Ava, p.1
Ava, page 1
Ava: Part Two
Phoenix Academy Book 2
L.G. Savage
Copyright © 2021 by L.G. Savage
All Rights Reserved.
Ava: Part Two
Phoenix Academy Book 2
Cover by Nautilus Visuals.
No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except in brief quotations in reviews and specific other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, events, places and characters are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance or references to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Thank you for your support.
Contents
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34
35. Chapter 35
36. Chapter 36
37. Chapter 37
38. Chapter 38
39. Chapter 39
40. Chapter 40
41. Chapter 41
42. Chapter 42
43. Chapter 43
44. Chapter 44
45. Chapter 45
46. Chapter 46
47. Chapter 47
48. Chapter 48
49. Chapter 49
50. Chapter 50
51. Chapter 51
52. Chapter 52
53. Chapter 53
54. Chapter 54
55. Chapter 55
56. Chapter 56
57. Chapter 57
58. Chapter 58
59. Chapter 59
60. Chapter 60
61. Chapter 61
62. Chapter 62
63. Chapter 63
64. Chapter 64
65. Chapter 65
66. Chapter 66
67. Chapter 67
68. Chapter 68
69. Chapter 69
70. Chapter 70
71. Chapter 71
72. Chapter 72
73. Chapter 73
Books By L.G. Savage
About the author
Chapter 1
Ava hid in her room for the rest of the weekend.
She had waited in her room, watching from her window to see if Ezekiel and his friends would come back okay. Why had the wolves been watching her? Had Claire sent them? Was it Jared? His threats were still clear in her mind. She had not chosen any side, but it was clear she was now involved in whatever issues these packs had.
She’d heard howling and then silence. Ezekiel’s friends had returned alone, but she hadn’t seen him until much later. She’d waited by her window the entire time and still couldn’t understand why she had been so scared for him. But the moment she saw him, she stepped back from her window with her heart in her mouth. Ezekiel had strolled casually out of the woods, naked and with blood all over him.
Blood.
It was the beginning of another school week, and she still felt the icy fear rolling down her spine. This was the man she had almost mindlessly given herself to. A dangerous man. A murderer?
What had he done to the other wolves?
Had he done the same to Claire?
She couldn’t get this thought out of her mind as she snuck out of the house early on Monday morning.
She was halfway to the dining hall when Ezekiel’s car slowed beside her. The window rolled down, and she met those dangerous amber eyes. He wasn’t pleased. She looked away from him quickly and continued walking. She had challenged him too many times before; she could have been the unlucky one on the receiving end of his wrath at any time.
“Get in,” he growled.
“I... I wanted some air. It’s okay, I’m almost there,” she stammered.
“I wasn’t asking, Ava.”
A little bit of anger bubbled up inside her. He was an Alpha, so she was supposed to automatically do as he said. It would always be this way in this place. This wasn’t like her home where everyone was treated equally, even her, though most of the pack didn’t like that.
“I can manage walking to my lessons by myself,” she tried again.
“Yes, because you can defend yourself against a wolf,” Ezekiel said sarcastically.
She could. This place had messed her up with all the rules she had to follow, and being scared and anxious all the time, but she had always managed to defend herself before. It pissed her off that Ezekiel didn’t think so.
“Get in, Ava, before I stop the car and strap you in myself.”
She didn’t want to challenge him any further so she stopped walking and went to open the back door of the car. Ezekiel’s friends were in the back, and they were both looking at her as if she was pissing them off. She sighed as she closed the door and got into the passenger side instead. If anyone saw her getting out of Ezekiel’s car, the whole school would talk about it all day.
“You skipped breakfast,” Ezekiel said as he started driving.
“I’m going to the dining hall,” she muttered.
“I guess that’s where we’re all going, then.”
Would he expect her to sit with them, too? She had sat with Jared several times, but she had a feeling that sitting with Ezekiel would be something else entirely.
“Alpha Michelson—”
“Zeke,” he cut in.
“I can’t call you that.”
She had broken enough rules already. She had to play it smart now until she found a way out of this place.
She didn’t say anymore as he drove into the parking lot and parked the car. As she had expected, the place was swarming with students, and they all turned to watch Ezekiel’s car. She couldn’t be seen coming out of his car and then sitting with them as well.
“Thank you for the lift,” she said as she unbuckled herself and quickly got out of the car.
