Page 144 of Defiant Beta

I thought I had something special with Pack Madden, andjustwhen I was getting used to feeling loved, it ended.

They didn’t want me. Not as much as I want them.

I’m relaxing on a sun lounger in the backyard by the pool, studying the house at the end of the garden, when the sliding door opens and Kylian joins me.

“What’s with the random house at the bottom of the garden?” I ask him.

I swear it wasn’t there the last time I was here, though I had been making it a mission to avoid my sister, given I was gearing up to sneak into Haven Academy.

“It’s for Olive.”

Olive is Everleigh’s biological mom. Everleigh’s biological father, Sloane Eddiswood, is rotting in jail for abducting and confining Olive in a private hospital for decades. Hopefully, he’s having a thoroughly miserable time pacing in a four-by-four cell.

I’m not sure why Kylian felt they needed to build an entire house for her, but I guess there’s no such thing as small gestures with alphas.

I turn to look at him. “Does Olive still hate alphas?”

If Pack Ashe hadn’t freed her, she would have died in the clinic. It’s an experience that has left her deeply scarred.

“She’s starting to trust us,” Kylian says. “She had dinner at the house a few days ago.”

“That’s great news.” I grin.

He eyes me for several seconds. “Her therapist is helping her a lot, and she has availability.”

Uh, not him too.

I look away. “No, thanks.”

We study the house for the next several seconds.

“There’s no date, is there?” he asks.

I briefly consider lying, but Kylian is smart. He has sharp instincts.

“Nope.”

“I gather this has something to do with what you were doing at Haven.”

I look at him. “They’re living in a prison, even if they don’t know it. In a couple of days, Ms. Arkwright, the head of the school, will find new prison wardens for them. I couldn’t help my sister, but maybe I can help them from winding up with someone like Lawrence Wentworth.”

He slowly nods. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Considering you’re the one who choked me out, I’m kind of surprised you’ve become my favorite.”

He winces. “Not my proudest moment.”

He thought I’d betrayed Everleigh when Lawrence kidnapped her from the house. Now, Everleigh says there are hidden cameras in the hedges and a wired alarm on a garden door to prevent anything like that from happening again.

“You were looking out for my sister. I get why you did it.”

“Are you sure I can’t help with this mission of yours?”

I shake my head. “It has to be me. I’m just there to convince as many omegas as I can not to go through with their matching.”

"Are you in any danger by going back?”

I consider it. “Slightly. But it’s a calculated risk. The worst that can happen is that a teacher will throw me out. The risk is worth it.”

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