Zeke followed Ava out of the assembly hall and caught up with her outside the building. She was walking quickly towards the first-year block, but he could see how the Omegas were flanking her. Almost like they were protecting their Alpha. Could she see that?She looked too lost in her head to notice. He sensed her confusion through their bond, and she wasn’t scared. It was the Omegas' fear in the air, not hers. “Ava.”It was too risky to speak when they were close to the councillors, but he had to know what the hell had just happened.Ava carried on walking as if she didn’t hear him, so he increased his pace, squeezing past the Omegas until he was next to her.“Ava,” he tried again. She finally looked at him but didn't stop walking. "What was that?" he asked."I don't know. I think it was a spell; they were messing with our heads," Ava said quietly. "And it was so hard to shield my thoughts from them. I don't know what they saw."Shit. If the Council got to her, they could get to
Ava walked into Mr Patrick’s lecture room straight after her last class. It had been a surreal morning. They hadn’t learned much because whatever Mr Hansson had done to the student Omegas, he had also done to the teachers and instructors. If a spell had been cast on them because of her, the least the Council could have done was release them. But instead, she’d seen wolves jump at shadows and any sudden movement of noise. All the Omegas were a mess. It wasn’t right. She closed the door and looked at the man who could appear and disappear at will, the man who had insisted from the beginning that he could help. He’d said he had seen the Head of the Council before, so he had to know what they were dealing with. How could he be so sure that this was a battle they could win?“Winning? I don’t know,” he said as he walked over to the door and then touched it. “The Council is spread all over the world; we would never win against their full force. But we have the chance to cut off their head
Killer training session.Those words had been running through her mind the entire time she’d been setting up the training room. Was she to be executed then? Had they decided to make their move? She wasn’t ready to die. She hadn’t hugged her father before Mr Patrick had taken him out of the room, and the last real conversation she’d had with Zeke had been stilted because she’d been so disappointed with him. She finished her tasks early and went to sit in the bleachers to wait for her fate. Or, instead of waiting to die, she could go and break into the weapons room and get a pair of daggers. It was one thing to tell everyone she would fight and quite another when faced with the situation. She couldn’t be sure if her wolf would come when she was in danger as it had done before, so it was better to be prepared. The Omegas took longer than usual to finish setting up. She could see they were still affected from the morning. Would the Council release them from the spell after they were do
The whole class turned to look at her when Coach called her name.What the hell was this? If they were going to execute her, why were they making her fight an Omega first? And why Emily, who she had already fought at the mock evaluations?Unless this was another test to see if she would make a good soldier?“Ava,” Coach Henderson repeated. She looked up to see the coach’s worried gaze on her before he glanced at Emily. The Omega was already on the mat, her arms wrapped around herself and facing down.She shook her head and stood to walk to the mat, too. Claire was still facing forward as if this was of no interest to her, but Zeke clenched his fists, not hiding that his eyes were directly on the Council members. “Remember that anything goes,” the witch said, making her look back at them, too. “Follow the rules, and everything will be fine.”The three of them looked like they were expecting a show, but surely they knew it wouldn’t take much for anyone to defeat Emily. The coach’s wh
Was she dreaming? Was this another nightmare?She felt numb as she looked at the lifeless body in front of her and then the vampire who relished the kill. There wasn’t a sound in the training room except the loud beating of her own heart in her ears. “Now look at what you’ve made me do. I really liked this suit,” the vampire said. His eyes were back to normal as he rubbed at the bloodstain on his jacket. As if all was still right in the world.“All you had to do was follow the rules, Ava, not find a way around them. Fight, show no mercy,” he continued. “Is it really that difficult for you? Do you like to challenge everything?”She looked back at Emily. Was this her fault?“Yes.”And then the vampire smiled again. “Now, who’s next?” he asked.The chaos started. Omegas started to whimper and cry. Some rushed to their feet and started running out of the training room. Others backed away as if that would draw less attention to them. The two coaches remained where they were standing, t
There was silence in her head.She’d sat for hours after taking that potion. It had indeed brought her clarity on what she had to do, but there was no whisper from her wolf. And that was frustrating because she knew she had changed because of her wolf.She hadn’t imagined hearing Emily’s heartbeat. The night she had discovered her father in the basement, she’d caught his scent outside. And there was no denying that she was running faster now. Her body even felt different, so where was this wolf? Even just a hello would do.But the silence in her head was so loud it was making her angry.At least anger was better than numbness. Derek parked the car, and then he and Myles looked back at her. It had been a long night for all of them in that basement because they had all realised the same thing. The Council could get any one of them anytime.“Stay safe,” Derek said to her.“Yeah. And don’t worry about us. Do whatever you need to do,” Myles added.Derek tried calling his father last night
