Ava, Part One (Phoenix Academy #1)

36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

A va looked ridiculous walking out of the hospital in the oversized clothes the infirmary had provided, with a brooding, angry, red-eyed Alpha behind her. Her fear must have been felt for miles around while her body visibly trembled like a leaf. But she held her head high and walked with as much dignity as she could while holding the waist of the Academy tracksuit bottoms up so they wouldn’t fall to her ankles.

She saw the disapproving glances when she didn’t look down as she passed the higher-ranked wolves. Heard the whispers. The growls. But they all quietened down when they looked behind her.

“Ava!”

Though the anger in his voice increased her fear and anxiety, she carried on walking until she came out of the building. The sun was still setting, so at least she hadn’t been unconscious all night as she had been the other day. Unless she had actually missed an entire day, then that was just seriously messed up.

“Stop!”

What were the consequences of disobeying an Alpha? She faltered a little when she remembered Emily’s warning that they would take her somewhere. But what would they do? They were already allowing other students to beat the crap out of her; whatever punishment they had couldn’t be worse than that.

Without her tablet once again to show her where the hell she was, she looked around to see if she could see any familiar buildings.

“Disobedience will get you killed around here,” Ezekiel growled.

“Then kill me! I can’t take this anymore!” she snapped.

It was easier to feel her anger when she wasn’t looking at him, but after she said that, Ezekiel grabbed her arm, whirled her around, and pulled her against him. His eyes had gone back to their usual amber colour. They were so cold that she didn’t react to his closeness straight away. Was this really the same person who had touched her so gently moments ago?

“This is why you will die,” Ezekiel snapped. “You keep breaking the fucking rules and challenging people who can break you in half. You told my wolf to go fuck himself? What the hell is wrong with you?”

That made her blood boil. Anger burned all her fear away as she regarded the angry wolf.

“I’m challenging people? How?” she asked, looking him straight in the eyes. “What could I have possibly done to deserve this?”

“You don’t have an ounce of survival instincts in your body at all, do you? Why do you keep disobeying me?”

She wrenched herself out of his arms and started heading in the direction Ezekiel had driven last night. He was so unbelievable! She was the one being treated like she was worth nothing. She was the one who was told not to look anyone in the eye and just do as she was told. She was the one being attacked for no reason. An Alpha would never understand how that felt. For him to have the nerve to tell her she was being stubborn when she hadn’t done anything wrong was ridiculous.

“You’re blaming me for this, but this is all your fault. Next time you want to go kissing girls, remember you have a psycho girlfriend,” she snapped as she marched down what looked like an insanely long road.

He had nothing to say to that, and for some reason, that made her angrier. He’d touched her, made her feel things she didn’t want to feel for him, and the very next day, he was locking lips with that bitch in the dining hall. He’d looked her in the eye as if he’d been saying, ‘Look. She is who I want, not you.’ And then he’d still stuck his tongue down her throat yesterday!

Her mind pulled back before she could remember how that had felt. Now was not the time.

“You’re going the wrong way.”

“What?” she snapped without looking back.

“You’ve gone in the wrong direction.”

Ava stopped and took in her surroundings. None of it was familiar. The dorms down this road were a lot fancier than the ones she normally walked past, and at the end of the street, the looming forest seemed darker somehow. More ominous. Her skin prickled in warning. She was reminded of how she had felt in the taxi when they had driven through the forest and took a step back.

When she turned around to face him, Ezekiel had his hands in his pockets and was watching her. His wounds looked a lot worse in the daylight, but she looked away before she could start showing any concern. His face had returned to the expressionless one he usually had during training, and she could almost imagine he was just a regular guy taking a stroll with the girl he liked.

She would not get sucked in. He was the one making her life here more miserable.

She shook her head and started walking back in the direction she had come from, but she moved out of the road when a car slowed down and stopped beside them. The window rolled down, and two very handsome wolves looked at her from the driver and passenger seats. They looked so confused that she had to wonder if they had seen her get beaten up earlier and seen the state she had been in when she’d been taken out of that room.

Ezekiel walked to the back and opened the door before cocking his head, indicating for her to get in.

“What?” she asked with a frown, moving her gaze from the other wolves.

“Get in,” Ezekiel says with frustration clear in his tone.

“No,” she said and then turned away to start walking again.

She was not going to have anything to do with him ever again. He could growl and snap and threaten to have her in his bed all he wanted, but she was not going to react to him at all. Ezekiel was so contradictory and frustrating. So arrogant, like—

“What the hell are you doing?” she screamed when she was grabbed from behind and picked up like she weighed nothing.

She was in the car a second later, and he got in behind her. His huge frame took up all the space, bringing him too close for her liking. The doors were locked before she could escape from the other side.

“I said no, Ezekiel,” she snapped.

She heard the two men suck in their breaths and turned to see how tense they had become. How many rules had she broken there in front of witnesses? Raised her voice to an Alpha. Looked him in the eye. Said no.

“Say it again,” Ezekiel said, his eyes flickering red.

She couldn’t tell if she had made him angry.

“What?”

“Say my name,” he said, his voice cracking slightly.

She looked away from him and crossed her arms.

“I’m an Omega. I’m not allowed to,” she said bitterly.

Ezekiel sighed and sat back, and the car started moving. The driver and his friend were probably in Ezekiel’s pack; they knew where to go without Ezekiel saying it out loud. She expected them to let her out, but she was surprised when all three wolves sniffed the air and then tensed as they looked at her dorm entrance.

The growl coming from the Alpha’s lips brought goosebumps all over her skin as fear washed over her again. What was it now?