Page 18 of Ava: Part Two

“We won’t see them again until evaluations,” he added.

“But... why? What happened?”

He looked down at his little human again. Maybe tonight he would ask why she’d had Claire’s blood all over her.

“It doesn’t matter. But they’re not through with us yet,” he said. “Go and have something to eat and get ready. You’ll be training with me every morning from now on.”

“Why?” Ava asked, taking a step back from him.

“Because I need you to be able to protect yourself. Mock evaluations start on Friday. You’ve been struggling in training, but the evaluations are... More dangerous. You need to prepare yourself.”

He didn’t want to tell her about Claire just yet, not if it brought her fear back. But he would stick to her side like glue no matter how uncomfortable it made her.

“I can fight—” Ava started.

“It’s not a negotiation, Ava. Move.”

He could tell by how she shut her mouth and colour appeared on her cheeks that he had pissed her off. Fire filled her eyes as it had before all this shit had started happening. As he waited for the inevitable refusal, he could see why Shadow wanted this human’s submission so much. For such a strong-willed human, her submission would mean he had earned her trust. It would mean she would give herself to him completely.

“I will train by myself,” she growled before turning away from him and storming towards the stairs.

He couldn’t stop the groan that came out of his lips as his need for her intensified. Yes, he was going to mount her. Soon.

Chapter 12

TrainingwithEzekielwassomething else. He refused to take no for an answer, and after this demonstration, she was glad. She thought he would go easy on her for some reason, maybe because he couldn’t hide how much he wanted her in his bed.

But he was relentless. He was worse than her father. When she had tapped out for the last time, and Ezekiel released her from a hold, she was both impressed and pissed off.

She sat breathlessly on the mat in a smaller training room in the training centre. Her whole body ached, but not in the way it had been aching after ‘training’ with the coach. She felt like she was finally doing something productive again but hated that she hadn’t won against Ezekiel a single time.

Ezekiel walked back to her with two bottles of water and handed her one before he sat in front of her, leaning against his knees. She gratefully gulped down her water before looking at the Alpha. He hadn’t even broken into a sweat; she was the only one panting like crazy.

Ezekiel studied her as he took leisurely sips of his water. There had been nothing sexual during their training, but now his gaze burnt her.

She looked away from the intense gaze, terrified that all he would have to do was beckon her with his finger, and she’d be all over him again. Even with everything she had been through and what she knew was still to come, that seemed the scariest of all. How could she want someone she knew had been the cause of another’s death?

“What is it?” Ezekiel asked.

“Stop looking at me like that,” she mumbled.

“Like what?”

She looked back at him and caught his golden gaze slowly trailing over her body. The training kit was a standard pair of shorts and a T-shirt, but she felt naked.

“Like that!” she repeated firmly.

The corners of his lips lifted as he gave her what was possibly the most dangerous smile in history. Had she ever seen him smile before? She didn’t think she had.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible. I’ll always look at you like this,” he chuckled.

She didn’t know why that statement made her imagine he planned to stick around forever. The thought made her heart skip, so she looked away from the probing gaze again.

“Ezekiel...” she started, but her voice trailed away.

“I like it when you call me by my name,” he drawled lazily. “But call me Zeke. All my friends do.”

Friends? She could hardly look at him.

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