Ava shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her thoughts.
"No, that can't be Alpha Jenkins..." She whispered to herself as her eyes scanned the area around her small house.
There was no side of any of the stern-faced guards who usually followed the Alpha everywhere and his black car was also not there.
"Alpha Jenkins would never walk anywhere not to talk of this corner of the pack by this time alone or without his car..." Ava was certain of that.
"Now, who is in there with my mother?" She asked herself aloud, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
The question had her mind flashing back to the response she always got from her mother whenever she asked of her father.
"You don't have a father, Ava. Forgive me, I know it is my fault but trust me I am going to be both parents to you. I will do my best and even go out of my way to ensure you never feel the absence of a male authority figure." Her mother would say.
"Mother, I just want to know. I just feel we should talk about..." Ava had responded, wanting to protest but her mother cut her short.
"There is nothing to talk about concerning that. Please drop the topic. I am tired from scrubbing all day!" Sophia had even snapped sharply that day.
Ava swallowed hard as she finished thinking of the particular past event.
"So, what is going to happen now? I need to find out who it is..." She decided and just as she gathered her courage to enter the house, heavy footsteps approached from behind her.
"Ava?" A deep voice called out.
She turned to find two guards from the Alpha Manor, looking all serious and guarded as always.
"What are they doing here?" She quickly wondered inwardly.
"Yes?" She replied, her voice coming out intimidated than she intended.
"Lady Victoria asks us to bring you to her." The taller guard of the two announced.
"Victoria? Why would she want to see me?" Ava blurted out.
"We wouldn't know of that. You will have to find out by yourself." The second guard said firmly, his tone leaving no room for further argument.
Ava glanced back at her house, by then she could no longer hear the muffled conversation.
"Oh, no, not now. I need to enter the house!" She thought, then her stomach growled quietly reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything proper since dawn.
"Please, can you let her know that I just got back from work and I need to put some things in place like..." Ava was trying to negotiate with the guards but got interrupted before she could finish.
"You do know that won't be possible." The first guard cut in sharply.
"If you refuse, it will only make things worse." The other guard told her.
With a heavy sigh, Ava nodded.
"Lead the way." She said reluctantly.
~~~~~~~~~
"If my mother could be telling the man that her girl is his, that means my supposed father didn't know I was born?"
The walk to Victoria's private wing felt endless as Ava's mind kept drifting back to the shocking conversation she had just overheard.
Finally, they arrived and one of the guards went in to inform Victoria of their arrival first before asking Ava to go in alone.
Ava entered the big room cautiously, and found Victoria sprawled dramatically across her expensive couch.
"Oh, good. You are finally here." Victoria said then sighed heavily.
"You wanted to see me?" Ava asked, trying to keep away the curiosity from her voice.
"I'm feeling rather down today." Victoria announced, examining her perfectly painted nails.
Ava waited impatiently, unsure where that was going.
"And you, are going to cheer me up." Victoria added as she sat up, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"I'm sorry?" Ava blinked in confusion.
"Entertain me, I am bored." Victoria repeated in clearer terms.
"Excuse me?" Ava blurted, still confused.
"Are you deaf? I said entertain me. Tell jokes, dance, sing... whatever. Just make me happy." Victoria snapped.
Ava's exhaustion suddenly turned to irritation.
"I just finished my kitchen duties. I'm tired and-" She pointed out, expecting Victoria to be reasonable but the latter cut her off, refusing to be anything but understanding.
"Did I ask about your kitchen duties? No. I don't care if you are tired. I gave you an order."
"I'm not a circus performer." Ava replied, her voice stronger than she expected.
"What did you just say?" Victoria asked as she narrowed her eyes in anger, daring her to say no to her request.
"I work in the kitchen. That is my job. Not... entertaining you." Ava stood her ground even though she feared what Victoria would do.
Victoria rose slowly from her couch, fury etched across her face. In a flash, she was in front of Ava.
"Wrong answer." She snarled, her claws extending.
Before Ava could react, Victoria dug her claws into her arm, drawing blood.
Ava gasped in pain, stumbling backward.
"Now, ready to follow orders?" Victoria smirked mischievously.
But her smile fell as she watched the deep gash on Ava's arm begin to close at an impossible speed.
"What in the Moon Goddess..." Victoria whispered.
Then she noticed something else.
Where her claws had made contact with Ava's blood, her own skin began to burn.
"Ah! What is this? What are you?" Victoria screamed, shaking her hand frantically.
Ava stared in horror at Victoria's hand, where her silver-tinted blood had left marks.
"I... I don't know." Ava stammered, equally shocked.
Victoria's face contorted with a mixture of pain and rage.
"Your blood... Why... Why is it burning me? You... you are what exactly?" Victoria breathed heavily, caressing her burned hand.
"What kind of a monster are you? Aren't you supposed to be a weak Omega who shouldn't be able to heal for days after getting injured?" Victoria demanded from a bewildered Ava.
"What is happening? Am I really a monster?" Ava mumbled under her breath.