Page 55 of Ava: Part Three

“You made it?”

“We made some of it. Samantha and Julie insisted on cooking as well,” Derek answered with an eye roll and a smile.

Did that mean they weren’t scared of her?

“Oh, I’m sure they are,” Mr Patrick said.

She frowned as she turned to look at where he was sitting, invading her thoughts as usual.

“People will always be a little bit scared of you, Ava. It’s something you’ll have to learn to live with. But I’m sure your mate can help you with that,” he said as he stood and walked to her.

“A little fear isn’t always a bad thing,” her father said as he released her completely and smiled down at her.

As a white wolf, he had always been feared in the pack, but she knew he was also respected because he ruled fairly. But his wolf wasn’t bloodthirsty like hers, so she couldn’t compare herself to him.

“Why don’t we sit down and talk about what comes next? I hear you’ll be summoned tomorrow, and you’ll have some choices to make,” Mr Patrick said.

Tomorrow. So the Council was finally going to lay their cards on the table? And she would have to choose whether to protect her family or protect everyone else. Or between life and death.

She wrapped her arms around herself and sat on a bench beside Zeke. His eyes were on her bare legs, and she suddenly felt self-conscious because she wasn’t fully dressed.

“You look good in my clothes,” Zeke said huskily.

And her toes curled as if she hadn’t just been thinking of how she was going to die tomorrow.

“I don’t think the Council realise the nature of your bond,” Mr Patrick mused, “or they would have separated you already. They already knew about your wolf, but your bond will tip things in our favour if we can get it right. A normal bond answers some of their questions. It’s why Isolation didn’t hurt you. Why you can shield your thoughts from them.”

His words pulled her gaze from Zeke to the professor pacing in the middle of the basement like he was lecturing them.

“What do you mean a ‘normal bond’?”

Mr Patrick didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Zeke as if he wasn’t impressed with him. Everybody looked at Zeke, so she also turned her gaze to him.

“Do you know what a True Mate is, Ava?” Zeke asked, taking her hand and linking their fingers.

The sparks danced all over her skin. Her worry once again calmed down as the rush went through her body. She didn’t even notice when the room cleared because she got lost in his eyes.

“I didn’t just choose you, Ava. You were made for me, and I for you. We are one in a way other mated wolves can not be,” Zeke whispered. “One mind, one soul. Your fate is mine, and mine is yours.”

Wait... What?

Chapter 33

“Wait.Saythatagain,”Ava said.

He looked down at their entwined fingers and brought her hand to his lips. He should have told her before he marked her. Told her he was bonding them for life.

But there had been no other choice for either of them.

"You're my true mate, Ava. The perfect half of me," he said. "It's why our bond was so strong before I even marked you. I only had to catch your scent for Shadow to know you were ours."

"So when you say my fate is your fate, what exactly do you mean?"

This would be the most challenging part for her, as much as it hurt him to admit that. When Mr Patrick told him about True Mates, it had been easy to accept because he wouldn't want to live without her, anyway. He and Shadow agreed on that. But Ava's wolf was complicated. She and Ava were at odds, and he didn't know how that would affect their bond.

"If you die, I die," he said simply.

Ava gasped and pulled her hand out of his. Her shock and disappointment shot through him. It felt like she regretted mating him, and that made a knot tie in his chest.

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