“Sweetheart,” he says gravely. “Are you ready?”
My mouth dries up. I want to shake my head, to get back out of the car and curl up with them in my nest, hide away from all the bad shit in the world and tell everyone to go fuck themselves.
But I don’t have that option. Instead, I lift my chin at Luc, and he pulls off.
I don’t look back.
The ride to the city is quiet. Max keeps my hand in his, his thumb stroking soothingly over my skin, but he allows me the space I need to get my head together and prepare myself.
I need to push aside my emotions. I need to show them that I’m not a master manipulator and that omegas are not the evil they’ve been painted to be. I need them to see the truth, to hear it from my lips.
I cannot fail.Pressure bows my shoulders, and Max gravitates across the seat until his arm wraps around me, his chest vibrating with a soothing purr that softens my aching muscles.
“I’m scared,” I confess. Max traces a pattern on my leg, his face somber.
“We’ll be there,” he assures me. “We won’t leave you alone for a second, love.”
“And if you want to leave,” Nik rumbles. “You just let us know, little bird, and we’ll get you out of there.”
I nod hesitantly, even though I’m not sure it’ll be that easy.
The tension grows as we move closer, crowds starting to appear as we inch through the city traffic towards the court building. People line the streets, many of them women, chanting and holding up placards as we pass them.
We stand with Ava.
Omegas have rights.
Ban the Omega Creed.
My eyes catch on one sign in particular, and I turn to scowl at Max. He leans past me and snorts as a particularly enthusiastic beta protestor waves a sign toward the car.
Max Grey can save me any day.
“She’d probably combust if she knew you were actually in here,” I murmur, and Max clears his throat, quickly looking away from me as his shoulders shake.
The crowds grow denser as we pull into the street where the justice building stands, a tall high-rise structure looming above the apartment blocks on either side of it. Government guards stand on either side of a makeshift barrier, holding back the crowds.
I press myself back in my seat, trying to get my breathing under control as Luc pulls the car up and turns to me, his hand reaching out to grip my leg.
“Together,” he says firmly. His eyes scan my face as our bond jumps in my chest, a wave of protectiveness washing over me. My limbs loosen a little and I nod at him. Nik twists in his seat, a grimace on his lips.
“I’ll get out first. Stay close to me, little bird.”
Apprehension builds at the base of my spine as he opens the car door, a thousand different noises and scents spilling into the quiet in a sensory overload. Flinching, I instinctively draw back, huddling into the backseat as the door closes behind Nik.
“Breathe, sweetheart,” Max coaxes, and I grab his hand again, gripping it for strength.
Luc slides out of the driver’s seat as Nikolai opens my door. I take a final, fortifying breath, bracing myself for the circus we’re about to dive into and step out of the car.
If the car was bad, being outside is a million times worse. The noise increases as the protestors catch sight of us, screams erupting as Max and I are recognized.
“It’s Ava Stone!”
People cry out my old name, and I stay close to my pack as they guide me through the crowd. It swells into a shouting, faceless mass, and my breathing speeds up as I glance around. My panicked eyes fall on one lone protestor. She stands at the front of the crowd, a still and silent figure amongst the chaos with a sheet of dark hair. Her eyes are steady on mine as she holds her placard up.
I am an Ava too.
My breath catches. She’s anomega.Young, too. She must be barely awakened.
