Page 54 of Ava: Part Two

It was only when she heard his voice and felt his hand gently rubbing her back that she realised she was in Zeke’s bed again.

And she was in nothing but her sports bra and underwear!

She lay back down quickly, drawing the bedding over her body as she put some distance between them. She felt the loss of contact with him as if she had ripped a part of herself off her body.

Zeke was wide awake, and the covers had fallen to his waist. His naked chest was exposed, and his hard, defined abs made it incredibly difficult for her to calm her already haywire heartbeat.

“Why am I here?”

Zeke didn’t say anything. His amber eyes continued to study her face with a slight frown marring his perfect features.

“Do you know who your real parents were?” he asked.

The random question made her momentarily forget about his naked chest and the little wicked voice in her head that was wondering if he was completely naked under the sheet.

“Vaguely,” she answered. “Why are you asking?”

“Were they both werewolves?”

She had never talked about her past with outsiders, even before it turned out she wasn’t a wolf, but something inside her wanted to speak to Zeke. She pushed down that urge when she remembered her situation. Zeke would never be her boyfriend; she couldn’t treat him like one.

“Yes,” she answered without an explanation. “Now, can you tell me why I’m in your bed again?”

“You were already healed when I got you to the infirmary, so they sent us home,” Zeke said.

She felt under the sheet for the deep claw marks Dexter had left there. And that was when it all came rushing back. She had defeated him again, and once again, she couldn’t remember the details. But she remembered how much pain she had been in before she’d passed out. Her body had been through the wringer, and her blood had been everywhere, mixed with Dexter’s.

It was this place affecting her mind. It was the magic in the forest. This change in her since that night had even warped nightmares that she’d had for over a decade, adding new information.

The longer she stayed close to all that darkness, the more time it would have to mess with her.

She had to leave this place before that happened.

“Nothing to say?” Zeke asked.

“I don’t have a clue what’s going on, Zeke,” she answered honestly.

“Yet you don’t seem surprised that you always heal quickly.”

Could she tell him about Jared’s magic cream? Though it had been so long since she’d applied it, she didn’t know why it was still working. The only person who could answer her questions was Jared, and she didn’t feel like talking to him yet.

“You used to be black and blue when you first started training,” Zeke pointed out.

“It’s this place, Zeke. There’s something here,” she sighed. “But I don’t feel comfortable talking to you while I’m half-naked. Can I go to my room and get ready? I want to get today over and done with.”

“I moved all your stuff here.”

“You can’t keep doing that! I said that the other night,” she said with a frown as she looked around the room for something she could cover herself with.

“I didn’t get around to fixing your door.”

“I’ll change in the bathroom, then,” she said as she finally spied a shirt on one of the chairs. “Turn around.”

“Really?”

“Turn around,” she repeated.

Wolves had no issues with nudity, but she was not a wolf. That, and she didn’t want Zeke to compare her to the other girls who must have shared his bed in the past. She couldn’t hold a candle to anyone at the academy.

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