Page 33 of Ava: Part Three

He sighed as he stood and found his clothes in the mess on the floor. Neither of his escape plans had worked out, so there was nothing left to do but face the Council. Mr Patrick had won this round. With his backpack on, he pulled Ava to him and kissed her lips just as the front door opened. Despite the danger they were in and the lack of energy, a part of him was completely invigorated. He had never felt closer to his mate.

“Get on the floor and put your hands behind your back,” a guard growled from the doorway.

Ava’s heart wasn’t pounding as it would have done before. But he could see her fighting to keep her eyes open, so maybe she hadn’t quite figured out what was happening yet. He helped her down first before he lay beside her and faced her.

“Do you think they’ll give us something to eat before they throw us in Isolation? I’m starving.”

He was rather ravenous himself. And thirsty. He’d murder for a cold beer right about now.

“Probably not.”

A guard came forward and put cuffs on his hands. He knew they were silver from how they immediately cut into his skin and the sizzling sound.

“Ouch! You fucker,” Ava mumbled when they moved to her wrists.

But she didn’t protest further or try to fight her way out of the cuffs. The silver would have had most wolves screaming in pain. Could she feel that?

He met her gaze and tried to assess her. Shadow was used to the silver, so this was nothing to him, but Ava was still new to it. In her eyes, he saw a hint of pain, and he felt it through their bond. Just a hint.

As if the silver was nothing to her, too.

“On your feet!”

They did as they were told, and the guard shoved them towards the door. He went out first because he knew what he was going to see. He turned his head, ignoring the guards around him, and focused on the black limousine parked on the road. When Ava came out, she stood beside him, and her gaze followed his direction.

He felt the icy tendrils dancing in his head first, and Shadow growled and reinforced their mental walls.

The driver came out of the car and opened the door. And out stepped Councillor Iulia Luca. She met his gaze and gave him a bright smile as if she had been waiting for this moment since she had last seen him.

Behind her was Alpha Diego Lupei. He didn’t bother smiling, but his gaze landed on Ava, not even hiding his curiosity. With his bound hands, he pulled her behind him to hide her, even though that was useless.

And then the vampire Andrei Dalca. He looked him over from head to toe before he gave him an unnerving grin. He didn’t even try to hide that he was sniffing the air before he turned to the other Council members. And they all grinned and turned back to look at him.

Even from this distance, their combined power had him on edge. But he knew they were not the worst of it because he could sense the greater threat.

The three Council members parted. The air turned frigid as the sense of darkness made him clutch Ava's T-shirt behind him tighter.

And then out walked a man who was neither vampire, witch, or wolf, though he looked like he could pass for any of those. He was tall, more built than Diego, and his skin was as pale as Andrei's.

But it was the eyes that made him step back.

They were purple.

Chapter 19

“WheredidtheytakeAva?”

He could sense she was in the building, but something was blocking him from pinpointing her exact location. That was very worrying because their bond should have allowed him to find her no matter where she was. Would they have taken her straight to Isolation? They wouldn’t survive it in this state.

“You’re in no position to ask me that, Mr Michelson,” Dean Russell said. “I spent weeks organising everything, and you and that human just went and desecrated the President of the Academy’s accommodation.”

He should have ‘desecrated’ every room.

His eyes narrowed on the dean.

“You keep calling her that. You’re a stupid fuck, Alpha Russell, but I’m sure even you’ve figured this one out. Where is my mate?”

He didn’t miss how the dean’s fist clenched on the table. Shadow had been alert since they had met the Head of Council’s cold gaze head-on, so he wasn’t taking any of this shit from the dean. He pushed forward and growled in warning.

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