Ch.6 Love Don't Die

If I know one thing, that's true

It's that I'm never leaving you

And you don't say much, yeah, that's true

But I lose it when you do

Don't let them tell no lie

Love don't die

"Have you had time to talk to Max? Remy asked, handing his daughter a towel to wipe her bloody lips, as well as her fingers.

Ava cleaned up before answering with a shaky voice. "Y-yeah."

"So both of you are on good terms?"

Ava avoided her father's piercing grey eyes, as she focused on her shoes. In the confine of her left pocket, she gripped the necklace in her hand. "More or less."

The duo was a few miles into the forest that surrounded the cabin. A comfortable moment between father and daughter, after taking care of their natural thirst for blood. Hunting deer was one thing Remy loved between Ava and him. The ability to see his genetics working beautifully for his daughter. She raced with speed, lunged with power, fangs sharper than razor blades, movements agile like a ballerinas, but powerful like her fathers.

He was so proud of her, just as he was concerning all his children.

"Ava." His voice was softer than before, as he wrapped a toned arm around his daughter. "I know you're a smart girl, so answer me this. Is it worth having something good now, when you know deep down something else will make you happier in the long run?"

"No."The answer was clear, but what was he referring to? Ava's dark brows were furrowed in confusion. The obvious interpretation would have been her current relationship with Sebastian, and the possibility of Maddox being her soulmate. But that couldn't be it.

Maddox wasn't her mate nor did he want to be.

I didn't come back for you.

Remy leaned down and kissed his daughter's forehead, a soft expression on his face, reserved only for his family. "Your mother and I are always here for you."

With that their conversation was over, Ava thinking about her father's question and him enjoying the quiet moment he got with his only daughter, although it ended quickly.

"Something's wrong. We have to go." Remy swiftly got up from the log, his muscles visibly tensing underneath his shirt.

Ava followed her father, running back to the house with supernatural speed.

There on the front porch steps sat Ava's mother next to a bloody lipped Sebastian. The twins leaning on the railing, fake concern on their faces. It wasn't hard to see that they weren't fond of the human boy.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Ava rushed over to her boyfriend, pale hands gently grabbing his face for closer inspection.

Sebastian frowned at Ava, pushing away her cold hands as he stood up. "I'm fine."

Ava was stunned for a moment, although she tried to hide it from her family.

"Which one of you punched him?" Remy asked, looking at the twins, who were now a grinning mess.

Silas was the one to answer his father. "Neither, it was Max."

Remy nodded his head after flicking both boys on their noses for their obvious fake concern. "Get inside."

The twins followed the orders of their father, yet the grins were still plastered to their face.

Remy kissed Genevieve on the lips quickly, before asking. "Where's Max?"

"He ran off." Sebastian grunted, touching his busted lip with gently fingers.

"Ava take Sebastian with you and go for a walk. Be back before dawn." Remy advised his daughter, after inspecting the bloody wound on Sebastians face himself.

Remy was surprised Maddox hadn't done worse, because quite honestly the young man was capable of a lot more than a busted lip and bruised jaw.

Ava nodded her head and cautiously grabbed Sebastian's hand as they began walking down the path. Once they were out of hearing distance Ava pulled Sebastian to a stop. "What happened? Did you hurt Maddox?"

Sebastian looked at Ava disbelieving. "I'm the one that got punched. Shouldn't you ask if I'm hurt and not Maddox?"

Ava glanced away from him, her cheeks flushed when she realized her mistake. "I didn't mean it that way Sebastian. I meant if you punched him first? Tell me what happened."

It was weird to know she was more worried about Maddox than Sebastian -her boyfriend.

Sebastian and Ava resumed their walk down the path as Sebastian began to calm down. "It stupid. He shouldn't have punched me when I was only stating the truth."

Ava mentally groaned. Why did Sebastian have to beat around the bush, couldn't he just straight out tell her what happened?

"What did you say?" Ava asked, grabbing his hand.

Sebastian lifted the folded jeans out of his bag, revealing the box of condoms, given to him by his best friend, stashed under his clothes.

"You are not her mate. Sleeping with her will get your fucking teeth knocked out." Maddox spoke from the doorway, surprising Sebastian fully.

Sebastian stood up tall, but still shorter than Maddox. "First off, Ava and I are in a relationship and you don't know who Ava is today. Secondly, the only thing we know is that you are not her mate so you shouldn't even care. You are just mad because she isn't a love sick puppy, following you around like she did back then."

