Bear Shifters (Book 4)

Chapter 1-Minho

I woke up, gasping for breath as sweat rolled down my back. I sat up in my bed, running a hand through my hair as I sucked in air. I heard the door creak open, snapping my eyes up to meet the worried eyes of Ava.

I don't know how, but somehow she always knew when I was having the nightmare, and was always there to comfort me.

"Same one?" she asks, closing the door behind her as she walks in.

I nod, watching her as she walks over to the side of my bed. My heart beats faster, taking in her small shorts and loose fitting muscle tank top. I don't know why, but she always looked the prettiest when she never even tried.

She sits down beside me, sliding over so that our shoulders are touching as we lean up against the headboard of my bed. She places a gentle hand on my thigh as I recover from my nightly terrors. With Ava beside me, it was much easier.

She was fiery and energetic, but when it came to my nightmares, she knew exactly what to do, and I love her for it—amongst other things.

"You know I never ask about what happened..." Ava starts, making me stiffen. She gently squeezes my thigh and continues. "But just know that if...you ever need to talk to someone about it, I'm here for you. We are mates for a reason,' she smiles up at me, making all the air I had managed to take in, come rushing out.

I lean forward and brush my lips against her, making her smile against my lips. I reach up and gentle grip the back of her head, angling her face towards mine. Suddenly, my alarm goes off, causing the both of us to jump apart, Ava landing on the ground.

"Jeez, why the hell did you set your alarm to..." she pauses angling her head on the ground to see the clock. "Seven thirty? Holy shit, we need to get to training," she exclaims, jumping to her feet.

"And that is why I set my alarm clock so early," I chuckle as she rushes out of my room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I climb out of bed and move over to my dresser, pulling out a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I move to my bathroom and quickly brush my teeth.

As soon as I finish, I leave my room, making my way over towards Ava's room, navigating my way through the pack house. Ava was allowed to move in with my pack a few months ago, when she turned eighteen, though we weren't allowed to share a room yet. I called bullshit! We were mates! It wasn't like anyone on either side of our family's had to wait to be together.

I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that I found out Ava was my mate when I was eight and shifted early at Max and Kai's wedding. Ava knew about it, but it didn't hit her until she was eleven, the normal age when wolves shift, and felt the pull.

Our family's decided to keep us separate until we were older to prevent certain...um, events from occurring too soon, but we had always been best friends anyway. Now we got to live in the same pack and see each other all the time!

On the way to Ava's room, I pass Adam as he comes out of his room. I nod at my cousin, but he just scowls at me and stalks pass me.

I sigh and shake my head. Ever since we were little, he has been angry and distant. He hates family and I don't know what to do about it. I'm nice to him, though I can't say the same thing about Ava.

I finally reach Ava's room and walk right in, causing her to squeak as she tugs on a shirt. She turns around wide eyes, but then relaxes when she realizes it's just me.

"Ever heard of nocking?" she rolls her eyes, but a smile tugs on her lips.

"Yeah, but I'm your mate, I don't need to nock," I chuckle, coming into her room.

I throw myself down on her bed with a sigh, tucking my hands behind my head, as she moves into the bathroom to bush her teeth. A few minutes later, she comes back out and I lift my head up to look at her.

She has on a pair of black athletic shorts with a light blue Metallica muscle tank top, once again. she loves wearing those things and I didn't mind one bit. Her long slender legs were on full display as she walked around her room, pulling out a pair of socks from a drawer and grabbing a pair of Nike tennis shoes from the ground.

She notices me staring at her and tilts her head sideways as she pulls on her shoes.

"What are you looking at?"

"You," I respond with a smirk, making her roll her eyes.

"Well, then I know the view is amazing," she laughs, letting go of her shoe and walking over to me.

"Yup," I respond, getting up from the bed.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her towards me, capturing her lips in kiss. After only a quick kiss, she pulls back with a smirk, making me groan.

"Come on, we need to get to training so that I can kick everyone's ass," she laughs, tugging me out of her room.

As much as I wanted to deny that Ava could beat everybody up, I couldn't because it was true. We were very close in skill level, but ever since her father died, she had become the best fighter between the both of our packs, even better than Bo.

I admired her as she walked in front of me, pulling her crazy red hair into a high ponytail. I smiled as I watched her.

God damn I loved her!