The other students gave her a wide berth as she rushed past them. Always whispering, always staring at her. She kept her head down as she walked into the dining hall. She would have skipped breakfast altogether but was ravenous. All the lost time she’d had the past week was causing this, but she couldn’t seem to eat enough.
She filled a tray up and then looked around for an empty table somewhere in the back, away from where she had come to learn was the Alpha section. Emily was sitting with a group of Omegas. The backstabber put her gaze down the moment she saw her. She couldn’t understand that. They were both Omegas; Emily knew she couldn’t do anything to her, but no one would care if she did. No one ever listened to anything they had to say. But looking at her former friend brought all her anger up again. She wanted to punch the wolf in the face. She wanted to hurt Emily like she had been hurt in the village.
But this school wouldn’t allow that. She would always have to suppress her urge to defend herself.
Several Omegas from her class were sitting where Emily was, so she guessed that was the Omega section. She made her way there, her eyes on Emily the whole time until she found an empty table behind her. Maybe Emily had been ordered to do what she did because she was an Omega, but was she that mindless that she could do something so heartless without thought? Was she so weak? She could have stopped what had happened if she had just said something.
She roughly stuck a fork into her sausages as if they were Emily’s neck, and the sound made Emily flinch.
“What did she do to you?”
She had been so engrossed in watching Emily that she hadn’t seen the three wolves walk to her table with their trays. Her eyes widened as she looked around the room and then directly at the Alpha. And then they widened further when she realised what she was doing in front of witnesses.
“Nothing,” she mumbled.
“So why do you look like you want to kill her?” Ezekiel asked.
Emily flinched again at his words. Maybe that was what she was scared of, after all—that a dangerous wolf would come after her for her part in this. Emily had already disappeared when Zeke had come to save her; he wouldn’t know her part in it.
She didn’t answer him. The Alpha sighed and then sat beside her while the other two sat opposite. She could feel everyone’s eyes burning into them, and a few of the Omegas stood to leave. She had ruined their breakfast. She didn’t need to be a wolf to know they were scared of Ezekiel.
But how was she supposed to tell a wolf who had come back home with blood all over him to stay away from her? Was she supposed to keep quiet and accept everything just because she was so scared of making him angry?
“Eat,” Ezekiel said.
So she picked up her cutler y and started eating just because she didn’t have the guts to tell him to piss off. She had to find another way out of the academy quickly.
Chapter 2
Zeke watched Ava walk into the First Year block before he turned and joined Derek and Myles.
“Are you sure about this?” Myles asked.
He wasn’t sure about anything except the fact that Ava belonged to him.
“The pack might tell your father. We don’t know who his spies are yet,” Derek added. “The fact that she’s human—”
‘She’s still mine,’ he said in the mindlink with a growl.
‘And we accept that. We witnessed the bond, remember,’ Derek said. ‘I’m just saying if we don’t have a plan yet, we’ve just put a giant target on her back.’
Ava always had a target on her back, but at least now she had his protection. Only the really foolish would even dare.
He stopped walking when he saw Jared coming out of his car. He and Shadow watched him as he looked around and then stopped his gaze on them. Shadow growled.
Jared’s eyes glowed in anger before he turned away and started walking towards his classes. Shadow didn’t like that. That wolf had sent his minions to spy on Ava, and then he dared turn his back as if he had done nothing wrong.
“Easy, Zeke,” Myles said. “You’ve just got out. We don’t want to go through that shit again anytime soon.”
But he could feel Myles’ anger as well as they watched the arrogant coward walk into the building.
“Let's get to class before anything happens,” Derek suggested.
They started walking again and had to stop when someone called his name.
“Mr Michelson.”
He almost rolled his eyes as he turned back. Shadow had never liked the dean simply because he didn’t like submitting to anyone, but he now despised the man for throwing him into Isolation. Sure, he had admitted what he had done, but Alpha Russell should have given him the benefit of the doubt because of his otherwise spotless record.
“Good morning, Alpha Russell,” he said as the man approached.
“A word, please,” the dean said.
“We can discuss anything in front of my Beta and Gamma,” he answered.
The dean looked at his friends before he said, “Very well. I thought I should tell you that the vampires and Seers couldn’t find the missing wolves, and the witches couldn’t locate them. We have even conducted door-to-door searches. They’ve disappeared without a trace. So we have reported this to the Council. Expect to be called in for a meeting.”
“Because you still think I’m involved,” he stated.
“Because you confirmed the statements that the witnesses made when you admitted you attacked her,” the Alpha pointed out. “And I’m afraid that is all we have to go on.”
