MATED TO HER ENEMY'S BROTHER

Ava picked the weeds from the ground, the shackles around her hands and legs rattled as she moved around. From time to time she would look at the happy couple who were surrounded by other guests.

That was supposed to be her position, she was supposed to be the bride to alpha Jax, the alpha of creekwood pack.

She and Jax had been betrothed at a very young age to each other. At the age of eighteen, if they had no mates, their engagement would be finalized.

It was very rare for vampires to find their mates. Most wolves simply mated with who they liked.

It wasn't always like this though, in the past, all werewolves had their mates. But slowly over the years that had changed.

Ava had thought that everything was finalized since at the age of eighteen, neither of them had sensed their mates.

Jax was everything Ava wanted in a partner, he was kind and clever, he was also very handsome.

When they had clocked twenty three, Jax had taken over the alpha position from his father and plans for their mating ceremony had already started. Things were going well until 'she' came to their pack.

Ava looked at her bitterly, the delicately beautiful Lily. Lily had been found outside unconscious. The funniest thing was that it was Ava who had brought her to the pack.

Ava was a member of the guardforce and while doing one of her rounds, she had seen Lily unconscious on the ground, she had called the attention of the other guards and they had carried her back to the pack.

If Ava had known, she would have left her out in the forest to die. She would never have brought her to the pack because the entry of Lily into the pack had brought trouble to Ava's perfect peaceful life.

Immediately Jax saw Lily, he became enchanted with her. Everyone in the pack had been charmed by the innocent looking devilish temptress.

Jax started to treat Ava coldly and he didn't even show interest in their mating ceremony plan. Much later, Ava was to find out that Lily was Jax's mate.

Back then, Ava had listened to a lot of evil advice from her so-called friends and constantly bullied and made trouble for Lily. She had hoped that Lily wouldn't be able to take it and would give up and leave Creekwood pack.

To her surprise, Lily had refused to leave. Instead she remained in the pack with the excuse that she had amnesia and didn't remember anything except her name.

The climax of the matter was when she and Lily had an argument over Jax and in a fit of rage she had attacked Lily.

Ava didn't really remember much about that day, the only thing she could remember was that she had wanted to kill Lily. That was the only thing that had been on her mind that day.

Lily had been rescued from her, she was already unconscious by then. Jax had been so furious that day, she had never seen him so furious before.

He had revealed that Lily was his mate and the future Luna of the pack. For attempting to kill the Luna, Ava had been sentenced to imprisonment and slavery. She became the pack's slave.

The only thing Ava regretted was that she had put her father to shame. Her father had raised her alone after her mother had died after rogue wolves had attacked their pack.

Her father had been so disappointed in her. But he didn't abandon her, he still came to give her food every day. He assured her that he would talk to Jax and get her released so they could leave the pack together.

She cleaned her tears, she didn't deserve such love and loyalty from him.

"Look how far the mighty has fallen" two female werewolves passed her, one of them looked at the disdainfully.

"She was always acting like she was better than everyone else because she was betrothed to Alpha Jax. Look at her now, a common slave" the other one replied.

"I heard the Luna's brother is coming soon and he wants revenge for all the bullying his sister went through"

"I heard that he is a bloodthirsty wolf and he really cherishes Lily, anyone who tries to hurt her always suffers by his hand."

They looked at her and snickered mockingly before leaving.

When Lily had woken up after Ava's attack, she had recovered her memory and remembered everything.

She was from Fireblood pack, one of the biggest and most influential pack, she was the younger sister of the alpha. Her elder brother Alpha Ryder was known to be a cruel and unforgiving person.

If he was really coming here, it meant that he would surely take revenge.

Her only hope was that he wouldn't harm her father.

She bent down and continued working, all of a sudden, she heard the most delicious scent, it smelled like vanilla and butter.

"Mate!" a voice echoed in her head,

Ava couldn't believe it, she had a mate? After everything she had done, she had someone who would love her unconditionally.

She looked around frantically, where was he? Who could this mate be? Was he someone from this pack?

She noticed someone walking in her direction, the closer the person got, the stronger the scent was, this was her mate!

He stood in front of her and Ava looked up at him in wonder. He was very handsome.

"hi" he said to her. Ava trembled at the sound of his voice. His voice was velvety smooth, just like butter.

"Hey" Ava replied in a croaky voice. He smiled at her, and Ava felt safe, this was her mate, he would love her unconditionally despite all her flaws and protect her.

One of the pack guard walked up to them and bowed to him.

"Welcome to Creekwood pack, Alpha Ryder. I hope the journey wasn't too stressful."

Ava's heart dropped to her stomach immediately.

