Page 27

Chapter 27

Garrett

I can’t say that this isn’t a problem. But I can say that we’ve had our problems before, and we’ve always gotten through them and come out on top.

And like hell am I going to let this be the one time it goes the other way.

It’s not like we haven’t weathered other storms before. My family being one of those storms. But it means more to me this time than it ever has before, because this time? It’s my Omega at stake.

Ava isn’t sure if she’s our Omega yet or not. I respect that. My entire being wants to officially bond with her, to make her our Omega in every possible way. But this is her choice, and whether she chooses us or not, I’m going to do every damn thing I can to make sure that she’s safe and taken care of.

That bastard’s not going to get the best of any of us. And he certainly won’t get Ava.

I work day and night on our project to make sure that it’ll not only be better than Marcus’s, but that it’ll premiere first. I won’t let him get one over on us in any way. I know that our company will find a way to bounce back no matter what, but will Ava’s spirit be able to after something like this?

She needs a win against her ex. She needs to know that she’s okay and safe now. And beating Marcus with this smart watch is the best way to do that.

Ava’s quiet over the next few days while we work. I know that Caleb is with her a lot, the two of them just being quiet together, watching a movie or even just reading with her curled up at his side. Ethan takes her on walks, makes her laugh.

I focus on my work. Ava takes the rough edges of me and smooths them out. Whenever she’s near, I feel something in my chest melting. I feel like I know where she is, always, even if I can’t see her. She’s a constant presence in the back of my mind.

Normally this might be a distraction, but instead, it’s a way for me to focus. I never lose sight of what’s important or why I’m doing this.

I’m working when Dante passes by. “You need to eat.”

“I’m fine.”

“When was the last time you slept?”

I pause just a little too long before answering. Even though I don’t look up from the computer, I can feel his smirk. “That’s what I thought. Go eat. There’s food in the kitchen for you.”

He’ll just keep pestering me until I do it, and in the end, taking one slightly longer interruption to eat will be less frustrating than a bunch of little interruptions with Dante nagging me.

I get up and head into the kitchen. Sure enough, there’s soup simmering on the stove, kept warm for me, and what looks like a panini in the oven for me.

Ava enters through the other door, and I glance over at her.

“You want something to eat?” I ask.

She smiles. “Yes, please.”

She looks tired, and it immediately ignites my protective instincts—the impulse to care for her and make sure she’s healthy and safe.

I pull the panini for me out of the oven but go to make a fresh one for her. Ava perches herself on the counter to watch. She’s in a yellow sundress, one that shows off her legs and her shoulders, her breasts pushing up against the fabric.

She’s fucking beautiful, and heat stirs in my gut the way it always does when I’m around her. I want to get my hands and mouth all over her, and help her relax and forget about Marcus in the most primal way possible.

I make myself focus on lunch first. Ava’s gaze is heavy on me, and I can tell that she knows what I’m thinking about. She knows I’m turned on by her, that I want her. But we need to eat.

“You look tired,” she says quietly as I finish the panini and give it to her. “Thank you.”

“No problem. And I’m fine.”

“You’re the type to just keep bulldozing through everything, huh?” She smiles. “The kind of guy who never met a fight he couldn’t win with a good old Alpha showdown.”

“It’s gotten me pretty far.” I grab my own food, but I don’t suggest we sit at the table. I step between her legs instead, the two of us up close together, her ankle hooked around my calf as we share bites.

She’s such a darling little thing. I can’t stop wanting to devour her. But I also want to take care of her, and taking care of her right now means eating and getting back to work.

“You’re our priority.” I reply. “We’re not going to stop until this is taken care of and you’re safe. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you won’t go anywhere outside alone.”

Ava bites her lip and shrugs, flushing a little out of embarrassment. “I know it’s silly. But I can’t help how… paranoid I feel.”

“Abuse does that to you. It’s not a bad thing. You’re not silly or paranoid. This jackass has given you every reason to feel afraid. But you won’t have to be soon. We’ll take care of him. Then you can go and do whatever you want to do with your life.”

“Thank you.” Ava puts her hand on my chest. “Really. I mean it.”

It would be so fucking easy to pull her in and kiss her, grind against her, whisper in her ear and fuck her right here on the counter until she’s stuffed full of my knot and coming with my name on her lips.

I need a goddamn distraction. “And we mean it when we say that you shouldn’t worry about us. We’re happy to take care of you and look after you. It’s what any Alpha should do for their Omega.”

“Yes. I know that.” She smiles softly. “But I also know how much this company means to you. Dante told me about how you all made it together and I would hate to be the reason that you lose something that’s so important to all of you. I can’t be the reason that you four are unhappy.”

“I hate to break it to you, but you’re our Omega,” I point out gently.

Most of the time, I don’t know how to be gentle. It doesn’t come naturally to me. But when I’m faced with Ava, it’s like all the roughness drains out of me, and I’m left with nothing but a desire to hold her close and keep her safe.

“We protect our Omega. Our company is important to us, but it’s just a company. We can rebuild or pivot. People are irreplaceable.”

“But it’s your dream. I wouldn’t want to ruin that.”

“Spoken like someone who has a dream of their own,” I point out, still keeping my tone gentle.

She nods.

“What is it?”

Ava smiles shyly, like she’s not used to talking about it. Maybe she’s not. She seems to have not really had a lot of friends, pretending to be a Beta all this time, and it makes my heart ache for her. She deserves to have friends and people she can confide in.

