Page 56 of Bonding with the Beta

Ava narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t act like you know what a woman’s body goes through during pregnancy.”

Jaxon moves to the island and plates down food before turning to look at me, his eyes boring into my own with a stare that screams,I know what you did, and I’ll kill you for doing it in my private kitchen.I plead ignorance because I know he’ll have a thing or two to say about my infatuation with Kayleigh.

We sit and eat until Jaxon dismisses himself for Alpha duties and Lucy takes Albie outside. Ava sits at the counter and nurses her glass of water, eyes flicking between the pair of us.

“So, what are you going to do about your class?” Ava asks.

Kayleigh sighs. “Miss it, I guess.”

“No,” I say. “I said last night I’d drop you back. I know you don’t want to miss it.”

She blinks at me a couple of times, those blue eyes softening at my words. “It’s a long drive, Kayden. Honestly, you don’t have to do that for me. I can catch up at the end of the week.”

“It’s an hour.” I shrug. “And I’m happy to.”

“What about my car?”

“We’ll sort that out when it’s out of the garage and actually roadworthy.”

Kayleigh glances at Ava for reassurance.

“Go with him, Kay,” Ava says.

She chews on her lip for a moment and releases a breath. “Okay. Thanks.”

Kayleigh sitsin the passenger seat of my car, her head turned towards the window and her knees drawn up to her chest. The journey has been mostly quiet. It’s clear she’s got a lot on her mind, and it probably has a lot to do with last night.

“Did you sleep well?” I ask.

Her blonde hair flicks over her shoulder as she looks over at me. “I slept okay. You?”

“Not great,” I admit as I rest my hand on the steering wheel and my elbow on the crevice of the window.

“Why?”

I tilt my head towards her and raise my brows. “Because I didn’t want you to go to bed and realise you regret what happened between us.”

Kayleigh sighs heavily. “I don’t regret it,” she whispers. “Things are complicated with me.”

“You can talk to me.”

“I’d rather not.” She averts her gaze.

My brows furrow. “Why?”

“Because my story’s boring.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Kayleigh closes her eyes. “Honestly, it’s not that important. I’ve just been…going through stuff.”

“I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

My gaze moves from the road to her as she forces out a fake smile. “I’m better,” she admits. “I wasn’t very good at the start of the year, but I’m slowly finding my feet.”

If I wanted a time to be able to listen to her thoughts, it would be now. But all I hear is radio silence as if she’s shutting me out, even if she doesn’t know I have these abilities.

“Are you happy?” I ask.

---