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The entire afternoondragged on slowly, Ava and I just watching TV curled up on the couch. She drifted in and out of sleep and I knew she needed it so I stuck by her side. The momentChoppedcame on, she passed out again.
Vanya:Do we have pizza delivery around here?
Leven:If you want someone to make you one and deliver it there, then yes.
Nyx:Or someone can run over to Bradford, they have a pizza place.
Callum:I’ll put the twins on it. What do you want?
Vanya:You’re my hero, Alpha. She’s asleep but I want her properly fed. Get a few different kinds and breadsticks. I have no clue what she likes.
Leven:Has she talked yet?
Vanya:When I told her she was a missing person and we found her info, I asked if she wanted to be found. She said the word no. But that’s all I’ve gotten out of her. She’s terrified and not ready to talk yet.
Callum:She can when she’s ready. Until then, I think it’s best if you stay with her and Nyx. He’s a bit crazy, but he’s gentler than either of us.
Leven:Sadly, I agree.
Nyx:Aw, you guys love me
Vanya:Why could I hear that maniacal laughter from here?
Callum:See? He’s Loki for sure. I’d bet money on it.
Nyx:Muah ha ha
Chuckling to myself, I turned my attention back to the TV. Just as they reached the dessert round, soft whimpers started from the sleeping wolf next to me.
“Ava?” I asked gently, shaking her softly. Nightmares were terrifying and after what she went through, I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her relive it. She bolted upright and scrambled away from me, curling into herself as she glanced around, disoriented. “Hey, it’s just me, Vanya. Remember?”
“I’m safe,” she said out loud, more to herself than me but I answered anyway.
“You are. It’s just us and reruns on TV,” I promised. She relaxed and moved back, settling back under her blanket but she was tense again. “Ava, you don’t have to. But if you ever want to talk about things, I’m here. And in full honesty, the man who I assume had you, he’s been following me. The walls and pack have kept me safe, but he scares me.” I let my vulnerability slip through. I’d never pressure or push her, but I also wanted her to know what was going on. Not telling her felt wrong, since she knew this man personally.
“He’s bad,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “The whole pack is. They kidnap us and keep us prisoner. Breeders, they called us.” She was crying softly, and I moved next to her, wrapping an arm around her.
“That’s awful. I’m so sorry,” I said. The gravity of it hit me. She was missing for enough time to have more than one child if they were truly just there to give the wolves pups. “Do you know what they are called, where they were from?” She shook her head no and I bit back a groan of disappointment.
“No, I ran from my pack and was snatched. Knocked out. Woke up there. Then again when I ended up here. I fell asleep in my room and woke up in your town.”
“That’s fucked up,” I said quietly. Anger burned through my veins so strongly it was hard to breathe. We knew how bad the world was, but this? This is another level.
“I never want to go back there,” she admitted. Terror shook her voice and I held her tighter.
“And you won’t,” I promised. “Maybe someday we can save the others.”
The burning question in my mind was why did they toss her away? What was different about her? But that wasn’t information she owed me so I kept my mouth shut. Ava needed time to heal and friends, and that much I could help her with.
We didn’t talk again as we went through two more episodes. Just as they revealed the winner the door opened and Nyx came in, a stack of pizza boxes in hand.
“I hope you ladies are hungry because this is all ours,” he joked. “What do you want to drink?”
“Dr. Pepper,” I said without missing a beat. He’d stocked his fridge the moment he found out it was my favorite.
“Me too,” Ava called softly. It was barely audible but Nyx paused in his walk and shot me an excited look before shoving down his reaction.
