Page 10 of Ava: Part One

Ava frowned when he looked back at the girls. She didn’t need wolf senses to know how terrified they were.

“Give my guest a plate,” the Alpha said. “It’s not every day Little Red walks into the wolf’s den.”

And then he smiled—a wolfish smile that left her feeling cold as she wondered if she had just put herself in danger.

Chapter 7

Zeke shifted back into his human form in the woods behind Jared’s house and snarled with frustration. What he wanted... What he needed was on that dick’s property. The scent was so strong there that Shadow was going crazy trying to cross the boundary.

He usually had a tighter grip on his wolf than that, so it occurred to him for a second that maybe he needed to worry. It had taken years of work to get that unstable beast under control.

But that scent... He was with Shadow on this. They had to find it.

So he jogged back to his house and entered through the back doors. Myles and Derek were in the lounge with a group of girls who were definitely not wolves. He ignored their questioning looks when he strode past them naked. He didn’t give a shit that his junk was swinging all over the place in front of strangers. Other wolves wouldn’t have cared, but he felt the girls eyeing him as if he were their next meal.

Derek found him as he was putting a shirt on.

“Are we going somewhere?” he asked.

“Just me.”

He didn’t want to elaborate. The whole situation stunk of hypocrisy, which he was well aware of. Claire had only mentioned the party, and he had been ready to rip her apart. Even now, the thought of going over to Jared’s house was grating on his nerves. Was it worth it? Did he need to enter the enemy’s territory just to find out what that scent was?

‘Yes,’ Shadow said.

Shadow hardly ever talked, not since he had taken control of him. But he didn’t have time to stop and think about his beast suddenly finding his voice again. It didn’t matter anyway since they agreed. They were going to the party.

“Don’t tell me you’re going back to Claire,” Derek said. “You know your father disapproves.”

He frowned at Derek as he put his tie over his head. Being questioned about his every move was something he wouldn’t miss once he became the Alpha. Somehow, his father always found a way to micromanage things, even so far away.

“Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but no, I’m not going to see Claire.”

“So why are you getting dressed up?”

Zeke looked at his reflection in the mirror and paused as he made the final knot in his tie. Shit. What the fuck was he doing? This was Jared’s party, and he dressed like he was going on a date. He had no idea why he’d felt the need to do that. There would be no one he’d want to impress at Jared’s house; they were all members of his pack or people they had allied with. Which meant they were all his enemies.

Which meant he would be outnumbered if he went alone. But still...

He pulled the tie off and found a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.

“Zeke, are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m just... I’m hungry.”

He was starving. He wanted whatever was whetting his appetite like this. He wanted to inhale it. Lick it. Bathe in it. He wanted it all over him if he could. The scent had invaded every part of him, almost like the scent of prey on a hunt. He couldn’t stop. His thoughts were all jumbled up as he finally pulled the T-shirt over his head and walked out of his room with Derek close behind.

“Then order something. You don’t need to go out now, not when the vampires—”

“I know what’s out there,” he growled as he rushed down the stairs.

He walked past the lounge entrance, where Myles was already entertaining some of the girls. The scent of lust was heavy in the air, tainting the sweet scent that seemed to have melded into every cell in his body. The moment he stepped out into fresh air, the scent hit him again. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Fuck, that was amazing.

When he opened his eyes again and looked toward Jared’s house, he struggled to push Shadow back. Shifting there wouldbe seen as an act of war, and the consequences would be more than he was willing to pay.

“Zeke... Your eyes, man,” Derek said quietly.

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