Her Passion 9

Ava's POV:

"Ethan," I replied flatly, trying to keep all emotion out of my tone. I succeeded, but I still felt like shit when I saw his face contort before he could block it out. UH WHY did I feel like that?

I should hate him, despise him even, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't help but fall in love with him.

"Ava!" I was snapped out of my thoughts when Ella called my name, a smile forming on my lips as I looked across the table to find my new grinning friend. This whole friendship thing was new to me, but I knew whether I liked it or not, I couldn't just run off like I'd planned because the pull of the pairing would be too strong, especially since we both had strong alpha blood in our veins.

"Hey, girl," I grinned and looked for a seat, only to find that the only empty seat was next to Ethan. I sighed and nibbled on my lip before shrugging my shoulders and taking a seat next to the doozy also known as my Mate.

"What took you so long?" asked Ella, leaning on her boyfriend's shoulder as I eyed the blond-haired boy appraisingly, not bothering to hide the fact that I was blatantly eyeing him.

At the growl that rumbled in the chest of the very annoyed Ethan, I bit my lip as I looked at his expression, for him to be annoyed was an understatement.

As I tried to look at him unobtrusively, I couldn't help but eye him again, and I felt my breath catch in my throat as I took in his strong features. However, it was his eyes that touched me, the liquid hazel that seemed to look straight into my soul.

I shuddered and averted my eyes.

"What took you so long?"

"The teacher told me to fix my behaviour, to put it that way. She looked scared, though," I rolled my eyes and waved my hand dismissively as I suddenly remembered that I hadn't been given anything to eat. I was starving!

"She's got something!" Ethan growled, and I frowned as I felt a delicious shiver run through me and my wolf purred with pleasure at the sound. This boy had me all worked up.

"Yeah, so calm down, big guy - I'll get something to eat," I declared as I patted his cheek before even thinking about my actions, the flashes of pleasure touching our skin darkening my eyes and making the desire to conquer him even more urgent.

Fuck.

Quickly, I stood up and shook my head. My raven curls swirled furiously in my face as I contorted my face in disgust at my animal instincts before making my way to the food counter. I didn't miss his reaction to my touch either, the pure hungry and lustful look he gave me was enough to make my legs tremble with desire.

I knew it was harder for him, since he was the current alpha and had already accepted his position, that his main priority now was to claim his mate. I respected him for not trying to mate with me by force, as I'd heard of such cases in my travels, but I knew I'd never forgive him if he did, no matter how my wolf felt.

Sighing, I shook my head again, finding it harder and harder not to just follow my instincts, but his words from that morning still haunted me...

I swallowed hard, trying to push those thoughts out of my head as I made my way to the lightly occupied line, listening closely to the apparent whispers in the room. As I caught the conversation between Ethan and his pack, my heart skipped a beat, my wolf purring and howling inside me as I desperately tried to keep my expression down.

"Cheer up, buddy," James said as soon as they thought I was out of earshot. I was too intrigued to bother rolling my eyes, though, and narrowed my eyes menacingly at the people in front of me, to which they immediately shut the fuck up.

"What am I going to do buddy, she hates me".

Oh baby, I thought as I felt my eyes soften at the pain in his voice. What was he going to do to me?

"She doesn't hate you Ethan, you just need to give her time" Ella said compassionately as I continued to stare at the other students in case they started talking again. I didn't want to miss anything, and even though it was painful for me and my wolf to hear this conversation, I'd to be prepared for what they were saying behind my back.

"Yeah, you didn't exactly get off to the best start," another girl said quietly. I'd yet to be introduced to some of the closer pack members, so I didn't know all of their names yet.

Hearing my mate groan in frustration at the memory of it, I tuned it out, not wanting to hear it again as I grabbed a cup of pasta with tomato and cheese and a fork since I wasn't in the mood for a big meal. I didn't exactly have time to eat it either, as the pathetic conversation with the teacher, who now knew to stay away from me, took up most of my lunch hour.

I paid the slightly sweaty woman at the register and rolled my eyes before heading back, only to be stopped midway by none other than my spoiled sister. Great, just what I needed today.

"Listen, you little bitch, you may be the wimp of a sister we kicked out when you were younger, but think again if you think we want you back," she hissed, her tone just loud enough for me to hear, and that was already too much. I raised an eyebrow, unfazed by the malice in her tone as I felt my face contort into a scowl.

"What makes you think I want anything to do with you?" I hissed, grinning inwardly as I saw panic flash in her eyes before she tried to hide it. Too late bitch, I have already seen the effect on you and I love it!

"Who wouldn't?" she asked as if even the idea of it was absurd. I scoffed, did she love herself that much? I could tell from her made-up face that she actually meant it.

"Well, for starters me, so stay out of my life or I'll do more to you than backhand you," I threatened completely seriously and stepped forward into her personal space, making myself even more menacing. She was about an inch taller than me, but the fact that that was only because of the death-defying heels she had on her feet negated all the threatening effect she was trying to achieve.

I tried to control my raging wolf as I breathed in her familiar scent, for my wolf despised her as much as my parents did for the way they had treated me when I was little.

I had never been so glad that I had never told them about my transforming ability, because if I had anything to do with it, they would never find out.

"Oh, what are you going to do, huh? I am a shifter, I am respected here, and what are you? A disgusting and vicious villain," she sneered, obviously thinking she was better than everyone else because of her ability to transform. I scoffed, my eyes burning in her direction as she tried to suppress the urge to flinch, I could see from her posture how much I was unsettling her. I grinned.

"Never forget that, I am a rouge, which means I wouldn't mind killing you," I hissed at her and her body jerked back as she perceived the venom in my posture and tone. She knew I was completely serious, and hesitation and fear flashed in her eyes as she realised how little I would care if she disappeared.

"Just stay away from Ethan, he's mine!"
She growled pathetically, and that remark finally blew my mind as I felt my fingers clench into a fist before they met her nose.

The sound of crunching that echoed through the now silent room seemed to get everyone's attention, as the screaming and now bloody girl made a scene as she sprawled pathetically on the floor. Did she have nosense of shame?

"Pathetic," I spat out, squinting my eyes as I tried not to let my eyes flash like I knew they would. I was used to having my wolf so far on the surface, and controlling myself so as not to give myself away was proving to be more difficult than I had first planned...