Disclaimer: I do not own Blood and Chocolate, nor any of the characters. This is strictly fan written.

Well enjoy.

-Jane

Ava only sat in the bath a few more moments before she decided after all that she would eat. Her naked body had turned pink from the heat of the water and she felt like she was being born again as she slipped out of the water and pulled the towel tight around her, as if some one would see her.

Her kind had never had a problem with nudity. It was hard to be in your fur with a shirt and pants. When she lived with her father, she remembered coming down stairs for breakfast and seeing her aunt Esme, stark naked and mud smeared across her skin, casually pouring coffee for her and her father. It was never a big deal. But since she had left, she felt like both her forms had become dirty and had to be hidden.

She stood by a fan in her room and felt the water dry and it helped cool her a bit. It was growing dark but that didn't mean that the heavy heat would go with the sun. It lingered until midnight. She stretched her body and brushed her hair, before giving in to clothes. She usually covered up, but she went and bought several shorts and tee shirts for this heat and decided that a grey v-neck and some white shorts would do. She forgot her shoes and lightly stepped down the stairs toward the back of the inn.

The pack rarely ate indoors. They only resorted to that if it was raining or to cool out, but given the weather, she knew they would pull out tables to the soft grass and eat there. Their few guests would opt for staying in the air conditioning.

They had strung lanterns around the porch and little moths fluttered around them, lost in the light. The crickets were cheerfully chirping away.

Esme made roast beef. She could smell it and her teeth grew pointy at the thought of meat. Her aunt made a mean roast. She followed the sounds of the pack and turned the corner, barely missing a porch swing with three little girls sitting on it, giggling and their food forgotten.

The pack grew quieter as they stopped eating to see if it was true. Rudy's girl was back. Most hadn't seen her since she started crawling. The Five waved their arms and Finn blew a kiss, which she ignored. She was surprised to see Vivian next to Esme and pleasantly, inherited all the good things from her parents. Next to her was a large man with dark hair that she knew was Gabriel. My, was he handsome. Her cousin chose well.

After a while the others went back to their eating, gossip, banter, and conversation blending together to make inaudible noise. Finally, her eyes landed on the broad shoulders that once carried her. Bucky sat next to Rudy across from Gabriel and Vivian, talking to a man that was by Esme's side. She felt her heart beat quicken and her tongue grow useless. She wasn't ready for this.

She grabbed a paper plate and walked down the table, taking in as much as her plate could allow. She'd run it off later.

She came down the short flight of stairs and stood next to her father, who smiled up and her and cleared a spot for her, right next to Bucky. Thank you daddy, how sweet. Bucky's scent wafted up into her nostrils and her toes curled in delight. He always did this to her.

She could feel Vivian's glare on her as she sat down, her leg bumping Bucky's and stopped him in mid sentence to glance over, making him look twice. His eyes bore into her face and she nodded at her aunt and waved at Vivian, who held up two fingers in recognition, her large diamond ring sparkling.

Before any one could say anything, Esme spoke up. "I thought you weren't hungry, baby."

Ava shrugged and smiled at her aunt. "I smelt roast beef. I was sold."

Esme giggled and pointed at Vivian, her proud mate chuckling as well. "Well, I didn't make it. The little shit decided that she needed to learn how to cook, since she will be a married woman soon."

Ava smiled at Vivian. "It smells delicious."

It was delicious too. Despite her shaking hands and Bucky's constant stares, she wasn't sure that she was going to make it through dinner, but the meat was so tender and it had enough blood in it to satisfy her inner wolf.

"So, how was your flight?" It took her a moment to realize her former mate was talking to her but she recovered quickly and responded when Gabriel asked it again, as if she didn't hear.

"Long, but no problems. I sat next to a baby on the way to Denver. She had colic and screamed." She could almost still hear the poor thing. Her mother should have been more sensitive to her child's needs and not flown with her not so well.

Esme stuck out her lip and looked at the man at her side, who she learned was Esme's boyfriend Tomas. "Poor baby. I lucked out, my kid never got sick."

Rudy rolled his eyes and looked at Ava with a twinkle in his eye. "Mine always pretended to be sick."

Ava puffed up and looked her father straight in the face. "Then maybe you should have home schooled me and I wouldn't have had to pretend to be sick to get away from those idiots."

