Page 75 of Ava: Part One

“Now, give me an update on the vampires. And don’t give me that bullshit that you haven’t managed to bend them yet.”

The call had already been going on too long, and talking about the Vampires would make it even longer. Ava was waiting for him. He couldn’t have her walk alone when he didn’t know where Claire was.

Shadow suddenly calmed down, his attention taken by Ava’s scent. She was close. She had walked, after all. He let out a frustrated breath before explaining how the meeting with Prince Gideon had ended. As expected, his father thought it was bullshit. He expected the she-wolf home to pay for her crimes by the end of the week, or he would go to the vampire territory himself.

Ava’s scent got stronger. He frowned as he sniffed the air.

Was that blood?

He left the room while his father was still talking and opened the front door. Ava was limping up the driveway. There was blood all over her that made him growl. He’d failed her. She had been hurt again on his watch. Claire’s scent was all over her, sending him into a rage unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Derek came to the door behind him, whispering something he couldn’t understand.

But he had to help Ava. He rushed out of the house to meet her halfway and picked her up bridal style even when she weakly protested. Tears were running down her face, and they made him want to hurt something.

He didn’t care about the rules anymore. In the back of his mind, he knew it was the bond speaking. If he just said the words he needed to say, if he just opened his mouth and rejected her, he wouldn’t feel this way. But he was already in too deep.

He could feel all of Ava’s pain as he carried her inside. All her rage. All her confusion.

Mixed with his own rage, he could not think about anything except vengeance.

“Shit,” Derek swore as he carried Ava past his Beta.

Ava winced as if every step he took hurt her. Something was not quite right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it as he started up the stairs.

‘Zeke, the Alpha is still on the phone,’ Myles said through the link. ‘He’s going crazy—’

He cut the link to Myles as he frowned down at Ava. Where had all the blood come from? She had it everywhere, but there didn’t seem to be a mark on her. Had she already healed as she had last night?

He sniffed the air again as he put her down on his bed.

And then he frowned as he inspected her. She did have some of her blood on her clothes, but she also had Claire’s. A little of his anger cleared, but he could still feel Shadow’s murderous rage.

‘Find her,’ Shadow growled.

He couldn’t think. Shadow was taking him over as he had the day Derek and Myles had chained him, and this time, he knew nothing would stop that beast. He turned to rush out of the room and bumped into Derek.

“What the fuck is going on?” Derek asked in a whisper.

“Chain me,” he ordered. “In the basement.”

Before Shadow killed everyone.

Chapter 53

Ava was sure her head would fall off when Ezekiel set her down. It was cleaving into itself and jumbling all her thoughts. Her energy seemed to have been sucked from her body; she couldn’t understand why she felt so sluggish. It took her a moment to realise she was alone. Ezekiel left her. Again.

What was wrong with that guy?

With a tired sigh, she limped to the bathroom. There was a basket of toiletries on the counter that hadn’t been there that morning, as if Ezekiel had spent his time preparing for her tomove in with him, but she only glossed over it as she went straight to the shower. She would have loved to soak in the giant tub in this room, but she didn’t know if she could stay awake long enough to enjoy it. It took a while to remove her ruined clothes, and then she finally stood under the cooling spray. She was sure she was sunburnt on top of everything else. She loved being outdoors, but her skin was not made for that.

She felt only marginally better when she finally stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. And then, like on the first day when she’d had to walk for so long, she dropped onto the bed and felt the sleep start to claim her instantly.

She only needed a few hours to rest. And then, by nightfall, she would be out of here.

When she opened her eyes, the sun was still streaming into the room, but she felt incredibly refreshed. And she knew that meant she had overslept.

She sat up with a jolt and looked around the room. An alarm clock on the bedside table said it was Sunday.

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