Page 78 of Ava: Part Three

“Are you in danger?”

Yes.

“No. I’m fine. But stay away until it’s all over, okay?”

They walked out of the building, and the first person she saw was Zeke leaning against his car. But he wasn’t alone. Myles and Derek stood with him, and their eyes were on Jared. There was so much hatred and anger that she had to stop.

“I’ll see you around,” Jared mumbled before he turned and walked the other way.

Zeke told her that Jared was going to die by his hands, but he hadn’t told her the whole story. Looking at the other two boys, she realised this was much bigger than she had imagined.

“Come, Ava. Let’s go home.”

Zeke smiled at her as if that moment with Jared had been nothing. He opened the passenger-side door, and the other two got into the back.

“It must feel weird not to have detention,” Myles said.

And he, too, acted as if nothing had happened. But the three of them had faced death together against Claire and her friends. Hadn’t that taught them anything? Surely, right now, the aim was to make sure they all stayed alive?

When they walked into the house, they all dropped their bags in the entryway and headed straight for the basement. Even though they were now aware of how dangerous meeting each other was, Mr Patrick and her father still insisted. Alpha Roland was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with his arms wide open for her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to imprint this moment into her memory. There was no telling how things would work out. Every hug could be the last.

“What happened at lunchtime?” Mr Patrick said without a greeting.

They all filed in to sit in their usual spots. Since Mr Patrick had put the protective spell on them, he couldn’t read their minds either, so he had to wait for his answers like everyone else without plucking them from their heads.

“We found out that Andrei can eat solid food, and Mr Hansson doesn’t always see what is happening,” she told him.

“Untrustworthy source. They were probably just trying to feed us information to make us reveal our plans. Why else have they been acting so friendly?” Zeke said.

“The councillors have a special bond. They’ve been a pack of sorts since Iulia joined the Council,” Mr Patrick explained.

“Iulia wasn’t there today. I think she linked them when their time was up,” Derek said.

“And you’re talking as if you believe what they said. They’re experts at mind games. Always remember that,” Zeke said.

“They didn’t fake that nasty wound on Andrei’s shoulder. You’ve bitten people before, and they’ve healed. So they were right to say your bond changes things,” Derek pointed out.

Except that time with Jared. But she didn’t want to say his name out loud in case that caused problems.

And it was hard to know how true that was when she had never even heard of true mates until Zeke had told her.

“Well, whatever that is, we have to figure it out quickly,” she sighed.

“Does that mean you’re not going to give in without a fight?” her father asked.

“I would never be able to live with myself,” she admitted.

Her father smiled and pulled her into a hug again.

“Proud of you, sweetheart. I think we can do this.”

She didn’t. The rest of the day had gone so smoothly and calmly that she felt this was the calm before the storm. Things were about to go very wrong.

But she squeezed her father, kept her mouth shut, and prayed that, for once, her gut was wrong.

Chapter 46

Avastoppedmeditatingtoopen her eyes and look at Zeke. He was feeling restless, probably like how she was. Maybe he could feel it, too. Their time was up.

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