Rogue gently closes his father’s eyes with a choked sob.
“I’m so sorry, Rogue,” I whisper. Tears soak the top of my dress. He nods as he stares down at his father, and Max gets to his feet, helping me up as we turn away from the pack to give them some privacy as they grieve.
I hope that you’ve found your peace, Christian, wherever you may be.
As I turn away, Max and Luc close to my side, another pinch drags down in my abdomen and I stumble. Max grabs hold of me, worry tightening his voice. “Ava?”
Shaking my head, I lean my head against his arm.
“I’m fine, Max” I say tiredly. “Where’s Bastien?”
“Here, love,” he says, walking out from behind a camera with tension lining his shoulders. He opens his arms and I collapse gratefully into them, burying my nose in his throat for a hit of his scent.
“Where were you?” I whisper, and he clears his throat. I pull back at his sheepish expression. “I was… taking out the trash.”
“You what?” Belatedly, realization hits me and my eyes widen. “What actually happened? Who was he?”
Bastien shakes his head. “Some crazy beta. I think he lived up around here, must have seen the vehicles and gotten suspicious. There’s no sign of anyone else around, I’ve checked.”
I hold in my shudder at the thought of a strange man watching me bare my soul, getting angrier and angrier until he hated me enough to lift a shotgun to my chest.
He probably won’t be the only one.
“What about the video?” I ask quietly, and Bastien stiffens. “It was still on,” he mutters, “When it happened. It caught everything.”
I bite my lip, not sure how I feel about such private moments being broadcast to the world. But I guess it was easy to forget in the chaos.
Another pinch feels like my stomach is being yanked downwards with a pair of pliers, and I double over. This one takes a few seconds to disappear, the frantic tones of my pack registering. Max’s voice appears in my eyeline, his face stern.
“You’re having contractions,” he growls. “Ava. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Wait.
“I’m having contractions?” I blink at Max, a hint of panic ticking at my neck. “It’s too early!”
He presses his hand to my bump, feeling around with his hand. “I won’t know for certain until I examine you,” he mutters, “But the sooner we can get you home, the better. Bas, let the Winters know we’re leaving. The kit can stay, right?”
Bastien nods. “Nothing to trace it back to us, and we can always come back and get it. It’ll take too long to pack.”
My breathing sounds harsh and noisy in the confined space, and I bite back a whine as reality trickles in. This could be it. I could give birth today.
I stare at Max with pleading eyes. “I’m not ready for this, Max.”
He cups my cheek. “Remember what I said? I am with you. You are not alone. And I’m going to be there every step of the way.”
Luc’s hand settles on my shoulder. “We’re all in, brat. Remember?”
I am not alone.
I have my pack.
I can do this.
ChapterSixty-Three
Ava
“Ican’t fucking do this,” I gasp out in furious tones as my back bows with the strength of another contraction. “Fuck!”
