Page 33 of Ava: Part One

When she finally got to her room, she dropped her bag on the floor and buried her face in the pillow before she let out ascream. She did not belong there, but they wouldn’t listen until they carried her out in a body bag. Ezekiel was right.

She was about to go and shower when a knock on her window startled her. The sun was just setting, so it was still light enough for her to see Ezekiel standing outside in his training kit. There was no expression on his face, making it impossible to tell his mood.

She walked slowly towards him, favouring her hurt ankle until she opened the window. Ezekiel was the last person she wanted to see right now, but still, her heart did a stupid flip.

“The dean said no,” she mumbled. She was going to close her window when his hand shot out to stop it. He pushed it wide open and let himself in before she could protest.

“Try again tomorrow,” he growled.

And then he held a bag out to her.

“Food and a first aid kit.”

She eyed it suspiciously until his growl made her snatch it from his hand. Then he looked around the room before he turned and got out again.

“Lock it,” he growled.

She was still standing there with the bag in her hand long after he was gone.

Chapter 24

When Zeke walked into his house, the first thing he could smell was fear. It had been only a day with these Omegas, but he was already tired of them. He hadn’t even talked to them except for when they arrived.

He could also smell dinner, but he wasn’t hungry—not for food, anyway. He had no idea why he had even gone to Ava’s dorm, but after the conversation he overheard at breakfast, something drove him to confirm that she was alone in her room.

Shadow didn’t like that she was on the ground floor and had such a wide window with a flimsy lock. He had accessed her room so easily from the back. But he told the wolf to back off; she was not their concern. He’d told her to lock her window, and that was all the advice he would give her.

Hence all the growling in his head. Shadow was beyond pissed off, just as he had been when she had been sparing in combat class. Her little body had been thrown about like a ragdoll, and Shadow had been ready to rip people’s heads off. He would never have got any rest tonight if he hadn’t stopped by her room.

Still, Shadow wasn’t satisfied. The anger was building up inside him, and he prowled like the caged beast that he was.

The scent that hit his nose next was very unwelcome.

Claire’s scent made Shadow so angry that he contemplated leaving. He didn’t have the energy to fight with Shadow about Claire tonight.

“There you are. Training finished a while ago; I thought you’d be home by now.”

His eyes glowed on and off when Claire came out of the lounge and walked towards him with a smile.

“Stop,” he growled.

Claire stopped immediately. He had to close his eyes and focus to get Shadow to obey him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Since you were tired last night, I thought...”

He opened his eyes when her voice trailed off. It was her fear that was clogging up his nose now. Why was she even with him when she was so scared of him? He couldn’t remember a single time that he had warmed up to her, and their ‘dates’ involved her dropping her panties and him leaving soon after. Why did she stick around for that shit?

“You know you can’t come here without permission, right? You know how territorial my wolf is.”

“I’ve always come here before,” Claire pointed out. “Almost every night.”

The growling in his head became louder at that reminder.

“There’s a lot of pressure on me this year. I’ll invite you when things calm down. Leave, Claire.”

He had been saying that a lot lately. There was shock on Claire’s face, but she nodded and walked back into the lounge. She came out with her bag and walked towards him like she would kiss him. He stepped to the side and opened the door for her instead.

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