5 - Does she have any enemies?
1759 Words
Triton
“Triton, wait!”
There is no waiting. Those bastards touched my mate. She’s missing, and now they will die!
“Where are they?” I demand.
Thane holds his hands up, eyes wide. “I know you’re angry. You want to kill them, and you have every right to kill those who hurt Ava. I don’t blame you because I would feel the same way. But Ava is missing, Triton, and we need to find her. I know you want to avenge your mate; I would want that, too, if Lyric had been hurt like that. Hell, I did get revenge on those who hurt my mate all those years ago. But not until I knew Lyric was safe.
“There’s also the fact that Ava will want to face them. Ava is a strong girl, Triton, and if you kill Philip and Yolanda now, Ava will feel cheated. She will never get the chance to confront those who harmed her. Don’t take that chance from her.”
In the past, I wouldn’t have given a damn what this man said. I would have stormed into that dungeon and eradicated those fools. As it is, I don’t want to take anything from my mate. When I find Ava, which I will, it can only be her choice to kill those who harmed her. But by the Gods, this is not easy. There is pain in my heart for Ava and what she must have gone through. I have never felt like this before!
“Please, Triton?”
I grit my teeth, take a deep breath, and nod once.
Thane breathes a sigh of relief.
“Where are Ava’s parents? I wish to know when they last spoke to her.”
“Her mother, father, and two eldest brothers have just arrived. They’ll be in my office waiting. I warned them you’re here, so don’t expect a warm welcome.”
I huff and roll my eyes.
Why would I expect such a thing?
The last I saw of Ava’s father, he threatened to kill me before dragging her away from me, kicking and screaming. This should be fun.
“Lead the way.”
I follow the Lycan King back to his office. I immediately spot Ava’s father, tall, dark, and good-looking, scowling at me.
Typical.
I raise my eyebrow with a smirk.
“Where is she, you bastard?!” He yells.
“Blaze, please.” The short woman, who I can tell is Ava’s mother because they look so much alike, gets out of her seat. She walks over to her mate, standing by the window, and grabs his arm. “Don’t do this. Ava isn’t with Triton, or he wouldn’t be here.”
The two overly tall men across the room stare at me. I remember Mark from the day I tried to stop Ares from killing Levi. The other man, who is not as tall, but I don’t think many men are, must be Mark’s brother. They both look like Blaze.
Both men growl at me. I smirk because as big as they are, great-great-grandsons of Leviathan or not, they stand no chance against a God like me. I could destroy them with just a snap of my fingers. However, I won’t do anything because they are Ava’s brothers, and she loves them.
“So, this is Triton.”
“Michael!” Thane snaps. “Now isn’t the time. Everyone knew this day was coming and that Ava would leave with him.”
“But she doesn’t even know who he is!” Michael snaps back.
“She does!” Ava’s mother yells, shutting her son up.
My ears prick with curiosity. There is no way Ava could remember me. I made sure of that.
I squint my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Rain!” Blaze hisses while grabbing his mate’s shoulders and turning her to face him. “Do not do this.”
“Why not, Blaze? What difference will it make? Once that locket is open, Ava will remember everything, and she will leave with Triton. Everything everyone has done to make sure she didn’t remember Triton failed.” She shakes her head. “Because Ava never really forgot him, did she?”
Blaze stares at Rain with wide eyes. He sighs, nods, and lets her go.
She turns to me. “For years, Ava had dreams about the sea and a Merman with blond hair sitting on a boulder as she watched him from the shore. Then, she began hearing her name called on the wind. Ava would take off to the beach as soon as she could drive to look for her Merman. I told her it wasn’t real, but she swore up and down that it wasn’t just a dream. She felt like it was a memory that she couldn’t place.
“You swore Ava wouldn’t remember you, but she did. Maybe not here,” Rain points to her temple. “But here,” She points to her heart. “Ava never forgot you, Triton. How could that be?”
