Page 23 of Rebellious Harmony
Bakari watches me shamelessly checking her out and laughs, shaking his head.I’m worried that she’s getting more warm.I need to take her up to the suite and tuck her safely away from Bakari and other Alphas.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out and see my dad’s name flash across the screen.I nod at Bakari and look at Ava.“I need to get this.I’ll be right over there.”I gesture to a nearby alcove.“My dad is calling.”
“Oh yeah, sure.Tell him donut girl says hi.”
Smiling at her words, I nod and walk to the side of the room, keeping watch over her while I take the call.Bakari bumps her shoulder and has her laughing at something he’s saying, and I want to go over there and knock him out.I know her scent is getting to him, too.
“Hey...How’s it going?”
“Hi.I’m just calling to see how you and Ava are getting along and how you feel about wrapping up your tour tonight.”
Looking around the casino, I glance at the time on my cell’s screen and watch Bakari continue to joke around with Ava.
“Ava and I are doing well.”Hesitating, I’m unsure if I should tell him about her looming heat.“She’s great.”
“I thought you two would hit it off.”He sounds smug, and I want to lay into him for the position he’s put me in.
“Yeah, the tour has been long.We’re all ready for a break.”Looking up at the chandeliers I can’t help but feel annoyed.What’s the point of small talk?He knows what he did.We both know.
“I see.Well, there’s an issue.Stryker knows about Ava and has ordered that she be returned home to be supported in the Sanctuary.”He clears his throat and pauses, “How have things with Ava been going?Is she your future mate?”I can hear new urgency in his tone.
Seeing Bakari hitting on Ava only adds to my annoyance.“Straight to the point, huh?”
Ava is bathed in light from her machine, telling me she won even more money.I would do anything to see her stay happy and carefree; she’s positively delighted.
“Nolan, you and I both know that when an Omega is in the presence of an unmated Alpha, it can bring on her heat.Has she been showing signs?”
I can’t help but think that he wants her to be in heat, so I’ll go into rut and finally claim an Omega and, better yet, one he approves of.My dad’s scheming ways irritate me to no end.I could lie to him, but there’s no point.As the Alpha who uncloaked her, it’s really his prerogative to know, since it’s his neck on the line.Now that Stryker knows about her, the situation is more precarious.
“Yeah, she has,” I say, sounding resigned even to my own ears.“She just started showing signs in the last hour.Her heat should arrive in the next day or so.”
“I see.What do you plan to do about it?Do you want to claim her?”
With a heavy sigh, I push down what I really want to say.Yes, of course I want to claim Ava.Nothing would make me happier.“No, Dad.She deserves someone with more stability.She doesn’t deserve the chaos Larissa started.”
My dad sighs into the phone.“You’re making a poor choice, and I think you know it.You may end up regretting this.Plenty of Alphas in House Stryker would jump at the opportunity to court her and claim her as their own.Time isn’t on your side.Once she has chosen her Alpha, she’ll be untouchable to you and anyone else.”
Watching the waitress deliver our drinks, I can’t help but feel a heavy sense of loss and shame.She deserves the world, and I could easily give it to her.But she doesn’t deserve the intense scrutiny that would follow her once the world discovers who she is.
“Nolan, you know you can make her happy.Do you really not want Ava for a mate?”
“Of course, I want her!”I hiss.“It’s why you sent her here.But Larissa interrupted us last night and made her uncomfortable, and she’s since pulled away from me.I don’t want that drama thrown into her life.Larissa may never stop.The scrutiny and chaos may never go away.”
“Shouldn’t Ava make that choice for herself?”
I take a deep breath and try to release the heavy weight in my chest.“Maybe.But she doesn’t really know what she’d be agreeing to as my Omega.”
“Maybe not.Or maybe you’re wrong.I can’t help but feel disappointed.You’re missing out on so much.”
“Believe me, Dad, I know.”
He sighs.“What am I going to do with you?If you give up on her and yourself, this door will close forever.You know what I have to do now that she’s showing signs of heat, right?Stryker wants her back in San Diego as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, you need to take her home and get her into the Sanctuary.I get it, Dad.”
“When do you and the guys leave Vegas to return home?”
“Two nights from now.”I feel devastated.“When are you coming?”
