32. Chapter 32
Chapter 32
“T hat was a very immature thing to do. You’re not children! I will not tolerate such undignified behaviour in my academy.”
Zeke only half-listened to what the dean was saying. All he could smell was Ava; all he could feel was Ava. He needed to go for a run to clear his mind before he ruined everything. Ava wasn’t ready for this. She would run a mile from him if he told her, and her running from him when they were in danger was the last thing he needed.
Last night, she’d almost died from whatever foolish thing she did, but his anger evaporated during her match as if it hadn’t existed. How could he have forgotten that there was someone among them who wanted her dead? How could he have easily forgotten about Claire and the Council? It was like he’d been mindless, stripped down to his primal nature to focus on one thing only.
‘...two days in Isolation, and believe me, I will find out who did it...’
The Fourth-Year fire assembly point was quite a distance from the First-Year one, but he could still hear Ava’s heartbeat. He was sure everyone could hear it, too. She was scared. Of him. Of what he had almost done with her. He couldn’t blame her. He’d almost taken her virginity in a dank little room without a care in the world about the consequences.
Something wasn’t right there. He’d felt this way about Ava since the day he had seen her, but while she’d been in that ring, everything had been magnified.
“...completely irresponsible for raising the fire alarm...”
‘You okay?’
He didn’t look at Myles as he shook his head. He wouldn’t be fucking okay until Ava was his and people stopped trying to kill her. But as his future Luna, they would want to kill her all the time.
Like they had killed his mother.
He had to stamp it out quickly before it went too far. His little human didn’t have a submissive bone in her body and would likely bring him trouble everywhere they went. Everyone would want to hurt her. It was the nature of a wolf not to bow down to anyone they thought was inferior, but they would all have to give Ava that respect once he claimed her.
But like they had done to his father when they killed his mate, his enemies would target her just to get to him.
His fists clenched and unclenched as he kept his gaze on the dean.
‘You need to get a grip on this, Zeke. I didn’t know if pulling the fire alarm would work, but we may not be so lucky next time. You two didn’t even notice that you were putting a show on for everyone.’
He clenched his jaw. He had no idea what happened in the arena, but he had likely put a bigger target on Ava’s back. He’d bet all his worldly possessions that his father would be aware of this incident before he even got home to call him.
“This has set the whole day back. You have an hour for lunch, and then the mock evaluations will resume. Dismissed.”
His peers started moving, but the dean remained where he had been standing in front of them. Alpha Russell’s gaze was cold and hard as it met his. It seemed he had fallen from the dean’s good graces, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. The whole school had seen whatever that shit was in the arena. They would have seen how hard he’d been and caught the scent of Ava’s arousal. Would they all start to figure things out now? Would they realise she was his true mate?
‘Take Ava home. I need a run,’ he told his pack before turning away from the dean and walking towards the woods.
‘Are you sure she needs protecting?’ Derek asked.
He stopped in his tracks and looked back at his Beta with a frown.
‘Have you not been watching her fights? Did you not feel that, when she fought that Omega?’
‘She lives and trains with wolves. I knew she had impressive skills when I trained with her, but she’s still human, Derek,’ he said. ‘Take her home, please. I need a run before I speak to the Alpha.’
As he walked, he wondered what else his pack had seen. The Omega Ava fought was useless at fighting, but her fear had been beyond normal today. She was terrified of Ava, and his mate hadn’t held back. She’d not shown any mercy as she had done to the others. It was time he got his hands on that Omega to find out what the fuck happened.
The way Ava had stalked her, her movements so sure and stealthy as if she was on a hunt... Maybe it was because she’d been raised by wolves, as he told Derek. She would have the same mannerisms and behaviours. But it didn’t explain how she defeated the Alpha the day before because she was one hundred percent human.
He pushed the thoughts aside as he approached the woods and started stripping his training kit off. A run would clear his mind so he could get a grip on himself before he saw Ava again.
He didn’t know how long Shadow took over, his huge paws thundering on the ground as the wind blew in his face. He wasn’t trying to hunt because they both agreed that would trigger his blood lust and send him hunting for the asshole students instead. The asshole Jared, the vampire who’d yielded, the alpha that Ava had sent to the infirmary, the Omega that was on her way there too... So many people on Shadow’s shit list that it was a wonder none of them were dead yet.
‘And Claire,’ Shadow reminded him.
In this state, his sense of smell was superior. It was what made him the most feared hunter at this academy because he could always find who he was looking for. But there had not been a hint of Claire's scent anywhere since the day she had gone missing. He was starting to wonder if the Council really had found her.
‘We’ll get her when she shows herself.”
He reluctantly started to head back home. Shadow didn’t protest. He hadn’t since Isolation forced them to bond in a way he had never allowed before.
By the time he strolled into the house through the back door, he could already hear his father shouting on the phone. He walked to the lounge without bothering to dress and saw his Beta and Gamma tense as they listened to the Alpha’s insults.
“I’m here, Alpha,” he said.
His father stopped his ranting only briefly before he started on him.
“What’s the meaning of this? A human? You’ve given a human pack protection?” Alpha Ezra roared. “And on top of that, you had to be stupid enough to get a visit from Council members?”
“It was unavoidable.”
“Get rid of the human, Ezekiel. Don’t sully my name with such vermin just because you’re getting your dick wet.”
He clenched his jaw and his fist. The order was clear in the Alpha’s tone, and he didn’t appreciate that.
“What did the Council say?”
“Nothing. The matter had nothing to do with me.”
“So you didn’t kill the girl?”
He had never had any issues with his father having his people at the school because he’d been a model student and followed all the rules. But now... The spy had to be dealt with. His father would be the first to try to get rid of Ava.
“No, Alpha.”
“You’ve been a constant disappointment this semester, Ezekiel. When I bring your mate next Friday, I want the vampire prince’s head on a platter, and I don’t want to see the human. You will obey me, or you’ll be exiled.”