Chapter 20 - Ava
“How is Garrison’s mate?” I ask Emily quietly, knowing the pack is deep in mourning.
She turns from where she’s warming some soup for supper on the stove and sighs.
“Sara’s devastated. They were a fated couple, and they were so happy.
Worse still, that it was Maddox.” Her shoulders slump as she considers her words.
“Ronan sat with her this morning, but it’s going to take a long time for her to heal.
The pack will be with her, though. How could Maddox do this? ”
I think about my parents’ betrayal, which is equally as baffling to me.
I’ve thought about why they did it, and why Maddox would have turned on the people who had cared for him the most. “I think sometimes people get swept up in an idea of power, of what that should look like,” I say. “They seem to ignore the consequences.”
“Maddox thought he was an alpha,” Emily says sadly. “I don’t think he was.”
I shake my head, “No. An alpha wouldn’t have done what he did. It’s as simple as that. He was a coward to attack Garrison like that.”
“And you,” Emily adds carefully.
“I don’t think that was his original plan…
” I start, but trail off. I have already given my account to Jacob and Elder Wilder this morning, grateful to have Emily sit with me, so she’s already heard it all.
Recalling Maddox’s plan for Ronan was painful, but relaying his comments about Emily hurt the most. It’s clear she blames herself for entertaining a relationship with him, which everyone assures her is ridiculous—this was always going to be his path.
Emily wipes her hands and turns to look at me.
“Did you sleep at all?” she asks, tilting her head as her hair falls over her shoulders.
I shake my head. The house feels empty despite Emily’s presence.
My heat is broken, and I know I should feel grateful for the calm in my body and mind, but if anything, I have too much clarity now.
“You heard from him?” I ask. I don’t say his name, but we both know who I mean.
She’s quiet for a second. “I haven’t seen him since he left Sara’s house.
I’m sure he just needs to walk it off. He’s…
not himself. But that’s understandable, after everything.
Learning about Sophie on top of everything else must have been a shock.
” She sits and reaches for my hand. “Give him time, Ava. He’s not angry, at least not in the way you think. He’s just…processing.”
I want to believe her, but the blank look on Ronan’s face when I told him about Sophie is burned into me. He didn’t say much at all, not even in disbelief or rage. Just walked out. I know he’s angry, and he has every right to be. But what does that mean for Sophie?
I’ve considered calling my parents, begging them to see reason, now that he knows anyway.
Just to let me have Sophie, I don’t care about anything else.
But when I went to look for my phone, I realized it was gone.
Ronan must have taken it. Glancing out of the window, I see the numerous betas stationed around the house.
Emily said it’s for our protection, in case Maddox had any real supporters, but I can’t help wondering if it’s to stop me from running. If I’m about to be declared a traitor.
The thought lingers in the back of my mind as I sit here with Emily. I don’t think Ronan has told her about my parents’ plan, only that they have Sophie. But not knowing what will happen next is killing me. “Did Ronan say where he was going? Or when he’ll be back?”
Sympathy crosses Emily’s features, but she shakes her head. “He left with Jacob looking pretty serious, but they didn’t say where they were going,” she says. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
Her tone is upbeat, but we both look out the kitchen window at the same time. The sun has already set, and he’s been gone all day with no word.
A few hours, a pot of soup, and multiple hot chocolates later, Emily retreats upstairs, her voice soft as she tells me to get some sleep too, even though I suspect she knows that’s a pointless request. I know she would stay if I asked, but the exhaustion is radiating off her in waves, and besides, I’m grateful for the solitude.
I fix myself yet another cup of hot chocolate and take a seat at the kitchen island with a clear view of the drive so I can see if Ronan returns.
There’s a point, just after midnight, when I finally let my eyes close for a moment.
The mug has long since gone cold, and I’m emotionally and physically exhausted.
The next thing I know, I’m jerked awake by the unmistakable sound of tires on gravel.
It’s so loud that I know instantly it’s Ronan’s truck.
I’m on my feet before I can think, heart battering my ribs as I step into the hall.
The outside porch light floods the yard as a truck comes to a halt.
I watch as Ronan steps out and walks around to the passenger side, gathering something in his arms before he heads toward the house.
The security lights obscure his shape until he reaches the door.
He looks like hell, tiredness lines his face, and his clothes are disheveled. But I’m taken aback slightly by the smile lingering on his lips, and the small bundle in his arms. The blonde curls are just visible at the top of the blanket.
Sophie.
My body moves before my brain can even process what I’m seeing, as I bolt for the door before my legs can give way. My palms press flat against the cold glass before Ronan activates the lock, and I fling it open. The night air is cold, but I barely feel it.
Sophie is half asleep in his arms, her tiny fist curled in the collar of his flannel shirt, tangled hair sticking to her flushed cheek. She seems so small against his large frame, impossibly small to have been without her mother for weeks.
I expect her to be scared or disoriented, but she just blinks up at me, eyes huge and shining in the porch light, and smiles wide. “Mama.”
I crush them both to me before Ronan even makes it to the top step, burying my face in Sophie’s hair, inhaling her sweet scent.
My hands shake as I cup her face, searching for bruises, a fever, any sign of harm, but she’s just Sophie: delicate, sleepy, and unfazed.
I whisper her name over and over, tears of joy rolling down my cheeks.
“I’ve missed you so much,” I cry, dimly aware that Ronan has placed a hand on my shoulder to steady me.