I stare, unblinking, not knowing what to think. There is no way Ava should have been able to remember me, even in her heart. For Ava to have done so, it means the bond between us is stronger than I ever imagined.
I shake my head because I don’t know what to say to Ava’s mother. I don’t know how to answer her question.
“She may not have mentioned your name, but Ava talked about you all the time. It got so much, and so often, we had to send her to a therapist. She stopped talking about you when she realized nobody believed her.”
“You didn’t believe her?” I question.
“Of course we did. But we wanted Ava to stop because she was becoming obsessed with it all. I didn’t want that for her. I wanted her to live. Isn’t that why you took her memories in the first place? I thought the dreams had stopped because she hadn’t mentioned them in a while. She was happy and living her life.
“But her car was found at the beach, and I know she was there looking for you. Perhaps she found solace there after what happened to her. Maybe she thought you would show up and save her. Now, she’s missing, and I am so scared that she’s done something stupid again.”
I shake my head. Ava isn’t dead if that’s what Rain is suggesting. The bond between us isn’t broken, and it would be if she was dead.
“Our bond isn’t broken.”
“That doesn’t mean she isn’t hurt!” Mark yells.
I open my mouth to tell him to shut the fuc.k up, but a pain hits me full force in the stomach. It’s so strong that I stumble back into the wall.
“Triton?”
I grit my teeth, clutching my stomach, and shake my head at Thane.
What the fuc.k is happening to me?
“Triton, what’s wrong?”
I look at Thane. “This is not my pain.”
Rain gasps. “Ava! Oh Gods, what’s happening to her?”
I don’t have an answer for the woman. But I do know that wherever Ava is, something terrible is happening to her. I will find my little mate, and Gods help whoever hurt her!
‘Where are you, my little love?’
Of course, I get no answer to my inner question. Ava cannot hear me, which means she is no longer conscious. I must make haste and find her before it’s too late.
I stand straight and tall and look at Blaze. “Is there anywhere else Ava could have gone? Any friends she might be with?”
Blaze shakes his head, but it’s Michael who answers. “Ava doesn’t have any close friends. None that she would take off with, anyway. The only friend Ava was close enough to stay out with was Yolanda. But we all know where that led.”
I stare at Michael, not for any particular reason, but because I’m trying to work out where the hell we go from here. If Ava has no one to call a friend, then someone definitely took her.
The question is: Who?
“What are we going to do, Blaze? After everything we’ve done to protect Ava, and now she’s gone! It was all for nothing.”
I roll my eyes and flash out of there without a word. I don’t have time for self-pity. I have a mate to find.
“Father!” I yell while barging into his throne room, not to be confused with my throne room. I shouldn’t need a throne room as Prince, but I’m cock.y and always get what I want. “Father!”
“What are you yelling about?”
I roll my eyes. Father is sitting on his throne with my mother across his lap. They act like lovesick fools so often; I should be used to it by now. Yet, it still surprises me.
“Oh, you’re back! That was quick.” Mom kisses my father, making him laugh, before jumping to her feet. She rushes over to me. “So, where is she? You did bring Ava back with you, didn’t you?”
I shake my head. I tell my parents what happened in Lykos, and they listen intently.
“I need your help, Father. I cannot sense Ava anywhere, and I should. I felt her pain as if it were my own. I tried to tap into it, hoping it would lead me to Ava, but there was nothing. Why can’t I find her? I should be able to find my mate!”
“Calm down, Triton,” Father commands. I nod while breathing deeply. “If Ava was assaulted, she will be in immense mental anguish.”
I know that!
“If the Lycans and Dragons are looking where they are familiar, then we must look elsewhere. Does Ava have any enemies?”
I shake my head. “Not according to the Lycan King and Ava’s family.”
“Hmm.” My father hums. “Ava has no enemies, but you do.”
“None who know about Ava, Father.”
“No?” He challenges. “Not even the man Zeus imprisoned for the actions you caused?”
My eyes widen in realization.
Damn, I’m a fool!
“Ares!” I yell before disappearing.
I’ll kill him!
- Writer
