Page 99 of Ava: Part Two

“Okay. If you’ve all got that out of your systems now, please sit down,” Mr Patrick said.

The marks Alpha Morgan left on his skin had already healed, but Ava was inspecting them anyway. He let her because it felt good to have her show her concern so openly. But Mr Patrick’s words pulled him back to the matter at hand.

“And Mr Michelson, don’t waste your strength coming after me. I knew the potion wasn’t going to kill her, but it was supposed to keep her down for days, not a few hours. Maybe we should concentrate on why that is.”

He frowned. Was he just in his head?

“Yes, Mr Michelson. So please sit down, and let’s talk about Ava.”

Chapter 63

“Yes,MrMichelson.Soplease sit down, and let’s talk about Ava.”

Ava stopped inspecting Zeke’s throat to look at Mr Patrick. Why did he make that sound so ominous, as if he thought something was wrong with her?

“The day is almost over. We need to talk about the Head of Council and what he wants,” Ava insisted as she went to take the seat next to her father in front of Mr Patrick’s desk.

“The longer I watch you, Ava, the more I’m convinced I know what they want,” Mr Patrick said.

Zeke sat beside her, meeting her gaze curiously before they both turned to the professor.

“And that is?” she asked.

“The purpose of this school isn’t just to keep people in line and equip the future leaders with the skills to lead,” Mr Patrick said. “They also root out their future assets and their future threats.”

“And what does any of that have to do with me?” she asked in exasperation.

“Shall I make a list?” Mr Patrick said. “You’ve made several trips to the infirmary where they never found any injuries. And that’s even after someone bit you and left you bleeding on the ground.”

“What?!” her father roared. “When? Who did it?”

She knew what her father would do if he got the names. It was why she’d never snitched on any of the pack members when they bullied her.

“I believe that problem was taken care of. The student is already presumed dead, and the Council has remained secretive about the outcome of that investigation.”

“They told me they found Claire,” Zeke said. “I assumed she was thrown into Isolation for attacking Ava, but I haven’t caught her scent yet.”

They had? When? Why hadn’t he told her this?

And what did he mean he assumed they had thrown her into Isolation? He knew what he had done to Claire. That wolf wasn’t coming back.

Mr Patrick looked at her sharply before he looked at Zeke. He’d heard her! Crap. She’d just mentally confessed to being an accomplice to this terrible crime.

“Did they say they found her alive?” Mr Patrick asked.

Zeke frowned thoughtfully before he turned to look at her.

“No,” he said, answering Mr Patrick’s question while his gaze was locked on hers.

But why was he looking at her like that?

“So first, several students disappeared, and then you went into the forest. The Council didn’t come here for those students; they used that as an excuse to see the ones who had survived the cursed forest. Then, instead of laying low with all those eyes on you, you still beat an Alpha twice and used an Alpha command on an Omega.”

“That's ridiculous!” she argued. “That boy is not much of an Alpha; anybody can beat him! And that Omega can’t fight to save her life. I’ve been training with Alphas all my life; I know how to take care of myself. That was a command but not an Alpha command.”

“Okay, then explain the healing.”

She had no choice but to reveal Jared’s secret now. She wasn’t going to keep them talking about this nonsense when they could be devising a plan to escape.

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