Page 86 of Ava: Part One

The icy tendrils of magic released him, and Shadow reinforced their mental walls.

But it took a lot out of the beast, just as it had done to him. How long would they manage to do this before the inevitable happened? Would they be just a shell of themselves by Friday? Would they lose everything?

‘No,’ Shadow growled.

And then the stubborn beast took over. He felt too vulnerable, and having no control in such a dangerous situation was not a good idea. But Shadow was not like him. He had no conscience. He revelled in all the atrocities he had already committed and the ones he intended to commit. The horrors in their mind wouldn’t break him.

It occurred to him that, against such a force, he hadn’t stood a chance of keeping him away from Ava anyway. Shadow was stronger than he would ever be and would have Ava whether he liked it or not.

Chapter 61

Screams. Blood. Crunching sounds. Huge, bloody black paws with deadly claws. Her hands were covered with it.

Screams. Blood. Crunching sounds.

Over and over again.

Darkness. An evil, almost tangible darkness all around her.

A woman, lying in the woods. Lifeless, the same as others around her.

A beach. It was so calming, so peaceful. But the darkness bled in, ruining the moment, sucking her back in.

Ava shot up with a jolt, fighting the darkness. It was all around her, on her skin, seeping into her body. Her heart was pumping triple times as she fell off the bed and jumped to her feet immediately, still swinging her fists.

It took her a moment to realise she was standing in Ezekiel’s bedroom and there was nothing to fight. But it still felt like there was, as if she was drowning in something. Her head felt like cotton wool, her thoughts disappearing the moment she had them. Was she awake? Or was this still a nightmare? Everything had a hazy, dreamlike quality as she looked around the expansive room. She took deep breaths as she sank onto the bed and tried to calm herself. But her body was trembling too much and remained in fight mode.

It looked like she was awake, but how? Why was she back here? She had been trying to escape, and then...

The purple eyes, the snakes, the living trees...

She pulled her feet up to her chest and continued breathing deeply. Those images remained in her head instead of disappearing like everything else. The forest... It was evil. It wasn’t supposed to exist. She shivered as she felt the sickly feeling sliding down her skin again and hugged herself tighter. She didn't want to be here. She didn’t want to be so close to something like that, something that trapped her in the academy to meet her death. And that was all she could feel around her. Death.

The door opened slowly, and she held her breath, expecting to see Ezekiel and face his anger. Her thoughts about him were crystal clear, despite everything else being hazy.

She was sure he was the one who had got her out. The huge, red-eyed creature had felt familiar even though he had looked as dangerous as everything that had been around her. Was he even a wolf?

But it wasn’t Ezekiel who came in.

The other wolves he lived with walked in, their eyes sharp as they looked at her. She couldn’t think of their names or remember if Ezekiel had introduced them. Her mind was too hazy to think properly. It felt like they were stalking her as they circled the bed, watching every little move she made. They sniffed the air the way Ezekiel usually did, but without crossing her personal space.

She didn’t know why they were there, but she was not scared of them. It was the forest that still held her in its grip.

“What are you?” one of them asked.

She looked down, not daring to meet their angry gazes. Without Ezekiel here, and while she felt so vulnerable, she didn’t want to be seen as challenging anyone. She was still trembling, her heart was still pounding, and her head... She couldn’t even understand some of the things running through her mind. Memories, but not memories. So much horror. But she had never seen any of those things in her life.

“Human,” she whispered. “I have to get out of here.”

“You will stay here until Zeke returns. He’s not going through all that shit just to find you gone,” the other wolf growled.

She had pissed them off, which was the last thing she wanted to do. But his words penetrated her foggy mind, and she looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were glowing blue as he growled at her.

“What do you mean? Where’s Ezeki— Alpha Michelson?”

Was he still in the forest?

Her heart started to hammer again as she slipped off the bed. Her legs felt like jelly, but she forced herself to move. Yes, something was definitely wrong; she could feel it. He was still in the forest. Had he been trapped? She could still hear the growling and gnashing of teeth, and she could hear his pained howls. He couldn’t survive out there by himself.

---