Semua Bab Ava: Bab 181 - Bab 190

Zeke was by Ava’s side the instant the magic released him. Ava had her arm over her ribs and her teeth clenched to stop her from screaming out, but he could sense how much pain she was in. He helped her to her feet and fought to calm Shadow down when he gently held her in his arms. The contact was only mildly soothing, and Shadow still growled in his head, still close to losing control. ‘You should have ripped his head off,’ the beast said.He should have. When he had agreed to this plan, he had thought this meeting would merely be a conversation where they would finally get to know what the fuck the Council wanted. Nothing had prepared him for this. Feeling Ava in pain and not being able to do anything about it had been torture on a different level. But he knew he couldn’t beat the Head of the Council, not by himself. Not yet. He would have paid the price with his life, and Ava would have died, too. ‘I can beat him,’ Shadow snarled. ‘Stick to the plan, Shadow. You only have one

Ava didn’t know what to think.Her anxiety had hit the roof as she had waited for them to do whatever they had brought her there to do, but the Council members had just been drinking and talking about people and things she had no idea about.Like normal people. It was as if in this house, they weren’t the psychotic people who’d clapped when she'd stood in the puddles of blood.This was a mind game; she was sure of it. To make her drop her guard before they swooped in? Make her trust them and spill her secrets? It would never happen. She could still feel Mr Patrick’s magic protecting her from their probing, but she didn’t think they had even tried.“Hey, you haven’t touched your drink,” Andrei said, pulling himself away from Iulia. They had been disgustingly affectionate with each other the whole time.“I... I don’t really drink, and it’s still too early in the day.”Plus, she wasn’t going to put anything from them into her mouth.“There’s no one here to see you break any rules, Ava.

Ava looked into Zeke's eyes. She already knew what he wanted to say. He’d sat her on a bench and sat on the floor in front of her. His chest was still bare; he’d only hastily put his sweats back on before he’d grabbed her hand and led her to the basement. He was pissed off, and this time she was sure she was the reason. Had he wanted her to let him hurt Andrei?“I’m going to tell you something you have probably figured out yourself by now,” Zeke started. “Your wolf will never bow to anyone. Not your professors, instructors or coaches. Not the dean. Not the Council and certainly not Mr Hansson. You will never submit. Your wolf would die before she allows that to happen.”She looked away from his eyes to her hands on her bare lap.She already knew that. There had always been something in her that had refused to submit to anyone. Until Zeke came along, and she’d offered him her neck before she even realised what she was. “I will never forgive myself if my father died.” “You will neve

Ava sat very still next to Zeke in the lounge. Her gaze followed Andrei, who was walking around lifting little trinkets to inspect and putting them back down as if he couldn’t sense how on edge they were. Myles and Derek stood behind them as if they were still officially Zeke’s Beta and Gamma. But they didn’t have to be there. They had nothing to do with any of this.She looked away from Andrei to look at Alpha Diego and saw that he was in some sort of staring match with Zeke. The war of wills was impressive to watch. Zeke said her wolf would never submit to anyone, but she hadn’t thought they could withstand the glare of a wolf that old. Zeke wasn’t backing down, and she knew it was because he was still angry that Alpha Diego had taken her to their house.Samantha and Julie walked in with trays full of sandwiches and salad bowls. The plates and cutlery rattled together as the wolves trembled. She didn’t know who had told them they had come home for lunch, but the two of them had dec

Ava stopped meditating to open 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.“Why do you hate Jared?” Zeke’s attention came back to her, and he frowned.“We’re here to try to speak to your wolf, not worry about that bastard.”“I think my wolf will make herself known when she wants to,” she said as she stretched her legs out on the lawn and then lay back to look at the night sky.They had come out to the backyard again. The moon was almost full, and the stars twinkled in the sky. If she had been back home, the pack would have been preparing for their monthly pack run on the full moon while she decided on which books she would read while they were gone. Simpler times.“We can’t mess around, Ava.”“I can’t force this. What else am I supposed to do? We’re better off going to train than wasting time on that insane wolf.”Zeke sighed and lay beside her. “You can’t call her that. She’s an extension of you, and