My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her

Chapter 545: Chapter 545 THE SQUARE AND THE MENACE (BONUS Chapter 4)

DANIEL’S POV

Ava was avoiding me.

At first, I tried to convince myself I was just being paranoid. Maybe she was just caught up in her usual whirlwind.

Her summers at Nightfang had always been packed with training, lessons, and whatever new obsession she had picked up from Alois during the year, and I knew better than anyone that she wasn’t the kind of person who sat around waiting for someone else to entertain her.

But this time, something felt off.

Usually, when Ava came back for the summer, we were practically inseparable.

We trained together until one of us was too exhausted to stand, argued over everything from fighting techniques to which of us had won a particular sparring match or race or game years ago, and made so much noise that everyone around us had learned to tune us out.

Sometimes we’d disappear into the woods and race through the trees; sometimes we’d end up in the packhouse with my siblings climbing all over us; sometimes we’d simply sit up in the treehouse I’d gotten for my tenth birthday, talking about nothing and everything until we’d been there for hours.

This summer, none of that had happened.

I’d come to the packhouse every day since seeing her at the training grounds, and somehow, I kept missing her.

If she wasn’t sparring with Matt, she was training with someone else. If she wasn’t on the training grounds, she was studying in her room and refused to be disturbed. And if she wasn’t in her room, she was out.

With friends.

That stung the most.

Ava hadn’t had many friends when she first came to Nightfang.

Back then, she’d been this sharp-tongued little menace who seemed determined to bite anyone who got too close, and I’d spent half our relationship trying to figure out whether she wanted me around or wanted to throw something at my head.

Apparently, she’d made friends—a lot of them.

Now she was gone so much, I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d been cast aside. Replaced.

Worst of all, Cindy seemed to seep into every empty space Ava left behind.

She talked constantly, filling every silence with stories, questions, or some new gossip about people I barely knew.

Usually, I could tolerate it. Cindy had never done anything to deserve my irritation, and I didn’t want to be cruel just because she was more interested in me than I was in her.

But every time she appeared, all I could think about was the person who wasn’t there.

By Thursday afternoon, my patience was hanging by a thread.

I was alone on the training grounds, working through a series of combinations I’d been practicing with Dad and Gavin, when Cindy wandered over and started talking about something that I didn’t bother trying to follow.

My eyes kept darting to the edge of the field, hoping for a glimpse of auburn hair or the sound of that familiar teasing voice.

I blocked an imaginary strike, pivoted, and drove my fist into the practice dummy hard enough to make it rock backward.

Cindy kept talking.

Something about a party.

Or someone’s birthday.

Or maybe a dress.

I slammed my fist into the dummy again.

"Do you know where Ava is?" The question came out sharper than I’d intended.

Cindy stopped. Blinked. I think she was shocked that I’d said more than two words to her.

She shrugged, twisting a strand of hair around one finger. "She went out."

"Where?"

"I dunno. Out."

I stared at her, clenching my jaw.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "With some people."

"What people?"

Her lips curved slightly, and something about the expression irritated me.

"Matt was going."

A knot twisted in my chest.

"And?"

She shrugged again. "A few others. Bree, Yvonne, Kevin, and Bryce, I think. They’re probably partying somewhere. Matt knows how to get fake IDs. They invited me, but"—her smile turned coy—“I’d rather just hang with you.”

Everything else she said blurred into static, except for that one detail.

"Ava is partying?"

Cindy laughed. "Why are you acting surprised? She’s sixteen, Daniel, not six. Why do you even care?"

Why did I care?

I’d spent the entire week sitting around like an idiot waiting for my best friend to acknowledge my presence so we could exchange more than a handful of empty words.

Meanwhile, Ava was out with Matt and a bunch of other people, laughing and partying as if I didn’t exist.

I turned away before Cindy could catch the strain twisting my expression.

"Whatever."

I stalked toward the edge of the training grounds, but the knot in my chest refused to loosen its grip.

