Branding Her Master.

She could not move.

Even though she had envisioned all kind of instances where she would meet her former family and fiancè, she had never imagined it to be at a time when she was completely unprepared and recovering from a panic attack. Not this soon!

"Lake and Thorne never bit me the way you just did, do you know that?"

Confused, she looked up to see Archie staring straight ahead with a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. Didn't he hear the voice just now? She could not be hearing thi—

"Is that you, Avery?" the voice came again.

Before she could turn, Archie's hand slipped around her waist, holding her in place.

"You are Ava now. No need to answer to a dead person's name," he whispered.

"But he will recognize me anyway."

"He won't," Archie disagreed. "That man is not Brian Walker."

"Then who is he?"