“Alpha Diego is going to explain more,” the coach said before walking to sit at the front.“We are going to learn what is expected of us as members of this community,” Alpha Diego started as he stepped forward. “Sometimes things happen in the world, and we are called upon to serve. This is why you train so hard. So you are ready to face trials when you return to your communities.”Ava looked around at the other students and saw they all had their heads down, but the tension was palpable. Yesterday’s training taught them what the Council’s lessons were all about.“Some of you may think our methods are a little... outdated. Or barbaric,” the Alpha continued. “But they are necessary. Without them, the whole world would be in chaos. It is your duty to understand where you fit in the wheel that keeps everything running smoothly. It’s your duty to follow the rules given to you. Or you will suffer the consequences.”Like Emily. He didn’t say that out loud, but she was sure that was the pictu
Zeke followed the guard to the dean’s office with a sense of dread in his stomach. It was almost time for training, so he was sure this was about whatever the Council wanted to do next. Who would they kill today?The whole academy had been in a solemn mood. Though not many ever noticed the Omegas, the fact that the Council could just kill one of them like they were nothing had brought fear to all of them. So much for the president’s speech that they weren’t to worry. This morning, he had heard that they’d taken Emily’s body to the Infirmary freezers to wait for instructions from her parents. How would they even explain that to them?The guard knocked on the door and then opened it for him. The dean sat at Penelope’s desk, working on something at the computer. He was surprised to see him enter.He was so surprised that he knew it wasn’t the dean who had sent the message to his tablet. But he could feel the presence of the man who had summoned him behind the office door.“Mr Michelson.
“So, has she rejected you?”Zeke glanced sideways at the Alpha walking beside him and then back at the pavement. He felt juiced up on Mr Patrick’s magic and didn’t want to say anything wrong, but he had no idea why Alpha Diego had offered to get him for his meeting.He didn’t respond. “I mean, I was sure she was going to rip you apart,” Alpha Diego continued. “How did you manage to mate her in the first place? Was it because she hadn’t shifted yet?”His fists clenched, but again, he said nothing.“Do you think the mark will start to fade now?”Zeke started to walk a little faster even though where they were going was a lot worse than enduring this mind fuck. He knew there was no chance of the bond being broken because Ava was his true mate, but what if...“This is why I’ve never marked anyone,” Alpha Diego continued, keeping up with him easily.The councillor talked to him as if they were friends instead of a prison guard and prisoner. “Wolves like you, me and Ava were not meant to
Ava felt the difference in the air when she stepped into the First-Year block the following day. It wasn't just the rush in her body from Mr Patrick’s magic still surging inside her or the way the students avoided her and lowered their gazes. It wasn't even because she could sense the dark void she usually felt around Claire and her friends was muted. It was because she could feel the Head of the Council as if he was right next to her. All around her. Watching her. She could feel the prickling all over her body, and unease filled her body.She kept her mind purposefully blank as she walked into her Cooking class because she knew Mr Patrick’s magic was nowhere near as strong as Mr Hansson’s. Too much was riding on her ability to shield.It wasn’t until she’d sat down in her usual spot next to the window that she realised the whole class had stopped talking, and the teacher stood with her eyes lowered at the front of the room. And then the things she was trying to forget pushed back t
“Wait. Say that again,” Ava said.He looked down at their entwined fingers and brought her hand to his lips. He should have told her before he marked her. Told her he was bonding them for life. But there had been no other choice for either of them. "You're my true mate, Ava. The perfect half of me," he said. "It's why our bond was so strong before I even marked you. I only had to catch your scent for Shadow to know you were ours.""So when you say my fate is your fate, what exactly do you mean?"This would be the most challenging part for her, as much as it hurt him to admit that. When Mr Patrick told him about True Mates, it had been easy to accept because he wouldn't want to live without her, anyway. He and Shadow agreed on that. But Ava's wolf was complicated. She and Ava were at odds, and he didn't know how that would affect their bond. "If you die, I die," he said simply. Ava gasped and pulled her hand out of his. Her shock and disappointment shot through him. It felt like sh
