Ava hadn’t managed to eat anything, and Zeke sat in the dining hall opposite her, not even pretending to eat. He sat so still as he watched her that she wondered what scheme he was hatching in his head. Would it get him sent to Isolation again? Or much worse?Zeke’s gaze only shifted from her when his body tensed, and he looked at the entrance. Moments later, a group of students entered the dining hall. She recognised a few of them as the vampires who had visited Zeke last night.The whole dining hall quietened down as they stopped to look around. Since vampires didn’t eat solid food, she had never seen any in the dining hall before, and those, in particular, she would have remembered. Like last night, she was struck by how powerful their allure was. Not as strong as the dean’s secretary or the Councillor, but such strength was rare in people so young. Wolves and vampires were natural enemies, even if the Council forced everyone to co-exist. She hadn’t imagined they would willingly i
Ava walked straight into the ring, and everyone in the arena started to quieten down. She told herself to breathe. This match would be her real test after fighting the beginners, so she had to let all her fear drain away as she had been taught to do. She told herself she didn’t need that vampire’s blood; she could fight under her own steam. In the silence of the arena, with all the students and faculty looking on, she concentrated on counting her breaths so she wouldn’t have an anxiety attack. To be more effective, she had to do what she told Robert that morning. She had to pretend no one else was in this room except her opponent, whoever that would be.As she waited, she started her stretches. She was lucky that she was flexible, but sometimes fear made her body freeze up. That couldn’t happen today. She had no idea how much longer she would be in this school, so she could have just lost all her matches earlier and avoided all of this. But she had her pride. She could admit that. A
The moment it sunk in that she won, she was in Zeke’s fancy dressing room, and her three housemates were looking at her as if she had grown another head. She sat stiffly on a sofa, looking at them as that thought kept going round and round in her head. She won.She beat Douche Dexter.And then something else occurred to her. She was going to have to fight again. She was going to have to fight a student at the advanced level.“What the hell have I just done?” she whispered.Zeke, Derek and Myles looked at each other and then back at her. Goddess knew what they were mind-linking each other, but they all probably also realised she had just screwed herself. There was no way she could fight anyone more advanced than Dexter. That was a death sentence!“How did you do that?” Derek asked.“I don’t know,” she answered, rubbing her temples. “I just got angry, he’s always an asshole... What have I done?” As the adrenaline had worn off, she had expected the pain from his blow to return, but the
“Can we even do that? Can we yield?” Ava asked again as she paced Zeke’s dressing room floor.Her anxiety levels were through the roof, and she didn’t think even Zeke could get her out of this.What the hell was happening today? She'd expected her day to be over by now. She’d expected to be recovering in the infirmary by now or Zeke’s bed, where she usually woke up after something like this. But here she was, about to fight expert fighters—Zeke’s equals who were probably as ruthless as he was.“It’s against the rules. You invalidate all your progress for the term and get a day in Isolation,” Zeke said quietly. She whirled around to face him, horror filling every part of her. Even Jared warned her about Isolation and how it broke someone. Zeke seemed to have come out unscathed, but she knew how much pain he had been in. How could someone like her survive that? And why would anyone do that to themselves on purpose?“Is that vampire crazy? Does he have a history of doing such messed up
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
When it was her turn, Ava finally lifted her head and looked towards the indicated room. She took a deep breath before grabbing the handle of her case and wheeling it behind her.A woman was seated behind a large desk when she let herself in. She didn’t even look up when Ava closed the door and left the bags just inside. The woman was typing something on her computer, and Ava took the opportunity to study her.Because she looked a little older than most supernaturals, Ava couldn’t tell what she was or if she was supernatural at all. She didn’t have the pale skin the vampires did, so she ruled that out. She dressed elegantly, and her greying hair was in a professional bun on top of her head. The name badge on the desk said, ‘Mrs. Benton, Student Welfare Coordinator.’Ava stood nervously in front of the desk, unsure if she was to just sit or be polite and wait for an invitation. With nothing in her hands now, she could only wring them together while waiting for Mrs. Benton’s attention.
