Page 36 of Ava: Part One

“This is so fucked up,” he said as he started the car. “You shouldn’t be here, Red.”

She wanted to snort and say, “Tell me something I don’t know,” but all that came out of her mouth were sobs.

Her heart had never hurt this much. She wanted to go home.

Chapter 26

“You’re looking weak, Ezekiel. There are ways around those rules, and you know them. You should show the vampire prince who he will bow to when you become the Alpha. If you become the Alpha.”

His father’s words still rang in his ears long after the dreaded check-in phone call. If he became Alpha? That was all he had been waiting for, for six fucking years. Now, his father thought he could dangle it in his face like that.

He lounged by the pool while Claire and her friends swam—if he could call it that. They were in the water, but they didn’t look wet. They were still perfectly made up when anyone else would have been a wet mess. How the hell did they even do that?

“Did you tell him—”

“Yes,” he interrupted Myles.

He didn’t want to think about his father right now. How was it okay for him to punish the vampires for a minor infraction committed away from the academy, but his father didn’t even have the balls to gut the wolves who’d killed his mate? He was such a hypocrite. Talked the talk but couldn’t walk the walk.

Since Shadow had made his deadly appearance, his father used him to enforce the rules. It was him the packs feared. It was he who had blood on his hands. But his father still liked to talk like he had the juice.

“Are you coming in?” Claire asked with an inviting smile.

He lifted his beer and tried not to scowl.

“Maybe later.”

He'd invited them to spend the day to stop Derek from asking too many questions, but he knew what he would rather have been doing. He could still feel her body now, hours later. Even though she was so small, she fit so perfectly against him.

Like she was made for him.

Thinking about her made Shadow growl.

It had been a hard week. He’d had to leave training several times, on the verge of attacking the people hurting Ava. The coach hadn’t let up on her, giving her match after match. She had fought more times than anyone else in the class, and her body showed it.

The coach wouldn’t let up on her; he knew that. Phoenix Academy showed no mercy. It was how they produced all the bastards who ran the world.

So he’d stayed away, knowing Shadow would become uncontrollable if he saw her. But last night, he hadn’t been able to help himself. He’d let himself in through her unlatched window and watched her sleep for hours. She’d been restless all night until she had that nightmare. He couldn’t blame her for her mental state, but the worst was still to come. Ava would not survive it.

He still wanted her to get out of the academy, but now it was so they would stop hurting her.

As he took a swig of his beer, as if he’d summoned her, he caught her sweet scent in the air and frowned.

“Maybe we will have sorted it out by next weekend. It’s our last year; we don’t want to break any rules now,” Derek said.

They were still talking about his father, but Shadow was a mess in his head, fighting for control. His so-called true mate was near. What was she doing? She should have been resting in her dorm.

“I’m going to clear my head,” he told Derek and Myles.

“I’ll come with you,” Claire offered as she started to walk out of the water.

He knew what she wanted. He never usually cared where he had her, so these walks always became something else. But even the thought of it had Shadow ready to rip her apart. Claire no longer had any right to his body.

“Stay,” he growled.

He didn’t wait to see her reaction as he walked around the pool and headed to the woods. Ava’s scent was so strong that he had an idea of where she was. He didn’t dare let Shadow out so he could run there quicker. It had been almost a week since he let his wolf out for a run, so they were both antsy. But it was better this way. Shadow had already catalogued the scents of the people who had trained with Ava. Letting him out was a bloodbath waiting to happen.

The closer he got to Jared’s house, the stronger the scent got. He stayed downwind so Jared and his pack wouldn’t smell him, too. But the moment he could see Jared’s house, he wished he had stayed by his pool.

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