Page 103 of Ava: Part Two

Her chest tightened even more. This couldn't be happening. If this was true, then she would gladly hand herself over when the Head of Council came. She deserved to be punished. She deserved to lose her life.

She didn't realise she had made her way to Zeke's bedroom until she grabbed his pillow and held onto it as if the scent of his cologne would fix everything again. But the man himself slipped into the bed behind her and pulled her back against him.

And once again the burden on her heart eased, but it made her cry harder. Because only wolves could do that.

Just that afternoon she'd found a slice of happiness amid all the crap she'd been going through. But now she would never be happy again. She didn't deserve to be.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Zeke whispered. "But we'll figure it out. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"There's nothing to figure out," she sobbed. 'If it's true I'm turning myself in. I won't live with this guilt."

And it wasn't just the guilt. Even with her eyes wide open, she could see the darkness creeping in through the window, waiting to consume her.

Or maybe it was waiting to make her pay for her crimes. Whatever the Council decided to do to her, she would accept, and it still wouldn't make up for what she had done.

Monster.

Chapter 65

Zekewatchedhismatesleep, but she was still troubled. He couldn't just see it on her face; he could feel it.

Had she really thought he had hurt Claire that day? From his conversation with the Omega after he'd cornered her in training, he had known Ava had been involved somehow.

He just hadn't expected this.

His mate wasn't a human. Yet she still smelled human even now, despite her stronger scent and his scent on her.

A repressed wolf? Had trauma caused that?

Shadow had emerged early, too. He'd been in danger, and the shift had shocked everyone. But Shadow hadn't retreated after what he had done. He'd revelled in the destruction and had wanted to do it again and again.

It was why he'd had to put the mental wall between them—the reason he'd learned how to control and hide his true nature.

He would teach Ava to do the same if she had to, even though Shadow growled his objection. He could understand where his beast was coming from. It had been more challenging to function when they were mentally separated. It was only when the walls had come down that they had fully understood each other.

Ava would need to learn that control somehow if she managed to speak to her wolf. The fact that she couldn't even remember shifting was more worrying. The fact that he or Shadow couldn't sense her wolf was worse.

He put his nose in the crook of her neck again and inhaled. Still the same scent.

He sensed his pack mates returning and kissed Ava on her forehead before gently untangling himself. He was downstairs when Derek and Myles walked in through the front door.

"What's going on, Zeke? Has she rejected you?" Derek asked the moment he saw him.

"No."

"Then what happened? I can feel... I don't know. It's like the times you two were separated," Derek explained as he came to stand in front of him.

As pack mates, his Beta and Gamma would have sensed his feelings. But right now, that was all Ava. That heaviness, that darkness, that guilt... That was all his mate.

She had already linked to the pack even before he'd marked her.

Like a wolf.

"She's... It's a long story," he said as he walked into the lounge and sat heavily on a couch. "Tell me what you found out."

"Well, your dad is supposed to be discussing the issue of the rogues and trying to get back up from our allies," Myles said as he sat opposite him. "But when I followed him, he was more concerned about Ava."

Not surprising.

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