Page 56 of Ava: Part Two

Of course, an Alpha like Zeke couldn’t tap out and leave early. He would never be able to hold his head high again.

“When do we get to know the results of this useless exercise?” she asked.

“In the morning. They have already been judging our performances, and after the last matches tonight, they’ll check if everyone has been placed at the right level because this is where they’ll have to stay for the rest of the semester. By the time the real evaluations start, every day will be like today, and the matches are over a week. We even get to team up in some matches.”

How he explained things to her showed how much tension he had been holding before. Had he really been that scared for her? So far, besides Dexter, everyone had been fighting fairly, and it hadn’t been the complete bloodbath that she had assumed. No one had died.

“It’s Sunday. You can call your family when you get home,” he continued. “I’m sure they’ll be relieved to know you did well in your evaluations.”

Her dad would be the first to say he wasn’t surprised even though he was probably worrying himself sick every day that she was here.

“Thank you.”

“You should probably tell them about me now. I don't want anyone to be surprised when they visit.”

That would be a difficult conversation. The wolves in her pack didn’t date humans anyway, but that could largely have been due to her dad and brothers. She was their little girl, even to her younger brothers.

Maybe she would move back to the dorms for the weekend.

“I want to take you somewhere we can talk tonight,” Zeke said.

Like a date? Her heart fluttered for a moment before she forced herself to calm down. Maybe it was so that they wouldn’t be overheard. She had noticed that he never pushed her for answers when his pack members were around. Maybe he didn’t want them to know what he had done.

Slowly, the Arena started to fill up.

“You should go and sit in your section,” she told him.

“It’s pointless trying to hide anything now. I can hear their whispers; they already know you belong to me.”

“Stop saying that,” she hissed.

Zeke looked down at her, and his eyes flashed red briefly as his gaze landed on her neck.

“I’ll stop saying it and start showing it instead,” he said quietly.

Heat flooded her body. And with those words that may as well have been the dirtiest, most sensual words she had ever heard, Zeke finally stood and walked away.

Did anyone else hear him?

She looked around at the students and teachers, and her heart sank when she saw Mr Patrick seated in the bleachers on the other side of the beginner’s ring. He had heard everything. Her first reaction was to get angry with him, but she realised she needed his help anyway. She needed to arrange somewhere to meet.

‘I’m tapping out in my first match. Meet me at Alpha Ezekiel’s house,’ she thought. Was she projecting loud enough? Would he hear complete sentences like the wolves did when mindlinking, or did he just get jumbled words and impressions?

When Mr Patrick nodded, she let out a breath of relief and waited impatiently for the day’s evaluations to begin.

When the coach walked in, the level of coldness in his eyes seemed to have reached new heights. He didn’t have a sneer on his face, and it reminded her of Dexter’s face before their match. Was the coach planning something for today, too? How pissed off would he be when he realised she didn’t intend to participate?

When things finally got underway, her first opponent was Robert, the vampire she had fought on the first day. He smiled at her as he stood across the ring with no weapon in his hand at all. Was he very confident in his skills as a vampire? He could move so fast around her that she could be out before she knew it.

As the rest of the fighters paired up in their rings and the barriers were brought up, she heard loud murmurs among the students. They all seemed to have their attention on a different ring for a change.

“What’s going on?” she asked Robert.

Robert had a frown on his face as he looked over at the other rings.

“Alpha Ezekiel is fighting first,” he answered. “He’s fighting Alpha Jared.”

She gasped as she tried to see the fighters in the last ring, but they were too far away. All she could feel was anger, and she knew, somehow, that it was Ezekiel. The last time they had been in a room together, he had almost killed Jared. Would he be able to hold himself back?

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