The sudden pull to call for one of my pack hits me hard, and my glance at the door doesn’t go unnoticed by Harper.
“So…” she says, a lighter tone to her voice that I grasp onto with relief. “Tell me about your pack.”
I blush. “I’m not sure they’re completely my pack just yet.”
Harper raises her eyebrow at me. “It sure looked that way to me.”
My smile fades as I think of Max. I explain about the way he left me during my hormone fritz, and Harper throws her hands up.
“God save us from protective alphas,” she grumbles. “He thinks he’s doing the right thing, Ava. You need to show him that you’re making the decision foryou, and not because of your horny omega baby hormones. Are any of the others doing the same?”
“Er – no.”Is it hot in here, or is it me?Harper grins at my bright red face.
“Okay,” she whispers conspiratorially. “Here’s what you need to do.”
ChapterForty-Seven
Luc
Iwake up in the nest the next morning to Ava snuggled into my side, her leg tossed over my waist. The sweetness of vanilla hangs in the air, and I breathe her in, my hands stroking down her warm back.
Fuck, Lucien, you’re a lucky bastard.
A sleepy mewl draws my attention down to a pair of hazel eyes. “Morning, brat,” I murmur. Her eyes flutter closed and she buries her head against me with a grumble as I chuckle. “Not a morning person?”
She shakes her head, her hand blindly reaching out and pulling at a blanket. I tug it up and over us, making sure she’s wrapped up, and her soft huffs sound in my ear as she drifts back off to sleep.
My phone beeps and I lazily flick my thumb over the screen to read the text that’s come through.
We need to talk.
The phone beeps again, and another message comes through.
It’s about the OC.
Staring at the words, I reread them as unease stirs. Why does Rogue Winter want to talk about the OC?
Slipping my arm out from underneath Ava, she rolls over to Bastien, burrowing into him as he wraps his arm around her and pulls her close with his eyes still shut. Throwing on a shirt, I quietly make my way to the door.
Voices rumble from the kitchen, and I stick my head in to see Leah, Nikolai and Max chatting quietly around the table. Bags sit underneath Max’s eyes, and I give him a look. I don’t have much sympathy for his self-imposed pity party.
“I’ve had a message from Rogue Winter,” I announce abruptly, dropping into a seat and pouring myself a coffee. Everybody pauses.
“What kind of message?” Nik asks. I slide the phone across the table, his brows dipping as he reads the message aloud.
Max frowns. “He didn’t say anything else?”
When I shake my head, he leans back in his seat.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. We have no idea what he wants, and I don’t want to put Ava at risk—,”
“At risk of what?”
Our heads whip around to where Ava hugs the doorway, looking between us with a frown on her face. “What’s going on, Max?”
Max looks to me for help, and I press my lips closed. He needs to sort his shit out, and part of that is not running from conversations with our omega.
Half rising from his chair, he gestures to a seat. “Why don’t you sit down, love?”
