Page 12 of Ava: Part One

“Your face just turned the same colour as your hair,” the wolf chuckled again. “What’s your name, Red?”

“I’m sorry,” she said as she looked back at him. “I’m Ava.”

Living among wolves her whole life, this guy wasn’t the first to call her Little Red in reference to her hair and the classic story.

“Jared,” the wolf said, extending his hand.

She looked down at her hand and all the sauce dripping from it. She should have used the fancy cutlery that had been provided. Jared laughed again as he put his hand down.

“I swear, I’m usually more civilised than this. I was just too hungry.”

“Didn’t you have food in your fridge?”

“Nothing. And I fell asleep, so I think I missed all the meals.”

Jared frowned at something she said; then something pulled his attention to the patio. She followed his gaze and saw the most devastatingly handsome man she had ever seen. Jared was beautiful, but that man was in a league of his own.

He was huge. Even from this distance, she could tell how well-built he was, as if he were all muscle and not even an ounce of excess fat. His dark hair was short at the sides and longer at the top, and it was tousled as if he had just rolled out of bed. Her mind went to the gutter so fast that she knew she was probably drooling.

And then the eyes. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but they were glowing red. And he was looking directly at her.

He looked so angry that she felt chills down her spine and her heart sinking. He had an aura of danger around him that had her shrinking back in her chair. She’d had this treatment before. People always hated her on sight because she was human. But seeing that anger in the guy’s eyes affected her more than any other time.

“Eat up, Red. Then I can show you how to party,” Jared said.

She pulled her eyes away from the guy in the doorway with difficulty.

“Raincheck? I still have to prepare for tomorrow and read the welcome pack.”

Jared grinned as if she had said something funny.

“I know you haven’t read the rules yet, or you wouldn’t be here,” he said. “After tonight, you probably won’t want to come here again. Are you sure you don’t want to party before real life throws a bucket of cold water over your head?”

“I’m sorry. I’m still tired. And I don’t really...party,” she answered.

“That’s a shame,” Jared said with a grin. “I would have loved to teach you.”

She didn’t miss the innuendo.

There was such a loud, menacing growl that the hair on the back of her neck stood. She’d heard similar growls before, just before fights broke out, but never like this. Everyone quietened and looked towards the doorway, where the man was still watching her. Then he turned and walked back into the house.

Jared laughed heartily, something she didn’t understand at all. That growl had been a threat if ever she’d heard one. She wasn’t going to stick around and get caught in the middle of a wolf fight. She was still starving, though.

“Can I take this to go?”

She indicated the still half-full plate on her lap.

“I’ll have the girls pack you something to put in your fridge,” Jared said as he stood and took her plate. “Come.”

Though she didn’t like being commanded like that, she knew it was an issue with most Alphas. She stood and followed him, ignoring the sneers and cold eyes that followed her. Jared had been gracious, feeding her when she was hungry, but she didn’t think she would visit again anytime soon.

The caterers were already filling hot and cold food into containers when they walked into the kitchen. She realised they were probably wolves and linked to Jared if they’d already known what was needed. Once she washed her hands and wiped her mouth, one handed her a bag. Though she kept her eyes down, Ava could see from the way her jaw clenched that she did not like doing this for her.

“I’ll take you home,” Jared said.

She was again given no option but to follow him out of the house. He led her into one of the cars she had walked past and was driving down the road before she had even finished strapping herself in.

The journey that had felt like forever on foot took minutes. It occurred to her that she hadn’t told him where she lived, but he had stopped right outside her dorm.

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