Ava felt like her stomach was eating her when she opened her eyes. Her body felt tender, but she didn’t feel any pain. She stretched and sat up in bed, not surprised that she was in Zeke’s bed again. The room was dark, and the clock beside the bed said it was barely nine o’clock, which was odd. Wolves tended to sleep and recuperate for a day or two after the first shift.But then again, her wolf was...She could still smell the blood that had covered her body despite Zeke washing it off in the lake. Quickly, she shoved the covers off and rushed to the bathroom. Food could wait. The insane Council members could wait. She stood under the shower spray before it had warmed up and started to scrub her body, but no matter how raw her skin looked, she didn’t feel clean.Would she ever?The Council had not been surprised that she had shifted into that thing, so they had already known. That was the reason they had come; she was sure of it. Mr Patrick had been right after all.Her stomach growl
Ava realised that Derek, Myles and Jared were backing away from her as if she was the monster, not the wolf she had protected them from. She looked back at the damage she had done. Not all of them were dead, but... With her anger gone, her mind cleared.But there were too many scents and too many emotions in the room. Too much noise. She could hear everything. People talking at once. People screaming. Leaves blowing in the wind. Cars. Heartbeats. The harsh breathing of the students who were too terrified to run from the room. The dying breaths of others. She could see the tiniest splatter of blood on the wall. She could smell that somebody had pissed themselves.Everything tumbled down on her in a confusing avalanche as she backed away from her friends. They were terrified. “It takes a special kind of person to kill the same people two times. I’m very proud of you, Ava,” Councillor Andrei said.They had done this.Her anger built up again, mixing with everything else. But she knew
Zeke followed the guard to the dean’s office with a sense of dread in his stomach. It was almost time for training, so he was sure this was about whatever the Council wanted to do next. Who would they kill today?The whole academy had been in a solemn mood. Though not many ever noticed the Omegas, the fact that the Council could just kill one of them like they were nothing had brought fear to all of them. So much for the president’s speech that they weren’t to worry. This morning, he had heard that they’d taken Emily’s body to the Infirmary freezers to wait for instructions from her parents. How would they even explain that to them?The guard knocked on the door and then opened it for him. The dean sat at Penelope’s desk, working on something at the computer. He was surprised to see him enter.He was so surprised that he knew it wasn’t the dean who had sent the message to his tablet. But he could feel the presence of the man who had summoned him behind the office door.“Mr Michelson.
“Alpha Diego is going to explain more,” the coach said before walking to sit at the front.“We are going to learn what is expected of us as members of this community,” Alpha Diego started as he stepped forward. “Sometimes things happen in the world, and we are called upon to serve. This is why you train so hard. So you are ready to face trials when you return to your communities.”Ava looked around at the other students and saw they all had their heads down, but the tension was palpable. Yesterday’s training taught them what the Council’s lessons were all about.“Some of you may think our methods are a little... outdated. Or barbaric,” the Alpha continued. “But they are necessary. Without them, the whole world would be in chaos. It is your duty to understand where you fit in the wheel that keeps everything running smoothly. It’s your duty to follow the rules given to you. Or you will suffer the consequences.”Like Emily. He didn’t say that out loud, but she was sure that was the pictu
There was silence in her head.She’d sat for hours after taking that potion. It had indeed brought her clarity on what she had to do, but there was no whisper from her wolf. And that was frustrating because she knew she had changed because of her wolf.She hadn’t imagined hearing Emily’s heartbeat. The night she had discovered her father in the basement, she’d caught his scent outside. And there was no denying that she was running faster now. Her body even felt different, so where was this wolf? Even just a hello would do.But the silence in her head was so loud it was making her angry.At least anger was better than numbness. Derek parked the car, and then he and Myles looked back at her. It had been a long night for all of them in that basement because they had all realised the same thing. The Council could get any one of them anytime.“Stay safe,” Derek said to her.“Yeah. And don’t worry about us. Do whatever you need to do,” Myles added.Derek tried calling his father last night
Was she dreaming? Was this another nightmare?She felt numb as she looked at the lifeless body in front of her and then the vampire who relished the kill. There wasn’t a sound in the training room except the loud beating of her own heart in her ears. “Now look at what you’ve made me do. I really liked this suit,” the vampire said. His eyes were back to normal as he rubbed at the bloodstain on his jacket. As if all was still right in the world.“All you had to do was follow the rules, Ava, not find a way around them. Fight, show no mercy,” he continued. “Is it really that difficult for you? Do you like to challenge everything?”She looked back at Emily. Was this her fault?“Yes.”And then the vampire smiled again. “Now, who’s next?” he asked.The chaos started. Omegas started to whimper and cry. Some rushed to their feet and started running out of the training room. Others backed away as if that would draw less attention to them. The two coaches remained where they were standing, t