Screams. Blood. The crunching sounds. Screams. Blood. The crunching sounds. That same scene repeated over and over again until Ava jolted awake. There was nothing but the pitch black around her and the shadows receding from her dreams. The sudden movement made her groan and close her eyes as she lay back and curled into a fetal position. Breathing hurt, but she had to take deep breaths to calm herself. As usual these days, her nightmares were accompanied by a panic attack. With her body in so much pain, she felt frozen in place, all her muscles seizing up. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe... This was really where she died. In this school, alone, with people who played with her like she was a piece of meat. She tried all her usual techniques—counting, focusing on drawing deep breaths, thinking of something else. It wasn’t working. Her lungs started to burn as all the chaotic thoughts in her head told her she was dying. Her heart's loud, erratic beating was the only sound i
“You’re looking weak, Ezekiel. There are ways around those rules, and you know them. You should show the vampire prince who he will bow to when you become the Alpha. If you become the Alpha.”His father’s words still rang in his ears long after the dreaded check-in phone call. If he became Alpha? That was all he had been waiting for, for six fucking years. Now, his father thought he could dangle it in his face like that.He lounged by the pool while Claire and her friends swam—if he could call it that. They were in the water, but they didn’t look wet. They were still perfectly made up when anyone else would have been a wet mess. How the hell did they even do that?“Did you tell him—”“Yes,” he interrupted Myles. He didn’t want to think about his father right now. How was it okay for him to punish the vampires for a minor infraction committed away from the academy but his father didn’t even have the balls to gut the wolves who’d killed his mate? He was such a hypocrite. Talked the talk
Ava felt her muscles relax, and a wave of relief washed through her whole body. Jared’s hands were like magic on her sore body. “That feels amazing,” she said sleepily. “What is it?”“A little something I get whipped up by a witch at home. Helps after hard training sessions,” Jared answered. “If I had known it worked on humans, I would have given it to you sooner.”The fact that anyone with supernatural healing powers needed something like this made her feel anxious again. She flinched when Jared touched a more painful spot on her back. It brought her mind back to the present. “Sorry,” Jared said. “It’s fine.”She let him put it wherever he needed to and closed her eyes. She’d hardly had any sleep with the early mornings and the pain in her body. This was the best she had felt in what seemed like forever.“Turn over,” Jared instructed.She mumbled a protest, but Jared laughed and turned her over himself. It didn’t feel as painful as she had thought it would. Keeping her eyes clos
Monday was even worse than anything she could have imagined. Being shoved against walls by supernatural beings was a lot like being hit by a car, she imagined. By the time lunch rolled around, she was already bruised and in pain, even though Jared’s cream had worked wonders on her previous bruises.Emily joined her as she had done most lunchtimes now.“I thought you would look worse than that today.”Sundays were the only days the Omegas got off to catch up on their own things. Since she had hung out with Jared the whole weekend, she hadn’t come to the dining hall and hadn’t seen Emily since Friday’s training.“I would have if Jared hadn’t helped me,” she said between bites of her food.Emily tensed and then quickly looked around. What had she done wrong now?“It’s Alpha or Mr Anderson,” Emily whispered urgently. “You can’t refer to the future Alphas by their name. You need to understand the rules, Ava.”Seriously?“Do they want me to call him Master, too,” she snorted. Emily clearl
Screams. Blood. The crunching sounds. Screams. Blood. The crunching sounds. Ava sat up in bed with her heart in her mouth. She expected the same excruciating pain she had every time she moved her body so roughly, but there was nothing.Not even a headache from the insane girl’s punches.Her heart was still pounding when she looked around, and she realised she was in a hospital bed. The curtains were drawn around her, but she could hear beeping machines not too far away. They must have brought her to the infirmary when Claire knocked her out. That was a first. Usually, they just made sure she came to and then left her on the mat in the training hall to go about the rest of her day. Whatever magic they did to her at the infirmary was excellent because she felt better than she had in a long time. Why hadn’t she thought to come here last week? It would have saved her a lot of energy. Being in constant pain was mentally draining.The medication they had given her made her feel like she c
Zeke parked his car on the driveway and gripped the wheel tightly. He could feel the change coming as Ava’s scent overwhelmed him again. The heat of her mouth, the little whimpers she’d made as he’d tasted her, how responsive she had been to his touch, the way she had moulded her body to his as he had urgently ground himself against her. He had been so close to marking her.He groaned and closed his eyes. And then the scent of Ava’s blood hit him all over again; it was so strong in the confines of his car that his rage returned. He’d been fighting that constantly since he first saw Ava unconscious at the Training Centre.So many strong emotions were raging inside him that he didn’t think he could hold Shadow back this time.Pain. Rage. This inexplicable bond to Ava, calling for him constantly, pulling him towards her, making him want to be with her all the time.The whole time he waited outside the infirmary, his senses had been tuned to her beating heart, and Shadow had thrashed ins
