Phoenix stops by not long after I give up talking to Jessa, letting my words germinate in her mind.
It's lunch, and I don't do much, just throwing together so simple sandwiches and so vegetables that are left over from last night's dinner.
I watch Phoenix enter the room, my heart picking up speed. He gives a curt nod before settling into the chair across from and Jessa. There's a tightness around his eyes that I recognize—he's troubled about sothing.
Finally, Phoenix sets his food down and leans back in his chair, his gaze flickering between Jessa and . "I need to talk to you both about sothing."
Jessa raises an eyebrow, her expression carefully neutral. "About what?"
Phoenix hesitates, and for a mont, I think he's going to brush it off. But then he lets out a heavy sigh. "About Ava and this whole oga situation."
My breath catches in my throat. This is it.
"What about it?" Jessa asks, her voice sharp.
Phoenix's jaw tightens. "I don't like it. If Renard gets an heir out of her, everything I've worked for will be gone. I'll still be beta when Dad's gone, but I've worked too hard for this to go away just because Ava shoots so kid out from between her legs."
Relief floods through , and I have to resist the urge to reach out and take his hand. Finally, soone in this family is on my side. Well, he's on his own side—but right now, that's my side.
"What do you expect us to do about it?" Jessa's tone is dismissive, but I can see the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes.
Phoenix leans forward, his gaze intense. "If Ava isn't here, he can't mate her."
Yes.
Yes.
But Jessa's shaking her head. "Dad will just send you after her again. Don't be stupid. We need a more permanent solution."
Damn it.
Hope was given life and snuffed out within a mont.
Phoenix opens his mouth, but Jessa cuts him off with a wave of her hand. "Besides, we have ti. Ava hasn't had her period yet."
Phoenix's brow furrows in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Jessa rolls her eyes. "It ans she could have the Aspen heir in her womb, you moron. Renard won't mate her until he knows it's clear."
The blood drains from my face as the realization hits . She's right—if I'm pregnant with Clayton's child, Renard won't touch . At least, not until he can force to abort it.
Or until they give birth and use the baby as a pawn.
My hand drops to my stomach, and I swallow hard. Could I be...? No, it's too soon to tell. But the thought sends a shiver of fear down my spine.
If I am pregnant, it buys ti. Ti to figure out a way to escape, to get back to the Aspen Pack and Clayton. But it also ans I'm carrying a child—a child that will be caught in the middle of this war between packs.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to push the thought away. One problem at a ti. First, I need to get out of here. Then I can worry about the rest.
I try to keep my face impassive as Phoenix and Jessa argue, but it's difficult to hide my discomfort as they talk about like I'm not even there.
"If she has to stay here, then we need to prove she's not an oga," Phoenix insists, his jaw clenched tight. "If we can do that, then Renard has no reason to keep her around."
I can't help but scoff. As if Renard needs a reason to tornt . Even if I'm not the oga he wants, I'm still going to be used as a breeder. My fate doesn't change then, only Phoenix's. Still, I know this is my chance to try and sway them to my side.
"I'm definitely not an oga," I interject, my voice firm.
Jessa barks out a harsh laugh, her eyes glinting with cruel amusent. "And how the hell would anyone prove that, genius? It's not like there's a test for it."
My heart sinks as I realize she's right. There's no way to definitively prove whether I'm an oga or not. It was all speculation off my heat. I'm not an oga, and no one believes .
"Well, we have to do sothing," Phoenix growls, his hands clenching into fists on the table. "I'm not going to let everything I've worked for be taken away just because Ava can't keep her legs closed."
White-hot anger flares in my chest at his words, and I have to bite my tongue to keep from lashing out. As if I had any choice in the matter?!
"Maybe we should just kill her," Jessa muses, her tone casual as if she's discussing the weather. "That would solve the problem, wouldn't it?"
Kill ? My heart stutters, and I can feel the blood draining from my face. She can't be serious.
But one look at her cold, calculating expression tells that she is. My own sister is contemplating murdering , all to protect her own interests.
I open my mouth, desperate to defend myself, but Phoenix cuts off with a shake of his head.
"No, we can't do that," he says, his voice low. "Renard would never forgive us for killing his only chance at an heir. He's crazed for one. I've always only been his second-best option. We need to find another way."
Relief and fear war within as I realize that, for now at least, my life is safe. But the fact that they're even discussing this, that they're so willing to discard like a piece of trash, cuts to the core.
These are my siblings, my own flesh and blood. I've been betrayed by them, abused by them, neglected and dismissed. And yet, it still hurts.
I swallow hard, forcing down the lump of emotion that threatens to choke . Instead, I lift my chin and et Jessa's gaze head-on, refusing to back down or show any weakness.
"You're right," I say, my voice steady despite the turmoil raging inside . "There's no way to prove whether I'm an oga or not. But what you're forgetting is that it doesn't matter."
Jessa's eyebrows rise skeptically, but I press on, determined to make them see reason.
"Whether I'm an oga or not, Renard is going to use however he sees fit. He doesn't care about any of us, not really. We're just pawns to him, pieces on a chessboard to be sacrificed or protected as he pleases."
Phoenix shifts in his seat, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. Good, I've struck a nerve.
"The only way any of us are going to get out of this unscathed is if we work together," I continue, holding both of their gazes. "We need to stop fighting each other and start fighting him."
The words hang heavy in the air, and for a mont, no one speaks. Then Phoenix sighs and stands up, turning to Jessa. "We'll figure it out later."
Okay. They're willing to go against his wishes, but not stand up against him yet.
Jessa's right. I have ti. I just need to bide it carefully.
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