Page 37 of Ava: Part Three

They had openly called her a wolf. Did they realise that?

“Um...Thanks,” she said as she relaxed her stance.

She hadn’t even processed the fact that she had gone into heat. It had never been something she had prepared for because she hadn’t believed it applied to her. She knew it took a lot out of the wolves, but that had been draining to a level she had never experienced before.

“We brought some of your things from the dorms,” Samantha said, pointing to a bag by the door and a freshly pressed uniform hanging on the handle of her wardrobe.

The Omegas smiled and then walked out of the room. They didn’t mention her breaking the rules as they would have done at the beginning. But she was sure the dean already knew and would add this to her growing list of infractions.

At least she was well-rested and better equipped to deal with that ignorant wolf. She felt so strange when the guards picked them up from that house. And she could feel something weird now. Something completely different from all the changes she’d felt in her body since she had started at the academy, but she couldn’t put a finger on it.

Was it her wolf? Wasn’t it supposed to be speaking to her if it was there?

She had dreaded meeting this wolf for so long, but after looking into the Head of the Council’s eyes, she knew what her dad and Mr Patrick said was true. She needed her wolf. But she still didn’t know how to feel about it. How could she accept that something in her could be so vicious? So dangerous?

She walked over to her bag, and as she bent to pick it up, the last conversation she had before she slept crashed into her head.

Her father was still there. He was there because Zeke had decided he knew what was best for her and her family.

It didn’t take her long to shower and change, and by the time she went downstairs, Zeke was already waiting. She met his perfect amber gaze without speaking. His guilt was still there in droves, but she knew he didn’t think he had done anything wrong. Her father was a strong Alpha, but this was not his fight. He had responsibilities that went beyond one child.

Zeke waited for her to sit down at the dining table before he sat and joined her. Though she had a lot to say, it would have to remain unsaid because they had no idea who was listening.

“We have another special assembly. I’m guessing the Council will address the school,” Zeke said.

And afterwards she was sure the dean would enjoy handing out his punishment. She would have to go and collect her tablet from the locker to find out what time she had an appointment with him. If he threw her into Isolation, would the Council wait until she came out to make their move?

She ate more than she usually did and drank Julie’s special drink, which smelled like spices and had a kick to it. By the time Derek and Myles came down for breakfast, she was ready to go—or as ready as she would ever be.

Zeke drove her to the Training Centre first and walked out with her. The guards were already outside even though the training schedules didn’t start until the academic schedule was done. She expected them to stop her, but they didn’t even bat an eye when she went past them and headed to the locker room.

“If anything goes wrong, get back to the house and protect yourself. Remember to hide your thoughts,” Zeke said.

She turned around to ask what they could possibly do to protect her now when she saw Mr Patrick appear out of thin air.

She had always assumed, but... Seeing it happen right in front of her eyes made her step back. The professor touched the door and muttered some words before turning back to face her.

“Ava, your father wants to see you at lunchtime. Come to my lecture hall,” he said as if he hadn’t just done something impossible.

“I... I think I’ll be in Isolation,” she said.

“I doubt it very much. I don’t have much time; the guards already sensed something is wrong. I’ll have something that can help you with your wolf.”

And then he touched the door and just disappeared again.

“What the...”

The door crashed open moments later, and two guards rushed in. They looked around the locker room for a moment before they looked at her and Zeke suspiciously.

“Get to assembly,” one of them snarled.

She grabbed her bag and did as she was told without arguing, but Mr Patrick’s words kept running in her head. What did he mean he doubted that she would go to Isolation? Once settled back in Zeke’s car, she pulled her tablet out and checked her notices. Nothing. No messages from the dean.

The sense of doom and gloom was still over the academy when they got out of the car in the parking lot. Though the rules kept everyone relatively well-behaved outside the Training Centre, they were usually livelier than that when they were not in lessons. But everyone was silent today as they walked to the assembly hall. They did not even whisper and look at her as she had expected because she was sure everyone knew what she had done with Zeke by now.

Had they grown up hearing the stories about the Council, too? Or was this feeling of dread pressing into them like it was pressing into her?

“I’m going to sit with the Omegas,” she told Zeke as they walked into the hall.

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