Sebastian didn't see it coming, as Maddox threw a powerful punch to Sebastian's mouth, knocking the boy straight off his feet. Leaning over his body, Maddox said calmly. "I know enough about Ava to know that she doesn't love you. What you two have is the plastic version of love. At least I know what it feels like to be loved by her."

Sebastian just groaned from his spot on the floor as he held his shirt to his bloody mouth.

"You might want to ice that." Maddox said, walking out the room and seconds later out of the cabin.

"What did you expect, Sebastian?" Ava shook her head, before rubbing her temples. "I'm sorry he punched you, but what you said was unnecessary and a little offensive towards him and me. You don't know the half of our relationship we had back then, so please don't act like after seeing that box that you do. I wasn't a love sick puppy and don't ever call me one."

Sebastian wrapped his arms around Ava, laying his head softly on top of hers. "I'm sorry. I was just agitated and he wasn't making it easy. I feel like the relationship you two had will always be held over my head."

"It's not like that." Ava returned the embrace, breathing in Sebastian's woodsy scent. "And throw away the condoms. We are not having sex."

...

Despite spending the rest of the day with Sebastian, Ava's mind kept on wondering to Maddox. Had he maybe been right? Was it that obvious that Ava and Sebastian weren't mates?

Were they the plastic version of love?

Ava was having her own doubts about a mate bond between Sebastian and her. He was most things a person looked for in a partner. He was nice, sweet, smart and funny. But somehow she felt like her old feelings for Maddox were overpowering her present feelings for Sebastian. But if Maddox wasn't her mate, than maybe it was just the overwhelming reality of her childhood crush being back after so many years.

Why couldn't Ava get Maddox out of her head? Maybe they needed to clear the air, and settle on a basic level of friendship. It was just a bit after midnight, but Maddox was surely still awake.

"Seb, I'm going to go talk to Maddox real quick." Ava whispered to Sebastian, before kissing his cheek and quietly leaving the sleeping boy alone in the dark room.

With silent footsteps, Ava crept down the wooden steps of the cabin and down to the Maddox's room. Hands trembling with anxiety, Ava knocked on his door.

Seconds later Maddox opened the door and let Ava inside. The tension was thick, and the sound of the bedroom door fueled Ava's anxiety. It was now that she had the chance to talk to Maddox.

But surprisingly Maddox didn't want to talk, as he pushed Ava against the closed door, his lips meeting hers with heated passion. His hands were on her body, touching, caressing exploring the gentle curves of her feminine body.

The sensual gliding of their lips against each other, sent fireworks off in Ava's body. She wrapped her arms around Maddox's neck pulling him closer to her, as she slipped from reality into a dream of longing, yearning for Maddox's inflaming touch.

But everyone wakes up from their dream and for Ava and Maddox, that awakening was the sound of Remy's footsteps as he walked down the creaky steps and down the hall to Maddox's bedroom.

Max pressed his lips against Ava' jaw, then softly against her cold neck, and up to the shell of her ear. Breathing harshly, he whispered. "He's not your mate."

.

They both broke apart, Ava hurrying to the adjoined bathroom and Maddox to open the door for Remy.

"Is Ava down here?" Remy asked, stepping into the room and sniffing the air slightly.

Maddox sat on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, she's using the shower. She didn't want to wake up Sebastian using the shower connected to their room."

Remy nodded, although internally he had a knowing smile on his face. "Dario Evergreen, alpha of the upper east packs called for a meeting, concerning rogue attacks. Do you want to take charge in this matter or shall I?"

"I'll drive down there." Maddox answered, already packing his clothes that had only recently been unpacked.

"You can drive in the morning. Don't you want to tell Ava goodbye? She'll be worried if you just leave now." Remy asked confused as to why Maddox would be so willing to leave, after clearly getting somewhere with Ava.

A father never wanted to see his daughter with someone, but Remy could only hope Maddox and Ava would find to each other.

"She'll be fine, she has Sebastian."

________

I hope you like this chapter and please leave me some feedback and awesome comments.

Did you like their kiss? ;)

#TeamAvastian OR #TeamAvadox

Weird fact: I hate physical contact, even from family members. It creeps me out and makes me feel really uncomfortable. It feels unnatural.