Pushing away my unease at the reminder, I remake my bed and slide into the cool sheets. I wonder if I’ll sleep at all for the rest of the night. Staring at the ceiling, my mind wanders to Max and his omega.
His pregnant omega.
Unbidden, my mind slips to Emery. Her excitement when we found out she was pregnant, our first scan with Max gently rubbing cold liquid onto her belly and making her laugh. The nursery we planned to build here, in a space where no one would ever find her and take her away from us.
The screaming. The blood. Max, face ashen, telling me we had to take her to the hospital or lose them both. The despair in his face as he fought to save his cousin.
Memories march through my mind like a wave of soldiers. I can’t push them back, can’t escape them no matter how much I beg. I know there’s no one out there to listen to my prayers. I stopped praying six years ago.
I understand why Max wants to save this omega. Nash and I aren’t the only ones who lost someone that day. He tried so fucking hard to save his cousin and it wasn’t enough.
I just can’t see a happy ending for this one either.
My eyes stay open until the sun creeps against my far wall.
ChapterFive
Ava
Voices creep into my mind, fading in and out like a bad radio station. Words rise and fall around me, unfamiliar and undeniably male.
A noise wheezes from my throat. I can’t see. I can’t move.
The voices stop. I don’t want them to stop.
My brain feels like cotton wool. I can’t remember my name. I can’t remember who I am. All I know is that if they stop talking, then bad things will happen.
There’s warmth next to me. A hand brushes down my arm.
No.
Nononononononono.
ChapterSix
Max
“She needs to come off that medication.”
The dickhead alpha and I are facing each other in the office, yet another standoff. Stone crosses his arms over his chest.
“Conscious or unconscious, it doesn’t matter. All I need is—"
“Iknowwhat you need,” I snap. It comes out harsher than I intended, and Stone’s mouth tightens. It’s a sure sign that I’m treading on thin ice.
I force myself to calm down. Aggression is leaking from my pores, and if I keep it up, we’ll have two brawling alphas tearing the office apart. And he definitely won’t let me take her off the meds if that happens. I’ll be lucky if I ever see her again.
My chest tightens at the thought, and I push the feelings down. I don’t want to consider why saving this omega has suddenly become so important to me.
But it has.Shehas.
I’ve barely left the floor since signing up to be the omega’s personal physician. It’s clear that Stone ran some checks on my background, but they held up against Bastien’s skills.
And she’s no better. In fact, she’s worse.
“If you continue to pump her full of sedatives to keep her asleep, she will be dead in a matter of days.” My voice is dark as I lay out the facts in a way that I hope will get through to him. “She’ll be dead, and those children will not survive to term. Her body is too weak to handle these constant levels of narcotics. Her heart is going tostop, Stone.”
I hate this man more than I’ve ever hated anyone. He stares at me, expressionless.
