Page 74 of Ava: Part Two

He couldn’t deny he’d wanted privacy for another reason. It had been hours since he left Ava in his room after their talk, but his body was still wound up. He had gone from anger to wanting to blow her back out instantly. The need had been so overwhelming that if he hadn’t left her and gone for a run instead, they would have been having a different conversation.

When he spread a blanket over the best spot and set out to unload the basket, he saw Ava still standing where he’d left her. Her indecision was shouting at him across the space between them, and he couldn’t lie. It hurt.

What would he do if she rejected him outright?

“You know we need to talk. We might as well eat while we do it. Come, Ava,” he urged.

Her steps were hesitant when she finally did as he asked. He wouldn’t have been unsure of where she stood if she'd been a wolf. Her wolf would have wanted him just as much as he and Shadow wanted her. They would have mated the first night. But Ava was his fate. A little breakable human with the heart of a wolf. It may have taken him some time to accept it, but he couldn’t see himself with anyone else now.

They ate in silence while they watched the lake. It was so tranquil it felt a little like being on his favourite cliff on the beach. Maybe Ava felt it too because he felt some of her fear ebb and her tension ease.

“Can we swim in there?”

“Yes, there’s nothing dangerous in there. Would you like to swim now?”

“I don’t have a bathing suit.”

“You don’t need one.” His voice was lower and broke when he spoke.

He cleared his throat and looked away from her. He couldn’t help himself. It had been years since he’d hit puberty and had sex on his mind constantly, but this felt a lot worse than dealing with all those hormones. And it wouldn’t stop until she was finally his.

Maybe after that, his body would allow him to think with the right organ and have complete conversations. The longer he sat next to her, the more difficult it was to remember all the important things they needed to discuss.

“You know who caused all this shit, don’t you?” he asked.

“I think it’s the Council. I don’t know why they would play these games. Maybe they know what happened to Claire and her friends but can’t punish us without proof,” Ava answered somberly. “Whatever the case, I need to get out of here before they come back.”

“I told you not to worry about that; I won’t let them get you. I can get us out, but it has to be after my father has gone. There are things happening at home that I can use as an excuse to go, but if we wait for after the weekend, we can buy ourselves more time before they realise we’re gone.”

“You can actually just leave?” Ava asked incredulously.

“With permission. But it’s an Alpha privilege.”

“Of course it is,” Ava snorted. “This place needs to change. I hope my brothers won’t start acting douchey when they start here.”

“You know they won’t be able to attend the academy after you escape, don’t you?” he asked gently.

Leaving against the Council’s wishes would have far greater consequences than Ava probably realised. It wouldn’t just be their families put at risk, and the Council had far worse punishments than the Isolation room.

Ava’s shoulders sagged.

“Maybe it’s a good thing. There’s nothing this place would teach them that our father hasn’t already taught us,” she said as she put her sandwich down and started pulling at a bit of fluff on the blanket. “I just hope they won’t hate me. I’m being selfish, aren’t I?”

He felt her helplessness cut through him like a knife.

“There’s nothing selfish about wanting to stay alive,” he said gently as he pushed the food between them out of the way and moved closer to her. “I can keep you alive if you let me, Ava.”

There was confusion in her eyes for a moment, and then they widened when she understood his intent. His eyes lowered to her lips as the heat spread like wildfire through his body. He’d tried, but he would die if he didn’t have her underneath him in the next few seconds.

“Say you’re mine, Ava,” he whispered. “Say the words, and I will never let anyone hurt you again.”

Chapter 49

Avaranbackintothe woods without thinking. She had been raised in a forest, so she knew she would find her way out eventually, and there wasn’t much of a chance of getting lost when the only direction she could head in was away from the magic prickling her skin from the dark forest.

Zeke was insane. Did he really think she would be that easy?

Sure, she behaved like a whore every time he touched her, and the incident earlier hadn’t helped anything. She was pretty sure her body was still reacting to him, even after the nap before the picnic.

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