Ava wasn’t doing anything wrong. She had every right to go out, make friends, have fun, live a life that didn’t revolve around me.

I knew that.

Thatcher snorted. ‘Do you?’

“I swear to the goddess, man,” I mumbled, “not right now.”

‘I just think she should be paying rent for all this space she’s occupying in your head.’

“Shut. It.”

He snorted again but kept silent.

By the time evening settled in, I’d already decided I wasn’t going home.

If I went home in this mood, I’d probably end up knocking mini Blackthorne heads together.

When Dad came looking for me, the packhouse had begun settling into its nighttime rhythm.

The little disasters were loud and rowdy in that way children become when they’re desperately fighting sleep.

Dad had somehow managed to carry both twins at once, with Lila on his shoulder, clinging to his neck. Sophia trailed behind them, talking rapidly about something that had happened earlier with Mira.

He spotted me near the hallway.

"There you are. Ready to head home? Your mom came up for air an hour ago, and she’s making dinner."

I forced a smile. "Actually, I think I’m going to stay here tonight."

His brows lifted. "Really?"

"Yeah. I want to study."

Dad’s eyes narrowed, and I held my breath. He was an Alpha. He noticed things others missed, especially when it came to his children.

But whatever he saw, he didn’t question it.

"Alright."

He shifted the twins higher against his arms and walked closer, then reached out with one hand and ruffled my hair the way he did when I was a kid.

I ducked away with an annoyed groan. "Dad."

He laughed. "I’ll see you tomorrow, bud."

He leaned in with a stage whisper. “Enjoy the peace and quiet. Gods know we could all use it.”

Sophia stopped mid-sentence and pouted. “Hey!”

Dad chuckled and gently led her away.

“G’nite, guys!” I called out after them.

Sophia turned and waved enthusiastically. “Love ya, Dani!”

My first real smile in a while spread on my face as I blew her a kiss.

I watched them disappear down the hallway, waiting until the sound of their footsteps had faded before moving.

I didn’t go upstairs to my room or to the library like I should’ve if I had any intention of studying. Instead, I lowered myself onto the bottom step, facing the foyer and the front doors.

It was a ridiculous place to sit for an even more ridiculous reason, and if anyone asked, I’d have no answer that didn’t make me sound completely unhinged.

That was the beauty of being the Alpha heir, though: I was rarely questioned.

The packhouse grew quieter as the evening deepened. Lights went out one by one. Voices faded behind closed doors. There was only the soft murmur of night guards making rounds.

I kept glancing at my watch, agitation mounting with every minute that crawled past.

Maybe I was wasting my time. Maybe Ava wouldn’t even come back tonight. Maybe she would stay with one of her friends who didn’t live in the packhouse, or perhaps they would all end up sleeping wherever they’d been partying.

When the door finally swung open and wild laughter spilled into the foyer, my jaw throbbed from how hard I’d been clenching it.

The group of teenagers crowded through the entrance, stumbling over one another. My eyes locked onto Ava, and I was sure I’d crack a tooth if I clenched any harder.

She was laughing, open and unrestrained, her head tipped back, her curled hair spilling over one shoulder as she leaned against Yvonne.

Her cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were bright.

And she was drunk.

A hot, twisting ache flared in my chest as I rose to my feet.

None of them had noticed me yet. They were too busy talking over one another, their voices echoing through the foyer as they tried to, ironically, shush each other so they didn’t wake the entire packhouse.

I should have turned my back on this hot mess.

Instead, I stayed rooted to the spot, watching Ava laugh with people who now belonged in her world, while I’d spent the week wondering where I fit in.

She finally lifted her head, her green eyes sweeping across the foyer and meeting mine.

Her laughter stopped.

I braced for the blankness, the coldness I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve.

But then her lips pulled into the widest, most beautiful, drunkest grin ever, and she threw her hands up in the air with a delighted laugh.

“Dani! I missed you!”