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“He drugged you?” Max leaned in close, purring louder.
“Not Daniel. The bad guy. Not since.”
Devin’s eyes closed, jaw cracking with a yawn as darkness sucked her down.
When she next opened her eyes, it was darkness still. Or maybe again. She had no idea, only that her bladder felt like it was about to explode, and the van was still. Shoving up to her elbows, she sent her bleary gaze around the van. Ashley slept beside her, Max watching her with a perturbed cant to his lips.
“I have to go the bathroom,” Devin mumbled.
“Come on then,” he said, beckoning Devin to come out of the front door with him. Taking hold of her arm to keep Devin upright more than to control her, he led her over to a small building holding showers and toilets. Glancing at her surroundings, she saw that they were in a campsite of some sort, though there were no other cars or tents that she could see.
“Can I have some privacy please?” Refusing to meet the Alpha’s gaze, Devin held her arm slack, waiting for him to release her.
“Not really, no.” Max grimaced, taking Devin inside the building to one of the toilets. He opened the door, letting her wobble the two steps inside before he held the door half open when Devin tried to close it.
“I can’t exactly go anywhere.”
“Doesn’t matter. Go if you have to or sit there. We go back to the van in two minutes either way.”
“He’ll kill you both,” Devin said, tears already burning her eyes as she hitched up her skirt to hide as much as she could when she sat on the seat.
“Not if Ashley or I take your claim he won’t.” Max didn’t watch her, keeping half an eye on her only to make sure Devin wasn’t doing anything stupid.
Not that there was anything she could use for a weapon. The plastic case around the toilet paper had a padlock, the material too thick for her to break on her own. The toilet had no tank, so no heavy porcelain for her to wield.
“Why are you doing this,” Devin demanded, talking louder than necessary to cover the sounds of her body.
“Ash thinks you need it.”
“I don’t! I was happy with my mate, and I—”
“You sure about that? Story she told me wasn’t exactly the picture of happy mated life.”
“That… was before.”
“She told me you tried to kill yourself, multiple times,” Max said on a low growl, waving his hand in a tight circle. “That isn’t happy.”
“That was before,” Devin muttered, hurrying along as she tried to stand without his help.
Stumbling into the wall, she hated that she was grateful when he caught her elbow, pulling her close to keep Devin from crashing to the gritty tiles. At the long line of sinks, he cranked on the water for her, but let her stand on her own to wash her hands.
“He didn’t even know you were pregnant.” Said so matter of fact, it was hard to deny Max’s words as he once again took Devin’s arm to help her back to the van. “How disinterested is he to not notice that?”
“Ididn’t know… I… are you sure?” Devin looked down at her conspicuously flat stomach with dismay, her free hand sweeping over the smooth plane with a grimace. “How do you even know?”
“You don’t know this one either? How little do you know about yourself, exactly? Ash said you were smart, but I guess there’s a limit.” Max shook his head, hitching Devin up into the passenger seat though he didn’t order her to clamber into the back just yet. Taking hold of her palms, he pressed them tight against her belly. “You feel nothing there? Not a quickening, a difference, a spark, anything like that?”
“I… I mean I smelled a little different, but—”
“You smell fucking amazing,” Max rasped, swaying forward before he cleared his throat and leaned back. Putting space between them as he seemed to struggle for control. “After your Alpha… After he mounted you, or the bad guy, I guess, you didn’t feel a change in your body?”
Devin took a breath to deny him again, but then she paused to take stock of her constant companion. Hadn’t she felt a little more tired, a little crankier and hungrier these last several days? Maybe even longer. Not just tired, but a bone deep exhaustion that sent her into slumber before Rey’s knot had slipped free. And there had been a moment, one morning not long ago, when she’d found herself stroking her stomach idly while in the shower, but she hadn’t thought anything of it. So sure she wasn’t capable of having children at this point despite Rey’s instance, it hadn’t even entered her mind.
“It wasn’t the bad guy,” Devin murmured, chin tipped down to her chest as she looked aghast at her hands held against her stomach.
“Ash says you don’t dig girls,” Max said quietly, moving a single step closer but no further. His hand came up, the backs of his fingers stroking over Devin’s jaw feather light before he stopped touching her. “It wouldn’t be bad with either of us though. Maybe a little difficult at first, just getting used to the change, but it wouldn’t be bad.”
“I don’t want a new mate!”