When Ava arrived at the kitchen for her duties, the supervisor seemed surprised to see her as she assigned the jobs. Whether it was because she was on time for the first time or because she had heard about her disastrous training session, she didn’t know. As she pulled out all the equipment needed to keep the kitchen clean, her mind was still stuck on Ezekiel and his kiss. Why was she reacting like this to him? She had no control whatsoever. One touch and he could have done whatever he wanted to her. She wouldn’t have stopped him. It was disturbing.Her first kiss and it had been with that arrogant Alpha. She would never get that first back.She ignored the looks and whispers until she finished her assigned jobs. Then she changed into her uniform to go into the dining hall for breakfast. There was a hush as she walked out from the back as if it wasn’t obvious that they were all talking about her. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed a tray and joined the queue.“You!”Claire. Why was s
Waiting for the shoe to drop was excruciating. No one had shoved or insulted Ava all day, but she heard them whispering. This was one of those times she wished she was a wolf so she could hear what they were saying about her.In Housekeeping, they were being taught to fold napkins, and even that failed to get her usual angry reaction. Her stomach got tighter with every second that passed as her fear of what was coming increased. She did everything she was told like a robot, and it was possibly the first Housekeeping lesson that hadn’t ended with a detention.At lunchtime, she made her way to sit in the quad. The thought of eating anything was making her feel sick.The dean had taken one look at her and told her to get out of his office. Since she had no cuts or bruises, she had nothing to argue about how severely she had been hurt in the last training and was warned to stop taking up his valuable time. Penelope had cancelled all her pre-booked appointments. Her only hope of leaving h
Human blood still scented the air hours after the fight. It was everywhere. On the narrow path up the mountain. On the cold, unyielding side of the mountain. Over the trees, bushes and dead leaves on the ground. Silver bullet casings and broken silver weapons were scattered on the forest floor. Sharp lengths of twine were tied between tree trunks like traps, and blood dripped from them. There was something else on it besides that metallic scent, something spicy and woodsy, and very faint.Putting her nose closer to the twine, she started to inhale. A second later, strong arms circled her chest and wrenched her away.“Don’t touch that. Wolfsbane,” Zeke said.Of course. She had never been around it, but she was sure the other wolves in the pack were taught how to detect it from the moment they shifted. It was deadly to wolves, poisoning their systems as quickly as silver. A chill rushed down her spine at how close she’d come to making a rookie mistake.Stepping out of Zeke’s arms, she l
‘Let’s at least find out what happened to the Moonvalley Alpha first,’ Zeke mindlinked Ava. ‘There are too many humans here.’Ava’s apprehension was obvious through their bond, but so were her rage and fear. Tension coiled up in his stomach. Whenever he got like this, he always pulled the silver chains out for Derek and Myles to restrain him. But now, they were freely running near humans. Even if it was a small town, people would notice if half of them got wiped out by raging beasts.‘I’ve only been this far from our territory once, and Dad didn’t even let me get out of the car. I don’t even know where this diner is, so we need to speak to Nate.’It was clear from her tone that she didn’t like that, but some of the tension uncoiled because she wasn’t about to burrow through innocent people in town without a plan.The sun was setting when they stopped near the forest’s edge. Zeke followed Ava to a small wooden cabin, where she shifted without much regard to the humans he sensed close to
The Silver Daggers. A bunch of fucking neanderthals who’d dwindled their numbers even before the Council had formed to take them down. Probably the only good thing the Council had done.Psychopaths on the same level as Hansson, with their well-documented kills and torture methods. And they had somehow dug up enough information on his mate to have a recent photo of her and also know which orphanage she’d been at before being adopted. In which world was that the kind of information someone kept to themselves?Shadow growled in his head, pissed off with Ava’s family for the first time since meeting Roland. ‘Let’s go hunt them down,’ he ordered. Oh, that was a given. The only question was how to make Ava go back home. Dealing with Hansson together was one thing. They had been trapped at the academy and had no other options. But he would not willingly let Ava face another asshole like Hansson. He would not risk her life. “Answer me,” Ava said, stepping closer to Nate.“No, I don’t thin
