Pushing away the old tinge of regret, I sigh. I wouldn’t even want to be an alpha now. Not with all the shit going on. When I was a kid, sure – but as soon as I saw the reality of what it means to be an alpha in this world, I was secretly glad to be me.
Plus, I can give my brother a run for his money in the muscle stakes any day.
And I’m still part of the pack. My family is all that matters to me – the family I’ve chosen. My pack - Luc, Max, Nik. Nash and Leah too. They’re all I need.
Leah clears her throat, nodding at the screen. “My brother’s attached to her.”
I give her my best ‘Captain Obvious’ look. “You didn’t pick that up sooner?”
She bites her lip. “What if… what if he leaves? With her?”
Dread rolls through me at her words before it slips away.
“Lee.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her in for a hug. “Max isn’t going anywhere. We’re family. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to have some new blood around here. My jokes are only funny the first thousand times you hear them. I need to practice on someone new.”
The tension in her frame slips away as she snorts, tossing her hair back. “They weren’t funny the first time you told them.”
I feign outrage. “Lies.”
She stands up. “I’m going to check her room.”
“Nik already beat you to it.”
Leah rolls her eyes at me, but there’s affection in her words. “Of course he did. Overprotective bear.”
I shrug. That’s exactly what he is.
I check on the cameras when she leaves, making sure they’re all still pointing where I need them to be. The road they’re currently on has three, so I’ve looped older footage to make sure there’s still a record of the road if anyone checks.
My eyes drift to Ava on the screen. Her eyes are closed, Max still sitting beside her.
She’s so goddamned small. If anyone’s a scrap, it’s her.
Who are you, little scrap?
ChapterEighteen
Ava
Istare at the ceiling as Max talks to me.
You left me. You left me.
Everybody leaves me.
He tries to touch my hand, but I pull it back. I don’t want to be touched.
I don’t know where we’re going, and I’m not going to ask. I don’t know Max, not really. I could be going anywhere. Somewhere even worse than where I was heading before.
Although… as much as I don’t want to feel it, my body relaxes a little more the longer Max stays with me.
Turning my head, I stare into his eyes. The honey brown depths are dark today. Angry. I don’t like it.
“Don’t be angry.”
The words slide out of me before I can catch them, bite them back on my tongue.
He squeezes his eyes closed before he opens them again.
