Page 8 of Ava: Part One

“Did you hear what happened today?” Claire asked as she peeled a banana.

“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell us,” Myles said with a tight smile.

“There’s a human enrolled in the school.”

Zeke paused what he was doing to pay more attention to what she said.

“That’s impossible. No humans can find this place, and the Council doesn’t make mistakes like that,” he pointed out.

“And yet she’s here,” Claire grinned, her green eyes twinkling now that she had his attention. “You should have seen her. She looks like they picked her up from a homeless shelter. I bet she’ll be dead within a week.”

“She must be something. You know how things work. Maybe she’s a weak witch,” Derek said as he dug into his food.

“No, the stench of human was undeniable. But she’s been put in the Omega dorms, so maybe that’s true,” Claire said with a shrug. “I guess we will know for sure when the lessons start tomorrow.”

He ate a bit of the pastry on his plate as he thought about this. The Academy was no place for a human, and Claire was right; she probably wouldn’t last the week. How did an invite end up in her hands? Had she taken someone else’s place?

He decided to put those thoughts aside. It was not his place to question the Council.

“Are you going to the party?” Claire asked after a while.

Sometimes, he was sure she talked only because she liked the sound of her own voice. Otherwise, she would think first before she opened her mouth.

He pushed his half-eaten pastry away and looked at the woman beside him. For three years, Jared had thrown his obnoxiously loud parties every first night of the semester. So his parties had, for some reason unknown to him, become the only parties thrown the day they all got back.

Claire had better not be thinking what he thought she was thinking because he would end things with her right there. He felt his wolf stir as he looked at the traitor.

Claire looked down in submission, unable to hold his gaze.

“I’m sorry. I forgot,” she whispered.

“You forgot?” he asked with a calm he did not feel.

How could someone who wanted to be part of his life forget that Jared was his mortal enemy, the spawn of the bastard who had killed his mother and several members of his pack? How could she not know that every day was a battle not to rip him apart?

“I’m sorry, Ezekiel,” she whispered again.

He stood without another word. He couldn’t stand to see Claire’s face anymore. People may have sensed his mood because they kept out of his way as he left the dining hall.

Two semesters. Two semesters, and he could gut that asshole like a fish. Shadow tried to push his way out, and this time he let him. Another run was probably what he needed to calm himself down. He didn’t think twice as he stripped before he had even arrived in the woods, and then it was Shadow’s giant paws thudding on the ground as he sped through the thick trees.

He didn’t know how long he ran, but when he decided to head back towards the creek behind their house, it was dark, and he was in control again. He didn’t shift back as he had a drink of water and then lay on a patch of grass to enjoy the peace.

As he dozed off, that amazing scent filled his nose again. He was on his feet in a shot as he sniffed the air. That scent... Was it dinner time already? No, that was not coming from the same direction as the kitchen. Shadow took the lead as he followed the scent. He would find it this time. He didn’t think he would get any rest until he figured out where it was coming from.

He heard loud music and remembered the asshole’s party, but even that was not enough to distract him from following the scent. It felt almost like a compulsion. Like he had to find it, or he would go crazy.

Chapter 6

Ava woke up with a start and looked around the dark room. She felt disoriented until she remembered the nightmare that her life had become.

There was a lamp on the table next to her bed, so she felt her way in the dark and put it on. When she looked around, she realised she was still alone. It looked like her roommates hadn’t arrived yet, which was weird. She was sure they said everyone needed to be on the premises by three in the afternoon, and it was long past that now.

There were three other beds in this room, each with a side table on one side and a desk and chair on the other. On her desk was a laptop and what looked like a tablet. Those had to be the electronics she had been told about by Mrs Benton. Then, separating each space were big wardrobes. On the other end was the kitchen area, which didn’t look like much at all. Just a counter with a microwave on it, a small fridge under it, and a small sink to the side. There was a small table and two chairs in front of it.

She would have expected more from a place like this, but as she had been placed in what was already labelled the Omega dorm, she wasn’t surprised.

She got off her bed slowly, her stomach growling. Her last meal was a sandwich on the plane, and she had only a few bites because she had been too anxious. But now it was so dark, she knew she had missed all the meal times and hadn’t even gone through the welcome pack yet.

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