CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 249 GOING HOME

Ava’s POV

The smell of my mother’s herb-crusted roast chicken greeted me when I opened the door to my mom’s home.

After a year away, everything looked the same. The worn but comfortable sofa was there. The shelf was filled with magical herb jars that looked like ordinary spices.

"Mom? I’m home," I called out. I followed the delicious smell to the kitchen.

My mother, Odelia, stood at the stove. Her honey-blonde hair was pinned up in a messy bun. When she turned, her eyes lit up with joy. They were the same deep green as mine. In seconds, I was wrapped in her warm embrace. Her familiar scent of lavender and sage surrounded me.

"Ava! Oh, my sweet girl." She held my face and studied me. "You’re thinner. Your eyes are red. You must have been crying. He broke your heart, didn’t he?"

I sighed and dropped my bag on the floor. "Is it that obvious?"

"A mother knows." She guided me to the kitchen table. It was already set for two.

"Sit. Food first, heartbreak later."

She placed a steaming plate before me. I realized how much I had missed this. Not just her cooking, but the sense of belonging that only home could provide. The first bite of chicken nearly made me cry. After a year of instant noodles and takeout, this taste of home was overwhelming.

"God, I’ve missed your cooking," I said with my mouth full.

"And I’ve missed you." Mom took her seat across from me. "Now tell me everything."

I stabbed at a roasted potato. "Not much to tell. Isaac decided Cybele was more his type. Apparently, a wolfless Omega wasn’t ’mate material’ after all."

"That worthless, spineless excuse for a wolf." Mom’s eyes flashed dangerously. "I knew he was trouble the moment I met him."

"Yeah." I waved my fork. "You were right, I was wrong. Happy?"

"Ava Flynn, don’t you take that tone with me." Her voice was stern but not unkind. "I take no pleasure in your heartbreak. I just wish..." She stopped and sighed heavily.

"Wish what?" I asked.

"That you would consider dating a human instead. Someone who won’t abandon you the moment the Moon Goddess shows them their fated mate."

"I know. It’s just... Isaac made me feel needed when he loved me. Something that felt... right." Until it wasn’t.

"Mom, I wish I could go see your grandmother with you tomorrow, but I need to be at work early," I said, changing the subject.

Mom nodded. She understood I wanted to change the topic. "Hilary will understand. She knows you’ve just started your job. Besides, the drive to Silver Creek is long. That little cottage of hers in the woods isn’t exactly easy to reach."

"Classic Grandma," I laughed. "A witch living in a cottage in the woods. Could she be any more typical?"

"She embraces what she is," Mom said with a fond smile. "Something we could all learn from."

The atmosphere grew heavier as she pushed her plate aside and reached for my hand.

"Ava, I need you to understand why I was so against Isaac. Against any werewolf. It’s not prejudice." Her eyes grew distant. "When a werewolf man abandons his partner for his fated mate, the pain is..." She swallowed hard. "It’s like death. Only you keep living through it."

Pain flashed across her face. "And if you’re not the fated mate, there’s no competition. That bond is... unbreakable."

I squeezed her hand. "What if I did find my fated mate someday? Would you object then?"

Mom gave me a sad smile. "Sweetheart, without a wolf, your chances of finding a fated mate are practically zero. Why not love a human? Live a normal life without all this supernatural heartbreak?"

Isaac’s betrayal flashed through my mind. "Maybe you’re right. Werewolves aren’t exactly proving themselves trustworthy."

"I just want you protected from what I went through," she said softly.

I nodded, then remembered the gift bag at my feet. "Oh! I brought something for Grandma." I pulled out a handcrafted door charm woven with protective symbols. "Can you give it to her? Tell her I’ll visit as soon as I can get a weekend off."

Mom looked at the charm with an approving expression. "She’ll love this."

"Thanks. Oh, and you won’t believe what happened yesterday at the store." I told her the story about the arrogant Alpha who had come into the the mystical goods store. I detailed our confrontation and the prayer card I had left for his mother.

