Page 8 of Second Chance By Fate

He leads her through the front doors as I stalk around the side of the house, but once I’m out of view, I stop and collect myself. My breaths are shaky and uneven. Her presence has affected me so much more than I ever expected it could.

What the hell are we going to do with her now?

Chapter 3

Jax

Icontinue to steal looks at Violet as we mount the dual staircase toward the guest suite. Her hazel eyes show no indication of magic, but I can plainly see she’s lost in thought. I don’t claim to know exactly what she’s thinking, but I can guess.

“You caught everyone off guard by coming back,” I offer when she doesn’t say anything. “You can’t really blame them for being upset when Enzo gave you a direct order to stay away.”

She stops halfway up the winding staircase and looks at me, her lips curling upward defiantly. “I wouldn’t have come if?—”

Abruptly, she stops and shakes her head, pivoting to finish climbing. She moves faster now, as if to outrun her last words to me.

“If what?” I press, hurrying to keep stride with her.

“Never mind. It’s like I told you—I was going to call and let you know I was back. You’re making it out to be some underhanded plan, but it wasn’t that way at all.”

I shrug. I’m not bothered by her return, not like my brothers are, but I am curious why she’s chosen now to return and why she’s being so evasive about the details.

In fact, I reached out to Violet twice since her exile, even if she ignored both correspondences. I land on the second floor at her side, the servants behind us. I wait for them to leave Violet’s bags at the door to the suite before waving them off.

“You act like I cut you off completely. You know that’s not true,” I chide her gently.

My confession is met with a blank look. “What?”

Her confusion is genuine. I know her well enough to see that, and I glance over my shoulder to ensure none of the staff is eavesdropping on Enzo’s or Steele’s behalf. It wouldn’t surprise me.

With a worried frown, I usher her into the luxurious guest quarters. After locking the door, I press my ear against it, my enhanced bear shifter senses alert for any suspicious sounds.

“What do you mean you tried to reach me?” Violet presses, but I hold up a hand, suddenly not trusting my brothers. If she didn’t receive my messages, did one of them block the contact?

I can’t see them doing that without confronting me about it first, but things were… strange where Violet was involved. We clearly didn’t see eye-to-eye. She rouses emotions in us we didn’t share with other lovers. None of us could deny that.

“Jax!”

Content that no one is spying, I turn to look at her, standing in the middle of the sitting room, and my chest tightens to take her in.

As an Apex Alpha, I could always have my pick of partners, and we have enjoyed many nights with various females in our beds. But no one has ever had the effect on me that Violet did.

And that’s one reason we had to let her go. I know that. She wasn’t our fated mate, and we could never find our future mate with this bewitching woman distracting us. As much as we lusted after her and cared about her, she could never be with us, not truly. But that was the least of Enzo’s and Steele’s concerns.They would have happily kept her here if our strength had not diminished so incredibly.

“Are you lying to make me hate you less?” she asks.

The question stings.

“Hate me?” I echo, and she drops her gaze.

“Make me less angry,” she corrects herself. “I… I don’t hate you… even though I should.”

I think about her perspective.

If she truly did nothing wrong, she would have every right to hate us.

I let the comment go.

“I texted and emailed,” I say, ambling closer to her. “I wanted to make sure you landed on your feet. I was worried about you, believe it or not.”

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