He laughed and turned away, saying some thing to Gabriel and Vivian and Ava returned to her food. Bucky moved next to her and she decided to look at him finally. He had aged. He wasn't that old in the first place, soon to be thirty, but his eyes seemed to hold no more youth, his chiseled face seemed to be tired and the knot of scars on his throat made her eyes widen. They looked awful and she wanted to touch them and keep looking at them.

Bucky heard her gasp and looked at her, light green meeting light blue. She blinked a couple of times before she started to feel the blood rush to her face and her ears. Damn him, why did he have such a power over her.

"How long are you here?" He asked. His voice was husky and a tad hoarse and his lips parted slightly.

She felt like she was a deer in headlights. She mentally slapped herself and inhaled deeply. "Until the day after the wedding."

His face grew a smug smile and he nodded. "Yeah? Why not stay here?" He used his hand to motion to the inn and its surroundings. "You can work in the kitchen, I have a house now. I bet, you will be happier here."

Oh sweet moon...he doesn't think its over. "Bucky, I don't live here any more. We are divorced...I can't stay here." She said quietly. She could still faintly hear a conversation going on next to her. She silently pleaded for some one to talk to her.

"I never signed those papers, so no we are not." He sounded to hopeful and it killed Ava.

"Bucky." A stern voice snapped them both away from each other and looked over to see Vivian looking at him with pity. "She doesn't care for us, let her go."

"Vivian!" Esme gasped and Rudy put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. Gabriel sighed and looked at Rudy with a hard mouth. Apparently, Vivian had said what they all thought and they wanted to keep it a secret.

Ava felt the rejection from her cousin like cold stones going down her throat. She couldn't tell them, they would never believe her. She shrugged off Rudy's hand and slid from her spot, leaving her plate. "I'm not hungry any more."

As she was walking towards to woods, a beer in her hand that she took from a lone cooler, she could hear her aunt scolding Vivian and could feel the weight of Bucky's stare on her back.

Eventually she made it back home. By the time she did, ever one was either in bed, inside, or out on a run in the trees, chasing rabbits with vacant glee.

Her beer was empty and she wandered into the kitchen for another, coming out with two and making her way towards the porch swing. She hated beer; she preferred wine. But she knew better than to go touch Esme's stash, on penalty of a good ass whooping.

She sat there, legs crossed and her eyes staring blindly ahead. No one would understand what happened. No one would care or believe her. Her mother was never mentally stable and she was frightened by the inn fire that took Esme's mate and other pack members who were like family. She wanted to leave. Ava couldn't let her mother go alone, so she left with her in the middle of the night, leaving divorce papers on the kitchen table for Bucky to find. It was cheap, but she had to do it.

She was too young when she got married. 16 was when girls had crushes on guys who didn't know who they were, when they would go and hang out with friends till their parents demanded their return home. Ava, was married and worked in the inn with Bucky, doing what they could.

Bucky had always loved her, ever since Rudy brought him home. He had been covered in mud and his eyes were fierce and wild. Ava liked him too, but they didn't dare do anything until her father consented it. When they finally became a pair, her mother pushed it on both of them to get married, that it was meant to be, much to Rudy's despair and against his protests. That summer they did just that and were married until she turned eighteen and she left. She followed him to West Virginia, with her mother in tow. She didn't want to leave her father, but he understood that move. She was too young and she wasn't married for the right reasons. It had nothing to do with not loving Bucky, but he couldn't hear other wise.

"Your still beautiful."

She turned and looked to see Bucky leaning up against the railing, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. She hated his habit, but then again, she also missed it. "Was I supposed to grow ugly over three years?"

He chuckled and inhaled on his smoke. She pulled her hair high up on her head, removing the extra bulk from adding heat. He walked over and picked up her other beer, popping it open and sitting down next to her, making the swing move. His presence alone was enough to make her want to throw herself at him, but she refrained and watched at he savored his beer. "I can't believe your 21. We had a big trip planned for that you know. I disappointed."

She wanted to go to France and he promised on her 21st birthday he'd take her. That plan obviously fell through. "I live in French Canada, so it kinda counts." She shrugged.

He chuckled and fell silent. She could smell rain coming and she welcomed the thought of it becoming cooler. The sweat ran down in between her breasts and her fur had even been to hot. It must have been because she wasn't used to this heat any more. She was used to snow and moderate temperatures.

"Why won't you come home?" He asked quietly. His head rested against the back of the swing and he looked at her with such sad eyes.

She didn't want to answer him. She found her eyes being drawn back to his scarred throat and this time he caught her stare. He turned his head and scratched his chin, the day's stubble was finally getting itchy. She looked down at her left hand and found herself playing with an invisible ring that would never be on her finger again. "Why won't you let me go?"

