Page 66 of Ava: Part One

“Your wolf wants nothing to do with you. She’s chosen who she wants to stay with.”

“And yet you won’t let me speak to her in person,” he growled.

“You know I can’t allow that. If you command her to return to the pack, she would have to do it. It would be better if your father severed the link and let her be. She has found her true mate.”

Derek scoffed behind him, and Gideon shifted his focus.

“Something funny?”

“There is no such thing as a true mate. Everyone knows this. She’s just lying to you so she doesn’t come back home and face the consequences of what she has done.”

“Just because you wolves are arrogant enough not to believe in the gift from your Goddess, it doesn’t mean that it’s not real,” Gideon said.

And then it was his turn to scoff. Gift? What a joke.

“People died, Gideon. She must answer for that one way or another. If there is any such thing as a true mate bond, I believe she can just reject it, and all will be as it was.”

“People died at your hands, not hers,” Gideon pointed out. “And she can’t reject the bond. It’s too late. They will die from the bonds being severed, or they will lose their minds.”

What?

Ava could die if he rejected her? She was already so fragile.

He pulled his attention back to the matter at hand.

“She left her mate—”

“And he will never be able to compete with her true mate. If your pack can’t see or understand that, then we’ve come to an impasse,” Gideon said, shaking his head. “Tell me your answer, and I will pass it on to my father. And I believe you will hear from your father tomorrow.”

“Is all of this really necessary, Gideon? This could start a war. Are you prepared for that?”

“A war with an Alpha who has an overinflated sense of his own importance?” Gideon chuckled. “I believe it is only what you think that matters. Everything else will fall into place.”

“I’m not the Alpha,” he reminded the vampire.

“But yet here I am, negotiating with the wolf who killed two of my vampires last summer instead of taking my vengeance,” Gideon said coldly. “It’s your dark soul that people fear, not your father’s. So you decide what you will do. Your wolf is not coming back, and she won’t speak to you. She is of sound mind and has not been kidnapped.”

Fuck. This was not how he had expected the night to go. Gideon seemed to know more about the true mate bond than he did, which meant he was probably back to square one with his problem with Ava. Was it still the same if the other half was human? And what did Gideon mean by saying it was too late for them to break the bond?

He shook his head and stood to leave the room. What a waste of time. His father wasn’t going to like this. This was not the way he had expected him to take control of the situation and show the vampires who was the boss.

They were back in the car and driving back to their house when Myles spoke.

“Can you believe that shit?” he asked. “Your father will have our heads if we mention that to him tomorrow.”

“What are we going to do?” Derek asked.

“No fucking idea.”

It was as he drove down their driveway that he caught Claire’s scent. Shadow growled in his head, as he had been doing since lunchtime. He’d skipped training just so he wouldn’t kill that insane wolf, but now she had dared to come this close to him? What did she want?

But as he got out of the car, he realised one thing. Claire wasn’t in his house. But she was close. He turned his head in the direction of the music and growled.

Chapter 47

Ava took a quick shower in the ensuite. Her bruises and cuts from training had already healed. She forgot to ask Jared about his cream the other night, but surely the effects should have started to fade by now?

She had no time to worry about it as she went to her wardrobe. The only clothes Claire hadn’t ruined were already in the wash and not suitable for a party. Jared knew her situation. Had he not thought of this? She felt a little bit ungrateful for thinking he was selfish; he probably had a lot on his mind, too.

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