Mom laughed until tears streamed down her face. "You did not! Ava Flynn, sometimes I worry about your self-preservation instincts."

"You should have seen him, Mom. He was a typical Alpha. Gorgeous but so full of himself. I swear, all that power goes straight to their heads." I hesitated. I did not mention the strange pull I had felt toward him. I also did not mention the electricity that had shot through me when our eyes met. Mom’s warnings about fated mates were still ringing in my ears.

"Well, I hope for his mother’s sake he learns some manners," Mom said. She was still chuckling. "More wine?"

As she refilled my glass, I pushed thoughts of the handsome, irritating Alpha from my mind. Mom was right. Wolves were nothing but heartbreak waiting to happen.

The next morning at work, I was arranging a new shipment of designer blouses when a familiar, annoying voice interrupted me.

"Well, well. Look who’s still here. I thought you might have quit the job."

I turned slowly to find Cybele standing there. Her perfect makeup could not hide the mean look in her eyes. She wore our store’s most expensive items. She probably bought them with the employee discount she barely deserved.

"Cybele. Lovely to see you too," I said flatly.

"I just thought you should know. Isaac and I are together."

I gave her a cold look, then returned to my work. "Congratulations. You’ve taken my trash out for me. How thoughtful."

Her smug expression changed. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means you’ve always been jealous, haven’t you?" I faced her directly now. "Jealous that I consistently outsell you. Jealous that I had an attractive boyfriend. Is that why you went after him? To prove you could?"

Cybele’s face turned red. "Jealous? Of a wolfless Omega? Please. Isaac is training to be a warrior in the Storm Valley Pack. He deserves someone worthy of his status."

"Is that what he told you?" I laughed. I was genuinely amused now. "Let me save you some disappointment. His ’warrior training’ is just weekend fitness classes. And between us?" I lowered my voice. "His performance in bed is about as impressive as your sales numbers here. Mediocre at best."

"You’re just bitter because..."

"Bitter? Honey, I’m relieved." I straightened a rack of dresses. "Have fun playing second-best to a fated mate he hasn’t met yet. That’s all you’ll ever be to a wolf. Temporary."

Before she could respond, the store’s front door chimed.

I looked up to see two elegantly dressed women entering. One had dark hair styled in a sophisticated bob. The other was tall with honey-blonde waves falling down her back. Both carried designer handbags and looked wealthy.

"Excuse me," I said to Cybele with a fake sweet smile. "Some of us have actual work to do."

I approached the customers with my most professional manner.

"Welcome. I’m Ava. Can I help you ladies find something special today?"

The blonde-haired woman smiled warmly. "I’m Caroline, and this is Eleanor. We need complete outfits."

"You’ve come to the right place," I said. I was already thinking about the commission on what could be a big sale. "We just received our fall collection. Would you like to start with evening gowns?"

For the next two hours, I became their personal stylist. I brought selections, suggested accessories, and created complete looks. By the end, both women had bought multiple outfits, shoes, and accessories. As I rang up their purchases, they were easily several thousand dollars’ worth. I could not help but notice Cybele watching with poorly hidden envy.

"Your eye for style is perfect," Caroline said as I carefully packaged her purchases. "Most salespeople just bring whatever’s expensive, but you actually thought about what would flatter us."

"That’s because she’s not just a salesperson," Eleanor added. She handed me her credit card. "She’s clearly a fashion consultant who happens to work retail."

I smiled at the compliment. "Thank you both so much. It was truly a pleasure helping you."

After exchanging business cards and promising to call when new items arrived, the women left with their many shopping bags. As the door closed behind them, I caught Cybele’s sour expression from across the store.

I could not resist. I walked past her with a triumphant smile and whispered, "That, darling, is how it’s done. Maybe if you focused more on your job and less on stealing boyfriends, you’d actually make a decent commission."