“I’m sorry, Luc,” he offers, sincerity ringing in his words. “But I can’t leave her, and I know you wouldn’t either. If you saw her…,” he audibly swallows. Nikolai shifts in his seat, tension radiating from his giant frame.
I grit my teeth. “Two weeks, and we’ll need you back here. Bastien – can you sort the ID trail and background info?”
My brother nods as he straightens, his grey eyes already flickering as he thinks through options. “Yeah, I can do that. Max – how detailed do I need to be?”
“As detailed as possible,” Max says. “Thanks, Bas. These guys are hardcore.”
I grit my teeth. Max’s savior complex has gotten us into trouble more than once, but this one feels like it could truly implode.
“Talk us through it again,” Nik demands, a hint of a growl behind his words. I glance at him but he ignores me.
Max runs through what he knows about this injured omega before he pauses.
“What is it?” I snap.What the fuck now?
“She… she’s pregnant. With twins.” Max’s voice is somber.
Everyone inhales sharply. My stomach twists.Pregnant.
“What?”
“How—"
“We can’t—"
Nik and Bastien start bickering over each other, and I snap out a growl, shutting them up.
“Max,” I challenge. “If she’s pregnant, they’ll be watching her like hawks. We’re not going to be able to help her get out of this.”
Not without bringing the law down on our heads. I hate having to say it, but one of us has to be reasonable. Max’s silence speaks volumes.Stubborn fucker. Nik growls softly but doesn’t speak.
“Luc, if yousawher – I—shit,” Max’s voice drops. “I gotta go. Please just fucking trust me. Sheneedsus. I’ll call when I can.”
The line goes dead.
“Fuck!”
I pace around our kitchen, linking my hands behind my head as I try to think through the worry pounding at my skull like a sledgehammer “This is too dangerous. He’s putting himself and the pack at risk.”
Nik leans back in his chair, his deep blue eyes solemn as Bastien shifts, fingers no doubt itching for his keyboard already.
“He’s right, though,” Bastien says with a hint of excitement. “Isn’t this exactly what we’ve talked about before? We said we wanted to help omegas who needed it—”
“Not like this, Bas. It’s way too public,” I snap. “What if they realize his background’s a cover?”
“You know that’s unlikely,” Nik throws in, a soft growl underlying his words. “Bastien can cover him.”
“It only takes one phone call to check, and this whole insane half-plan will fall apart. And what happens then?” I throw my hands up.
How the hell am I supposed to protect a pack that refuses to be protected?
“She needs help,” Nik mutters. “Max has the right skills to do that. Seems straightforward to me.” He stands as if to leave the room.
I try to make them see sense one last time. “I’m not saying he shouldn’t help her. But he’s putting our family at risk if he tries to do any more than that. He already sounds attached to this omega. We have no idea of her background or even her fucking name. What if this comes back on Nash, Nik?”
He curls his lips back, snapping at me in a low tone. “I trust Max. And we’ve talked about this, Luc. About helping omegas. Was that bullshit? Or are only theeasy onesworth helping now?”
Cold clenches in my gut as regret thrums in my chest, and I stare at my packmate. His jaw is tense as he shakes his head before sitting back down.
