Page 16 of Ava: Part Two

Was this why he was in detention? To watch her? She frowned as she looked at Mr Patrick but kept her thoughts blank.

Mr Patrick looked at the Blond One and then back at her.

“I’m sure he can wait one moment—”

“I’m sorry, sir. He’s already waiting.”

What did he need to talk about? Was it about the Council? Though she had been in there every night since the first day, she didn’t think she could trust him. In fact, she knew she couldn’t trust anyone at the academy after what had happened. She only had herself to rely on until she got out.

Mr Patrick looked at her sharply, and she realised she had forgotten to keep her thoughts neutral. She quickly looked away and packed up her things.

“Miss Morgan—”

The door opened, and Ezekiel stood there, looking at Mr Patrick. Had he been waiting right outside the door to pick her up?

Mr Patrick didn’t say anything else. He started packing his paperwork and didn’t even look at her as she walked past him to the door. Ezekiel let her walk out first, and then he and the Blond One walked behind her as they came out of the building.

There was something different in the air as she stepped out. It was so eerily quiet, everything seemed perfectly still. The hair on the back of her neck rose as she felt the danger.

“Derek’s in the car. Move,” Ezekiel said.

She hadn’t realised she had stopped. She saw Derek idling in the car park not too far away, but every step felt like it was taking her further instead of closer to him. Everything went out of focus. She felt icy fingers run down her skin before the familiar, intrusive magic started pressing into her.

Her heart skipped a beat. It was the Council, but what were they doing to her?

“Ava, concentrate on your steps. Move quickly.” Ezekiel said.

When she looked down at her feet and started putting one foot in front of the other, her vision began to clear. She increased her speed and was in the car before she knew it.

Ezekiel sat in the passenger seat, the Blond One sat beside her, and Derek started driving. Did it matter, though, that they made it to the car? They were trapped like guinea pigs in this Academy. The Council could easily come to their house if they wanted to.

The magic seemed to release them the further they went away from the administration block, but the wolves in the car didn’t speak. She could see how tense they were. The moment they parked, they quickly got out of the car, and then Ezekiel took her hand and rushed her inside. He went past the stairs to open a door near the kitchen and then put a light on. Then he started pulling her down the stairs with the other wolves following.

It was only once they’d reached the bottom that she saw it was a torture room of sorts, and most things seemed to be made of silver. But the room felt like it had magic of its own. The remnants of the Council’s magic cleared instantly.

“Dude, what the fuck? Why is this happening?” the Blond One said the moment they reached the bottom.

“I think the dean told them I killed Claire,” Ezekiel growled. “We need a plan.”

Chapter 11

Zekehadmadeeveryonesleep in the basement. He'd never thought he’d have to use it to hide from the Council, but he was glad that his paranoia about Shadow had made him reinforce that room. He didn’t know if it was strong enough to keep them out if they were determined to get Ava, but they hadn’t tried.

While his mate and his pack slept, he stayed up, trying to come up with a plan. Ava needed to become stronger to be able to take care of herself if things went wrong for him. That meant he had to mark her as soon as possible and train with her as well.

Mating with a human would weaken him, but it would give Ava the strength to survive.

Only if the mark didn’t kill her.

Which meant he had to go back to the library today and hope he hadn’t pissed the librarian off too much.

He left the house while the others were still sleeping and let Shadow take over. Normally, he could track anyone, but even with Shadow in control, he felt like he was running around in circles.

He couldn’t sense where the Council members were but knew they were still on campus. Their magic was everywhere. They were never so blatant with it, so they must have found out the truth yesterday and were just fucking with him. Were they coming for Ava or not?

He’d really wanted to ask Ava about what she had told them and what they had asked, but not in front of the others. He didn’t want to risk telling them anything that would make it harder for them to accept her as his mate.

He finally sensed the Council members. It was as if they had finally decided that he could find them. With his mental walls intact, he rushed to the administration building and found them standing by the fountain, looking at the water. Iulia stood in the middle with her arms linked with the men’s.

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