Page 48 of Ava: Part One

“What triggered him? Is it something we can fix?” Derek asked.

“It can’t be fixed. It’s something that will be very bad for everyone.”

“It’s Jared, isn’t it? Something happened at his party, and the next day, we had to leave the assembly to calm Shadow down,” Myles stated. “I knew something had happened. Why can’t you just talk to us?”

His fists clenched and unclenched at the mention of Jared’s name. He remained focused on the wall.

“What does Shadow need? What will make him calm down?”

Ava. He needed Ava. He needed to mark her. He needed to mate with her and make her his. He wanted her sweetness, her innocence, her defiance, her stubbornness. He wanted the challenge she gave him.

“I can’t give him what he wants.”

His claws extended further as Shadow shoved his way forward and growled in his head. It was the most threatening growl he had ever heard.

“Stop it,” he whispered.

He hadn’t been this weak against his wolf in a long time; he had forgotten how vulnerable it made him. To have something so strong locked up in his body, controlling how he thought and how he acted, was torture.

‘We will mark her, Zeke. And you will enjoy every second of it.’

Shadow changed his torture methods. He changed the images in his head.

Ava’s lips.

Ava pressed up against him.

The heat of her body.

Her scent.

Everything forced his body to react involuntarily. His need for her washed through his body as everything hardened for Ava.

He didn’t know which torture was worse.

“Stop it,” he repeated.

‘Go for a run. It will clear your head,’ the wolf suggested, and then the sadistic bastard actually laughed in his head.

He opened his eyes and looked at his friends. They were standing far from him, but if Shadow decided to do anything, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

“Get the chains,” he commanded.

He had prepared for this. He’d discarded his uniform for shorts and a muscle shirt so they would have more exposed skin.

Shadow fought against him as his friends rushed to do what he asked. With gloves on and silver chains in their hands, Zeke had to dig his nails into the couch to stop Shadow from reacting. It was only after he was bound and the silver started to poison his body that Shadow retreated with a whimper.

He ignored the excruciating physical pain as his mind cleared for the first time in days.

Of all the wolves the Moon Goddess could have blessed him with, why had he been given a psychopath whose mind never aligned with his own? What sort of Alpha would he be if he still couldn’t control his wolf?

“You need to talk to us, Zeke,” Derek said, his voice shaky and cracking as he sat on a different sofa. “We’re supposed to help you.”

He gritted his teeth against the pain as he tested the strength of his binds. With his control over the wolf back, he could think again. He would have to tell them something. Even if they reported it back to their father, it would be preferable to allowing Shadow free rein.

“I’m in trouble,” he started. “I know you’ll report back to my father if commanded, but I can’t keep Shadow away without you.”

They didn’t deny it. No matter how loyal to him they were, they couldn’t disobey their Alpha’s commands.

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