~Avery's POV~
I was in the guest room, putting on some underwear and thinking about what had happened earlier down in the ballroom. First with James and me. He was so possessive even though there was nothing going on between us. Okey maybe that was a lie, there was something going on but I wasn't ready to commit myself to him or anybody else for that matter, however I couldn't deny the un-explainable pull I felt towards him. Besides, I saw the way every girl down there was drooling over him and basically eye-fucking him every chance they got.
But when he teased me that way, all I wanted was for him to take me.
Whenever he touched me, there was an odd sensation all through my body. It was static. I couldn't put my finger on it. The way I melted under his touch.
And that woman at the bar. Who was she? And what the hell was she doing to me? All of this was getting a little too much for my brain to handle.
I shook away all my thoughts and stood in front of the mirror. I looked exhausted. I plastered on a big smile and waited for it to melt naturally. I closed my eyes, still smiling, thinking about the fairytale-looking room downstairs, all those beautiful people, James touching me...no, stop it, Avery!
I opened my eyes and saw a frown on my face. I shook my head and sighed before I grabbed my clutch and made my way back to the ballroom.
I made my way to the staircase and took three deep breaths before walking down to the foyer. I held my head high and my back straight as I walked past everyone. Meeting everyone's gaze with a smile and them responding with a small nod. It all felt very formal.
As I got closer to the ballroom I tried clearing my thoughts so that I could enjoy these few days I had left here. However, I had to admit, I was very much ready to head home. I craved a drink, a strong one. I stood a few feet away from the entry, taking another few deep breaths, before making my way in.
As I stood by the opening and scanned the room, my eyes locked on James. His striking ocean blue eyes. We were pretty far apart but I was drowning in his eyes as I would if he were standing right in front of me. Him and his siblings were standing by the refreshment table, looking like a picture from Vogue magazine.
I started making my way to them, smiling as I watched James smirk, when the ringing sound from my phone caught my attention. I nearly jumped, the sound of my phone ringing seeming foreign to me. I picked it up from my clutch and looked at the caller ID.
'MOM'
It was my mother. She was calling me. Seeing her name light up on my phone made me smile bigger than I had in what seemed like forever.
I quickly answered and held the phone to my ear.
"Hi, mom!" I said, my voice cheerful and feeling ecstatic for some reason that she had called me. I had never been so happy to hear her voice. However, the second she spoke, I knew something was wrong.
" Hello, Avery. We need to talk." She said in a calm and distant voice. Her voice held no emotion.
" Okey, is something wrong ? I can come home,"
"That's the thing, you are home. You won't be leaving the estate. You see the thing is, you're his now, you have been since before you were born. He is just now claiming what is rightfully his. I must say he took his sweet time coming for you. Guess he was as appalled by the thought of having you as we were." Her voice held a calm tone through every word she spoke but I could hear that she was smiling while speaking, as if this was bringing her joy.
" Wha-mom what are you doing? What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, my voice breaking, my heart shattered and my eyes blurring my vision. Was this some sick joke?
" James didn't bring you there for a vacation, Avery. He brought you there to marry him. And marry him you will. It's time you find out the truth, about me, about you and about everything that is to come. You see a long time ago, I was taken, kidnapped, by a man who abused me, raped me, starved me for days, only giving me enough nutrition to keep me alive. All this he did in the name of revenge, to solve a personal vendetta he had with my parents many, many years ago, when I was just a baby. By the time Jack found me, I was lying naked and bruised, unconscious on the floor of an abandoned dungeon.
Barley a month later, we found out I was pregnant. We were both filled with rage and disgust. We tried everything we could under the radar to get rid of you, by any means necessary, but to no avail. Around the same time, our pack was being attacked, our home was being destroyed and our people were dying. The pregnancy made me weak, which in turn made Jack weak."
Her voice was now starting to get edgy and it was as if she was spitting venom with every word she spoke. Putting my hand on my chest, I felt as if something was about to burst open and my hand was trying to keep that from happening.
Did she say pack?
" We couldn't protect our pack or ourselves, so we reached out to James' parents and made a deal with them. Their protection and help in exchange for you. They agreed on the deal and said that you would marry their eldest son and that they would come for you when the time was right. And he did. Before James' parents passed they told him as much as they could."
I slowly turned around and locked eyes with James. My eyes widened in disbelief. James was holding his drink with one hand and the other was tucked in his pocket. When my mother spoke the last sentence, James took the glass up to his lips, never breaking eye contact with me. Alex leaned over his shoulder and whispered something in his ear.
" You sold me...before I was even born...you sold your daughter." I was heaving, my voice coming out as quiet as ever. I was not able to speak any louder. My voice was broken and weak. I felt like I was about to collapse right then and there.
" You were never my daughter," her voice held such honesty that I felt my entire being shatter within me. She seemed so reliefed as she spoke. Like she had been carrying this truth around with herself, longing for the day she would be able to tell it. The words flowed from her mouth with such ease.
" Dont you see? You weren't made with love and affection between to people who loved each other. You were made with hatred in the name of revenge. A constant reminder of a time I just wanted to move past. Every time I looked into your eyes, that's all I ever saw. Why do you think we were so happy when we had Jasmine? Because we finally had a daughter. You were simply a business agreement, a means to an end, one that happened because no matter what we did we couldn't get rid of you. Oh and Avery, when I mentioned 'pack' I forgot to mention something else. We're werewolves, and so is James and everyone else you see around you right now. There is also a witch among you. I'm sure you have yet to meet her. But you will. Just know that there is nowhere for you to run."
" I never...ever want to see you again."
" Oh, sweetheart, you won't. You're not our burden to bear anymore. You're his now." After her words came a sinister laugh that echoed through my brain. My eyes, wider than before were staring at James. I couldn't believe this. What the fuck was happening? What-wh-a... I couldn't breathe. I slowly lowered the phone, letting it slide along my face and neck before my arm fell limp. My chest felt like it was breaking into a million pieces, ready to burst. My soul felt literally shattered, as if I was no longer whole. An empty shell of a person who used to be.
My breathing was out of control and I couldn't hear any voices around me. Everything was tuned out. I was panicking, freaking out not knowing what to do.
I finally broke eye contact with James and started frantically looking around in panic. My hand clutched to my chest and tears streaming down my face. Nobody noticed. How was that possible? Everyone was doing their own thing, talking and mingling. My mind kept repeating everything my mom said, but five words remained constant.
'You are not my daughter'
'You are not my daughter'
'You are not my daughter'.