“Can we even do that? Can we yield?” Ava asked again as she paced Zeke’s dressing room floor.Her anxiety levels were through the roof, and she didn’t think even Zeke could get her out of this.What the hell was happening today? She'd expected her day to be over by now. She’d expected to be recovering in the infirmary by now or Zeke’s bed, where she usually woke up after something like this. But here she was, about to fight expert fighters—Zeke’s equals who were probably as ruthless as he was.“It’s against the rules. You invalidate all your progress for the term and get a day in Isolation,” Zeke said quietly. She whirled around to face him, horror filling every part of her. Even Jared warned her about Isolation and how it broke someone. Zeke seemed to have come out unscathed, but she knew how much pain he had been in. How could someone like her survive that? And why would anyone do that to themselves on purpose?“Is that vampire crazy? Does he have a history of doing such messed up
The moment it sunk in that she won, she was in Zeke’s fancy dressing room, and her three housemates were looking at her as if she had grown another head. She sat stiffly on a sofa, looking at them as that thought kept going round and round in her head. She won.She beat Douche Dexter.And then something else occurred to her. She was going to have to fight again. She was going to have to fight a student at the advanced level.“What the hell have I just done?” she whispered.Zeke, Derek and Myles looked at each other and then back at her. Goddess knew what they were mind-linking each other, but they all probably also realised she had just screwed herself. There was no way she could fight anyone more advanced than Dexter. That was a death sentence!“How did you do that?” Derek asked.“I don’t know,” she answered, rubbing her temples. “I just got angry, he’s always an asshole... What have I done?” As the adrenaline had worn off, she had expected the pain from his blow to return, but the
Ava walked straight into the ring, and everyone in the arena started to quieten down. She told herself to breathe. This match would be her real test after fighting the beginners, so she had to let all her fear drain away as she had been taught to do. She told herself she didn’t need that vampire’s blood; she could fight under her own steam. In the silence of the arena, with all the students and faculty looking on, she concentrated on counting her breaths so she wouldn’t have an anxiety attack. To be more effective, she had to do what she told Robert that morning. She had to pretend no one else was in this room except her opponent, whoever that would be.As she waited, she started her stretches. She was lucky that she was flexible, but sometimes fear made her body freeze up. That couldn’t happen today. She had no idea how much longer she would be in this school, so she could have just lost all her matches earlier and avoided all of this. But she had her pride. She could admit that. A
Ava hadn’t managed to eat anything, and Zeke sat in the dining hall opposite her, not even pretending to eat. He sat so still as he watched her that she wondered what scheme he was hatching in his head. Would it get him sent to Isolation again? Or much worse?Zeke’s gaze only shifted from her when his body tensed, and he looked at the entrance. Moments later, a group of students entered the dining hall. She recognised a few of them as the vampires who had visited Zeke last night.The whole dining hall quietened down as they stopped to look around. Since vampires didn’t eat solid food, she had never seen any in the dining hall before, and those, in particular, she would have remembered. Like last night, she was struck by how powerful their allure was. Not as strong as the dean’s secretary or the Councillor, but such strength was rare in people so young. Wolves and vampires were natural enemies, even if the Council forced everyone to co-exist. She hadn’t imagined they would willingly i
Ava wasn’t surprised when she heard Coach Baxter’s booming voice calling her name. She met his gaze and saw the cruel smile on the man’s lips. He would enjoy every hit she took as if he was delivering it himself. She stood slowly and lowered her gaze. It was one thing to antagonise the coach during training, but there was an entirely different atmosphere in the arena and hundreds of people watching. She couldn’t openly break the rules. She felt hundreds of pairs of eyes on her as she walked into the wrestling ring and stood in one corner. Silence descended in the arena. She was sure the only sound they could hear was her loud heartbeat. Were they all waiting to watch her get her butt kicked? The whole school had to know by now how many times that had happened in training. Would it be the same now?She risked looking up and then had to look down again. The coach hadn’t announced her opponent and seemed to be enjoying making a spectacle out of her. The other levels hadn’t started yet;
Zeke led Ava into the Assembly Hall. He didn’t make an entrance like Jared had done on the first day of school, but the students who had already arrived turned around to watch them walk in anyway.Ava kept her eyes down and only looked up to look around for a seat. When she started to walk to a group of Omegas, he pulled her back and led her to his section. She didn’t protest, but once they sat down, she looked at him as if to ask what he was doing. Maybe Ava finally realised that Jared had purposely sat her in the Alpha section on her first day. But she wasn’t scared as she had been that first day. All he could sense from her was anxiousness.Jared walked in last with a few of his pack mates and didn’t even meet his gaze as he found a seat behind him. He’d yet to speak to that asshole, but he had expected that by now, there would be whispers around the campus of his activities in the training room. There had been nothing.An Alpha being with a human was unheard of. It was one thing
Ava tried to stay awake because she was curious about what Zeke had to say. Would he try to justify his rotten attitude? And if he did, would she mindlessly follow everything he said?And she was constantly thinking of when she would be able to see Mr Patrick again. With Zeke moving her detentions and being around her all the time, she couldn’t get away to find him. How could he help her get out of this? How was she supposed to prepare for the Council?Could anyone prepare for the Council?But her tiredness caught up with her, and she drifted off to sleep.When she woke, dawn was breaking, and she was nestled against a warm, hard body. She felt the tingles start in her body and shot out of bed immediately.That was not happening again!Zeke’s eyes were open, and he popped himself up onto his elbow to look at her. He had an amused smile on his stupidly handsome face.“Your bed is too small for me. You really need to move into my room,” he said.Sleep made his voice huskier, and parts o
Zeke stood just inside the glass doors and watched Ava sitting by the pool with her knees drawn. She had showered and then prepared her own food, which she had eaten in her room as she had done the other night.She was still pissed off with him. Her calling him Master and pretending to be submissive was a dead giveaway. How long was she going to keep this up? ‘She’s completely messed you up.’ He turned to watch Derek approach and then looked back at his little human. Though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he told Derek and Myles who she was, it was still irritating him that they were here to witness all this. A little human had felled the mighty Ezekiel.‘What are you two even fighting about?’ Derek asked in the mind link as he came to stand next to him.‘I don’t know,’ he answered honestly.He was frustrated. After waking up in Ava’s bed the other morning and embarrassing himself after he’d dry-humped her like a human teenager, he’d expected she would at least let h
Ava went to her lessons that day and the day after with all her anger fuelling her. She was grateful that the other students left her alone since that display by Zeke and his pack in the cafeteria the other day, but even that was pissing her off.So she had begged them to stop making her life hell and they didn’t listen, but one word out of Ezekiel’s mouth and suddenly even the teachers weren’t saying anything to her? In training, the coach hadn’t insulted her a single time, even though she could see in his beady little eyes that he was itching to do so. Then Ezekiel informed her that her detentions had been moved to allow her to train a little longer for the mocks. The dean had supposedly agreed. Bullshit. Utter bullshit. When the coach blew his whistle to signal the end of the session, he told them to try not to die during the mocks and left the room. She shook her head as she headed to grab some water. “Ava.”She turned to watch Zeke approach. It was funny how she had become les