“Who was the last person to see her? Have you asked them?”
“I’m afraid they’re all missing, too. The witnesses said her friends arrived shortly after you attacked her to help, and then they were all seen going to the village on Saturday morning.”
There would have been plenty of people to see her between Friday night and Saturday morning, but it seemed no one had come forward. Someone wanted him to go down for this one, and the only one stupid enough to try this was Jared.
“How many wolves are missing?” Derek asked.
“Seven.”
“Seven wolves can’t just disappear without a trace, Dean Russell. Someone is messing with you.”
“And that’s why delegates of the Council are coming. I’d hoped not to see any of them until the evaluations,” he sighed. “I have to go and talk to someone else. Please check your tablet for your appointment.”
He watched the dean turn back with a frown. The last people he wanted to see were members of the Council, not after what their magic had done to him. He didn’t know how much information they had got from their probing in his head. Did something slip through? Had they found out about Ava?
“We should check this out ourselves. Something tells me they’re trying to pin this on you because they need a fall guy for the Council,” Derek said.
“I’ll keep my ears open,” Myles said, already moving towards the Fourth Year block.
All the fourth-year facilities were in that building, but after registration, they would all attend different classes in different buildings. Only the Omegas would remain in there for their simpler lessons. Myles was an excellent tracker and could usually get any information he needed without being heard or seen. He wasn’t as intimidating as he and Derek, so he would get to the bottom of this quicker. No one talked much when he was around.
“I’ll keep my ears open as well. Shall I speak to the pack?” Derek asked.
“Yes. Someone knows what’s going on. Find them.”
With that order, he walked into the building. The students still standing around in the halls quieted down the moment he entered, but he could still pick up the whispered conversations in the rooms.
“...killed Claire. The Council is coming to take him...”
“...deserves it. I heard he was running around the woods like he owns them. Almost killed a Beta...”
“...fucking shameful. What is he doing with that human...”
“...got himself a sex slave...”
“...I wouldn’t mind. She’s fucking hot. She’s mouthy, but I bet that mouth can be useful, too. I’d tie her up on my bed and...”
That comment made him change course. He headed to the room he had heard that whisper and opened the door. They all went silent when they saw him and looked down. Most in this room had Alpha blood like him, so they didn’t need to lower their gazes. But they always did. They knew who Shadow was.
His eyes landed on the wolf who had spoken. Another Alpha. He had never had anything to do with him before, but he was on Shadow’s radar now.
He didn’t speak. He watched the Alpha’s Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, and fear filled the air. He knew he could make this wolf piss himself like the other one had.
‘Kill him,’ Shadow growled.
‘I can’t kill everyone,’ he answered.
‘But I can,’ Shadow retorted.
But he wished he could. He knew he was looking at them with Shadow’s eyes now because the fear in the room increased.
“Can I help you, Mr Michelson?”
He looked at the professor preparing for the day at the front of the lecture hall. She couldn’t meet his gaze either.
“No. Just taking down names.”
He took a deep breath as he said that and catalogued all the scents for no other reason than the fact that it made them all shit themselves. Good. He had an impeccable record at the school. They had all heard of him, but they had never seen him lose his shit here. They had no idea what he was capable of.
He left the room without another word and continued to his room for registration. The whispers were considerably quieter by the time he got there, but this new development was worrying. If they pinned Claire’s disappearance on him, who would protect Ava?
Chapter 3
Ava was angry that Ezekiel and his friends practically walked her to her block, but once she was alone, she realised they probably knew something she didn’t. She still had no idea where Ezekiel had been most of the previous week, and now she didn’t have the guts to ask what he had done to Claire.
Was the she-wolf waiting somewhere in the background to take her revenge? Corner her in the bathroom again? Was she going to send her minions?
Or was Claire not here at all?
The other students had surprisingly left her alone, but it hadn’t stopped the whispers. What she wouldn’t do for supernatural hearing right now. Not that she would do anything about it, but she would probably find out what the hell was going on.
“When that demon wolf tires of you, let me know. I could use a bed warmer—”
She looked up to see Douche Dexter in front of her, but someone nudged him, and he stopped talking. And then, surprisingly, he walked past her without another word and without shoving her.
She knew why. The entire school probably knew Ezekiel sat with her for breakfast this morning. And if Dexter’s comments were anything to go by, they all thought she was sleeping with him, too. She had been afraid something like this would start going around after the Omegas had changed the bedding on Ezekiel’s bed.
