Page 96 of Ava: Part Three

‘We’ll trust Fate,’ he repeated, kissing the top of her head. ‘Just think of what we’ll be able to do when all of this is over, especially now that I can tell you every single thing I want to do to you without being overheard.’

As he’d expected, her anxiety was replaced with something else, but he knew that distraction was only temporary.

Derek, Myles, Samantha and Julie walked up towards them with trays full of food and the guards’ eyes trained on them. They’d been keeping track of all their interactions.

“These two insisted on bringing your lunch,” Derek said with an eye roll as he placed his tray on the grass.

“It’s our duty to hold up our pack,” Samantha said to him as she placed the tray in front of Ava and then Julie placed hers beside him.

The Omegas had been more confident since they had chosen to give their loyalty to Ava. And he wasn’t imagining that; they had somehow bonded with his mate. There was no longer any fear in the air when they were in his house, not like the first days when having them around him had pissed him off. It was almost as if they were in their pack and not just Omegas chosen for them by the academy.

“Thank you,” he said as he reached for a sandwich.

He kept his other hand around Ava, unable to release her, just in case this was the last meal they would have together. He wanted the heat of her body to anchor him, to keep Shadow from reacting to the danger he felt all around them.

Samantha and Julie didn’t walk away like he had thought they would. They sat a little distance away from them with their lunch and started eating quietly. They kept their gazes lowered and didn’t talk, following the rules like Omegas were supposed to do in this shitty place.

And if Hansson ordered them to throw themselves into the forest, they would do that, too. If they went along with Hansson’s plans, how many Omegas would meet this fate?

“Alpha Ezekiel. Alpha Ava.”

He looked up at the vampire prince, who had been sitting on the other side of the quad with a few of his entourage, likely gauging the situation with the guards before he approached them.

“Prince Gideon,” he said with a nod.

The vampire sat without being invited, as if that was something they did all the time. It seemed like forever since his biggest worry was that one of his father’s spies would report him.

“I heard you were in a little bit of trouble yesterday.”

Had his people been close when he’d killed the guards? Or they had seen him when he’d woken up from his forced slumber and then watched the mess that had unfolded.

“Everything is fine,” he lied.

“That’s great to hear. I guess I’ll see you around.”

And then Gideon held out his hand for a handshake. Though unexpected, he didn’t skip a beat and took the vampire’s hand.

“I’ll be around if you need me,” Gideon said before he stood up.

Could he sense the coming war? He wouldn’t ask anyone else to fight against the Council, but if they needed Gideon, would he come through?

“Eat up. It’s time,” Derek said when the vampires walked away.

Chapter 56

Somanyguardslinedup along both sides of the road as the students walked to where the dean had directed them to after lunch.

Ava could sense the unease. She had walked down this road once, the day she had tried to walk away from Zeke after she had been discharged from the Infirmary. It was one of the few roads too close to the forest. She could already feel that darkness from it looming over her.

Her palms felt sweaty, and she couldn’t stop her heart pounding hard against her chest. The students walking in front of them kept turning back, so she was sure they could hear it. The bag on her back felt even heavier than in the morning when Derek had handed it to her.

The students were walking silently, but the guards still looked at each of them as they passed as if they were watching over prisoners. Of all of them, only Zeke and her were holding hands. She couldn’t remember when the last time she had worried about breaking the rules was.

As they approached the dead end of the road, she noticed that a stage had been set up there, right in front of the forest.

Right where she was to sacrifice five of her peers.

The students at the front left a healthy distance between them and the stage, but she and Zeke pushed forward until they stood at the front. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the stage. It was decorated with balloons as if they were there to celebrate. As if this was a party. The disrespect made her angry as she looked at the enormous, glittery ‘congratulations’ banner across the top of the stage.

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