This was Alpha Ryder, Ava thought. Lily's elder brother was her mate. What kind of fate did she have?

Once he knew that she was the one who had bullied his younger sister and tried to kill her, he would hate her completely and he would never accept her as his mate.

"My journey wasn't stressful at all." Ryder replied the guard.

He looked at Ava, "I am Ryder. what is your name?" he asked her.

Ava bit her lip and didn't answer him.

Ryder looked at her from head to toe. "why are you in shackles?" he asked again.

"Alpha Ryder. This is Ava, she was the one who tried to kill your sister. That is why she is in shackles." the guard answered on behalf of Ava.

Ryder's face became cold instantly.

"I see, let's go. Where is my sister?" he asked the guard.

"this way, Alpha Ryder" the guard led the way and Ryder followed without looking back.

Ava resisted the urge to cry. "don't cry, don't cry" she whispered to herself.

She wouldn't cry, she resolved within herself. It was just her luck.

..............................

"Ryder! I missed you so much" Lily launched herself on Ryder immediately she saw him.

Ryder hugged her back, "I missed you too kiddo. I looked everywhere for you."

"I am sorry, I made you worry, after I got into the accident. I tried to look for help, I ended up falling down and hitting my head on a rock when I woke up, I couldn't remember a thing." Lily explained.

Ryder patted her head, "it's okay little one. You don't have to explain anything to me. I am just glad you are okay."

"Welcome to Creekwood pack. I am Jax, the alpha of this pack" Jax stepped forward and introduced himself.

"And he is also my mate" Lily said as she looked up at Jax adoringly.

"It is a pleasure to meet you" Ryder said.

The ceremony started, Lily and Jax exchanged their vows and licked each other's blood.

While everyone's attention was on the ceremony, the only thing Ryder could think about was the fact that his mate was the person who had caused his sister pain.

Lily was the most precious thing in Ryder's life. His mother had died while giving birth to her and his father unable to handle the grief of losing her had died too.

Ryder had been the one who raised her and he had protected her all her life. Anyone who hurt her had faced the consequences.

When she had disappeared some few months ago, Ryder had almost gone crazy.

When he finally heard she was in this pack, he had been so relieved and furious as well when he had heard about a female werewolf who had bullied his sister and eventually tried to kill her.

He had come to get revenge for his sister. But the person who had made his sister suffer had turned out to be his mate.

Ryder remembered her face and clenched his fists, he we would never accept that bitch as his mate.

He would take her back to his pack and torture her till she regretted ever laying a hand on his sister.

After the ceremony, Ryder went up to Jax, "I have a favor to ask"

"what is it? I would do anything in my power to grant it." Jax replied eagerly to please his brother in law.

"I want that prisoner who hurt my sister to be transferred to Fireblood pack so I can give her the punishment she deserves." Ryder said.

"You want Ava to be handed over to you?" Jax asked in shock.

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"No, not at all. You can have her, I will tell the guards to arrange for transportation so she can follow you as you go back home. Is that all you need?"

"Yes, that's all i need." Ryder replied.

Ava was still weeding when two guards yanked her up and took her to the prison.

"What is going on?" she asked but she got no response from the guards.

When they got to the prison, Ava was surprised to see Jax waiting for them.

The guards threw her on the ground roughly.

"Alpha Ryder, Lily's elder brother has requested that you should be transferred to Fireblood pack so he can punish you personally. I agreed with this so you will be going to Fireblood pack today" Jax informed her.

"I see. Can I tell my father goodbye before I leave?" Ava asked.

"I am afraid that won't be possible. Your father isn't around and Ryder is leaving now, you can leave a message and the guards will deliver it to him." Jax replied.

Ava took a deep breath and looked at Jax squarely in the face.

"You know that he is going to kill me right?" she asked him.

Jax looked away and refused to say anything.

"You know and yet you agreed to send me there. Does our years of friendship not mean anything to you?" Ava asked in an heartbroken voice.

"I stopped regarding you as my friend the moment you tried to harm Lily" Jax said in a cold voice.

"She isn't as innocent as she portrays herself to be."

"Don't even fucking try to put the blame on her. I know my mate and I believe her" Jax defended Lily.

"Fine. Its okay. Believe her all you want, I don't care anymore. Just get me a pen and paper to write a letter to my father" Ava said with a defeated look on her face.

"Get her a pen and paper" Jax directed one of the guards.

He walked away, as he left, he turned around to look at Ava. "goodbye Ava" he told her before he finally left.

The guard brought out a pen and paper and gave it to her, she sat down and began to write.

