Mr Patrick turned in his seat to watch Ava the moment she opened the detention room door. She looked him square in the eye and thought of sheep jumping over rainbows.Mr Patrick rolled his eyes and turned back to watch the room. So what exactly was he, to be able to read her mind? Seers couldn’t do this, but there were so many different species here at the academy that she didn’t know much about. This was nothing like her pack at home, where everyone knew everyone, even if they didn’t all live close together.“Take your seat, Miss Morgan.”Where had he been that night when the horrible teacher had taken his place? She had been so confused and had needed his help. Maybe he could help her now.“Must I repeat myself? You’re disturbing everyone.”And that was when she saw that, for a change, another student was in the room. He looked at her from his seat right at the back without smiling. He didn’t like her very much, she could tell. Maybe he didn’t like her at all, like all the other st
Zeke made everyone sleep in the basement. He'd never thought he’d have to use it to hide from the Council, but he was glad that his paranoia about Shadow had made him reinforce that room. He didn’t know if it was strong enough to keep them out if they were determined to get Ava, but they hadn’t tried.While his mate and his pack slept, he stayed up, trying to come up with a plan. Ava needed to become stronger to take care of herself if things went wrong for him. That meant he had to mark her as soon as possible and train with her as well.Mating with a human would weaken him, but it would give Ava the strength to survive.Only if the mark didn’t kill her.Which meant he had to go back to the library today and hope he hadn’t pissed the librarian off too much.He left the house while the others were still sleeping and let Shadow take over. Usually, he could track anyone, but even with Shadow in control, he felt like he was running around in circles. He couldn’t sense where the Council
Training with Ezekiel was something else. He refused to take no for an answer, and after this demonstration, she was glad. She thought he would go easy on her for some reason, maybe because he couldn’t hide how much he wanted her in his bed.But he was relentless. He was worse than her father. When she had tapped out for the last time, and Ezekiel released her from a hold, she was both impressed and pissed off.She sat breathlessly on the mat in a smaller training room in the training centre. Her whole body ached, but not in the way it had been aching after ‘training’ with the coach. She felt like she was finally doing something productive again, but hated that she hadn’t won against Ezekiel even once.Ezekiel walked back to her with two bottles of water and handed her one before he sat in front of her, leaning against his knees. She gratefully gulped down her water before looking at the Alpha. He hadn’t even broken into a sweat; she was the only one panting like crazy.Ezekiel studie
In his free period, Zeke casually strolled into the busy library. Trying to have this conversation where they could be overheard was stupid, but he needed to know. He couldn’t resist Ava anymore, especially when she was under his roof.Her scent was everywhere. And even if she denied it, she couldn’t hide that she wanted him, too. He only had to touch her, and she’d be his.He had to fix this situation so he could concentrate on everything else.When he walked into the atrium, Miss Donovan was at her desk dealing with some students. Her sharp gaze was already on him, as she had probably sensed him coming. Fucking in the library was not allowed. This wasn’t an academy rule, it was Miss Donovan’s, so he was on her shit list. Would she still help him out? He imagined she’d had many reasons to enforce that rule with all the soundproofed study rooms around the library. Things around the academy sometimes got hairy, especially when a female was in heat. But Miss Donovan told all of them to
Training with the coach was different. It was her first one since the coach had graded and separated them, and she had been left with all the students that the coach thought were hopeless. He didn’t try to hide that he thought they would all fail. He said it to their faces several times before he left them to fight each other without a clue what was happening while he went to another class. Most of them didn’t even know the correct formations for basic moves. Ezekiel was still there, quietly circling the room but since everyone here was scared of him, it didn’t help the situation.It felt almost criminal to keep winning. Her body was still sore from the morning, but she wasn’t exerting herself as much during any of her matches.If the mock evaluations were as tough as Ezekiel said they would be, then none of them stood a chance. She hated agreeing with the coach, but he was right about this. She wished the academy would do something about this, but it was apparent they didn’t give a
“You’re not hungry?”Zeke had watched his little human push her food around her plate for a while. That wasn’t like her. She always ate, no matter what was going on.“Not particularly,” Ava answered, looking up at him as she put her cutlery down.She had chosen the seat furthest away from him again, and he and Shadow didn’t like that. But he couldn’t scare her away; he had to do this right.‘We don’t have much time,’ Shadow reminded him.Shadow was all for grabbing her and pinning her down. He had never been known for his patience, and that was more obvious now. But Ava was human; she would never understand Shadow’s nature.“Want a beer?” he asked.“No, thanks.”“Do you even drink?” Derek asked as he ate.Of the two of them, his Beta seemed to be trying to get to know Ava. Myles was eating silently, which wasn’t like him at all.“Only when there aren’t people trying to kill me,” Ava snorted as she pushed her still-full plate away.He watched her look at the Omegas hovering around the
