Page 15 of Ava: Part One

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t even speak to him,” he answered. “Go back to bed.”

“But why did you do that? I’m just trying to understand.”

He clenched his jaw when he realised his friend was following him out. He didn’t like pulling rank on his friends; they were like brothers to him. But sometimes he wished he was firmer with them so they would leave him alone when he needed space.

“I don’t know,” he lied.

Zeke put his hand on the railing and looked out to the woods. All he would need to do to reach that human was shift and cut through the woods. She looked him right in the eyes as if she were challenging Shadow, and that stupid beast wanted to show her who the boss was. How would she last at the academy if she didn’t know something as simple as that?

His hands tightened on the railing.

“Your eyes are glowing.”

“Go to sleep, Myles,” he growled impatiently. “Don’t you have guests waiting for you in your bed?”

He didn’t need stupid observations right now; he needed the human gone so he could think.

Myles didn’t say anything else as he left, but he knew this wasn’t the end of that. Left alone, he continued looking out at the woods, wondering if she had eaten something. Then he almost kicked himself because he didn't give a shit about that. He only needed her to do as he had told her and get herself out of there.

The sun was rising over the horizon when he finally walked back into his room. The first day of school had officially started. Two more semesters, and he would have everything he ever wanted, which did not include the human in any way.

He was sitting at the kitchen island when Derek came down. His friend paused for a second when he saw him and then walked over to the coffee pot. Then he brought his cup over and sat opposite him.

“Do I need to be worried?” Derek asked.

“Of course not. Why would you even ask that?”

Yes. Everyone needed to be worried.

“You weren’t yourself last night,” Derek said with a shrug.

Derek said it so casually, but he could feel the tension in the air. The last time he had been out of control had been hell for everyone.

“I was fine,” he said. “Just preoccupied. Alpha shit.”

Derek nodded before he sipped his coffee. Myles walked in at that moment and didn’t even acknowledge them. He could understand that, though the disrespect grated on him. Myles had lost his twin brother because of the asshole Jared. Nothing less than his head on a stake would appease him. Stepping on Jared’s property was a betrayal he couldn’t even justify.

“When will our Omegas start? I don’t know why we always wait for them to be assigned when we could just pick our own,” Myles grumbled.

“Just order something from the kitchen and shut up,” Derek said. “We have to get to the assembly.”

Zeke didn’t know why he tensed. The human wouldn’t do something as stupid as attending the assembly, even though it was mandatory. Though she had shown a little defiance when she addressed him last night, she looked like a sensible girl and would probably be waiting at the dean’s office when they opened.

All this shit would be over by the end of the day. Then he could get some sleep and forget all about her.

Chapter 11

Ava woke up with a start for the second time in a few short hours. The contents of the welcome pack were strewn all over her bed, and a piece of pie was stuck to the front of her T-shirt. She felt something on her face that felt like it was probably another piece of the pie.

Last night’s events flooded her mind, and she shot off the bed. Daylight was streaming into the room through the gauzy curtains, which meant only one thing.

She was freaking late! And her schedule said she had a mandatory assembly before orientation.

She’d fallen asleep while trying to learn the millions of rules this place had. She hadn’t even made the bed or taken her alarm clock out of her suitcase. And because of that unhinged Alpha, she had dreamt of being carried out of this place in a body bag. It had made a change from her usual nightmares, but it was still unsettling.

Still, she had to wait until after assembly and orientation before she could see the dean anyway. That Alpha couldn’t have meant she should leave at first light, that was impossible.

With food all over herself and her hair, only a shower would fix the mess she was in. She had no choice but to waste precious time standing under the hot spray while brushing her teeth. A few minutes later, she had a couple of stubbed toes and all her paperwork stuffed into a bag with the school laptop and tablet. She hadn’t done her tie yet, and the top buttons of her shirt were undone. Caleb would have a fit if he saw her like this. Her hair was still dripping wet when she ran out of her dorm while struggling to open the map.

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