him here... her heart began to race.

What was he doing here? At her mating ceremony? How did he know? Why is he here?

Questions filled her heart as she looked at the man she had spent the night with right in the same hall where she was getting married. Small sweat trickled down her forehead, she swallowed, and her breathing became shallow.

He was dressed in black sleeves with two buttons undone, his dark curly hair was a bit less messy and his blue eyes were locked on her with a smirk on his lips. His presence pulled a dominating force with him that made her grow weak on her knees.

Flashes of last night came flying into her head, his gentle lips on her skin and his art of hickey on her skin. She only saw them while she was taking her bath earlier. He really designed her like he owned her.

Her jaw clenched seeing him here, her heart couldn't stop racing. Ava raised her head up as she stared at the ceiling, she was doomed.

The hall was magnificent, filled with shining lights with different colors, chandeliers, and instruments playing in the background but Ava's mind were far from here.

"This is the mating ceremony of our future Alpha and Luna," the elder began pulling Ava out of her thoughts. She forced a smile as she looked at Anthony.

"Today, we witness the new beginning of Dominion Pack as the Alpha accepts his Luna as his mate and shares the mate bite as proof."

"Alpha Anthony, hold the hands of your mate and accept her," the elder instructed.

Anthony took Ava's hands, she forced out a smile when she saw how he looked at her hands. Her heart beat faster and louder, she just couldn't wait for this to be done as soon as possible.

Every second that passed was like a time bomb ticking, she didn't know what the stranger she had a one-night stand with would do.

The silence grew so thick that Ava turned her gaze to the crowd– the stranger, and then turned back to Anthony, who began to speak,

"I, Anthony Matthew George, future Alpha of Dominion pack..."

His hold on Ava's hands tightened so hard that her eyes widened, he was hurting her. His lips slowly pulled up into a smirk as he looked up at her, his eyes now filled with mischief. Ava, with fear in her eyes, shook her head, silently pleading not to do what she thought he was planning to do.

He suddenly swung her hands down, "I reject you, Ava Ryan, as my mate!"

"No," Ava's world spun.

The crowd gasped in shock, their eyes wide and mouths agape as they watched what was going on. Beta Ryan was the first to stand to his feet, along with his wife,

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked in rage.

Ava's eyes remained on Anthony, she kept shaking her head and pleading with him with her eyes, he can't do this to her.

"Your daughter is a disgrace!" Anthony argued, ignoring Ava's plea. Her blood ran cold, her wide eyes blurred with tears.

"This woman, your daughter spent the night with a male whore. She shamelessly got hickeys from the night and expected that I would marry her"

The crowd went haywire; everyone was talking, murmuring, and whispering all over the hall. Ava remained frozen, she couldn't move or speak. Tears rolled down her cheeks, the murmurs she heard were enough to describe how horrible her life would be from now on if her parents didn't kill her first.

"What a disgrace! And she was getting married to the Alpha's son."

"What exactly does a woman want? She was literally getting married into wealth."

"She only had one night to keep herself and she ended up embarrassing her family. There is no way any man in his right senses would want to marry her again"

Ava's mind couldn't even keep up with what was happening, tears kept rolling down her cheeks. Anthony had a smirk on his face, a smirk no different from the one on Cynthia's face. The faces Ava couldn't look at right now were her parents. This wasn't the plan, this was never the plan.

"You are such a despicable being!" Someone from the crowd cussed. Ava refused to raise her head, the ground just had to open up and swallow her. A bullet should hit her so she can just die already.

"Someone like her can never be my wife!" Anthony spat with disgust and someone from the crowd replied,

"I agree"

This only caused Ava's teary eyes to widen some more, she knew the voice. That voice that carried authority and commands respect.

She snapped her head up to see the man she had slept with walking towards the front of the hall slow and deliberate like he owned the place. His hands on his pockets

Everyone's gaze turned to him, there was complete silence when they saw Kyle.

"I completely agree, Anthony Matthew George, you cannot have someone like Ava Ryan as your wife" he stood in front of Ava and said with his gaze locked on hers, "Because she's mine"

The crowd gasped, and Anthony also frowned,

"Uncle?"

Uncle? Ava repeated in her head, her eyes wide. What's going on?

"Yes. That male whore from last night was me," he announced smoothly, his voice ringing through the hall. No one dared to make a sound, the silence was deafening.

Kyle ignored them as they tried to comprehend what he just said. He smiled at Ava who was staring back at him with her mouth agape. Her mind kept ringing 'Uncle'.

"I don't like being left like that, sweetheart," he hummed with a smirk, his voice so deep and possessive that it sent a shiver down Ava's spine. She couldn't reply. She can't, she is beyond shocked at what is going on.

"Kyle, what is going on here?" Alpha Matthew finally broke the silence.

"Your son just called me a whore, brother," Kyle replied but his gaze remained fixed on Ava, assessing her. His face had an unreadable expression.

"I like my artwork being displayed for the world to see. Take this off," he ordered, taking off the silver scarf that covered her shoulders exposing her skin for the hickeys to be seen properly.

Ava shivered, her brown eyes locked on Kyle. She didn't know what to think of the situation. Was the man helping her or shoving her into deeper shit.

"Why would you do this? Do you know what you have caused?!" Alpha Matthew yelled.

"Anthony caused everything. She wouldn't have gone to a bar crying and getting drunk if the boy you call your son had kept his stick in between his legs and not go around shoving it on every woman he sees" Kyle answered.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Kyle ignored his question, a deep frown now formed on his face as he examined Ava properly. The temperature in the hall suddenly dropped, everyone could tell that there was a shift as he raised his hand and touched Ava on her cheek, and she flinched. He paused, his hand hanging in the air,

"This was not how you left this morning," he murmured, void of any warmth.

Walking closer to her, he held her face in his palms like he owned her, he took out his white handkerchief and ever so gently, wiped her face. The make-up coming off her face exposed the dark purple scar on her swollen face. His eyes darkened.