Blood. Screams. Crunching sounds. Claire lying dead in the forest. Blood. Screams. Crunching sounds. Claws ripping through so many bodies. Blood. Screams. Crunching sounds. The vampire, witch and werewolf circling her, ready to rip her apart.She sat up with a jolt and saw the darkness in the room. She was sure she had left the light on again, but... Her heart pounded out of her chest as the darkness seeped through the windows, inching closer to her. The sticky, burning feeling covered her whole body, licking her skin like she was still in the forest. She was paralysed on the bed, unable to jump off and run to safety. She felt the tingles start rippling through her body as the pain increased, almost like the day Claire had been beating her up in town. She wanted to scream, but her throat wasn’t working. Her breath was stuck in her lungs.The darkness inched closer and closer, ready to swallow her up. She couldn’t go back into it. She wouldn’t be able to escape a second time.Light f
Zeke didn’t know how it happened. One second he was in pure ecstasy for the second time that morning, and the next, he had the asshole Jared by his neck on the floor, about to use all his strength to try to snuff his useless life out. Jared’s scent in the same room as Ava’s messed him up. Shadow took control, and his claws extended as they gripped Jared’s neck. He could smell the blood, and that made Shadow’s bloodlust unmanageable. There was nothing he could do to stop what was coming.He wanted Jared in pieces. He wanted to snap his neck and rip his carcass to shreds. But Ava was screaming, distracting him from satisfying his needs. Her fear clogged his nostrils, so much of it that it was enough to make him move his focus from the wolf he had pinned down to his terrified human. But Ava wasn’t running away from him as she made all that noise; she was running towards him.And then she slid in between his body and Jared’s, trying to use her meagre weight to push him off and prise hi
Ava looked back down the road at the guards patrolling Zeke's street. Though they were not facing her direction, she knew they were tracking her movements. Her head had been messed up since Claire said those words. He is still mine. Wait and see. It was like she’d flipped a switch, and everything in her wanted to find Claire. To hunt her. To hurt her.Her fists clenched. The rules didn’t say she couldn’t go to an Alpha’s house, so she hoped she wouldn’t get carted away before seeing Zeke. She needed him.The door opened before she even started walking up the steps, and Zeke stepped back from the entrance. Her mind was still a little foggy from their last encounter, but Claire’s words were what had her current state. The violent thoughts going around in her head on a loop were something in a league of their own. She always hated it when she saw those images from her nightmares, but now she welcomed them. She wanted to rip that bitch apart. She wanted to feel her blood dripping down
“Ava.”Ava almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice behind her. It had been three days since Claire had come, and sleep had become non-existent, even with Zeke just outside her window. She was on constant alert, ready to defend herself if needed. Not a single move from anyone. “Sorry,” Jared said from behind her. She turned around and briefly looked at his face before she lowered her gaze. He had completely healed from his run-in with Zeke’s dad so he looked his usual self, but without the flirty smile. “I just wanted to talk. To see how you are.”“I’m fine,” she said, adding, “Alpha Anderson.”Jared mumbled swear words under his breath.“I really need to go. I have to set up for training,” she said. “Wait. I don’t know what the hell is happening around here these days, but if you need me for anything, you know where to find me,” he said as he approached her.Jared had a temperamental wolf. She doubted he could help her with anything, but she appreciated his offer
Ava looked out of the window in her dorm room. The sun was still out, and she couldn't see anything besides the woods. But she could feel Zeke there. Her door opened, making her turn quickly, but it was just Emily returning with her bags. Training had been strange. Claire and her friends hadn't made a single move. Besides the initial snarl when she walked in, the session had gone without incident. Her new coach, Coach Henderson, hadn't targeted her like Coach Baxter, so she had stayed in the background the whole time. She'd sparred with the vampire Max, so even that had been stress-free. But all it had done was make her a little anxious about when Claire would attack. Would it be another ambush?"Shall I pack this away for you?" Emily asked. "No!"What was wrong with this wolf to make her so eager to be someone's maid?"Thank you for collecting my things, but we need to talk now," she said as she finally walked away from the window and sat on her bed. The room was still empty. It
