Page 85 of Ava: Part Two

“We have to see my detention professor as soon as possible.”

Alpha Roland gently pushed her away and looked at her with an amused smile.

“What?”

“Detention professor? You’re making it sound like it’s one of your classes,” he answered.

“If it were, it would be my favourite class,” she mumbled just as she heard the front door slam.

She stiffened and sucked in a breath. Her body already knew who had just walked into the house.

“Ava!”

A quick look at her father revealed he was watching her. He would have known Zeke was home before she had. What was he thinking right now? Had he guessed? Had she shamed him?

She looked away from his knowing gaze to look at the doorway.

Zeke stood there, breathing hard, and his eyes burned through her as if he couldn’t see her father. His eyes were their normal amber colour, but they looked bloodshot. She had questioned herself before when she had assumed she could feel his emotions, but there was no question now. The pain in her heart doubled. She felt it in every part of her body, as if something was being ripped from her.

But Zeke belonged to someone else. She didn’t want to hear whatever lies came from his lips because she knew she would accept them, no questions asked.

“Ava, I swear—”

“No,” she cut in. “I can’t do this right now.”

There was too much pain. Too much anger. And on top of that, the unwelcome feelings that always coursed through her body like an avalanche when he was near. The past two days with the side effects from Isolation had been unbearable, but this was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She had no idea what feelings to deal with first.

“Ava, listen, please. Don’t do this to me again.”

She stood quickly and turned to her father, who was surprisingly still calm.

“Dad, let’s go and meet my teachers,” she told him before she pushed past Zeke in the doorway and walked out of the house.

Her tears were already flowing when she stopped in the driveway, so she wiped them away roughly. She would not cry over a man. She wouldn’t.

But it still felt like every step she took from him would be her last. Zeke Michelson had broken her.

Chapter 55

Zekestoodinthedoorway long after Ava and her dad had driven off.

He’d been in hell the past few nights, but when he had seen her again... When that smile appeared on her lips, the pain ravaging his body and mind stopped instantly. Something deep inside him clicked into place.

She was his. She’d accepted that.

Then his father opened his mouth and ruined everything.

No, he couldn’t even blame his father for this. This was on him. He had taken too long to tell her the truth because he’d known this would be her reaction.

He tried to keep his mind from going back to the dark place he’d lived in for the past few days. Though it had hurt to watch her walk away, he knew that if he could just get her to talk to him, she would believe him. She was his mate. But even if she didn’t, if it took her some time to understand, she would have no choice when he got her out of this place, when it would be just the two of them against the world.

He heard cars driving up the driveway and stiffened. His father never came to the house on the first day of the weekend. This was more of a political move for him; he stayed in the restricted area and strengthened his ties with his allies while showing his enemies the strength of his pack. Then, on Saturdays, he saw one or two of his teachers before they came to his house for a quick meeting, and then he would be gone before lunch.

Derek came in first, and then Myles. They met his gaze but didn’t say anything. He hadn’t seen them since he ordered them to leave him alone, so he knew they were worried about what would happen now—rightly so.

His Beta and Gamma opened both sides of the heavy front doors and stood beside them. His father always liked to make an entrance like he was royalty.

The man himself walked in, and on his arm was the young woman he had chosen as the next Luna of the Blood Moon pack.

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