I sit forward. “Sweetheart, none of us would ever think that you’re hiding away from this. You have suffered more at their hands than just about anyone. Nobody would blame you for putting yourself first for once.”
Ava draws herself up, her chin tilting up defiantly.
“I would,” she says fiercely. “I’m puttingthemfirst, Max.”
Her hands stroke over her swollen stomach. “I’ve been thinking a lot,” she says, turning to look at us all. Her brow creases. “About what it means to be a mother. What I think it means.”
She turns back to Luc. “I amchoosing, Luc. I didn’t choose to become pregnant, but I am choosing to be the best mom that I can be. That means putting their health and happiness first. It means doing the right thing, even when it’s the hardest thing imaginable.”
Her voice shakes. “I may be an omega, and I may have been bent, but I amnot broken. And if I want my children to live in a world where they can choose the life they want to lead, then I have to speak up. And when I do it, I want you to stand next to me. Not behind me.”
Luc’s face falls, and he sighs in resignation. “I will stand wherever you want me to be,” he promises, drawing Ava into his arms. She goes willingly, winding her arms around his neck.
“I love you,” he whispers. “So damned much, brat. The only thing that scares me in all of this is the possibility of you getting hurt.”
Ava strokes a hand over his brow. “I love you too. But if I don’t do this, then there might not be a future for any of us.”
Luc drops his face to inhale the crook of her neck. “I know,” he rasps. “God, I know. I just wish this wasn’t on your shoulders.”
“I’m strong enough.” She smiles a little. “As long as you’ll be there to hold me up.”
“Always.”
The affirmation rolls around the room, all of us watching the omega that swept into our lives and now might be the key to bringing down the laws that have controlled our lives for decades. My chest aches. I would do anything –anything– to keep her safe.
But what do we do when our best chance for a future puts her directly in the line of fire?
Ava turns, her hazel eyes falling on me before moving to Nikolai and Bastien.
“I’m tired,” she whispers. “Can we go to bed? All of us? Just to sleep, though.”
I get to my feet and scan her face anxiously. “Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
She gives me a wobbly smile that just about rips my heart out. “Then let’s go to bed,” I say gently, holding out my hand. Nik and Bastien are already moving, flicking off the lamps around the room as Luc and I inspect Ava. She looks paler than I’ve seen her since she arrived, and worry grasps my throat in a tight grip. Luc shares an anxious glance with me over her head.
She takes my hand and follows me up the stairs as Luc hovers behind us. Toeing off my shoes at the door, I pad across the nest, inspecting the pillows and blankets. Ava doesn’t even bother getting undressed as she drops down and crawls into position.
The piles of material swallow her up as she burrows into the blankets with a sigh. I barely pause to peel off my shirt as I climb in next to her, the others following as we settle into an unspoken arrangement, Luc and I on either side of Ava. Bastien clambers in behind me with Nik settling behind Lucien.
Ava curls into me, her soft huffs of breath already slowing down as I stroke her hair away from her face. “Sleep, love,” I breathe, leaning in to kiss her gently on the forehead and pulling a downy blanket over us. The stress lines in her forehead gradually smooth away until she’s gently snoring, and I close my own eyes.
Sleep doesn’t come easily.
ChapterFifty-Eight
Ava
When I wake up, exhaustion already weighs down my bones.
I make the mistake of complaining to Luc, and he whisks me into Max’s office before I can so much as blink.
“This really isn’t necessary,” I grumble, but Max hushes me. “You’re getting closer to giving birth to two little humans,” he says gently. “Excuse us if we want to make sure you’re cared for.”
It’s a funny feeling, being cared for when you’ve never had anybody who asked if you were cold, or hungry, or even if you were alright. It makes my shoulders tight, makes me want to turn away from the care in their faces. Sometimes, I even bite their heads off.
Like now.
