Ava drove around. They had so much to do, so much for Morgan to live for. So much time passed—too much—but Kenny felt it before he saw it, the way Morgan’s breathing picked back up, not so shallow any longer.
“I need to force him to shift,” Dezi said.
Anything as long as Morgan lived. Dezi hadn’t forced the shift yet, and Kenny looked up from his mate to stare at Dezi. Their eyes met.
“You can’t be here.”
“No, I am—”
“We will watch him, but this will be too much for your snow leopard.”
Kenny was ready to refuse again until he heard a soft cry. Rhy’s hand on his shoulder made him look up into tired green eyes. He passed Kenny a pair of sweatpants.
“She needs you too.”
Kenny turned and found Ava bruised and standing on shaky legs near the shed. Her eyes were trained on Morgan. Horror and fear made tears glisten in her eyes.
Kenny grabbed the sweats and slipped them on. As shifters they were used to nudity, but it still felt comfortable to put the soft sweats on.
“I promise you, Kenny, we won’t let him go,” Dezi said.
Kenny looked back down at Morgan and brushed the hair out of his face.
“Okay.”
Kenny would have to trust in them. He got up on staggering legs. One last glance at Morgan and he made his way over to Ava. He shielded her from the sight before her. Her lip trembled as she looked up at Kenny.
“I-it-s m-my f-ault,” she cried out.
Kenny pulled her in for a hug. She was stiff in his arms until she sagged and let more tears fall. He held her for a bit before pulling her back.
“Come on, let’s go over there,” Kenny said, pointing randomly a few feet away.
Tears continued to stream down Ava’s face, and Kenny turned her as they walked away. His heart hurt. He wanted to stay with Morgan, but he trusted his brothers and pride mates to help the man he loved.
They passed a few trees, the leaves crunching under their feet. For a long while, Kenny didn’t know what to say. He picked a random spot and sat down. Ava stood there, her red-rimmed eyes looking back the way they came.
“Sit down.”
There was no room for argument with his tone. Ava plopped down and wrapped her arms around her legs.
“What happened to your face?” Kenny asked.
The bruises blossoming on her cheeks made him angrier. He wanted to hurt more of the wolves that had brought harm to her. How could he have let this happen? Ava shook her head, her bright blue hair dingy with dirt flinging side to side.
“Ava,” Kenny said strictly.
She laid her head on her knees and let out a shaky breath. There was so much anguish in her eyes. It was all too much for any fourteen-year-old to deal with. Kenny wished more than ever he could wipe it all from her mind. But he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was make her present and future better. And he would do his damnedest to give her that.
“I’m the reason why Uncle Morgan is hurt.”
Kenny got up and sat next to Ava. He placed his hand on her head reassuringly. Not one part of him blamed her for what happened.
“Ava, I’m going to be blunt with you right now.”
She flinched from his words, and it looked as if she was going to move away from him, but she stared up into his eyes, and Kenny saw the strength he’d seen plenty of times in Morgan’s eyes.
“Morgan is my mate, and I love him dearly, and you are my child. I don’t care that you aren’t my blood or that you have yet to shift. My snow leopard has accepted you as ours, and that means whatever happened, I don’t hold any anger toward you. None of this was your fault. If there is anyone to blame, it’s the bastard who dared put his hands on you and Morgan. I’ll rip him to shreds.” His anger was still there, and he doubted it was going anywhere.
Ava lifted her head, her eyes wide as she stared at Kenny.
“R-Really?”
Kenny nodded and patted her head.
“Now tell me what happened so I can hunt down the assholes if they’re still alive.”
The corner of her mouth lifted up in an attempt to smile, but it fell flat. Ava sighed. She picked up a leaf and crunched it in her hand.
“I thought they would leave him alone.” She crushed more leaves in her hands. “But