Page 66 of Ava: Part Three

“Of course,” the dean answered with a nod before he walked off.

It looked like the dean had become nothing more than their errand boy. He was such a proud man that she knew this was eating him up.

“Looks like you’re free to hang out until lunchtime,” Alpha Diego told her.

“Oh. Uh, no, I’ll just find somewhere to sit down. My ribs are a little bruised.”

“I won’t take no for an answer, Ava. Besides, you’re going to be part of the family soon,” he said, walking to the exit.

She sighed and followed. That had been an order, even if Diego hadn’t phrased it as such. When she walked out of the building, she saw the Alpha standing next to a car at the bottom of the steps with the door open. Anxiety settled in her stomach. Where did he want to take her?

“Come, Miss Morgan. Let’s go and get those ribs looked at.”

She looked around as she walked down the steps, but all she saw were the guards. All the students were in their lessons. No one would see her get in the car; if anything happened, no one would know where to look for her.

But they still needed her to make her decision, so she hoped that meant they wouldn’t hurt her until then.

She kept her gaze on the Alpha, trying to see if she could guess his intentions. Only when she was in, and he got in after her, did she realise the other two were also in the car. Andrei grinned. It looked like she had just handed herself to him on a platter.

“You must be very busy,” she said, sliding to the other door. “Maybe we can meet another—”

“Drive,” Alpha Diego said to the driver.

The car started moving, and her apprehension increased. The councillors didn’t say anything. Iulia sat back with Andrei’s arm around her and Diego looked outside his window. It was only as the car turned into the restricted area where she and Zeke had been caught that she realised they were taking her to their house.

“I’m not allowed here,” she said quickly.

“I told you the rules are not meant for you,” Andrei said.

The car stopped at a house bigger than Zeke’s, and Alpha Diego opened the door. She had no choice but to follow when they got out of the car.

“Come in,” Andrei said. “Welcome to our home away from home.”

She was too anxious to appreciate the decor, but she could see no expense had been spared. Again, the Academy showed its bias towards those who were ‘more important’ than others. They led her into a lounge where Alpha Diego went straight to a cabinet that looked full of the finest alcoholic drinks.

“Take your blazer off and sit. I have something for your ribs,” Iulia said.

What?

She did as she was told and sat at the end of a comfortable sofa. Andrei sat opposite her while Iulia went to rummage through a drawer.

“You’ve kept us out of your head all day today,” Andrei said. “Is that because you finally shifted, or someone is helping you?”

She tried not to react, but the question came so out of the blue that she was sure the vampire noticed how she tensed.

“Oh, give the girl a break,” Iulia said as she handed her a little tub full of something.

Andrei was not smiling as usual, so she knew this was why she was there. But she looked away from him to look at the tub in her hand.

“Rub it on your ribs. It will help you heal quicker,” Iulia urged as she sat beside Andrei.

She couldn’t trust anything these people said or did, but they had been treating her differently since Andrei had found her before the meeting. Something about them wasn’t adding up.

The cream smelled of lavender and something else and looked similar to what Jared had given her. She took a little with the tip of her finger and lifted her shirt.

“That looks more than a little bruised, Ava,” Alpha Diego said as he put some drinks on the table.

The cream seemed to work the moment it touched her skin, so she wondered if Iulia had whipped it up herself. Relief made her sit back and take her first full breath since Mr Hansson had broken her ribs.

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