Page 61 of Ava: Part Two

He knew the Alpha could still sense his cold fury despite how calm he now was. It was impossible to hide.

“Have you finished throwing your childish tantrum?”

His muscles twitched as he regarded the Alpha, but he didn’t respond. Something was happening to Ava, but he couldn’t help if they kept him trapped in the ring. He met the Alpha’s stern gaze directly with his own, not bothering to lower his gaze as a sign of respect. For all he knew, this had all been the dean’s doing. Alpha Russell had been pissed off with Ava from the beginning, and that had become worse when the Council members descended on the school.

Someone was going to pay for what they were doing to Ava, but he had to get out of his prison first.

The dean sighed and looked down at the witches on the floor next to him. He gave them a nod, and they all started chanting again, more eagerly than before.

The barrier dropped seconds later. He didn’t bother looking back at the dean as he walked out of the arena butt-naked. He stopped by his dressing room to pick up a fresh set of clothes before finally responding to his Beta and Gamma’s insistent mind links.

‘I’m coming,’ he told them before he cut the link again.

He was still pulling the T-shirt over his head when he saw his Beta and Gamma surrounded outside.

“Release them.”

The security guards didn’t even turn around to look at him. Derek and Myles let out breaths of relief when they saw him, and he sensed some of their tension easing. The last time Shadow had completely taken over him had been a bloodbath, but it had been different this time. Maybe because he and his beast were of one mind, even in his mindless fury, he’d had complete trust that his beast wouldn’t do anything they had not both agreed to.

‘We couldn’t stop them,’ Derek said in the mind link, looking down at his feet. ‘They took her. I’m sorry.’

He felt his Beta’s crushing sense of failure. Had Derek finally accepted that Ava would be with him no matter what? Had he accepted that she was his future Luna?

‘It’s okay,’ he told him.

And it was. He didn’t know how, but Ava was okay. Did the magic work differently on humans? Or was it because she was his mate? And would this incident bring the Council back here again in their search for answers?

The dean finally walked out behind him and threw him a look before he instructed the guards to release his wolves.

“You’re all expected to come back for the evaluations after your mess has been cleaned up,” the dean said.

Derek and Myles came to stand beside him as they watched the dean and security guards walk away.

‘Since when did we have so many security guards?’ Myles asked them.

‘I’m guessing since the Council started playing this game,’ he answered. ‘They want something from me.’

They wanted him to show who he was? He had no idea what they had seen in Ava’s head when they questioned her, but Isolation was the very last place she needed to be right now.

‘What do we do now?’ Myles asked.

‘You go back and complete your matches. I’m going to wait for Ava.’

‘You won’t fight today?’

‘That would be best for everyone. I’m sure the dean would agree.’

When he walked up to the administration building, he saw several security guards covering every entrance on every side of the building. They all turned to look at him as he approached as if they were waiting for him to make a move.

Why would the dean feel like he had to fortify the building? If he had guessed what Ava was to him, why was he intentionally doing things that would make him angry?

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he allowed Shadow to use his senses. Ava’s heartbeat was steady. There wasn’t a hint of her blood in the air. And those calm and content emotions had intensified. He’d felt like this when he’d been in there. After getting tired of fighting the magic, he’d retreated to his favourite place in his head.

And Ava had joined him there.

Could it be?

He ran out of the parking lot as he stripped his clothes off. Shadow was much faster than a car, and he didn’t care that it was broad daylight. He didn’t even bother going through the woods as he would have usually done. The whole student body was around, waiting to be told if they were returning to the arena. They all parted and gave way as Shadow’s paws hit the tarmac. Their fear, their little screams as he barrelled towards them, didn’t bother him either.

---