“I’d like to open my own animal shelter. I want to provide a home for animals in need.”

“That’s great.”

Ava sighs. “Yeah, but it’s a money trap. I was working at this one shelter before, and I know it’s a crappy place. The guy was pinching pennies constantly, and it wasn’t good for the animals. But at the same time, I sort of get it. I don’t agree with it, but I understand, because there’s just no way to really make money running a shelter. He was trying to not go bankrupt.”

“But you want to do it anyway.”

She nods, her eyes lighting up. “I love animals. I always have. I couldn’t really get close to people when I was pretending to be a Beta, but animals don’t care about what I am. They didn’t care if I was Beta or Omega. If they scented me, it didn’t matter. They still treated me the same.”

“That’s great.” I find myself smiling a little. “I gotta admit, I was always a fan of animals myself. They’re not complicated like people are.”

“You remind me a bit of a dog, sometimes,” Ava admits. “The loyalty, I mean.”

“Oh, it wasn’t all the growling?”

She laughs. “Maybe that too, a little bit. I just didn’t mean… you aren’t some dumb asshole, that’s not what I meant.”

“I know that’s not what you meant.” I wink at her. “So, an animal shelter, huh? Did you ever give any thought to how you might start your own shelter?”

“I figured I would have to get good at convincing rich people to donate money.” Ava laughs. “But I just… there are so many animals that need a home. Our cities are filled with stray cat colonies and they’re living barely five years, killing off local wildlife, hungry and sick…”

I love the way her eyes blaze when she’s passionate about something. I try to keep my face serious while listening because I don’t want her to think I’m not taking her seriously. Usually, this isn’t a problem. Ethan has joked that I should be a bouncer at a club, or a bodyguard for a mafia don.

But around Ava? I can’t seem to stop smiling. It’s a challenge. And right now, in spite of myself, I know the corners of my mouth are curving upward fondly.

“And there are so many dogs that people buy from breeders and they could be adopting. But people think that adopted dogs, shelter dogs, are poorly behaved. And maybe they are, but it’s just because the shelters don’t have the resources to train them properly. So I’d want to have a place like that,” Ava continues. “And…”

She pauses. “Why are you smiling like that?”

Caught. I shrug. “You’re wonderful, that’s all.”

Ava blushes. “I mean. I’m in good company. You guys are making a watch that will help Omegas track their heats, things like that. That’s amazing.”

“Ava, you literally want to help animals. That’s your dream in life. You want to give them homes and save them from the street. Maybe you should take a look in the mirror sometime.”

She blushes harder. “I don’t know that most Alphas would like it.”

She puts her hand on my chest, but instead of it being a flirtatious move, she uses the gesture to push me back so that she can hop down from the counter and put her plate in the dishwasher.

“Well, we’re not most Alphas.”

“Are you sure?” She turns back to face me. “Running a shelter is a full-time job. More than that, actually. It’s an overtime job. Think sixty to eighty hours a week, not forty.”

“Sounds exhausting. You’ll need a few Alphas to make sure you’re being taken care of properly.”

“Very smooth.” She’s smiling, but I can sense that there’s still tension from the tightness in the corners of her mouth.

“Ava. The shelter will demand that much of your time at first. We understand that. When we first started our company, I don’t think any of us slept for months. It was an around-the-clock project. Things like this are to begin with.”

“But now you’re at home, with me.”

“Exactly.” I step into her and take her hands, pulling her to me. “Ava, once you get it settled and you have managers and volunteers you can count on, you’ll be able to live a balanced life. Just like we do now. And I know I speak for the others when I say we’ll give you whatever financial support, whatever time, whatever—any kind of support you need. It’s yours.”

“Most Alphas don’t like the idea of their Omega working outside of the home so much like that,” she whispers.

“Traditionally, no,” I agree. “But times are changing. And I don’t care what most Alphas are like anyway. I care that I’m a good Alpha for you and what you need.”

“You don’t think it’s silly?” She waves a hand in the air, not really able to look me in the eye. “The silly Omega trying to save all the animals? I sound like a Disney cliché.”

“No, you don’t.” I gently catch her chin in my hand and tilt her face up so that she has to look at me. “Ava, it’s not silly. It’s admirable. Nobody will ever make a change in this world if we all decide it’s too fucking silly to attempt. Maybe you can’t save every animal, but you’ll save a lot, and that’s worth something.”

She smiles at me, her eyes brimming with relief and gratitude. Fuck. She really is special.

It hits me that while I already thought of this woman as my Omega, it’s only now that I’m realizing just how lucky I am to have her in my life. And how much I’ll do to keep her safe and happy.

I pick her up and set her on the counter again, burying my nose into her neck so that I can nuzzle her, inhale that sweet scent. “Your big heart is one of the things I love most about you.”

Ava’s fingers run through my hair. I know she’s not ready for the bite yet, but she lets me scent her, mixing our two scents together so that people can smell her on me, and me on her. A purr rumbles in the pit of my chest.

For a long moment, we stay just like that. Holding each other.

I already wanted to protect her, but now it’s like a fire in my blood, even stronger than before. She will never have to fear Marcus again. The other Alphas and I will make sure of it.

Even though we haven’t given her our claiming bites yet, I can feel it. This is our Omega. Ava is ours. And nobody is going to hurt her. Not on my watch.