60 Ava: Homecoming (II)
When Mom and Dad walk through the door, dinner isn’t ready, because I haven’t once left the couch.
I’m two episodes into a back–to–back marathon of Selene’s favorite show. Todd and his two goonies have tried to get me to cook, but I’ve ignored them at every
turn.
I find it interesting that they never once tried to physically drag me into the kitchen. They would have
before.
I don’t think it’s my attitude; they’re the kind who would beat it out of you, not back down.
So, it’s the order Phoenix gave. But why? What’s planned for me?
Before I left, it was to use me as a breeder for the pack. That isn’t the kind of future where I’m protected from beatings. That means there’s something more…
My stomach clenches. Do they know about my heat?
They have to..
There’s no other explanation.
18
60 Ava: Homecoming (II)
If they know I went into heat, then they’ll likely know
about the supposed ‘true omega‘ designation Clayton’s pack had given me.
And if they think I’m that…
Shit.
When the front door opens, I don’t budge. Not a
muscle twitches.
I can smell Mom’s perfume before her heels click against the floor. Even without looking, I can imagine the pinched look on her face. “Ava Grey. Your brother spends all this time to find you and bring you home safely, and you can’t even make dinner to repay him?”
I don’t respond, keeping my eyes trained on the flickering TV screen.
can feel Todd get up from the couch. The absence of his presence is
the doorway. His eyes find me
himself directly in front
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Homecoming (II)
head back to
eyes
mine, a storm of emotions swirling in their depths. Anger, disappointment, id something else I can’t quite place–a hint of wariness,
in the room is palpable, thick enough to choke on. Mom’s cold stare digs into the side of
flexing beneath his weathered skin. For a moment, I think he might speak, might unleash the
expect.
his gaze locked with mine, as if searching for something he can’t
“Have something delivered. The alpha will
smile I want to have has to be hidden deep in my heart. There’s no
victory.
return my gaze to the TV. “So good to see you’ve been so worried about me. So
12:39
318
C
Ava: Homecoming
I’ve been, am I okay. What a loving, caring family. We’re so
maybe I should learn to keep my mouth shut, too.
parents come home after their daughter’s been missing, and not a word out of their
my life like this for two decades
do another second.
in his warning tone.
I say, refusing to call him any form
father.
absence. I’m letting it pass today because you’ve been through a lot, but make no mistake, Ava–you will
a mocking tone that made me
<
Ava: Homecoming
snatch the remote from my
it off.
trash, Ava,” she admonishes, her voice like ice. “Get
person.”
has several responses coming to mind as I look down at my worn–out jeans, with holes in the knees and in a couple places along my thighs, and my faded t–shirt that might have seen better days a hundred years ago. Mom’s gaze is cutting, appraising me from head to toe with an expression of utter disdain. She’s dressed to perfection, as she always is, in a designer dress that
neck and ears.
wave a hand down my body
“Since I don’t have parents who actually take care of me. I’m the orphan of
I can even register the
5/8
Ava: Homecoming (II)
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