Zeke was still struggling to stop himself from going on a bloody rampage when he sensed he wasn't alone. He looked over at the lake to calm himself. It really wasn't Mr Patrick's fault, he knew that. But still, he wanted to rip his head off."Calm down, Zeke," Mr Patrick said from somewhere behind him. "Don't tell me to calm down. I should never have listened to you. To either of you."Ava's father was the first to come down to the bank and stand beside him as he looked over the water. Ava was going to kill him for this but damned if he was going to send away the only other person there who would lay their life down for her."And what was your plan?" Alpha Morgan asked. "Charge out of here and protect my daughter out there alone? Try to outrun the Council?"Zeke snorted."I think we all saw that she doesn't need protecting," he growled. "But none of that matters if she doesn't talk to her wolf, Ezekiel," Mr Patrick said. Did he want her to talk to her wolf? At this point, he wasn
Ava came out of the Administration building, and the first person she saw was Zeke. She had felt him there even before the guards opened the doors for her to leave. She made her decision the moment she saw the way the guards stood at attention with their hands on their weapons, ready to hurt him. Zeke's eyes were red, and his fists clenched at his sides. He stood like a statue, but she could sense the danger emanating from him as if one wrong move would end everything. She knew he'd been waiting to save her. He would put himself on the line if she were in danger. She'd condemned him to her fate. She lowered her gaze and started walking down the steps. "I'm fine," she told him quietly. "No, Ava. You're not 'fine'," he growled. So she wasn't hiding it as well as she thought. "I will be," she said truthfully. Whatever was going to happen next was her fight. Zeke needed to stay out of it to stay safe. At least he would have a chance that way."What did he want?""I've been removed
Ava closed her eyes when she felt Zeke's pain mixing with her own. "Move."The guard behind her nudged her, causing her to stumble, but she righted herself quickly and continued walking down the hallway. "Faster, human," the guard said, and then he grabbed her arm and half pulled, half dragged her the rest of the way.This was no school. The Council could dress the academy up all they wanted, but it took more pride in the training than the academic side. And now, with the Council soldiers manhandling students, there was no way they could hide it.When she entered the dean's offices, Penelope was already looking right at her. She wasn't typing and ignoring her as she usually did. Her allure felt different. It was still strong; it still drew her towards the woman, but it didn't feel threatening. Penelope looked at the guard who came in beside her and then at his tight grip on her arm. And that was when she felt the full force of the vampire's nature."That's unnecessary. Let her go,"
Zeke sat on the bench in the Quad, watching the seven students standing in the middle of it. They weren't talking; they just stood there as if they were waiting for something. Or someone. He tilted his head and focused on each of them. Their wolves were still there, but he could barely sense them. So, did that mean they couldn't shift anymore?The Council had found them when the dean and his guards had failed. Dead or alive? That was what he couldn't figure out. What the hell had been done to them? And was this Ava's doing or the Council? Claire turned her head to look at the building behind them. Then they all turned. Shadow snarled inside him because he knew what they could sense. Ava. Ava was in that building, still in her lessons, and her heart pumping away. Terrified. He had been tracking her all morning, on the verge of shifting at any little thing, waiting to run to her aid the moment she needed him. If she needed him. He pushed thoughts of the forest out of his mind and
Ava felt all the eyes on her as she made her way to her Needlework class. It was back to the same old rubbish again.Only it wasn’t the same now. Over the weekend, she’d gone and got mated, then beat the crap out of an Alpha, and to top it all off, she'd willingly walked into the darkness of the forest. She was not the same person as before. Instead of shoving her, they were moving out of her way. She couldn't be sure whether it was because they had heard what she had done or they had seen her holding hands with Zeke. However, she didn’t think Zeke’s dad would have publicised what she had done to him. But none of that mattered now, anyway.She’d felt something in her chest the moment Claire and her friends had walked in.The first had been the brief joy when she had realised that she hadn’t killed them. She wasn’t a murderer. She didn’t have to hand herself in to the Council.Then came the feeling of dread. The darkness she felt was coming to claim her had been coming from those stu
Zeke pushed down his emotions as much as he could, but Ava could clearly sense some of them. She'd been looking at him since they'd woken up. He hadn't expected Mr Patrick's plan to work at all. He'd thought it would be exactly like the last time when he'd felt her pain and run into the forest raging. But instead...He looked down at the woman sitting next to him and felt like going back home to hide away. Like what Shadow was doing. He hadn't heard anything from the beast since they'd had their heart broken. But it wasn't Ava's fault. He had to keep reminding himself of that. He sensed Ava's fear seconds before he smelled it. The stench of death and decay. The stench of evil darker than anything Shadow had hidden in his soul. His beast unfurled and paid attention. Something wasn't right.This thing was coming closer to the assembly hall. For Ava? For him?And then he caught a scent that he had thought he would never smell again. It was just a hint as if it was fading, but it was