Page 27 of Ava: Part Two

“You can’t do that to him. Please,” she pleaded. “Please release him, he can’t breathe.”

And then she turned her head to face him. Tears filled her eyes, and they weakened him—sapped the strength and rage from his body as if they hadn’t existed. Shadow retreated, unable to handle the tears now falling down her face. What the fuck was this?

“Please,” she whispered. “I can’t be responsible for anything else. I just can’t...”

Fuck.

He couldn’t handle the tears, either.

He relaxed his fingers without breaking eye contact with Ava and heard the bastard underneath them draw in a harsh breath. Then Ava’s attention was back on Jared as she quickly moved his hand and pushed him off.

“Are you okay?” Ava asked Jared as she moved off him and helped him sit up.

She helped him. She helped his enemy. If she were anyone else, she would have been dead, too.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” he growled.

“You can’t just go around attacking people,” Ava snapped at him without looking away from Jared.

She had her hands on that bastard as she tried to inspect the damage on his neck. She was touching him. Jared noticed his murderous gaze and pushed Ava’s hands away before quickly rising to his feet. The coward backed away, his gaze going from Ava to him.

“Jared is still going to die by my hand, Ava. Maybe not today, but soon.”

That got Ava’s attention. She whirled around to face him. The tears were gone from her face, but there were so many questions in her eyes. After her little display, he was sure his little human would be disgusted by his future plans for Jared and his pack. This was something that he would never back down from, and she would know it herself soon. After he marked her. After there was no chance in hell that she would get away from him.

“Go and take a shower. I think you need to cool down,” Ava hissed.

He reeled back a little.

“You can’t tell me what to do. You’re an Omega,” he growled.

And that looked like the wrong thing to say because the fire blazed instantly in her eyes as she stepped towards him. He could feel her anger as if she was slapping him upside his head with it.

“And what? That makes you better than me, Master Michelson? That makes the stupid things that come out of your mouth more important than anything I say?”

He reeled back again. What the fuck was happening here?

“I didn’t say that—”

“You implied it!” Ava shouted. “I don’t know why I keep forgetting how messed up everyone here is. I’m nothing here, but I still have to let people like you decide my future.”

“Ava—”

“You know what? You stay here and do whatever you want.”

And then she turned away from him and marched out of the training room. What the hell? How had things gone so wrong?

Jared slinked out of the room after her, but he didn’t go after him. Ava had been right to stop him from killing that prick, but...

What?

A minute ago, she had been moaning underneath him. She had been as lost in the pull of their bond as he had been. She had been ready. Now, somehow, she was so angry that he probably wouldn’t get a chance to touch her again anytime soon.

Shadow whined in his head, also unsure about what the hell had just happened. There were none of his usual snarky comebacks as they stood in the middle of the training room.

It was almost lesson time when he finally went to shower and change. He walked past Ava’s locker room but sensed she had already left. He couldn’t blame her for wandering off alone because he hadn’t told her yet that Claire had been found. It was pointless to worry her when he didn’t know what punishment Claire had been given for her stupid disappearing act.

“Where’s Ava?” Derek asked the moment he stepped out of the training centre.

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