Ronan cradles her so gently as he guides me back into the house and toward the couch in the den. He puts Sophie into my arms, and I simply hold her, my emotions too overwhelming to speak at first.
She’s dozing off again before I can finish cataloging every inch of her, and I tuck her against my chest, pressing my lips to her scalp.
I want to say something, to thank him or ask what happened, but my mind is nothing but static, as if there’s only room for Sophie in the middle of this miracle reunion.
Ronan comes and sits beside me, close but not touching, bracing his forearms on his knees.
His soft gaze is fixed on Sophie’s serene face, but the tension in him is palpable.
His voice is raw when he finally speaks.
“Your parents are gone,” he says, and the words hang in the air between us, the meaning clear.
I nod. The relief almost drowns out the guilt, but not quite. “Thank you,” I whisper, even though it feels wrong to thank someone for killing your parents.
He shakes his head, jaw set. “They were going to hurt her, that was clear,” he says, voice low.
“I couldn’t let that happen. I intended to spare them, your mom especially, but they made their choice.
” He looks at me then, really looks, and for the first time since he learned the truth about Sophie and my parents’ plan, there’s nothing cold or closed off in his expression.
“I would do it again to protect her,” he says, and I believe him.
Sophie shifts in my arms, and he leans forward, brushing the hair from her face. “She’s beautiful,” he says, his voice full of wonder and emotion. “I had to tell her who I was, that I’m her father. She was confused and upset. I told her I was taking her to you.”
I look down at Sophie, wondering how confusing that must have been for her. “What did she say?” I ask. She’s too young to have ever even thought to ask about her father.
Ronan laughs, but it’s only a distraction from the emotion written plainly on his face. “She called me Daddy,” he says, lifting his hand to hold hers gently. “Best thing I’ve ever heard.”
Fresh tears I’ve been trying to hold back begin to fall as I look at Sophie’s tiny hand in his. “Did she see what happened…with my parents?”
He shakes his head, “No. They were keeping her locked in the outbuilding,” he pauses, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you were made to live like that. Your mom grabbed a knife and tried to get to her…I had no choice.”
I put my hand on his. “You did the right thing. They were monsters—they also had every opportunity to choose differently.”
We fall into silence, both seemingly mesmerized by Sophie’s sleeping form.
I can’t tear my eyes away from her, reacquainting myself with every inch of her face, afraid that any moment she could be snatched away again.
Ronan is only inches from us, his presence sure and steady like an invisible blanket over my skin.
But the silence is its own kind of agony. I know what comes next. I know I need to face the consequences of my return.
I clear my throat, pushing the words out before I lose courage. “What happens now?” My voice is embarrassingly small, so I try again, a little steadier. “With me. And with Sophie.”
Ronan doesn’t answer straight away. He leans back, scrubbing both hands over his face, before looking back at me. “I need to meet with the elders tomorrow,” he says eventually. “After Maddox and your parents…there’s going to be fallout. The pack needs answers. I’ll have to tell them everything.”
I nod, fingers tracing soft circles over Sophie’s shoulder. “You mean—about me? About her?”
His gaze flickers to mine, and in it I see the weight he’s been carrying. “Yes.”
My mouth goes dry. “I’ll accept whatever the pack decides, but please don’t separate me from Sophie.”
Ronan’s eyes go wide. “Of course not,” he says, surprise lacing his words. “You are mine, both of you. I will be upfront and honest with the pack about everything that has transpired, but most importantly, about my feelings for you. I love you, Ava. I am a father. We are a family.”
He says it so simply, so certainly, that it cleaves straight through the uncertainty lingering in my soul. I stare at him, stunned, as if I’m being handed a gift I can’t even comprehend. He loves me. The words sink into my bones, solid and true, as I hold his gaze.
“I love you, too,” I say, and it comes out raw and unguarded. “I always have.” I find myself smiling through tears.
He closes the final distance between us, reaching out with a trembling hand that cups the side of my face, gently brushing the wetness from my cheeks, the hint of a smile breaking through.
“I never knew it could feel like this,” he says.
“The truth is, after meeting Sophie, I want it all with you. I want a full house. Five, ten, a whole pack of our own.” His palm cups my jaw, steadying me; his gaze is so earnest and hungry that it turns my insides molten.
“I hope you’re carrying again, Ava. I hope we’ve already started. ”
“You’re sure?” I whisper, my heart stuttering. “After everything…?”
He shakes his head, a wolfish smile blooming. “Because of everything. I have never been surer of anything in my life. You, me, her”—he breaks off with a laugh—“and as many more as you can stand to give me.”
And then his mouth is on mine, gentle but full of hunger. The kiss is everything I never thought would be possible for me: love and the promise of so much more to come.
Before we can get carried away, Sophie seems to sense the change in atmosphere and begins to stir in my arms. We break apart and look down at her. Opening her eyes, she beams at me.
“Shall we get you a snack and then bed?” I whisper.
She nods, and I go to stand with her, but she turns and reaches for Ronan, arms stretched out to him. He seems surprised for a moment and freezes, looking to me for a signal for what he should do next. I give Sophie a little squeeze.
“You want Daddy?” I ask with a smile.
When she nods, my heart explodes with love as I watch her go into his arms. His face filled with happiness as he held her close, breathing in the scent of his own child.
Standing here in the early hours, with the chaos of the last few days settling into dust, and the memories of betrayal feeling more and more insignificant by the second, I know I’m witnessing something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
The moment our family became a reality.