Ava opened her eyes and looked around, she was back in her room. From the pain she felt, she had obviously been injured in that fight she had with those rogues.
Suddenly she remembered the kids, were they okay? She looked at her side and saw Ryder, he was sleeping on a chair close to the bed and his head was on the bed.
He looked so peaceful when he slept she thought to herself, she reached out and stroked his hair as he slept.
His dark curls were so soft to the touch.
He woke up and she jerked her hand back. She expected him to yell at her, instead he looked at her in concern.
"How are you feeling? Do you feel pain anywhere?" he asked.
"Just a little bit but it's manageable." she told him.
"Can you tell me what you were thinking attacking those rogues alone?" Ryder asked her.
"I didn't know where you were holding the hunt, I am not a member of this pack so I can't message anyone through the pack link. Time was running out, if I hadn't given the kids a chance to escape, they would have been kidnapped." Ava defended herself.
Ryder sighed,"You are right, I am just angry that you got hurt." he held her hands, "You have no idea how scared I felt when I saw you on the ground bleeding and unconscious." he said in a whisper.
Ava had never seen Ryder look so vulnerable before, "I am sorry, I am so sorry."
Ryder smiled at her and released her hands so he could stroke her hair. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You saved the kids and I am grateful to you, the whole pack is grateful."
Ava felt uneasy at how gentle Ryder was behaving. "OK, stop with the whole soft behavior, it's creeping me out."
Ryder flicked her forehead with his hands.
"I forgot how annoying you are, the next time you put yourself in danger, I will lock you up in your room for a month."
"Ouch!" Ava rubbed her forehead and glared at him.
"You should get some sleep, Helena said sleeping would aid your recovery. And you recover really fast, any other werewolf would be dying already."
"I have always recovered fast from injuries. My father said it must be my special gift." Ava looked sad at the thought of her father.
"Do you miss him?" Ryder asked.
"Yes I do, my mother died few months after my birth. He raised me alone, he is my favorite person in the world." she replied.
"if you get well and you promise to stay out of trouble, I will send someone to bring him over here for a visit. Would you like that?"
Ava sat up and hugged him, "Yes Ryder I would like that very much. Thank you so much Ryder, I promise to be on my best behavior."
Ryder assisted her to lie down again, "You deserve it for being a brave person. Just recover quickly, we don't want him to think you are being mistreated here."
"I will recover, by the way, is the other guy okay?" Ava asked.
"What other guy?" Ryder asked in confusion.
"The guy who helped me fight the rogues, I was fighting the rogues on my own when he came, he was dressed in all black and wearing a mask. The only thing I could see was his eyes. They were such a beautiful shade of green."
"His eyes were green?"
"Yes, who is he? Is he a member of the pack?" Ava asked.
"Yes he is, I will introduce you to him later."
"Ok, I am feeling sleepy now."
"Sleep, I am right here."
Ryder watched as Ava slept off. So Lavender had been there as well. He must have left when he heard them approaching. Ryder knew he had to appreciate them for their deed but how was he to do that? That was the pressing question.
.......
The next morning, the pack house was jam packed with pack members who came to ask after Ava. Ryder told them that she was still recovering and couldn't see them but that they could leave notes and letters behind for her.
Soon after Ryder said this, his hands were filled with letters and gifts for Ava. He couldn't hold them on his own and they kept adding more to the heap in his hands.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Lavender smiling in amusement at his predicament. Ryder suddenly had a genius idea, he smiled devilishly and cleared his throat.
"But Ava isn't the only one responsible for saving the kids. Someone else helped her fight the rogues. One of our beloved pack members who is now back to us, my baby brother Lavender."
He pointed to Lavender, immediately the pack members rushed towards Lavender.
Ryder smiled at a very annoyed Lavender and went upstairs to Ava's room. Ava was eating breakfast and Helena was checking her injuries, she had an amazed look on her face.
"Is there anything wrong?" Ryder asked Helena.
"Nothing is wrong, it's just that all her injuries are healed. It's just the internal injuries that are left and they aren't as severe as they ought to be. It's really strange and amazing. I have never seen such a fast recovery rate."
"That's good, for someone like Ava who always gets into trouble."
"But it isn't my fault." Ava whined.
"What are in your hands?" Helena asked.
Ryder dumped them in the foot of Helena's bed, "Gifts and letters from the pack members to express their appreciation, you are really popular among them now." Ryder told Ava.
Ava picked up a huge teddy bear from the pile and cuddled it close to her.
"That is so sweet of them, tell them thanks for me." she told Ryder.
"I will be sure to do that."
"What about the other guy? Did they thank him too?" Ava asked.
"Oh, they did. I made sure of that." Ryder said with a smile.
"That's good, what is his name?"
"Lavender. His name is Lavender." Ryder replied.