Page 92 of Ava: Part Three

“I... We want to mark you,” Ava said.

His brows shot up for a moment, and then he felt a smile stretch on his face. Vampires marked each other when they mated, not wolves. But he couldn’t help the excitement coursing through his body at her words.

They wanted to mark him.

After attacking him in the forest and then running away from him after her first shift, Nyx wanted to claim him.

“Yes. I’m already yours, but you can put your mark on me so I can proudly show it,” he whispered thickly.

And then her beautiful blue eyes turned blood red as she approached him. When he kissed her this time, he didn’t stop. He wrapped her legs around him and pinned her against the wall, already lost to the chaotic feelings in his body. He couldn’t tell which were his or Shadow’s, which were Ava’s or Nyx’s.

And when he was lost in her body, he felt her teeth sink into his neck.

It felt like the world stopped.

Like it smashed into pieces and then reformed itself.

Ava was still in the middle of his world, but this time, Nyx was there, too.

And it didn’t matter whose emotions he was feeling because they were one. He understood everything he felt and nothing at the same time. Everything was stronger. Different. And yet, it was still the same.

He lost himself in his mate for hours, connecting in ways he had not known were possible.

When the sun had already set, he surfaced from the hazy fog and looked down at the woman in his arms.

The woman who had claimed him.

The mark on his neck still throbbed, but it would look like Ava’s in a few days. His fingers gently trailed the raised pattern on her neck, making her stir. She looked so drained, even in her sleep. He felt drained, too. With how intense everything had been, he wasn’t surprised.

A smile touched his lips. Ava had spoken to her wolf, and then her wolf claimed him. He felt a sort of electricity through his body that he couldn’t explain. Something he knew instinctively that he had to hide from Hansson and the Council members.

Ava’s stomach rumbled, and a slight frown appeared on her face. She must have skipped lunch if Andrei and Iulia had trapped her to keep her from rampaging, and they’d skipped dinner. He had to feed his mate to get her strength back up for what was coming.

He gently untangled himself and then found a pair of boxers to throw on before he went downstairs. It was funny how taking care of his mate’s needs had become a priority above everything else, even the certain death hanging over them.

He’d only just opened the fridge when he sensed someone behind him.

And he came crashing back into the real world so quickly it pissed him off.

He closed the fridge with a sigh and turned to look at Mr Patrick. The Fae then motioned with his head for him to follow before he walked out of the kitchen.

When he closed the door to the basement, Mr Patrick didn’t waste any time.

“I don’t know how he found Roland. I masked him and the house I put him in. He was safe there.”

“He wasn’t staying with you?”

“No. After you told us how easy it is for them to spy, I put him somewhere else,” Mr Patrick said, pulling at his hair. “He should have been safe.”

“It was probably the councillors. Ava wants us to trust them, but my gut tells me we can’t.”

Since Ava’s wolf was speaking to her now, maybe she could convince her.

“We’ll just have to take a chance on this, Ezekiel. It’s fifty-fifty, but I’m guessing he’s an Earth Fae because of how vast and strong the forest is. We've run out of time.”

It was not ideal, but it was the best they could do.

“What do we need to kill him?”

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