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
Zeke sat perfectly still on a sofa in his lounge, staring at the wall. His head was in turmoil.For the first time in his academic career, he lied to the dean and said he had an emergency call with his father. As future leaders, this was the only valid reason to miss out on their education. Pack business was serious business and could affect even the relationships and allies in the academy, and the academy valued its principles too much to allow that to happen.He had almost killed her today. Claire. He’d seen her leaving the dining hall and partially shifted to go after her, but Ava’s scent from the dining hall had pulled him out of it. It was only Shadow’s fixation with his mate that had saved his ex-girlfriend. Even though it hadn’t happened, he could see clearly in Shadow’s mind how that scene would have looked. Blood. Limbs. Screams. Because Shadow kept playing those images in his head. Claire was at death’s door, and she didn’t even know it.And then he had gone to see Ava, onl
Zeke felt the pain as the silver cut into his body, but Shadow didn’t care. He tried to shift but the silver already in his system stopped him. Thank the Goddess for that! The last thing anyone wanted was a deranged beast running through the campus. Shadow managed a partial shift as Derek and Myles came forward with extra chains. He growled and snapped his teeth at them as he struggled against the chains. The smell of burnt flesh was worse now, and the silver weakened him even more. But Shadow was stronger than most wolves. It would take more silver than that to keep him down.“Release me!” Shadow growled again.‘Use your head, you maniac! You will destroy everything!’ he shouted angrily in his head.It was the worst feeling, being trapped in his mind while Shadow did whatever he wanted. Derek and Myles dropped their chains. Shadow was not their Alpha, but his power surpassed his father’s. His commands could bring even the mightiest warriors among them to their knees. Derek and Myle
Ava opened her eyes slowly. Groggy and confused, she turned her head to look around. It was the infirmary again, but she was in a room this time. All sorts of beeping machines were hooked up to her, and an IV needle was in her arm.“I’m alive,” she whispered.How the hell had that happened? Dexter and Claire had attacked her as if they were on an actual battlefield. Every punch, kick and knee had been excruciatingly painful as her bravado deserted her. She’d lost count of the number of times they had thrown her across the training hall, the number of times she had smashed into the walls. And she had lost count of how often she had heard something break. She was pretty sure she left all her teeth on the mat.The way those two had been going, she had a feeling they’d continued attacking her long after she lost consciousness. That bastard coach wouldn’t have stopped them.She moved her arm. It had bent the wrong way when she had landed after Dexter had smashed her into a wall and just be
Ava looked ridiculous walking out of the hospital in the oversized clothes the infirmary had provided, with a brooding, angry, red-eyed Alpha behind her. Her fear must have been felt for miles around while her body visibly trembled like a leaf. But she held her head high and walked with as much dignity as she could while holding the waist of the Academy tracksuit bottoms up so they wouldn’t fall to her ankles.She saw the disapproving glances when she didn’t look down as she passed the higher-ranked wolves. Heard the whispers. The growls. But they all quietened down when they looked behind her.“Ava!”Though the anger in his voice increased her fear and anxiety, she carried on walking until she came out of the building. The sun was still setting, so at least she hadn’t been unconscious all night as she had been the other day. Unless she had actually missed an entire day, then that was just seriously messed up. “Stop!”What were the consequences of disobeying an Alpha? She faltered a
Zeke didn’t give a shit that the Omegas sitting in the common room downstairs were all startled when he crashed the doors open and marched in. Claire’s scent was all over the place. He wrinkled his nose and followed it down the hallway to Ava’s room. He had finally managed to push Shadow back where he belonged while he had been distracted with Ava, but now the beast was howling to be let out again.What was she even doing here? Was she trying to take her vendetta outside the training centre? He growled at the thought but then realised he should have expected this. This was Claire. She had always been a calculating bitch; this was not beyond her.He opened the door, but he had already sensed that Claire had left, and not too long ago if her scent was this strong. Shadow wanted to go and hunt, but he had regained enough strength to shove him back so hard that, with the silver still in his system, Shadow wouldn’t come out again soon. The fact that it was Ava who had calmed the beast down
Ava didn’t see Claire at breakfast the following morning. It was such a disappointing blow that she wondered if she did indeed have a death wish, as Ezekiel had said. She had so many emotions boiling inside of her, ready to explode, that she had quite looked forward to a confrontation with the wolf, even if all it would have done was send her back to the infirmary. She knew who was responsible for her feeling like this. Ezekiel should not have touched her, and she should not have let him. She should not have enjoyed every second of it like she did. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with her?She ignored the whispers again and looked around the dining hall with her tray. She met Emily’s gaze and saw the guilt in the Omega’s eyes. Shaking her head, she looked away. It was stupid to believe she could make friends at the academy anyway. When had people not stabbed her in the back?Jared waved from a table somewhere at the back, and she made her way to it, not even minding that he had pu
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