Page 53 of Ava: Part Two

Maybe it was a mistake because she could see the cold in his eyes morph into blazing fury. He looked deadly as he approached her again. It was time to tap out. There would be no shame in that when the other option was to lose her life at the hands of an immature Alpha.

Dexter swung wide with his less dominant arm, clearly showing his lack of skill with the weapons. When she threw another star, it struck his forearm, making him drop the other axe. Maybe now she could take a blow from him so she could tap out because it wouldn’t make sense to do so when she was the one in the lead.

Dexter roared as he pulled both stars out of himself, but she could see he was already healing. He had veins popping up on his temples as his chest rose and fell in anger.

Just one blow, and she could tap before things escalated.

She didn’t dodge too much when he launched at her and caught the side of her face with his fist. If she had thought his blow in their first match was painful, this one was multiplied a hundred times. She screamed as the force of it knocked her into the ring ropes, which in turn propelled her forward to land flat on her face.

But it wasn’t just her head throbbing. With a groan, she reached down her side and felt the deep gashes there like Dexter had also used his claws.

Her head was spinning when she dared to look up at the approaching Alpha and saw blood on the tips of his fingers.

He’d cheated. Dexter had partially shifted to claw her, and that wasn’t allowed until the final day.

He was a coward and had no honour.

He was just like Emily! Worse than Emily. A wolf with no honour had no business leading a pack. He would never be efficient; he would never be selfless.

He was not worthy.

Her anger intensified as Douche Dexter grabbed her by her hair and forced her up to bring her face to his.

“You’re nothing here, human. I’ll end you today,” he spat in her face.

She saw a red haze as her fury made her clench her fists.

She still had nightmares about what he had done to her in their first match in training, and those images flashed through her head now as Dexter lifted his other hand with his claws clearly extended.

She didn’t know how, but when the whistle blew again, she had the axe against his neck, and his face was a bloody mess. Her body hurt as if she had just been in a war, but she could remember none of it.

Nothing.

With fear filling her body, she dropped the axe as she backed away from Dexter and the barrier was lifted. Medics surrounded him instantly.

Warm liquid trickled down the side of her leg, and when she looked down, she saw blood dripping everywhere.

And then there was nothing but darkness.

Chapter 36

Blood.Screams.Crunchingsounds.Blood. Screams. Crunching sounds.

Claws.

Claire’s face.

Screams.

The darkness creeping closer and closer until she couldn’t see. Coating her whole body. Her insides. The sticky molasses all over her. Violet eyes. Red eyes. Pain, so much pain in her head.

Blood. Screams. Crunching sounds.

Everything repeating, playing on a loop.

Ava shot up with a jolt to the early morning light streaming through the curtains. The darkness receded from her mind as her heart hammered in her chest.

“Sshh...”

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