Nash’s face scrunches up as he carefully sets out the lengths of wood to make sure they’re the same size, his tongue sticking out in concentration.
Dropping down from the branch I’ve been working on, I brush the sawdust off my hands as Max walks across the clearing, his hand blocking out the sun as he peers up at us.
“How’s it going?” he calls as I reach him.
“Think we’ve got everything now, just need to put it all together.” We both watch Nash for a minute as he tries to drag a branch much longer than him. Max laughs quietly. “He’s growing so fast.”
Nodding, I cross my arms and wait.
“I spoke to Ava,” My attention swings entirely to Max as he shuffles his feet. “I asked her if she’d stay.”
My pulse starts pounding as I stare at him. “With us? What did she say?”
He stares at the ground, his brows furrowed. “She’s willing to consider it.”
Swallowing, he looks up and holds my gaze. “I told her I have feelings for her.”
Whistling, I push down the pit of jealousy that suddenly starts ripping apart my stomach.
“That’s great,” I say, swallowing hard.
“We agreed we’d take it as slowly as she needs to. She asked me how the rest of you felt.”
The jealousy suddenly changes to something else. Something… lighter.
“And you said?” I prompt him.
“Isaid, I can’t speak for you.” Max raises his eyebrow. “But you’re feeling it too, right?”
I nod.Feeling it? I’m fucking obsessed with her.
“I don’t know how to do this, Max,” I admit, kicking at some of the leaves on the ground. “Will she even want all of us?”
What if she wants everyone else, but not me?
Max’s honey brown eyes swing to mine, understanding coloring them. “Bas, we’re apack,” he says softly. “Alpha or beta, you’re still one of us. Just as good as any one of us. Ava’s choices are her own, but it’s no reflection on any of us if things don’t work out.”
“Yeah,” I say softly, glancing back to Nash. I just wish I believed him.
He nudges my arm. “We’d all be lost without you, and you know it.”
Snorting, I push him back. “Well, that’s definitely true.”
Nash comes barrelling over as we break into a scuffle. “Uncle Max!” he yells. “Can I meet the omega yet?”
“Soon, little man,” Max laughs, shoving me away and ruffling his hair until Nash pushes him off with a groan. “I gotta head back to the house, but I’ll come and do your biology lesson with you later.” Nash groans, but he doesn’t argue.
Before Max leaves, he turns back to me. “Nearly forgot. We need to start thinking about things for the babies, when they get here. We’ll need to do a decent stock run.”
I nod. “We can take my truck.” Max left his behind in the rescue. I have zero doubt that Stone will have been all over it like a rash, but he won’t find anything. All of our vehicles are linked to false identities.
“Have you heard anything?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. I can’t see him giving up that easily, though.”
The silence is what concerns me. I haven’t heard a whisper about Ava on any of the channels I’m monitoring. A pregnant omega goes missing? You’d expect wall-to-wall news coverage. If they’re not using the public to find her, what are they doing?
Nash starts grumbling that he’s hungry, abandoning his work with all the enthusiasm of a six-year-old. I swing him on my shoulders as we all walk up to the kitchens.
