Page 10 of Ava: Part Three

But she couldn't stop it. She clawed at her throat to try to breathe as the purple eyes started opening all around her. The hissing started. The molasses drenched her body, trying to get inside like the last time. The stickiness turned to heat so intense it made her drop to her knees.

Something hissed under her, but she couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. And then the probing started in her head. She felt the icy fingers trying to dig in, causing excruciating pain that made her scream.

Her voice echoed in the endless night as the purple eyes came closer. And then the heat singed her body, burning her from the inside out.

She drew in harsh, ragged breaths, but each one seemed to cut her insides open.

The roots started to wrap themselves around her, and they were sharp. But she couldn't even scream anymore.

Cuts started appearing all over her body, and still, she lay there.

She would die like this. It had all been in vain.

A pair of purple eyes were within arm's reach when she heard the growl, and then almost immediately, she saw the red eyes attack the purple.

And just before she passed out from the pain and lack of air, she felt a little relief that she had not found her wolf after all.

Chapter 6

Avagaspedforairand clawed at her throat as she sat up. Something was squeezing her throat, making it hard to breathe. The darkness was inside her. She could feel it.

"Shh. It's okay. You're okay."

She felt Zeke's warm, hard body against her bare back as his arms circled her. The relief was instant as she greedily inhaled and exhaled deeply. Zeke's large arms tightened around her as he brought his lips down to her mark briefly. The security she always felt in his arms failed to ease her mind. There was danger all around them, danger inside them, and she didn't think she would ever feel safe again.

But still, her breathing evened, and her heart rate lowered. Zeke didn't need to say another word, but her body relaxed as if the nightmare hadn’t happened.

"My dad?" she asked.

"Gone. I did what you asked," Zeke said.

Her heart squeezed again. She would have wanted a better goodbye. If the pain she’d felt all over her body was anything to go by, her dad would have been traumatised after seeing her.

She looked down at her body and didn't see a single mark. There were no cuts or bruises on her legs. No burn marks. It was as if she had only imagined the pain.

"How long was I out?"

Had she lost more time? Were they even closer to the day the Head of the Council arrived because of this failed experiment?

"A few hours."

She untangled herself from his arms to face him. Hours?

"Your body had already healed even before sundown," Zeke said.

"But... But I didn't feel my wolf," she whispered.

She felt something she didn't understand as if her bond with Zeke was even stronger. She sensed his emotions as easily as if he had told her.

Why was he so confused and depressed at the same time?

"What happened?" she asked.

Zeke just pulled her back into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"Nothing. Just... Let's not do that again."

Never again. She could still feel the chill in her body, as if the darkness had touched everything inside her.

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