Max swears. My pulse speeds up as I scoop Ava out of Nikolai’s lap and into my arms. She looks back at me, her hazel eyes dark. Lifting her hand, she runs it through my hair. “I’m safe with you,” she whispers, despite her pale face. My heart clenches.
“You are,” I swear. “We’ll keep you safe.”
I guess we know why Rogue messaged me this morning now.
ChapterForty-Eight
Max
We’re all gathered in Bastien’s office, watching the screens flashing up the same images over and over again.
A headshot of Ava peers at us, her hazel eyes staring blankly out through her curls in a standard-issue Omega Compound ID photo.
An artist’s impression of me sits next to her, the drawing an exact replica of what I see looking in the mirror.
I swallow as Bastien leans over, turning up the sound.
“… kidnapped from the Austin Memorial Hospital two weeks ago. The omega is considered extremely dangerous, with substantial influence over alphas. She is reported to be pregnant and should not be approached by members of the public. The alpha pictured, we understand, is a doctor from the hospital and helped the omega escape. He was using the name Daniel Morgan, but this has been found to be a false identity. A $1 million dollar reward is offered for information leading to the capture of the missing omega.”
The growl builds up, my lips curling back from my teeth and releasing into the silent room. Ava jerks back, her eyes wide on the screen. “I have to leave,” she turns abruptly, sending the chair next to her spinning. “I have to get away from here. If they come—,”
“No!”
All four of us immediately protest. I’m closest to her, and mindful of our previous conversation, I draw her into my arms. She doesn’t struggle as I wrap my arms around her, the tang of her scent acrid with fear. “I promised you.” I run my hand through her hair, gently tugging the strands back until she looks up at me.
“I choose you. I choose this. You’re not going anywhere because you think it’s going to protect us, love.”
She glances up at me with doubt on her face. My heart breaks knowing that I’m the one who put it there.
No more doubts. No more hiding.
“I will not lose you,” I say firmly. “Do you understand?”
The pack echo my words, surrounding us both as we enclose Ava between us. Closing her eyes, she buries her face into my chest. “They twisted it,” she whispers. “They twisted everything, Max.”
“I know.” My voice is grim.
“We need to make a plan.” Luc’s voice rumbles behind me, fury underlying his words. “I need to call Rogue Winter back and find out what he wanted.”
Pulling out the phone, he hits the speaker as Bastien turns down the hateful words coming out of the monitors.
“Lucien,” Rogue’s voice is dark. “You’ve seen it?”
Luc growls. “We have. We’re coming up with a plan now.”
Rogue is silent for a moment. “What if we already have one?”
Everyone pauses. Ava straightens against me as our eyes fall on her, and she nods at Luc.
He grinds his teeth before he responds. “We’re listening.”
“Not like this. This would be better in person. Can we come to you? Today?”
Nik straightens, the worry on his face clear. “Give me a minute,” Luc says into the phone.
“Call me back.”
When the screen goes dark, Luc straightens, his fists clenching at his side. “What if this is a trap?”
