This girl is gorgeous.
Long red hair the same shade as Max’s and deep brown eyes watch me intently. She’s so like her brother I feel my breath catch, and she laughs.
“I know, right? Max 2.0,” she grimaces dramatically as she gestures to her face, and a small smile tugs at the side of my lips. Leah drops her gaze to my body, and I flush, embarrassed at the way I look.
“I, um, I didn’t…”
“Oh, honey,” Leah says soothingly. “Shall we get you cleaned up a bit?”
Biting my lip, I glance behind me before pulling open the door. Not an alpha, I remind myself. A beta. A female beta. Safe.
My embarrassment rises as Leah takes in the untouched room. She keeps her face expressionless, but I feel the concern in her eyes as she turns to me.
“Ava?” she asks, gently. “Where did you sleep, honey?”
Fucking hell.“On the floor.” I avoid her eyes. “I know it’s weird, but I can’t… I can’t touch it.” Hugging my elbows, I keep my eyes on the floor. She sucks in a breath before she turns to me.
“Oh, sweetheart. They really pulled a number on you, huh?” Tears gather in my eyes, and I quickly turn away from her.
“Can you not tell Max, please?” I force out. “He’ll think he did something wrong, and it’s not him. It’s just…”
“Them.” Leah’s voice drips with derision. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell him anything unless you tell me it’s okay. God knows you need someone to talk to who isn’t an overprotective moron.” I choke a little at her words, and she laughs. “Someone’s got to keep them in their place, or that pack would walk all over us without even realizing they’re doing it.”
Somehow, she maneuvers me into the bathroom despite my protests. The bath is filled, trails of steam rising up as Leah stands in front of me with her arms crossed.
“Now, I’m not one to push, but you need a bath, Ava. You need to feel clean, and we need to get you something else to wear, and then we need to get you some food. Okay?”
My throat closes again as I nod. I do want to be clean. And I should probably eat something, although I don’t feel hungry. I drank the water Lucien brought me, but I couldn’t touch the food.
“Good.” She smiles at me proudly. “So, I’ll leave you—”
I grab her hand before I can stop myself, and rapidly drop it like it’s on fire.
“Sorry. I’m sorry,”I whisper.What the hell is wrong with me?
“Hey, it’s totally fine. You want me to stay with you?” At my nod, she gestures to my nightgown.
“Let’s get this off you, shall we?”
Leah efficiently divests me of my filthy hospital gown and dramatically throws it out of the small bathroom window, despite my protests.
“I’m burning it,” she says fiercely. I don’t argue with her. I’m quickly learning that Leah is the most alpha-like beta I’ve ever met. But I think I like her. She actually reminds me of someone.
I push away any thoughts of Harper. I can’t think about her right now.
Or about what I did.
Swallowing hard, I push the thoughts deep down and focus on Leah. She takes a seat on the toilet as I carefully step into the hot water.
It’s… pure bliss.
I let out a sigh without even meaning to as I sink beneath the water, holding my breath and letting my hair fan out. When I surface, Leah hands me a bottle of shampoo and I manage to smile at her.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
She nods at me, and I get on with the mammoth task of washing my hair. It’s riddled with knots, and Leah hands over a comb without me even having to open my mouth.
Twenty minutes of tussling later, I want to cry. Some of the knots are way too big for me to get out, and tears of pain and frustration prick my eyes.
