“I donotsound like that,” I scold lightly. “We have someone new coming to stay with us for a little while.”
His eyes light up, and he lets out a whoop.
“We do? Who is it?” he tugs at my sleeve in his urgency.
“Her name is Ava,” I say softly, and his eyes round. “It’s a girl?”
“An omega,” I correct him. “But she’s not very well, Nash, so she’s not going to be able to play for a while.”
His little face crumples. “That’s really sad. Can’t Uncle Max make her better?”
I stand up and pull him with me. “I hope so, Nash. But you need to be very careful with her, okay?”
Bastien calls from inside the room. “ETA 5 minutes. They’ve just pulled through the main gates.”
I look down at my son, who’s pulling on my arm with the force of a stage five hurricane. “Come on, pa!” he calls. “We gotta go!”
Leah throws me a meaningful look as she sweeps Nash into the air. “Ava isn’t very well, remember? Let’s go back to the treehouse, and you can meet her later.”
Nash pouts, but Leah distracts him with chatter about his plans for the new treehouse. I nod at her with gratitude as we exit the house together, Bas and I heading in the opposite direction towards the main gate.
I glance at Bastien, and he gives me a crooked grin.
“This should be interesting.”
Huffing, I speed up a little. “That’s one way to put it.”
“How are you doing?” Concern laces his words.
“I’m…,” I blow out a breath. “I’m alright.”
“If this brings back—”
“It’s fine, Bas.” I shrug off the words even as nerves twist in my gut.
Emery’s name still beats inside my chest. The background to my life. One small omega won’t change that.
We walk out into the lot, the sun shining down on us. An ambulance with blacked-out windows rolls slowly down the gravel lane.
“You’re sure they can’t be tracked?” I murmur to Bas.
“As sure as I can be.”
I choke a little. That’s not hugely reassuring.
The vehicle comes to a stop, and we wait for a sign of movement. Taking a deep breath, I let it go slowly.
The doors open, and Lucien jumps down first. Bastien’s shoulders loosen, and he strides over to embrace his brother. Murmuring words I can’t hear, Luc glances at my face and nods at me. He looks away and I breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t want them to look too closely. This isn’t about me. It’s about her.
Luc heads back to the doors, and grabs hold of the metal rail of the trolley.
I’ve been watching the screen along with Bastien for the last few hours, but I hold my breath anyway. Waiting for… I don’t know. I know what she looks like.
But my first real glimpse of Ava threatens to steal the breath from my lungs.
ChapterTwenty
Ava