After she finished writing, she handed it over to the guard and instructed him to give it to her father.

Ava was shoved into a truck, she sat in the darkness and waited for the truck to start moving.

"She has been put in a truck and the truck will follow you as you leave." Jax informed him.

Ryder nodded. "Ryder, don't you think she has suffered enough, just let her be" Lily begged on behalf of Ava.

"I don't think she has suffered enough, she dared to hurt you and I am not okay with that. Besides, I don't feel safe leaving you with her." Ryder brushed away her worries.

He turned to Jax, "I will be on my way now. Take good care of my sister"

"I will" Jax assured him.

Ryder walked to his car escorted by Jax and Lily. He kissed Lily on her forehead and gave her a hug before entering his car and driving off.

As he drove off, the truck followed him.

After some hours of driving, Ryder got to his pack.

He stopped his car and the truck stopped as well, the guards who were on duty and his Beta Jayden came out to welcome him.

"Welcome back, how was the ceremony?" Jayden asked.

"It was okay, Lily was the most beautiful Luna bride." Ryder said with a beaming smile.

"Thats good to hear" Jayden said. He looked at the truck, "What is in there?" he asked.

"A prisoner." Ryder replied. The guards who had driven the truck came down to open the back of the truck. They brought out Ava who was still in her shackles.

Jayden looked at Ryder in confusion. "What is going on?"

"she bullied Lily while Lily was recovering in the pack and even tried to kill her. I brought her here to punish her" Ryder answered.

"What the hell! Why can't you just let bygones be bygones?" Jayden asked.

"I can't do that. I have to give her the same treatment she gave to Lily" Ryder said.

He turned to his guards and instructed them to take Ava to the prison.

Ava was taken to the prison while the other guards returned to Creekwood pack with the truck.

..............................

Ava sat on the damp cement floor of the prison. Thoughts of Ryder filled her head, she thought about how his face had been so cold earlier. It was like he wanted nothing more than to tear her to shreds at that moment.

She knew he would never see or acknowledge her as his mate. It was just her fate that her mate turned out to be Lily's elder brother.

The door of the prison opened and Ryder walked in.

"Stand up!" he barked at her. She scrambled to her feet instantly.

He walked closer to her and held her chin with his hands, he punched her chin so hard that her eyes watered from the pain.

"Do you know how much I love and cherish my sister?" he asked menacingly.

Ava kept quiet. "I love her very much, she is the most precious part of my life. You hurt her and I can never forgive you for that. You might be my mate but I will never acknowledge you, I will never accept you and I will never love you." He told her. Ava felt a painful jolt in her heart when she heard these words.

"Do you understand me?" Ryder asked.

"I do" Ava answered.

He pushed her to the ground roughly and left.

'don't cry, don't cry' Ava told herself.

Ryder went back to the general pack house where he stayed and sat at the table sipping a bottle of water, he had gotten from the fridge.

Jayden came to meet him. "What's wrong with you? You have been tensed up since you came back from Creekwood pack."

"I am fine" Ryder assured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it must be the stress of the journey"

"Okay, then go have some rest okay." Jayden told him.

"Okay, I will do that now" Ryder replied.

He stood up to go to his bedroom. When he had gotten to the door, he turned around, "Tell someone to give the prisoner food and water" he ordered.

"Okay, I will take care of everything" Jayden replied.

Ryder nodded and went to his bedroom to sleep. During his sleep, he dreamt of Ava.

..............................

Ava's father, Dustin Shields came home from his trip and was informed that Ava had been taken away to Fireblood pack.

He looked at Jax who had sent for him to give him the news sadly. "I know you are disappointed with me, but there was nothing I could do" Jax said.

"You know, after Lily came, I begged her to give up on you because I saw how you looked at her. Do you know what she told me? She told me she was never going to do that. She trusted you so much." Dustin told Jax.

"There was nothing I could do." Jax said resolutely.

"We both know that is a lie, there were things you could have done, you could have kept her here." Dustin said.

Jax handed him a piece of paper, "She said that I should give this to you."

Dustin took the letter and opened it.

'Dear Father,

By the time, you are reading this, I would have been gone. Don't worry about me and don't come here to try and get me, it's too dangerous. I am sorry for bringing shame to you, it was never my intention to do so. Please try to live your life stress free and worry free. Don't get into a fight with Jax, it's not worth it. Take care of yourself, I love you so much and I really hope I get to see you again.

Your loving daughter

Ava.'

Dustin held the paper close to his chest, as if by doing so, he could hug his daughter.

He composed himself and looked up at Jax.

"From today onwards, I am not a member of this pack. I denounce my membership of Creekwood pack."