Ava woke up with a start and looked around the dark room. She felt disoriented until she remembered the nightmare that had become her life.
There was a lamp on the table next to her bed, so she felt her way in the dark and put it on. When she looked around, she realised she was still alone. It looked like her dorm mates hadn’t arrived yet, which was weird. She was sure they said everyone needed to be on the premises by three in the afternoon, and it was long past that now.
There were three other beds in this room, each with a side table on one side and a desk and chair on the other. On her desk was a laptop and what looked like a tablet. Those had to be the electronics she had been told about by Mrs Benton. Then, separating each space were big wardrobes. On the other end was the kitchen area, which didn’t look like much at all. Just a counter with a microwave on it, a small fridge under it, and a small sink to the side. There was a small table and two chairs in front of it.
She would have expected more from a place like this, but as she had been placed in what was already labelled the Omega dorm, she wasn’t surprised.
She got off her bed slowly, her stomach growling. Her last meal was a sandwich on the plane, and she had only a few bites because she had been too anxious. But now it was so dark, she knew she had missed all the meal times and hadn’t even gone through the welcome pack yet.
Ava walked over to the sink and filled her stomach with water again. She had always eaten well; her family always joked that she may not be a wolf, but she had a wolf’s appetite. Going without food for so long was something she had never done. She would faint if she waited much longer, and fainting was the last thing she wanted to do in a place like this.
She walked back to her bed and dragged her suitcase onto it before grabbing something to wear. There was no time to unpack now; she would have to do it after she found something to fill her stomach. A place this big had to have somewhere other than the kitchen to provide food.
With her jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie on, she zipped up her bag and opened her wardrobe. Then she froze when she saw the assortment of uniforms hanging in it, and closer inspection revealed her name on the name tag.
“What the...”
She had thought she would have to wear the same uniform daily. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that she would have to stay, so it had seemed sufficient. But this just served as a reminder that she may be here for the foreseeable future.
“How did they even know I’d pick this bed?” she asked out loud.
She glanced at the bedding on her bed and then noticed there was none on the others. There were no laptops on the other desks either. Was she alone in this room?
“No freaking way,” she said.
That had to be a mistake. There was no way they would force her to navigate this new world alone.
Her stomach growled again, and she hunched over. There was no time to dwell on the roommate situation now. She hadn’t dried her hair after the shower, so it looked like a rat’s nest on top of her head. It would be a bitch to untangle, so she grabbed a ball cap and some sneakers and then left the room.
She seemed to have walked forever when she realised she had gone in the wrong direction. It was dark, and nothing looked familiar anyway, but this area seemed full of big fancy houses. Maybe the teachers? She should have brought her map, but it was pointless now. She was going to turn back when she heard some music. As she walked further along, past fancy house after fancy house, the music got louder. It sounded like a party. And wherever there was a party, there was food!
Ava walked quickly until she came to a house where groups of people were standing outside. She couldn’t tell what they were, but they would all know what she was the second she got close. She pushed her cap down her head and walked past them.
‘Act like you belong. Be confident.’
It was her dad’s voice in her head, but Caleb’s voice kept telling her to keep her head down and stay away.
She chose to listen to her dad. She was freaking starving!
So she walked past the well-dressed people like she knew where she was going. Though the guys were more casual, the girls had dressed up to their teeth. It was so obvious that she didn't belong there, but she ignored the looks and walked up the driveway behind a particularly loud group.
There were expensive cars parked along the driveway, cars she had never seen before, even in magazines. That alone should have made her run, but she followed the group to the wide-open entrance. The music was so loud that she wondered how their sensitive ears could handle it. The lights had been dimmed, but as she walked further into the vast lobby, she saw it tastefully decorated, as if the people there had decorators in. Not that she had ever been invited to a party before, but this looked like overkill. Who owned this house? Royalty? It was too much for a college.
There were hardly any people in the house, but the group she followed was heading out to the back. Maybe that was where everyone was, and she wouldn’t have to see too many of them after all. She would just find the kitchen and then be on her way.
It took a while to look through the rooms downstairs. The house had so many rooms that she didn’t even know what half of them were. She shared less space with her family, and all of them were huge Alphas.
Eventually, she walked up to the kitchen, where she found a group of girls preparing trays overflowing with food. They were dressed in uniforms; she couldn’t help the snicker that came out of her lips. How the other half lived—decorators, caterers, and servers.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
She looked at one of the girls and contemplated lying, but she was the newbie here, while the caterer seemed to know how things worked.
“I’m sorry. I got lost. Can I have something to eat?”
“You can’t eat here. Get out before you get all of us in trouble,” another girl snarled.
That was ridiculous. There was so much food in front of them that one serving wouldn’t be missed. She was sure most of it would even go to waste. Her mouth was watering as she looked at the meat, and the gorgeous aromas filled her nose.
“Even just a piece of fruit—”
“Get the fuck out!” the girl snapped.
“Is that any way to speak to my guest?”
The girls gasped and averted their gaze. Ava turned to see the newcomer at the door and almost gasped, too. To say he was beautiful was an understatement. His blond hair was long and tied back, and he had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. And he was so big that she knew he was an Alpha.
“Sorry, sir,” one of the girls stammered.
