His Apprehensive Mate - Brea Alepou Page 0,57

wolf knew what they were planning and jumped aside just in time. Claws raked down Kenny’s side. He caught himself barely and flopped down to the ground. Rhy and Cali were there in an instant, and the alpha wolf couldn’t deal the finishing blow.

Damn it, they continued to attack because the other option was to run, and Kenny would be damned if they ran from the asshole who took pleasure in hurting his mate.

Kenny was right outside, Morgan could feel it. His body had healed a lot faster than in the past, but he was still bruised, and his shoulder and leg didn’t quite feel like they could be of any use just yet. While he was passed out, he must have shifted back to human. He wiggled his fingers in front of the eye that wasn’t swollen shut and burning.

“Ava?” Morgan cracked out.

His throat felt as if he’d swallowed a bag of nails. He forced himself to sit up. He was in the dingy shed they called a cell, one he’d called home for many years once he was declared a runt. He pushed those old memories to the back of his head. Something thudded against the shed, and Morgan wanted more than ever to go out there and see Kenny. They were so close, but he knew if he went out there during a fight, he’d be more in the way than useful.

He found Ava curled up in a ball, unmoving. Morgan dragged himself across the dirt-caked floor. She was breathing. He sighed in relief. She was just asleep. How long had they been in there?

The back door to the shed opened, and Ciara slipped in, her dark brown hair and pale skin so much like Morgan’s.

“Cia—”

“Shhh.”

Ciara closed the door and moved over to his cell. She pulled out a key. Her hands trembled slightly, but after a few tries, she got them steady enough to turn the key. Something heavy crashed into the side of the shed, and it made both of them jump.

“It’s a war outside,” Ciara said.

Morgan figured as much with all the noise of fighting going on. He stared at his sister, skeptical as to why she was there unlocking the cage. In the back of his head, Morgan remembered what Lyndon had said, but he wasn’t sure if those words were true. But then again, the words gained Lyndon nothing if they were a lie.

Ciara made her way over to Ava, and Morgan growled low in warning. She stopped short and took a step away from her.

“Fair enough. I was never a real mother to her. I knew she’d end up like you after she didn’t turn when she was ten.”

Morgan didn’t know where the conversation was going, and in all honesty he didn’t care. Ciara messed up treating Ava differently just because she didn’t shift at a certain age.

“Both her father and I shifted by then. All the other kids did, but not her. It was just like with you. Mom and Dad hadn’t expected to have any more kids, and then here you come along. They thought you were their miracle child until you weren’t. I had to work harder to get noticed by the alpha in order to save them.” She gritted her teeth. “If you hadn’t been born—”

“It’s my fault that you all decided to continue to follow a deranged tyrant?”

She stared at him as if he’d lost his mind for speaking about the alpha that way. Morgan wanted to laugh at her, but all he felt at that moment was pity.

“I didn’t come here to talk about you,” Ciara said.

“Then why did you come here?”

Another crash followed by a roar that made Morgan’s ears ring. He lifted his good hand up and tried covering his ears, but it was pointless with one uncovered. Ciara looked terrified.

“He wasn’t prepared for what came,” she muttered. She started to bite her nails, looking terrified.

“Ciara, look—”

She put her hand up, halting any words Morgan might have said. She knelt on the dirty ground and stared Morgan in the eyes. She looked earnest.

“Please take care of her better than I could. I know I have no right to ask but—” Ciara looked serious. “I want to do one right thing by her, and that’s you. So take care of her, please,” Ciara pleaded.

Morgan had never seen his sister cry; she’d always been indifferent around him, ever the strong one.

Morgan reached for her, but Ciara moved back out of reach. She stared at his