Page 54 of Ava: Part One

‘We’ll watch her room,’ he promised.

He would protect Ava himself if that was the only way he would keep his sanity.

He inclined his head to his packmates, and they filed out of the room, both of them looking at Ava as they did so. He took his time strolling towards her just to make sure Derek and Myles were walking out of the building.

Ava held his gaze, but she seemed to lose her nerves the closer he got to her. She looked down, and her heart started beating quickly again. The little human was all talk. Ava was terrified of him, and rightly so. He could still scent her blood even though somebody had washed off most of it, and that was playing with his head more than Shadow was right now. Last night, it had been enough for him to lose his head and kiss her.

“I warned you this would happen, Ava. You should leave,” he said, stopping just an inch from her.

“I don’t see how you expect me to make that happen,” Ava said without looking up at him. “The dean won’t even see me now. I’m stuck here.”

That wasn’t an option, no matter what Shadow said. Her being here was dangerous for everyone. He would have to get involved after all and see the dean himself. Maybe he could get rid of her and promise Shadow they would find her after graduation. It was the best solution he could offer that beast. A temporary separation while he sorted all the other shit. Shadow wanted her alive, so he would have to agree.

Until they were on the same page, he wouldn’t touch her.

Everything in his body screamed at him for even thinking that, but it had to be done. Ava was his only bargaining chip with Shadow.

Ava chewed on her lip. Did she even know she did that when she was nervous? Did she know what it did to him? He wanted to bite that lip. He wanted to bite her all over.

His ears picked up the main door closing and sensed Derek and Myles getting into the car. Far enough that they wouldn’t hear him. His body stirred, even after the little pep talk he’d given himself. Something in him wouldn’t allow him to let Ava go without one more touch, one more kiss. Just enough to allow him to keep his distance for a while.

He lowered his hand to hers, which was tightly gripping the door handle, and loosened her fingers. Then he closed her door. Ava’s heart rate increased, so she knew what was coming. Maybe she was as drawn to him as he was to her, even though she was human.

She didn’t protest when he brought his hand to her hair and released it from its braid. Her breath hitched, tempting him to push more buttons to see how much of herself she would give. But he held himself back. A taste was all he needed.

When he finally tilted her face up and met that blue gaze, it sucked him in until he was lost in it. He didn’t know if he moved first, but his lips were on hers, taking everything she gave him as he backed her up against the door. And then her body was pressed against his when he lifted her for better access. She didn’t resist him, didn’t push him away. And through all the wild emotions ravaging his body, what he noticed the most was Shadow’s satisfaction. The beast had never been so content.

It was enough to make him pull back and look down at the face of the human who had caused this.

Ava’s cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was as ragged as his own. Her eyes promised things that he knew he could never have.

And the fact that he wanted that, craved that, made him set her down and walk out of her room without another word.

Chapter 38

Ava didn’t see Claire at breakfast the following morning. It was such a disappointing blow that she wondered if she did indeed have a death wish, as Ezekiel had said. She had so many emotions boiling inside of her, ready to explode, that she had quite looked forward to a confrontation with the wolf, even if all it would have done was send her back to the infirmary.

She knew who was responsible for her feeling like this. Ezekiel should not have touched her, and she should not have let him.She should not have enjoyed every second of it like she did. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with her?

She ignored the whispers again and looked around the dining hall with her tray. She met Emily’s gaze and saw the guilt in the Omega’s eyes. Shaking her head, she looked away. It was stupid to believe she could make friends at the academy anyway. When had people not stabbed her in the back?

Jared waved from a table somewhere at the back, and she made her way to it, not even minding that he had pushed another wolf off the seat beside him again. At least with Jared, she knew what to expect. He was an Alpha and raised a certain way; nothing he did would surprise her.

“You’re a hard one to kill, aren’t you?” Jared chuckled as she approached his table. “You look brand new.”

The wolves around him looked curiously at her, but she ignored them as she sat down. Jared reacted weirdly when she mentioned his cream the other day, so she didn’t dare to do it again. But Jared knew very well why she looked ‘brand new’. She owed this Alpha everything.

Besides the boiling rage inside her, she had never felt better.

“I heard she did a number on you,” Jared continued.

“Well, she obviously still needs to work on her punches,” she muttered as she speared a sausage on her plate.

“I would tell you to watch your tongue, but somehow, I don’t think it would make a difference,” Jared said as he cradled a coffee mug.

“Nothing makes a difference in this place.”

Jared’s smile dropped off his face at her words, and then he said, “That’s true.”

---