Ava frowned when he looked back at the girls. She didn’t need wolf senses to know how terrified they were.
“Give my guest a plate,” the Alpha said. “It’s not every day Little Red walks into the wolf’s den.”
And then he smiled—a wolfish smile that left her feeling cold as she wondered if she had just put herself in danger.
What?Wrenching control from Nyx, she stepped back and gaped in horror at the Gamma in front of her. What was he saying? That all of this was her fault? Her pack members died because of her?“I didn’t... I didn’t kill anyone.”Her guilt surged again because that was a lie. Emily. Dexter. Those deaths were on her head. Claire. All her friends whom she hadn’t even bothered to learn their names. That was on her, too. And then all the students who’d lost their lives fighting for their freedom from the Council.She was a horrible person.And now her father was paying the price for it.So, which pack out of all those who’d lost their children had made this move?“The Alpha’s son is dead. The future Alpha of our pack. He was the only heir,” the Gamma continued, his voice almost monotonous. Nyx’s grip on him was still firm despite the wolf taking a back seat.So not Claire’s pack. Not Emily’s, because she’d seen her Omega parents. Was it Dexter? Someone else caught in the crossfire?Her chest
“It doesn’t have to be like this, Alpha Caleb,” the old man said.Zeke had one hand on Ava’s back and the other clenched at his side. Show them not to mess with your mate.They are not worthy to breathe the same air as her. Kill them.Kill them.The voices were louder, almost drowning Shadow’s growls in his head. That simmering magic pressed against his skin, clawing at him to escape. Escape and what? Kill everyone? Was this magic something to do with the Council after all?“Are you still questioning my authority?” Caleb growled, his voice low but clear.“No,” the old man answered. “We will do as you say. Of course, finding the Alpha is more important than any other grievances right now.”His meaning was clear. The old man still thought Ava was not one of them, but would bring up the matter another time. A muscle in his jaw ticked, and he inhaled, feeding the beast and the voices in his head. Ava stood still in front of him, tense. She could feel it too. Their bond surged, the murde
It was almost dark when Ava tiptoed through the back door of her family home. Not that it would have made a difference. The whole area was deserted. It wasn’t just because she could sense the absence of other auras. There was something different with her awareness of the things around her. It was like whatever had been crawling inside her had burst out, and now it reached out for something else.She’d told Zeke that something was happening, something was coming. Was this it? Was she the calamity that would fall on everyone else? Because even as she snuck towards the stairs, she could sense where the whole pack was, picking out individual auras from so far. Yet her senses buzzed in warning as if the pack was the enemy. Her whole body hummed like she was electrified, and Nyx felt it too. She paced, restless, ready to fight, but unclear who the enemy was. She had so much energy spilling over, as if she hadn’t just done a marathon of a different kind.Her cheeks colouring, she headed
Zeke heard every word. Staying still while that fucker said those things to his mate was probaly the hardest thing he had ever done.Since Ava came under his protection at the academy, no one except Claire had even dared to breathe in her direction, never mind entertaining such sick fantasies. His blood boiled. That magic simmering just under his skin flowed in his veins, whispering to him, urging him to maim. To kill. To end that bastard. And Shadow was all for it. He’d never gone from anxious to being on the verge of a rampage in such a short time. Burning rage roared through him, mixed with the ice-cold of the unfamiliar darkness whispering to his soul. And once again, it felt right.Kill them all.Rip their limbs from their bodies. Bathe in their blood.The whispers became louder. Fists clenched, he stood naked in front of the white wolves, barring them from following their sister. He’d told Ava he would follow her lead. Showing how much he trusted her was more important than
Ava backed away until her back hit the wall. The way the hunter’s eyes lowered to her bare legs made her skin crawl. Even without Nyx telling her, she knew this man was a weak coward. For him to easily attempt something like this meant he’d done it before.This one was going to die.“Did you take my father?” she asked directly. The hunter chuckled. “I don’t even know who the fuck you father is,” he said.Lies, since he’d had their picture. She looked at the wolf who’d told the hunters to hurry. He was bigger than the rest, and most likely their leader. The scars on his chest spoke of many battles. But the packs around them were peaceful. Besides Alpha Barret, she’d never seen anyone who had lived through any horrendous things that would scar them.“What did you mean by what you said? You paid them to do something to me? You knew I was coming?”The bald man chuckled as he walked to the other side of the room and uprighted a chair. “You walked into the lion’s den all by yourself, li
Ava stayed back as the rest of the wolves advanced. Caleb had discovered a stash of clothes inside a hollow in one of the trees, common for when wolves had to shift and rejoin the human population, so these hunters had likely met the wolves in this spot before. They’d met to plan the attack on her father or her kidnapping—one or the other. The scents on them were unfamiliar, but she could smell the same on the wolves who’d walked into one of the dilapidated cabins. Wolf scents mingled with humans among the damp and mould of the abandoned cabins. Focusing on a single one, she confirmed what Caled said. Eight people. And seven of them were about to die.She had seen her brothers in their wolf forms several times, but this was the first time she’d seen them so focused as they inched closer to the forest’s edge. Pride bubbled up inside her briefly before she looked away and focused her attention on their rear.She was just the lookout. She would not get in their way.Nyx whimpered aga