Zeke crashed through the front door and looked around. All the curtains were drawn, so it was dark inside. There were only two people in this house, all alone like a couple of lovers.He growled as he followed Ava’s scent up the stairs. She was supposed to be in his bed sleeping, not hanging out with his enemy. “Ava!”His voice was low, on the verge of shifting. It didn’t matter now what he did to Jared. Once he and Ava left the academy, he would likely never be allowed to return. He would never graduate to be officially recognised as the Alpha.But he would be Alpha anyway. He and Shadow agreed on that. When he reached the top of the stairs, his steps faltered when he saw his mate coming out of the master bedroom. And she was terrified. Her heart was beating so fast and so loud that he had to tune it out to concentrate. It felt like he had been transported back to when Ava had hidden in her room in fear. Why would she be scared now? Just a couple of hours ago, she’d kissed him pu
Ava stopped struggling when she realised it was useless. And she also realised that no matter how scared or angry she was with him, her body still reacted to the contact as if he was her source of life. She craved him with every fibre of her being.It was terrifying. It was exhilarating.As Zeke marched up the stairs in his house, she saw Derek and Myles come out of the living room to watch. She could almost tell what they were thinking when they looked at each other and then back at the door Zeke had left open when he had walked in. They hadn’t even realised she had gone. She hid her face behind her curtain of hair that was dangling down, and of course, it was then Zeke’s very muscular butt she was directly looking at. Probably the most perfect glutes on the face of the earth.She bit her lip, but she didn’t close her eyes.Maybe there was something wrong with her. Perhaps something inside her was broken—damaged beyond repair—to make her want Zeke so much when she knew what he was.
“Where exactly are we going?”Zeke looked back at Ava and squeezed her hand in reassurance. He’d still sensed her fear when she woke up, which increased when she realised they were heading into the woods. “You’ll see.”It would have been quicker if he’d shifted and carried her there or even run with her on his back, but she didn’t seem to want any contact with him at all. Understandable. It had been torture having her rub her body all over him earlier when he could sense how hot for him she’d been. And now she’d only allowed him to hold her hand once they had come deeper into the woods. It was a lot darker under the canopy of the trees, but he knew it wasn’t the darkness that was making her so scared. The woods blended into the cursed forest surrounding the academy, so few people ventured this far. There wasn’t even a path for them to follow, so Ava was relying on his sight to lead the way.“I think we can talk here. We’re far enough away from anybody else.”“Just be patient a little
Ava ran back into the woods without thinking. She had been raised in a forest, so she knew she would find her way out eventually, and there wasn’t much of a chance of getting lost when the only direction she could head in was away from the magic prickling her skin from the dark forest. Zeke was insane. Did he really think she would be that easy?Sure, she behaved like a whore every time he touched her, and the incident earlier hadn’t helped anything. She was pretty sure her body was still reacting to him, even after the nap before the picnic. But to say she was his?Wolves who mated spoke like that about each other! How could Zeke speak like that? In his case, she would not be his mate. How could she be? She was human, and he was an Alpha. She would be his toy until he found a wolf who could help him lead his pack. His future Luna.So, the two of them together would never happen. She would take endless cold showers to stop this madness if she had to. But still, she’d run away from
Ava stepped back.She had known from the first day that she would die in this place, but hearing Mr Patrick say it hammered it in. “Who wants to kill me?” she asked weakly. But she already knew. What she didn’t know was why. Did they know what she had done?“They know everything, Ava. I told you not to go into the forest. Everything in there belongs to them. Do you understand? They know.”The sudden burst of energy that she’d had was depleted. She dragged her feet to the first bench and gently lowered her body. She felt no pain but still felt as if her body had broken into pieces. If they knew, why was she still here? That was the number one rule of the academy. Never step foot into the forest.“And that’s what’s been keeping me up at night,” Mr Patrick said.“Stop that.”She felt too drained to concentrate on shielding her thoughts. “You’ve brought attention to yourself, Ava. I gave you that potion so you could spend the rest of the evaluations in the infirmary, but you still cam
The woods were scary, but she had to be brave. It was long past her bedtime, so it was dark. She had been fast asleep in the back of the car when she woke up to the loud bang. Then she saw them. The monsters.The monsters standing over her father’s body.She did what her father had taught her to do in this situation. She quietly slipped out of the car and started running.“Hey! Someone’s seen us!”It didn’t take long for the loud footsteps to follow her through the trees. The darkness and shadows cast by the full moon looked like predators ready to pounce on her, but she couldn’t close her eyes to make them go away. She had to survive. She tried to stay quiet as her dad had taught her. Step lightly. Change direction. Try not to leave too many tracks. But their long strides were fast and quickly catching up to her little ones. The forest was eerily quiet. All she could hear was her thundering heartbeat, harsh breaths, and the monsters behind her. It was like everything in the forest a
