Page 53 of Second Chance Mates

“Ava.” I try to calm the beast swirling inside me. “Who said this to you?”

But she doesn’t look at me; she stares at the duvet as she carries on. “He said I will never be as good as Julia. I will never be able to stand by your side. I’m an embarrassment.”

Frustration grinds in my bones. “Tell. Me. Who.”

“Sam and Kayden. I overheard them talking.”

“Kayden?” My brows fly towards my hairline.

Ava shakes her head. “He was standing up for me. It was Sam who did the damage.”

I grit my teeth and tell my wolf to halt its paws for a moment before we tear through the house to find the soon-to-be-dead fucker. The audacity to talk about his future Luna like that. I’m going to have him squirming with apologies.

“I appreciate you telling me,” I exhale as calmly as possible. “And I promise he’s not going to get away with this. It’s unacceptable. I’m sorry you heard his bullshit lies. Please do not listen to them.”

Ava hops off the bed, shaking out her hands before lacing them through her hair. I rise from the floor. “I feel so out of control all the time,” she whimpers. “I just want it all to stop.”

“I’m here for you. I know it’s not been easy, but I am. Whenever you need me.”

Her hands grip her arms as she releases a strangled sound. “I feel their words, I feel their–” she cuts herself off on a sob. “Their hands and their gazes. I feel all of it, and I wish I could turn it off. I want to turn it off.”

I walk around the bed with my chest gaping open. “Ava–”

“When they touched me,” she murmurs through a cry. “When they used my body. When they took away my own rights, I was nothing but an object to them.”

My eyes pinch at the pain behind them, and her shoulders shake in agony. Fuck.

“I will never be the same again,” Her voice echoes around the room. “I’ll never be the Ava I want to be. That’s why I don’t want to be here in this life…because it’s not mine. This isn’t what I set out for myself.”

She rotates her body towards me. I find her cheeks stained with tears and her eyes puffy and red. “No one will ever want me for the mess they’ve left behind. Because I am. I’m a mess, and I don’t think I’m ever going to get better.”

Then she completely breaks down…into pieces. A thousand tiny pieces.

“Ava,” I strain. “Please. Please. Just let me hold you. I nee–”

I cut myself off and remind my wolf this isn’t about me. This is about her choices. Her consent. It’ll always be about her consent.

“Please will you let me hold you?”

Ava takes a wobbly step forward before crashing her body into my chest. I immediately wrap my arms around her and clutch the back of her head with my large hand. A wave of solace runs through my body at the connection.

She continues to cry and whimper, her hands latching onto the back of my T-shirt in an iron grip. I close my eyes at the soreness of them and the desperation for my body to take away her pain.

“It’s okay,” I whisper into the top of her head. “I got you, baby. I got you.”

An electric force field shields us from everything outside this embrace. Instead, I channel positive thoughts and happy affirmations towards her. I don’t want to overwhelm her, but I do it gradually over time.

After a few moments, Ava’s breathing slows, and her cries become quieter. I don’t let go, not for a single second. I adore the way her body fits against mine like we’re two pieces of a puzzle.

My lips press to the crown of her head in a delicate kiss as I hear her release a soft pant into my chest. She doesn’t pull away, so I don’t make a move to either. My skin tingles from all the comfort that flows between us, and her heartbeat begins to regulate with mine. It’s a strange yet euphoric feeling.

A hug with a mate can definitely attempt to heal some scars, but Ava’s trauma runs deep, and it’s going to take a while for her to find peace within herself—in which I’m ready to be patient. I’ve got all the time in the world, especially for her. I’ll be there through every step she takes.

“You are never alone,” I murmur into her hair. “You will never be alone again. I promise.”

18

AVA

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