Ava glared at her brothers after she pulled a T-shirt over her head. The boys had accepted shorts and were already eating the bowls of a meat and vegetable stew that they had been offered. How could they even eat at a time like this? She took her place beside Zeke, and the older woman who’d given her the clothes gave her a bowl, too. She recognised her as the Luna immediately. Audrey had come forward before Nate could tell her anything about the secret they were keeping.When her father first brought her to visit the Moonvalley Pack, she was impressed that the pack's protection fell on all their shoulders equally despite being so traditional in other roles. Her father said Luna Audrey could kick ass as hard as Alpha Barrett.“I’m sorry, Luna. I don’t think I can eat right now,” she said, smiling at the woman.“Your wolf needs to eat,” Luna Audrey said, pushing the bowl towards her. “It’s true, isn’t it? You shifted?”Her reputation as the only human in the Mystic River territory had sp
The air was sharper, and his eyes picked up the smallest grain of soil—as impossible as that seemed. He could hear the smallest critters scurrying under the decomposing matter on the forest floor. His hind legs launched him easily over shrubs and fallen trees while the wind rushed past his face with an almost overwhelming force.His heart pumped with the surge of adrenaline, and below that, the strange, unfamiliar energy. What the hell was this? Nyx hadn’t stopped running since they shifted when they reached the forest. Keeping close behind her, Shadow followed the almost non-existent trail. Even with his stronger senses, Alpha Morgan’s scent wasn’t there at all. And the warriors he’d taken with him must have been some of his best men because they’d hardly left a trail.He’d expected Nyx to flounder a few times because she was still new, but the other half of him hadn’t lost the trail even once. Not that he expected anything different. Even without the strange boost they seemed to h
No. No, no, no.Her fault. Why the hell hadn’t she trusted herself?Ava was out of the door before anyone could stop her. The guards had already gathered in the front yard, discussing what was happening. “...they’ve brought the bodies to the morgue. Can’t recognise them...”“...might be the same rogues that attacked the Moonvalley pack...”“...they didn’t make it there, so we still don’t know what’s going on over there...”Her fault.It was Emily and Dexter all over again.She shouldn’t have stayed in the background when she knew she was strong enough to help.“Ava,” Caleb called out as he followed her down the front steps. “I’ve already organised the search party. The trackers are already out there, and I’m going to join them. Stay here and—”“Even now, you’re trying to stop me?” she asked, facing her brothers.“It’s not safe—”“Then tell me why the hell you’ve kept me inside when you know I can help?” she growled.Caleb didn’t look away from her, but Nate, Alex, and Nick glanced a
Ava opened the back door again and glared at the wolf leaning against a tree at the edge of the forest. It was long past noon, and there hadn’t been any word from her father or the people he’d left with. Nyx growled, growing restless. She should have listened to her wolf from the start.Nyx was not very vocal, but she understood her wolf’s emotions perfectly. And it wasn’t helping that something else was simmering just under her skin, ready to burst. It had worried her when she woke, but there were bigger things to worry about now. Anxiety made the wait unbearable.Her father had always taught her to stand up for herself, so whatever rumours were going around about Zeke shouldn’t have made him go to such extremes. It was easy to prove that he was innocent. Why did it feel like she was missing something?That was the only thing stopping her from going after him. The fact that she didn’t know what was really going on. Her brothers were protective but always let her make her own choices.
It was strange to see all four mini Morgans looking at him directly without an ounce of fear. He and Ava sat on one couch while the brothers sat on the massive leather one that ran along two walls of the lounge. They had the same ash-blond hair in different styles and the same piercing blue eyes. Alpha Roland’s genes were clearly superior because he couldn’t see a trace of their mother. Even the judgy expressions were the same as their father’s.“Is this what they teach you in your pack? To disrespect a girl in her own home?” Caleb growled.They’d remained quiet until they herded him and Ava into the house. The rest of the pack had remained at the school, but he could sense some of them coming closer.“I meant no disrespect—”“She’s my little sister,” Caleb interrupted. “Don’t give me that bullshit.”As the oldest and the one who would take charge after his father, Caleb would have been given the same lessons as he had. At least the basics. Did he not understand what a true mate was?
Okay, now that was messed up. Nyx went on alert when all the attention focussed on Zeke, and Ava’s blood started to simmer. “Why are you looking at him?” she asked, finally lifting her head to look around the room.She’d anticipated some backlash once everyone heard the whole story about Hansson but assumed it would die as quickly as it usually did when she caused her father some trouble. It was why she’d not wanted to cause any waves for minor things. But for them to call Zeke a demon and blatantly suspect him of such a heinous crime?“He’s walking around with you, so something is obviously wrong with him,” Riley muttered from somewhere behind her.“As opposed to a wolf who can barely shift and can’t be admitted to an academy where a mere human was accepted?” she growled, not ashamed to hit below the belt.Several gasps brought her back to her senses, and she breathed deeply to calm the storm brewing inside her.The last time anyone had been a threat to Zeke, she’d levelled him in