My Alpha Biker Mate

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 26

CASSIAN'S POV

It isn’t supposed to break me, seeing Nova like that. But it does. I can feel her pulse beating in sync with mine.

I look at her right in front of me, and her knees seem to buckle as the lady in charge leads us through the hallway.

The sound of children screaming their lungs out hits us immediately. Nova is holding her breath. I can feel it in the way my own throat starts to close up.

We are suddenly led into a hall filled with children. One of those children belongs to Nova. One of them is her flesh and blood.

The manager has her hands folded in front of her as she takes a deep breath.

“Nate,” she calls out, and all the children turn to look at us. None of them seems to be Nate, because not one person answers.

Nova is looking among the crowd, obviously searching for the boy who is supposed to be her brother.

She looks back at the manager with teary eyes.

“You didn't adopt him, did you?” she asks, raising her voice.

“I don't remember doing it,” the manager says, shrugging. Nova’s eyes go wide.

She takes a step toward the woman, and I can swear even I am losing my patience. It takes a lot for me not to wrap my fingers around her scrawny neck.

“You didn't adopt him. Please tell me you didn't.”

“He’s here,” one of the girls screams, and I notice she’s pointing underneath a table.

I can feel my chest tighten. I might not have been in the same situation as that little boy, but I know exactly what it means to feel like that.

Nova is about to step forward, and I hold a hand in front of her. She gives me a confused look.

“What are you doing?” she asks, and the manager c***s an eyebrow at me like she’s asking the same question.

To be honest, even I don’t really know what I’m doing.

But I know I’m going to get that child from underneath that table, and I’m going to assure him as much as I can that Nova isn’t going to hurt him.

He retreats further under the table, his eyes wide. Scared.

Fuck, what did they do to this child?

I hold my hand out as I crouch in front of the table.

I can’t help but notice how identical he is to Nova. But he has sharper features. It’s hard to ignore that.

“What do you want?” he asks, and I immediately notice the small brick in his hand. He’s holding it like his life depends on it. He won’t hesitate to throw it, and I can tell.

“I want to take you home,” I say, and he swallows hard. The brick slips from his hand.

“So what are you doing with her?” There’s something about the way he says ‘her’ that is more than off-putting.

By the time I turn to look at Nova, her eyes are closed, and she’s definitely about to cry.

The manager looks at her too, and I see her soften as she walks over to Nova and places a hand on her.

“You're going to be fine,” she whispers.

“I’m her fiance,” I say. Saying that only makes me want to make it official even more.

“I don’t want to go. Not after everything she has done.”

“I promise, I didn’t do anything,” Nova says from where she’s standing. “I promise.”

“You let her put me here. You let her burn those cigarettes all over my back.”

My hands ball into fists. All I want to do is find whoever did that to him.

Nova is sniffling as her knees slowly give out. “I knew I couldn’t take care of you. I didn’t want you to go through all the things I had to go through. You don’t know what it took me.”

Nate doesn’t look like he’s even listening. He looks away for a while. By the time he looks back at Nova, her hands are folded in front of her.

“You have to forgive me, please,” she begs. Her voice is shaking.

I don’t know why she’s suddenly doing all this. I don’t know if she really wants a life with her brother. But he’s practically the last family she has left. I’m not even going to count her aunt.

“Why are you suddenly here to take me back?” Nate asks in a demanding tone.

The question makes Nova pause. She brings a hand to her face, wiping away her tears.

“I can take care of you. I have someone that will put us on the right track. I don’t want to fail you again. I’ve done that before, and I want to make things right. Please. Let me.”

I look down at Nate, and he’s looking at me skeptically.

“Are you the person to put the both of us on the right track?” he asks.

I don’t hesitate.

“I am,” I answer, tipping my chin slightly.

For the first time since we walked into the room, his lips slowly spread into a smile.

He looks over at the manager, and she wiggles her brows at him, like she’s asking if he agrees.

“He seems like a nice person,” Nate says, and as he walks past me to hold the manager’s hand, I can tell he has seen far more than he should have at that age.

The manager looks over at Nova and me, and I can’t tell if she’s pleased or not.

“Are the both of you going to sign some documents or not?” she asks, barely looking over her shoulder as she leads Nate out of the room.