His Apprehensive Mate - Brea Alepou Page 0,58
hand with what Morgan could only describe as disgust. Guess it was wishful thinking that her whole attitude about runts had changed. It didn’t change his mind; he knew if his sister got around the right shifters and enjoyed life outside of the small hick town run by Lyndon, she would surely open up and possibly be a good mother to Ava.
“Come with us.”
Ciara shook her head. “I’m not so delusional to think that would be okay, and I have other children I need to take care of. I wish I could say I could protect Ava but…” Ciara sighed. “If it’s sacrificing a runt, then fine, I will.” She cleared her throat. “Think of it as you want, but my other children can handle themselves. They are strong.”
“Ava is strong.”
She shrugged. “That is your opinion, but runts have a harder time in shifter society and in the wild. They slow us down. They are weak and need more from the pack.”
Not once had any of them ever thought different of the same beliefs that had been passed down, but even so, why did that dictate if they lived or not. They weren’t just their animal counterparts; they were human as well.
“Even if Ava miraculously could handle it, there will always be an alpha, and what if the next one doesn’t allow runts?”
“My alpha does. He—”
Ciara stood.
“No.” She balled her fists, and her eyes were hard as she stared down at Morgan. So many times she had looked at him that way, and so many times Morgan had flinched away, but this time he simply tried reaching for his sister once more.
“Don’t give me that. I don’t deserve your forgiveness or Ava’s. I’d rather her hate me and live happily with you than for her to stay with me and always live in fear.”
Morgan opened his mouth—Ava wasn’t some toy she could just throw away. Pity and anger warred inside of him; why was he even trying? Ciara took a few steps back. She wiped away the few tears that had spilled.
“You either take her or leave her abandoned on the street.”
She left without another word and no backward glance. The sound of the door shutting was the finality on Morgan’s last drop of hope of reconnecting with his family. In retrospect, the drop of hope was a pointless one, but no one ever said hope was logical.
Morgan stared at the open cage door. There was no way he’d be able to walk on his leg. He checked on Ava one last time before he dragged himself to the wall. Morgan pushed himself up through the pain. Spots danced in his vision, and bile burned the back of his throat as he tried to breathe in much-needed air.
“Fu—” Morgan threw up the little contents he had in his stomach.
He leaned against the wall for another few seconds. Once he was sure he wasn’t going to throw up anymore, he started to move slowly, sliding along the wall. He was already out of breath, sweating and ready to fall back down, by the time he made it out of the cell. Hopping made his leg and shoulder hurt, but as howls and roars filled the air, Morgan was determined to make it outside.
It felt as if an eternity passed as he made his way to the back door of the shed. His hand trembled as he balanced on his good leg and pushed the door open. He didn’t know what he expected to find, but what he found was an all-out war happening. He didn’t see Kenny, but he knew he was close, could feel it deep in his soul.
Morgan used the shed to hold himself up and moved around in the direction he knew Kenny was in. Just as he rounded a corner, a lion crashed into the wall of the shed, just shy of missing Morgan.
The lion got up and shook herself before jumping back into the battle. Morgan spotted Kenny’s snow leopard, and his breath caught in his throat. Kenny’s fur was drenched with blood, some of it his own.
Morgan’s wolf, battered and broken, took notice of their mate and tried to push for a shift, but they both were in no state for it. Morgan wasn’t like the rest; no matter how much closer he felt with his wolf thanks to the pride, he couldn’t possibly shift in his state. Rhy, Kenny, and the lion Morgan remembered was Cali all sported injuries. Lyndon, on the other hand,