Ava tried to suppress the dread filling her as she sat in the back of the taxi, but she knew she was failing miserably. The taxi driver was some sort of supernatural, so he could probably sense everything. She knew that not because she had suddenly developed any enhanced senses overnight but because they were the only ones allowed to ferry the new students from the airport. Phoenix Academy was in some super-secret location that humans were not allowed to enter. She almost snorted at that. If that was true, they should never have insisted on her attendance. She should have been allowed to go to a regular college like any other nineteen-year-old human who’d survive the torture of high school. But no, she had to attend this place with all sorts of supernatural species who could kill her without a second thought if it wasn’t for the fact that it was forbidden.There were several branches of this academy all over the world to accommodate all of them, and she still didn’t know which one sh
Zeke Michelson buttoned up his shirt and tried to tune out Claire’s voice in the background. He didn’t give a shit about whatever she was complaining about. They had only been here a few hours, so only the Moon Goddess knew how she had found so much to complain about in the first place.He put his tie on and straightened it before he ran a hand through his still-damp hair.“Are you even listening to me, Zeke?” Claire whined.“No,” he answered as he turned to pick his blazer up. He held her gaze, daring her to complain about that. But Claire lowered her eyes and kept her mouth shut. Her blonde hair fell over her face as she sat naked on her bed. For a moment, he considered rejoining her because the woman knew how to use her body to please him. But she was already too clingy; he didn’t want to give her any more ideas.He left her room without a word, ignoring the shocked looks he got from the female residents of this dorm. But none of them would dare to report him. He was the future Al
Ava stepped back.She had known from the first day that she would die in this place, but hearing Mr Patrick say it hammered it in. “Who wants to kill me?” she asked weakly. But she already knew. What she didn’t know was why. Did they know what she had done?“They know everything, Ava. I told you not to go into the forest. Everything in there belongs to them. Do you understand? They know.”The sudden burst of energy that she’d had was depleted. She dragged her feet to the first bench and gently lowered her body. She felt no pain but still felt as if her body had broken into pieces. If they knew, why was she still here? That was the number one rule of the academy. Never step foot into the forest.“And that’s what’s been keeping me up at night,” Mr Patrick said.“Stop that.”She felt too drained to concentrate on shielding her thoughts. “You’ve brought attention to yourself, Ava. I gave you that potion so you could spend the rest of the evaluations in the infirmary, but you still cam
Ava ran back into the woods without thinking. She had been raised in a forest, so she knew she would find her way out eventually, and there wasn’t much of a chance of getting lost when the only direction she could head in was away from the magic prickling her skin from the dark forest. Zeke was insane. Did he really think she would be that easy?Sure, she behaved like a whore every time he touched her, and the incident earlier hadn’t helped anything. She was pretty sure her body was still reacting to him, even after the nap before the picnic. But to say she was his?Wolves who mated spoke like that about each other! How could Zeke speak like that? In his case, she would not be his mate. How could she be? She was human, and he was an Alpha. She would be his toy until he found a wolf who could help him lead his pack. His future Luna.So, the two of them together would never happen. She would take endless cold showers to stop this madness if she had to. But still, she’d run away from
“Where exactly are we going?”Zeke looked back at Ava and squeezed her hand in reassurance. He’d still sensed her fear when she woke up, which increased when she realised they were heading into the woods. “You’ll see.”It would have been quicker if he’d shifted and carried her there or even run with her on his back, but she didn’t seem to want any contact with him at all. Understandable. It had been torture having her rub her body all over him earlier when he could sense how hot for him she’d been. And now she’d only allowed him to hold her hand once they had come deeper into the woods. It was a lot darker under the canopy of the trees, but he knew it wasn’t the darkness that was making her so scared. The woods blended into the cursed forest surrounding the academy, so few people ventured this far. There wasn’t even a path for them to follow, so Ava was relying on his sight to lead the way.“I think we can talk here. We’re far enough away from anybody else.”“Just be patient a little
Ava stopped struggling when she realised it was useless. And she also realised that no matter how scared or angry she was with him, her body still reacted to the contact as if he was her source of life. She craved him with every fibre of her being.It was terrifying. It was exhilarating.As Zeke marched up the stairs in his house, she saw Derek and Myles come out of the living room to watch. She could almost tell what they were thinking when they looked at each other and then back at the door Zeke had left open when he had walked in. They hadn’t even realised she had gone. She hid her face behind her curtain of hair that was dangling down, and of course, it was then Zeke’s very muscular butt she was directly looking at. Probably the most perfect glutes on the face of the earth.She bit her lip, but she didn’t close her eyes.Maybe there was something wrong with her. Perhaps something inside her was broken—damaged beyond repair—to make her want Zeke so much when she knew what he was.
