Chasing His Scentless Mate-Chapter 312 Unexpected Reunions

Ava’s POV

Caroline and Eleanor’s "disappearance," though I hated to admit it, lined up perfectly with Joseph’s theory. They weren’t missing. Eleanor had probably whisked Caroline away for some much-needed healing time.

Not that Alpha Draven and Alpha Nate were listening to any of that. Those two had been combing the city for days looking for Caroline and Eleanor like they’d been kidnapped rather than just needing space. Meanwhile, Beta Ryan and Kyle were busy handling the Ella situation and her father Elder Howard. From what I’d gathered, Howard was neck-deep in shady business dealings involving both corporate interests and Storm Valley Pack politics.

Joseph kept showing up at Thorne Enterprises daily, supposedly to "help" Draven, but I knew he wanted to corner me. Thanks to my developing magical abilities, I could sense his Alpha presence and avoid him completely.

After several days of this exhausting dance, my phone rang with Ryan’s name on the screen.

"Ava, I need your efficiency," he said immediately.

"What’s going on, Beta Ryan?"

"Get Kyle and come to my house now. If anyone asks, say it’s about the audit. My driver is waiting in the parking garage."

"Ryan, is everything okay?" His tone worried me.

"Let’s hope so," Ryan sighed before hanging up.

I notified reception that the executive floor would close early, then grabbed Kyle. Within minutes, we were in Ryan’s car heading across town.

"Do you know what this is about?" Kyle asked anxiously.

"No idea, but things have been suspiciously quiet lately."

"What, are you bored?" Kyle teased.

"Honey, we feel many things in that office, but boredom has never been one of them," I replied sarcastically.

When we arrived at Ryan’s house, my heart sank seeing Joseph waiting outside. The entire inner circle was gathering. This had to be serious. Our eyes met briefly, but thankfully everyone was too distracted to notice.

Joseph kept finding ways to hover near me, but I managed to stay just out of reach, pretending to be completely engrossed in whatever conversation was happening around me.

And then the bombshell dropped: Draven was Liam’s father.

Things only intensified when Caroline and Eleanor finally returned. Caroline revealed her pregnancy, and she and Draven reconciled in a tear-jerking moment that had everyone emotional. These two had been through hell and back, but they truly deserved each other. Their love was powerful enough to overcome the worst obstacles.

We were all celebrating when Liz suddenly burst into Ryan’s house and got into a screaming match with Eleanor. Soon enough, everyone was yelling at the overdramatic homewrecker. It would have been entertaining if it wasn’t so tragic.

But the most touching moment came when they told Liam that Draven was his father. Watching them embrace had me fighting back tears. With everyone emotional, I escaped to the kitchen to prepare some chamomile tea. That’s when Joseph cornered me.

"Ava, can we talk?" he asked, stepping closer.

"What’s there to discuss, Joseph? How quickly you jumped into bed with another woman? Or maybe how many others there’ve been that I don’t know about? Your dick seems to have a very short attention span." The words came out sharper than I’d intended, but I couldn’t help it.

"Ava, please, just hear me out before you judge me," he pleaded, his eyes filled with pain. But I wasn’t about to let him off the hook—he had betrayed me, humiliated me, and that wasn’t something I could easily forgive.

"There’s no explanation in the world that could justify what you did, Joseph." I moved away from the counter to arrange cups on a tray.

"Ava, I know I was a jerk, but I need to tell you why. I need to ask for your forgiveness."

He moved behind me, his body almost touching mine. I could feel his warmth and smell his scent, but my growing magical abilities had heightened my senses. I could clearly detect the pull coming from him, that power trying to influence my emotions. I took a deep breath, silently resisting the attraction.

He’d hurt me so deeply, and a tear slid down my cheek before I could stop it.

"Joseph, please don’t hurt me again," I begged without turning around.

"Ava, please, give me one chance to make things right. I’m begging you, just one chance." His voice was full of desperation.

I took a deep breath and turned to face him. His eyes were a storm of pain, sadness, and exhaustion. He looked terrible—haggard face, messy hair. But I couldn’t feel sorry for him, I was still trying to heal from the wounds he’d inflicted.

"Joseph, let’s just pretend everything’s fine, okay? Don’t ruin Draven and Caroline’s moment. They’ve been through so much and finally forgiven each other. Can you do that? For your friends’ sake?" I insisted.

"Ava, that means pretending we’re okay together," Joseph concluded. "That means I can touch you, kiss you, talk to you. All the things I’m desperate for right now. Can you do that, Ava?"

"Just for today," I answered simply. "Don’t ruin the mood. Afterward, we can tell them we’ve broken up."

"Seems like we have all night to talk then," he said, sounding almost excited.

"Unless you’re planning to chat with the slut you fucked, because I’ll be sleeping." I turned away and walked to the bathroom.

When I returned, Joseph was still dressed, staring out the window. I climbed into bed wearing only the oversized shirt Ryan had lent me and my underwear.

Joseph turned around, his gaze slowly traveling over my body. "Should I take the floor?"

"Don’t be ridiculous, Joseph. The bed is huge," I replied coldly.

"So you’ll let me sleep next to you but won’t talk to me?" he persisted.

"Joseph, just take your damn clothes off and get in bed!" I snapped. "I’m exhausted and just want to sleep. You look like hell too. There’s plenty of room, and I’m not making you sleep on the floor just because I’m pissed at you."

Joseph smiled sadly and began unbuttoning his shirt as he walked toward the bed. He stood before me, removing his pants. His body was magnificent, muscular and toned, with his boxer briefs doing little to hide his impressive bulge.

He leaned down, looking into my eyes.

"I’m really tired, Ava. But I still want to talk to you."

"Fine, Joseph," I exhaled. "Let’s make a deal. Today we just rest, since we’ve been through an emotional rollercoaster. Then we can schedule a time for you to say whatever you’re dying to tell me."

"Do you promise you’ll listen? Promise you won’t change your mind tomorrow and leave me?" Joseph pleaded.

"I promise, Joseph. I’ll hear you out one more time, but let’s be clear, this is one conversation, the last one. Got it?"

"Now I can sleep peacefully," he sighed.

Joseph headed to the bathroom without closing the door. I heard the shower running and had to use my newfound magical abilities to resist the pull. I could feel that power trying to draw me in, but I mentally constructed a barrier, fighting against the attraction.