Page 109 of Ava: Part Three

When he could lift his head, he realised why. Mr Patrick stood in their place as he took the brunt of the hit meant for them. The lighting was blinding as it continually hit him. Why did he do this? Hansson was stronger than him, and he’d already been weakened.

Grief filled him as he struggled back to his feet. He hadn’t trusted the guy in the beginning, but he didn’t want him dead.

Nyx looked almost like the forest creatures with her patchy fur and those purple eyes as she pushed herself to her feet next to him and took in what was happening. Her grief mixed with his.

‘I can’t lose any more people,’ Ava said.

Mr Patrick was the only one who could have stopped Hansson; now, he was going to die.

“Look,” Diego said as he came next to them.

Mr Patrick was still on his feet. How? He had his arms outstretched and wasn't moving.

The moment the lightning stopped, Hansson saw Mr Patrick, and the stench of his fear magnified. Shadow took a deep breath and relished it. He had already started to heal a lot faster than usual.

“Man, that feels so good,” Mr Patrick said as he rolled his neck. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day.”

For the first time since he has known him, Mr Patrick's strength was not masked.

“This has nothing to do with you. Leave and let me clean up this mess,” Hansson said.

“Oskar, Oskar, Oskar,” Mr Patrick said. “You killed most of our kind because we were a threat to you. Am I to believe that you would let me leave here without consequences?”

Mr Hansson snarled and lifted his palm again, this time directed at Alpha Roland.

But in an instant, Alpha Roland stood behind Mr Patrick, free from his binds.

“I think it’s time we made this match fair,” Mr Patrick said before a little box appeared in his palm. He knew it was the ash that had been in his bag. Mr Patrick chanted, and a wave of magic hit Hansson along with the cloud of ash.

He had no idea what the hell just happened, but Hansson’s palms stopped glowing. Nyx was on him before he could make another move, snapping down on his arm. She had moved so fast he hadn’t even noticed it. He attacked next and caught the other arm. And then Diego. And when Alpha Roland and his white wolf, the purest of all of them, joined in to get his pound of flesh, Zeke felt free for the first time in years.

Hansson’s screams were like music to his ears. A symphony that soothed him like a balm and promised him freedom for the first time in his life.

And then the song ended.

Chapter 64

Nyxfinallystoppedattackingwhen the screams stopped. When there was no heartbeat. When the light faded from those evil purple eyes that she would remember for the rest of her life.

The eyes she would see every time in her wolf’s and Shadow’s eyes.

Everyone stood as still as she did, taking in the destruction. Was this the end? Could she finally have the life she had hoped for with her mate by her side?

Nyx retreated and allowed her to shift back. Her body was sore and bruised, and she could still feel the effects of almost being hit by the lightning. She limped over to Shadow, put her arms as far around him as she could, and closed her eyes. They were okay. They had done it.

When she let go, Shadow shifted, and the man she loved took his place. Zeke engulfed her in his embrace, lifting her off her feet before he crashed his lips into hers. He could feel his relief and his hope. They were free. They could be themselves.

Zeke finally put her down, and they looked back at the damage they had done. The wind stopped howling and blowing through her hair. The sky started to clear, and the flashes of lightning stopped. And then the sun shone through the clouds, its light touching everything as if it was washing away the darkness.

In the light, she could see that they had destroyed the front of the Administration building, the driveway, and the car park. The doors hung off the hinges from the effects of the lightning, and there were huge holes in the asphalt. Smoke rose from everything that Mr Hansson’s attacks had touched.

The beasts whined, and she turned to look at them. The smoke was rising from them, too. The creatures that had lost their lives burst into flames until they were nothing but ash, and their ashes started to rise and disappear. She had been terrified of them, but she could see they were Hansson’s victims, too. And in the end, they had been her monsters.

“Thank you,” she whispered to them.

They whined again, and a couple of them wagged their hairless tails.

But their fate was the same. They were reduced to ash one by one, but she didn’t sense any despair from them, only relief. She had no idea how long they had lived trapped in that dark forest, but now they were free, too. She watched the ashes rise and disappear in the gentle breeze.

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