Zeke crashed through the front door and looked around. All the curtains were drawn, so it was dark inside. There were only two people in this house, all alone like a couple of lovers.He growled as he followed Ava’s scent up the stairs. She was supposed to be in his bed sleeping, not hanging out with his enemy. “Ava!”His voice was low, on the verge of shifting. It didn’t matter now what he did to Jared. Once he and Ava left the academy, he would likely never be allowed to return. He would never graduate to be officially recognised as the Alpha.But he would be Alpha anyway. He and Shadow agreed on that. When he reached the top of the stairs, his steps faltered when he saw his mate coming out of the master bedroom. And she was terrified. Her heart was beating so fast and so loud that he had to tune it out to concentrate. It felt like he had been transported back to when Ava had hidden in her room in fear. Why would she be scared now? Just a couple of hours ago, she’d kissed him pu
Ava slowly walked back up the front steps and stopped at the open door. She tried to hide her horror but didn’t think she succeeded.Jared was wearing only a pair of shorts, and his whole body looked like a giant bruise. He also had huge open wounds on his stomach shaped like teeth. Huge teeth that could only belong to one person. What the hell? Had Zeke come after him again while she had been in Isolation?She met his gaze and saw the dejection in his eyes. The complete helplessness.“I don’t think you should be here,” Jared said.She ignored his statement to look at his wounds again. Why wasn’t he in the Infirmary? Why was his pack letting him walk around like this?“What happened? Did Zeke come again?”She didn’t know why she was surprised. She had witnessed Zeke go after the wolves watching her in his backyard, and he’d come back bloody. Zeke was very much capable of this. His wolf was capable of this. She didn’t know why she always pushed such important facts to the back of her
Zeke leaned against the wall near the door, watching the vampire chained to the wall opposite him. The silver sizzled against his skin, but the vampire was barely conscious. The morning sunlight filtered through the windows, the rays touching every inch of the room except where the vampire was chained. He hadn’t had his charmed ring on since he came out of isolation, and Prince Gideon got his hands on him. If he moved even an inch, the sun would fry him, but as was his nature, he would also feel the sun's pull without the ring. Keeping him awake during the day was torture beyond anything else they could do to him.But the vampire had remained silent. Kept his mouth shut in the face of his prince’s anger, and Gideon’s royal blood made him the strongest vampire at the academy. This told him one thing: he feared whoever told him to yield much more than his prince.Or it could be that Isolation had fucked his head up.“Who told you to do it, Nathan?” the vampire prince hissed again, yan
Ava had opted for a quick shower instead of the inviting bath the Omegas had run for her because she was starving but felt too filthy to eat. Once she rested, she hoped she would finally get a chance to soak and relax. She had longed for a chance to do that since the first day she had been in Zeke’s room. She walked into the dining room in record time and sat at the table, her mouth watering at the spread in front of her. Was this all for her?Samantha and Julie stood at the side of their room with their eyes lowered, even though no one else was there. Zeke seemed to have disappeared, instantly deflating her mood and reminding her of reality. Her imaginary Zeke and the real one were not the same person, but seeing him as she came out of Isolation had felt like a natural continuation of her time at the imaginary beach. “This looks very delicious,” she said to the Omegas.“Thank you,” Samantha said.“You’ve made enough to feed an army. Why don’t you sit down and eat, too,” Ava suggeste
Zeke put Ava down and took her hand to lead her out of the building. The other students gave them way, but he could sense that what they had just witnessed was something they did not welcome.But he didn’t give a shit. He was done hiding.He’d been sure Isolation would break Ava and he wouldn’t get a chance to tell her how he felt. He’d been sure her end would be the end of him. Of everyone at the academy.But there she was, exceeding his expectations again. She had saved herself from the Council’s invasive magic, which was the only reason he’d regained his sanity and not killed everyone. So maybe she had been able to keep them out of her head after all when they had questioned her.Was that the reason they were coming back? Was it Ava they wanted? They had been curious about him, but was it the human that had captured their attention more? Did they know she was the one who’d had Claire’s blood all over her?He looked back at her as they walked down the steps. She looked pale and tir