Page 65 of Ava: Part One

There was loud music coming from one of the houses, and once Jared’s house came into view, she saw many people outside. It was like the first night all over again. And like that night, they all turned to look at her as she walked past to enter the house. Jared hadn’t mentioned anything about a party.

“Little Red, you’re early.”

Speak of the devil. Jared approached her with a beer in his hand and a girl on his arm.

“Did you ditch detention?” he asked.

“No,” she answered.

“Well, we were still setting up, but... surprise!”

She frowned at the grin on his face.

“This is your party. I thought you’d need cheering up after the week you’ve had.”

A party with the very people she had been trying to avoid? How would that even help her?

“I’m exhausted, Jared. It’s been a long week—”

“I’m not taking no for an answer. Go freshen up and then come outside.”

That had sounded like an order. Was Jared just as arrogant as all the other Alphas then? She felt indebted to him and didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so she nodded and headed upstairs. But with every step she took, she felt like that was her worst decision that day. There was something in the air, and her instincts were rarely wrong.

Chapter 46

Zeke got out of the car and looked at the Vampire Prince’s residence. This place always made his skin crawl. The building was just like any other, but there was always this aura of death around it because of its undead residents. And though they had electricity like every other dormitory, they never had their lights on when the sun set. They preferred the darkness, even though they all had charmed rings.

He could sense that almost all of Gideon’s nest and a few of their human donors were home. The scent of fresh blood wasstrong in the air, almost like the Prince had told them all to feed and be at their strongest. Maybe Gideon was expecting trouble.

“Should we have called the rest of the pack?” Derek asked as he looked at the building, too,

There were many wolves from their pack on campus, all of whom were commanded to be available to him whenever he needed them. Tensions were so high, and he knew his father was waiting for any excuse to start a war with the Vampire King after the clash that had happened during the break.

“No, I think I have a solution,” he answered. “Let’s go.”

If all went well, he could be done with this today and would report the outcome to the Alpha in the morning.

The front double door opened before they even went up the steps, and Gideon’s second came out. He and Gideon were probably the strongest vampire students at the academy and would be formidable opponents once they became the leaders. He didn’t want to make enemies of them, not when his first job as Alpha would be to start a war with Jared’s pack. He would have enough enemies after that.

“Welcome,” Samuel said. “Prince Gideon is waiting upstairs.”

Samuel then turned to walk back in, and they followed slowly. The halls were empty, but he sensed all the tension in the air as Samuel led them up the stairs.

‘I don’t like this,’ Myles said in their mind link.

‘Just stay alert. I don’t think he would risk doing anything to us.’

On the top floor, there were fewer vampires. There was a lounge area where a couple sat with one of the donors. He tensed when he saw the vacant look on the donor’s face. He didn’t know why the academy still allowed this barbaric act, and he could never understand why the chosen humans agreed to be fed on like that. There were so many blood banks now that this was not necessary anymore.

“This way,” Samuel said, making him realise he had stopped to watch.

The vampire prince was in a suite of rooms at the end of the hallway, and when Samuel let them in, he was sitting in his private lounge in a chair that looked very much like a throne. These vampires took their royal positions to a ridiculous level.

“I thought I’d have to follow you again,” Gideon said as he walked to sit on a sofa in front of Gideon’s throne.

Samuel went to stand behind his prince, and Derek and Myles remained standing behind him. He knew they would stay alert.

“I’ve been busy, Gideon. I’m here now, so let’s hear what your father had to say.”

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