Shift

"I knew I should never have helped you guys." Evena told the two of them.

"It's not like you were forced to lie." Lavender told him.

"Jayden practically emotionally blackmailed me to lie now Ryder is mad at me, he has never been mad at me before." Evena said.

Lavender rolled his eyes, "Welcome to the club."

"Who is that girl? That one that came in just now." Evena asked. 

"She is a prisoner." Jayden told him. 

"What did she do? Being too cute?" Evena asked. 

They looked at him weirdly. 

"What? She is cute." he defended himself. 

"What did she do, Jayden?" Lavender asked. 

"She is from Creekwood pack. You guys know creekwood pack right?" Jayden asked them. 

"That tiny irrelevant pack? The one Lily married the Alpha." Evena asked. 

"Yes, apparently Ava used to be betrothed to the Alpha and she didn't take too well to being replaced by Lily. She bullied and fought her, the icing on the cake was when she attacked her and Lily almost died. The Alpha removed her from the pack and turned her to a slave. Ryder went there and said the punishment wasn't fierce enough so he brought her here."

"So how has he punished her since she came? Poor thing, she was just being possessive of her man." Evena said sympathetically. 

"I know right, that Alpha is such a spineless coward." Lavender agreed with Evena. 

"Well Ryder hasn't done anything to her since she came."

"What do you mean?" Lavender asked. 

"In her former pack, she was chained with shackles and made to work under the sun but here the only discomfort she has encountered is when she slept in the prison on her first night here."

"So she wasn't punished at all?" Evena asked. 

"Nope, other than some mean comments, he hasn't done anything to her, she has her own room and enjoys all the privileges of the house."

"What about the pack members? with how well they idolized Lily, surely they must have attacked her already." Lavender asked. 

"They did attack her." Jayden affirmed. 

"What did Ryder do? Pretend he didn't see anything?" Lavender asked again. 

"The first time it happened, he scolded the perpetrator severely, the second time it happened, this time she was beaten by a group of girls. Ryder called an emergency pack meeting, humiliated the three girls and gave them community service before he warned everyone to steer clear of her."

"Are you sure you are talking about the same Ryder? Ryder who doesn't joke with Lily, actually defended someone who attacked her." Evena asked. 

"Yes, we even fought about it. He said he is trying to be better with his temper." Jayden replied. 

"Hmmm, anyways I have to go back to my coven. See you guys later." Evena said and vanished out of sight. 

"So what do you want to do?" Jayden asked him. 

"I want a task that is stress free." Lavender said. 

"How about becoming one of the pack house sentries? You won't even have to actually work and you will always be at home." Jayden suggested. 

"That means I will always see Ryder, not interested."

"He isn't always at home and he won't even bother you."

"ok, I will take it."

"Good. Do you need my help with anything?" 

"Can you accompany me to the shed to pick up my things?"

"Sure, when do you want to go?"

"now."

"Let's go then."

Jayden and Lavender left the study and made their way to the shed. 

....... 

Ava and Ryder were at the restaurant, Ava noticed that Ryder wasn't eating and he looked troubled. 

"Ryder, are you okay?"

"I am fine Ava." he replied.

"But you don't look fine, if there is anything troubling you, you can share it with me. My father used to say that a problem shared is half solved already."

"Your father seems like a wise man."

"He is, now tell me what is troubling you."

"I just found out that the people I trusted with all of my heart have been lying to me for years."

"You are talking about Jayden, Evena and Helena right?" Ava asked. 

"How did you know?" Ryder asked surprised. 

"Helena told me about it. She is really sorry about keeping it from you and I am sure Jayden and Evena are sorry as well."

"Its not about being sorry, they broke my trust. How can I trust them again? Have you ever been through such a betrayal?" Ryder asked her. 

"as a matter of fact, I have." Ava replied. 

"Really, who betrayed you?"

"Jax, I trusted him with all my heart and he ended up hurting me. I know he and Lily are true mates and can't deny the mate bond but surely he could have told me the truth. Instead he watched me being all paranoid and act as a fool."

"You really went through suffering. I have been blinded by the fact that you attacked Lily and never thought about how you must have felt betrayed by Jax. How did you work through the betrayal and learn to trust again."

"I figured that whether I trust people or not, I can't escape being hurt so why not trust people then."

"Thanks for your advice Ava."

"You are welcome Ryder, now eat up your food before it gets cold."

"Yes ma'am." Ryder gave a mock salute. Ava laughed and they continued eating their food. 

After eating on their way home, Ryder asked Ava if she still felt pain anywhere. 

"Just a little." Ava replied. 

"I know a way you can get better quickly." Ryder told her. 

"How?"

"You will see." Ryder said mysteriously and kept driving the car. 

He drove to a huge clearing in the outskirts of the pack and stopped the car. He came out of the car and Ava came out as well. 

"what are we doing here?" she asked. 

"Well I thought of a way you can get better. If you shift to your wolf form, your internal injuries will be healed." Ryder told her. 

"Shift?"

"Yes shift."