He scoffed and set his beer down, inhaling what was left of his cigarette. He put it out on the bottom of his shoe and flicked the butt into the grass. "Because you didn't leave because you wanted to and I firmly believe, that you didn't want a divorce. I won't sign those papers you know. I meant it when I said: When death do us part. Really Avie, I didn't think you a coward."

It was a low blow and he knew. She wasn't a coward. Cowards ran from their problems, like her mother. She only left because it was what was right. "You don't know a damn thing about me." She muttered. "You I am not coming back here after this. This is the last time you will ever see me." She stood up and stalked to the door.

"No matter where you go, I will always find you. I will never give up on my wife."

She turned and gave him a stony glare. "Make sure to whisper that to the next woman you are in bed with Buck." She slammed the screen door behind her and hurried up to her room before he could follow her. Never give up? He slept with other women, she knew. He was her first and only. She couldn't imagine letting another man touch her like that.

In her room she stripped down and laid on the bed in her skin. She wouldn't cry. It was only the first day back and she would be damned if they made her cry. Her cousin had always been a bitch, so that was one she blew off and her father would never be happy with any thing she did. Even now she knew he pretended that every thing she did was wonderful. It was a farce.

And Bucky...she curled up and held in her tears. She wanted him, but when Esme told her he had had lovers and yet he hadn't signed those papers, her heart broke. But why should she care? She left him, he was lonely and a woman in his bed might have helped him. She didn't want him, she had no right to be angry.

But that was not what her heart told her.

Breakfast was served way before Ava dragged herself out of bed and the heat of the day had already seeped into the inn walls. She could hear people working outside and she looked out her window to see the Five working on what looked to be alter arch for the wedding. The twins were arguing while their fair haired cousin fidgeted with a screw driver. Ulf was reading a piece of paper and scratched his head. She shook her head and pulled on another pair of shorts and a tee shirt.

Down stairs she could hear Vivian's voice and Esme was trying to sooth her daughter. A few other females surrounded their alpha and her mother as Vivian was panicking. Ava continued into the kitchen and sat in a chair and looked on with the others.

"I asked them to do this months ago mom! I don't understand why they reject it now!" The golden haired girl covered her face. "Now what am I going to do for a cake?"

Ava leaned over and looked up at a woman she recognized as Magda. "What happened?" She whispered.

Magda leaned closer to her and whispered back. "The bakery that was supposed to do Vivian's wedding cake chickened out, said that their bakery couldn't do her order, moon knows why."

Esme took her daughter by the arms and tried to comfort her. "Oh baby, I know your upset, but we will find a way. I bet another bakery would do it."

Vivian gave a sour laugh and looked at the ceiling. "They were the only one's who would have done it. I already asked."

Esme closed her eyes and sighed. Her daughter was right. This was a bad thing. They needed tons of cupcakes and a three tiered cake and Vivian was so picky that every bakery around had denied her.

"I can do it."

All the women looked at Ava and stared. Vivian shook her head and rubbed her temples. "I don't want a box cake that looks like a two year old made it."

Ava stood back up and put her hands on her hips, boldly staring down her cousin. "I work in a bakery back home. I make cakes all day from scratch and I also decorate them." She tilted her nose up just a bit. If Vivian was going to be a jerk, she would too.

Vivian blinked and then ran out of the kitchen, leaving Ava and the others confused. She returned just as quickly and with a couple sheets of paper. She held them out towards Ava. "If you can do this, I'll let you do it."

It was a doosy. The recipe was difficult, but no impossible, and the design and shape was even a little more difficult. It was three tiers like she said, but the cake had a quilt look to it, along with fondant flowers coming out of the top. A small town bakery wouldn't be able to do this. Ava sighed and looked up at her cousin. "I've done worse." She lied, but she wanted to help her stressed cousin who was probably feeling her life was over if this didn't turn out right.

All the women in the room sighed with relief and Esme said thanks to the moon goddess. "Tell me what you need and I will get it for you. We have a huge kitchen here and if we need to, a large freezer."

Vivian had regained her composer. "If you mess up, I will beat your ass back to the airport."

Ava glared back at her cousin and felt her claws grow a bit. "Not if I get you first cousin."

There, this one was a little more into the detail and yes, there will be drama! I feel bad for making Bucky miserable, but at the same time, I don't. Is that wrong of me?

Any way drop a review on what you thought!