Ava, Part One (Phoenix Academy #1)

46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Z eke got out of the car and looked at the Vampire Prince’s residence. This place always made his skin crawl. The building was just like any other, but there was always this aura of death around it because of its undead residents. And though they had electricity like every other dormitory, they never had their lights on when the sun set. They preferred the darkness, even though they all had charmed rings.

He could sense that almost all of Gideon’s nest and a few of their human donors were home. The scent of fresh blood was strong in the air, almost like the Prince had told them all to feed and be at their strongest. Maybe Gideon was expecting trouble.

“Should we have called the rest of the pack?” Derek asked as he looked at the building, too,

There were many wolves from their pack on campus, all of whom were commanded to be available to him whenever he needed them. Tensions were so high, and he knew his father was waiting for any excuse to start a war with the Vampire King after the clash that had happened during the break.

“No, I think I have a solution,” he answered. “Let’s go.”

If all went well, he could be done with this today and would report the outcome to the Alpha in the morning.

The front double door opened before they even went up the steps, and Gideon’s second came out. He and Gideon were probably the strongest vampire students at the academy and would be formidable opponents once they became the leaders. He didn’t want to make enemies of them, not when his first job as Alpha would be to start a war with Jared’s pack. He would have enough enemies after that.

“Welcome,” Samuel said. “Prince Gideon is waiting upstairs.”

Samuel then turned to walk back in, and they followed slowly. The halls were empty, but he sensed all the tension in the air as Samuel led them up the stairs.

‘I don’t like this,’ Myles said in their mind link.

‘Just stay alert. I don’t think he would risk doing anything to us.’

On the top floor, there were fewer vampires. There was a lounge area where a couple sat with one of the donors. He tensed when he saw the vacant look on the donor’s face. He didn’t know why the academy still allowed this barbaric act, and he could never understand why the chosen humans agreed to be fed on like that. There were so many blood banks now that this was not necessary anymore.

“This way,” Samuel said, making him realise he had stopped to watch.

The vampire prince was in a suite of rooms at the end of the hallway, and when Samuel let them in, he was sitting in his private lounge in a chair that looked very much like a throne. These vampires took their royal positions to a ridiculous level.

“I thought I’d have to follow you again,” Gideon said as he walked to sit on a sofa in front of Gideon’s throne.

Samuel went to stand behind his prince, and Derek and Myles remained standing behind him. He knew they would stay alert.

“I’ve been busy, Gideon. I’m here now, so let’s hear what your father had to say.”

“Your wolf wants nothing to do with you. She’s chosen who she wants to stay with.”

“And yet you won’t let me speak to her in person,” he growled.

“You know I can’t allow that. If you command her to return to the pack, she would have to do it. It would be better if your father severed the link and let her be. She has found her true mate.”

Derek scoffed behind him, and Gideon shifted his focus.

“Something funny?”

“There is no such thing as a true mate. Everyone knows this. She’s just lying to you so she doesn’t come back home and face the consequences of what she has done.”

“Just because you wolves are arrogant enough not to believe in the gift from your Goddess, it doesn’t mean that it’s not real,” Gideon said.

And then it was his turn to scoff. Gift? What a joke.

“People died, Gideon. She must answer for that one way or another. If there is any such thing as a true mate bond, I believe she can just reject it, and all will be as it was.”

“People died at your hands, not hers,” Gideon pointed out. “And she can’t reject the bond. It’s too late. They will die from the bonds being severed, or they will lose their minds.”

What?

Ava could die if he rejected her? She was already so fragile.

He pulled his attention back to the matter at hand.

“She left her mate—”

“And he will never be able to compete with her true mate. If your pack can’t see or understand that, then we’ve come to an impasse,” Gideon said, shaking his head. “Tell me your answer, and I will pass it on to my father. And I believe you will hear from your father tomorrow.”

“Is all of this really necessary, Gideon? This could start a war. Are you prepared for that?”

“A war with an Alpha who has an overinflated sense of his own importance?” Gideon chuckled. “I believe it is only what you think that matters. Everything else will fall into place.”

“I’m not the Alpha,” he reminded the vampire.

“But yet here I am, negotiating with the wolf who killed two of my vampires last summer instead of taking my vengeance,” Gideon said coldly. “It’s your dark soul that people fear, not your father’s. So you decide what you will do. Your wolf is not coming back, and she won’t speak to you. She is of sound mind and has not been kidnapped.”

Fuck. This was not how he had expected the night to go. Gideon seemed to know more about the true mate bond than he did, which meant he was probably back to square one with his problem with Ava. Was it still the same if the other half was human? And what did Gideon mean by saying it was too late for them to break the bond?

He shook his head and stood to leave the room. What a waste of time. His father wasn’t going to like this. This was not the way he had expected him to take control of the situation and show the vampires who was the boss.

They were back in the car and driving back to their house when Myles spoke.

“Can you believe that shit?” he asked. “Your father will have our heads if we mention that to him tomorrow.”

“What are we going to do?” Derek asked.

“No fucking idea.”

It was as he drove down their driveway that he caught Claire’s scent. Shadow growled in his head, as he had been doing since lunchtime. He’d skipped training just so he wouldn’t kill that insane wolf, but now she had dared to come this close to him? What did she want?

But as he got out of the car, he realised one thing. Claire wasn’t in his house. But she was close. He turned his head in the direction of the music and growled.