Ava, Part Two (Phoenix Academy #2)

65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Z eke watched his mate sleep, but she was still troubled. He couldn't just see it on her face; he could feel it.

Had she really thought he had hurt Claire that day? From his conversation with the Omega after he'd cornered her in training, he had known Ava had been involved somehow.

He just hadn't expected this.

His mate wasn't a human. Yet she still smelled human even now, despite her stronger scent and his scent on her.

A repressed wolf? Had trauma caused that?

Shadow had emerged early, too. He'd been in danger, and the shift had shocked everyone. But Shadow hadn't retreated after what he had done. He'd revelled in the destruction and had wanted to do it again and again.

It was why he'd had to put the mental wall between them—the reason he'd learned how to control and hide his true nature.

He would teach Ava to do the same if she had to, even though Shadow growled his objection. He could understand where his beast was coming from. It had been more challenging to function when they were mentally separated. It was only when the walls had come down that they had fully understood each other.

Ava would need to learn that control somehow if she managed to speak to her wolf. The fact that she couldn't even remember shifting was more worrying. The fact that he or Shadow couldn't sense her wolf was worse.

He put his nose in the crook of her neck again and inhaled. Still the same scent.

He sensed his pack mates returning and kissed Ava on her forehead before gently untangling himself. He was downstairs when Derek and Myles walked in through the front door.

"What's going on, Zeke? Has she rejected you?" Derek asked the moment he saw him.

"No."

"Then what happened? I can feel... I don't know. It's like the times you two were separated," Derek explained as he came to stand in front of him.

As pack mates, his Beta and Gamma would have sensed his feelings. But right now, that was all Ava. That heaviness, that darkness, that guilt... That was all his mate.

She had already linked to the pack even before he'd marked her.

Like a wolf.

"She's... It's a long story," he said as he walked into the lounge and sat heavily on a couch. "Tell me what you found out."

"Well, your dad is supposed to be discussing the issue of the rogues and trying to get back up from our allies," Myles said as he sat opposite him. "But when I followed him, he was more concerned about Ava."

Not surprising.

"Did anyone see you?"

"No," Myles answered.

Myles would have made an excellent Gamma with his tracking abilities. The fact that a bunch of Alphas hadn't sensed him in the restricted area was proof of that.

But now he was taking that destiny away from him. Away from both of them. Without graduating from the academy, no one would recognise him as the true Alpha. So Derek and Myles would not be Beta and Gamma.

He was going to ruin their lives.

He looked away from Myles, who had been looking forward to the day they could officially take revenge. Guilt ate him up.

Ava was now his top priority, but he would find a way to keep his word to Myles. They would have their pound of flesh, just not as they had planned.

"The Alphas are going to pressure the dean into throwing her into Isolation indefinitely," Derek added. "Our dads can't do anything to stop him."

"He's furious, Zeke," Myles said. "What are we going to do? We can't go against our Alpha."

"Does he know I marked her?"

"He didn't say anything about that."

Now, that was surprising. Shadow had been clear when they'd stopped the mob going after Ava. If word hadn't reached Alpha Ezra yet then his alliances weren't as strong as he thought.

"I'll deal with my father. Right now, we have a bigger problem. The Council. They're coming back, but I don't know if it's for Ava or both of us. I'm going to have to take Ava out of here."

It was the only way, even if Mr Patrick disagreed. With the way she was feeling, Ava would willingly give herself over, and that was something that he'd never allow to happen. Some people successfully hid from the Council, as strong as the Council's magic was. He would have to find them.

"Why would they want Ava?" Derek asked.

"I think the less you know, the better."

Alpha Ezra was their Alpha, so he could make them tell him everything. And if he did get Ava out of here, then his Beta and Gamma would be the first to be questioned by the Council.

"But you wouldn't graduate," Myles stated with a frown.

He met Myles' gaze when the realisation dawned on him.

"There is nothing in the world that will stop me from avenging my mother and your brother. Even if I don't graduate. You have my word," he vowed.

Myles looked away. He could sense his Gamma's doubt, but there wasn’t much he could say to reassure him. He would keep his word but had to deal with this problem first.

He sensed Alpha Morgan approaching and stood.

"I'm going to speak to Ava's father in the basement. If Ava wakes up, come and get us."

He was waiting at the door when Alpha Morgan jogged up his driveway. He was quite an imposing figure, but Shadow still didn't feel like challenging him, which was a surprise.

'Why would I? He's family now,' Shadow said lazily.

He'd been like that since mating with Ava. He still wanted to bask in this feeling of finally belonging, finally being accepted.

"Where's Ava?" Alpha Morgan asked the moment he walked in.

"Sleeping," he answered as he led him down the hall. "I need to speak to you first."

When he opened the basement door and started walking down the steps, Ava's father remained at the top.

"What the hell is this?"

"A soundproofed dungeon," he answered honestly.

He'd already marked the man's daughter. There was no point hiding the truth now.

"Are you shitting me?!"

"Not in the slightest. But it's the only place where we are guaranteed privacy," he answered as he continued down the steps.

Alpha Morgan followed, and when he looked around, he sensed a lot of disappointment. He was aware he wasn't the sort of wolf anyone wanted for their child, but seeing that on his mate's father's face kind of hurt.

"I didn't choose to be like this," he said.

Alpha Morgan stopped looking around to meet his gaze.

"Why my little girl? Why did you have to mark her?"

There was a lot of pain there.

"I had no choice. She was destined for me. She's my true mate. The other half of me."

Alpha Morgan's gaze widened.

"There haven't been any true mates reported in generations," he said, coming forward to stand in front of him. "There's talk that all the separation and the last wars had something to do with that."

"I don't know how. But my father had already arranged a mating, which I had to politely turn down yesterday, so that made him angry. I'll keep Ava safe from him."

Alpha Morgan had a thoughtful frown.

"Could that be the reason the Council wants you? The demon wolf and his human mate?"

"But she's not human, and I think they know that," he said. "Why don't you take a seat, and we'll talk about what Mr Patrick said."

Alpha Morgan chuckled.

"I think I'll wait for Ava to wake up. You clearly don't know who you've mated yet if you don't know that you can't discuss her and make decisions about her without her input. Good luck with that, kid."

He frowned as he followed Ava's dad back up the steps.

"You know the situation is urgent, and Ava isn't in the right headspace for this right now."

"She'll be fine when she wakes up."

"Alpha Morg—"

He was interrupted when Derek met them at the top.

"Your father is coming."