Page 112 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“I don’t give afuck why he did it,” I snapped. “All I know is your brother has my son, and that means Kyle has my son. The same man who just murdered someone. I can’t let him have my boy.”

“I’ll kill the fucker if he even looks at my son,” Cole snarled, and even through my terror and panic, fear surged through me. I’d never, in all our time together in the past and now, heard him so angry.

Before I could respond, my phone beeped in my ear. I glanced down and almost sobbed in relief.

“Oh my God, Cole, Ashton’s calling me. I’ve got to answer this. I’ll call you back if he’s okay.”

“Call as soon as you?—”

I didn’t hear the rest as I switched to Ashton’s call.

“Baby? Ash? Are you okay? The boys at the park said?—”

“Well, now. How are we doing today, Avery?”

My mouth dropped open in horror. The oozing voice of Kyle Alexander seemed to slither from the phone speaker. I could almost picture a serpentine tongue reaching through the phone and slithering around my ear.

“Are you still there, my lovely lady?” Kyle said.

“I… I’m… where is my son? Is he okay?”

“The kid is here. He’s fine.” Kyle gave a low chuckle. “Unlike that poor bastard in the truck. Shithead barely had time to sniff me before it was too late for him.”

An explosive breath whooshed from my lungs as hot tears slipped down my cheeks.

“What do you want?” I croaked.

“Oh, that’s a really good question,” Kyle said. “A good and complex question that has a pretty simple answer. I’ve given Cole his ultimatum, and I expect him to obey. Now it’s time for yours.”

“My what?”

“Your ultimatum. When I take over Harbor Mills, I’ll need a mate to help me run things, to keep certain parts of the pack running smoothly, and—” I could hear the grin in his voice “—someone to give me what a manneeds,if you catch my drift.”

My stomach lurched.

“What I’m telling you, Avery, is straightforward. I know how much you love your son. Which means the answer should be very easy. I need you to renounce your fated mate bond to Cole Garrett and become my mate. Do that, and we’re all good. Don’t? Well, if you don’t, I’ll be mailing pieces of the boy back to you over the next seven or eight months. I think you’ve seen what I’m capable of, so you know I’m telling the truth. Now, what’s your choice, Avery?”

I stared back at the truck that contained a dead man, terror and shock threatening to rip me apart from the inside. He had my son. What could I do? How could I possibly choose?

My hand trembled as I opened my mouth to speak.

28

AVERY

The sun dipped toward the Appalachian Mountains, the rays of light angling in the way that only happened in summer. The lush, green trees swayed in the light breeze. It was a perfect day—beautiful and pleasant.

I found no joy in it, though. My hands shook in terror and rage. The scene before me could have been a cold hellscape for all I cared. Nothing mattered right now, nothing at all. My son was gone, in the hands of a madman, and I had no idea how we were going to get him back.

It replayed through my mind a hundred times, each time worse than the last. Realizing Ashton was missing, seeing that poor dead man in the truck, then hearing the awful voice on the phone. Kyle. Every time I thought his name, I saw his scraggly features leaning down over my son, saw the thick knuckles smashing against his young cheeks, splitting his lips and blackening his eyes. I clenched my fists to stifle the scream that wanted to erupt from my throat. Even now, four hours later, everything was as raw as it had been in the moment.

“Hey,” Cole said from behind me.

I spun on the spot, finding him standing in the doorway on the back porch.

“Hey,” I grunted, unable to say more for fear I’d dissolve into sobs.

He closed the distance between us and put his hand on my lower back. The gesture was probably meant to comfort me, but I didn’t want to be touched. I didn’t want anything but to have my son back. But the warmth of his hand anchored me, holding me in place. Without that, I might have spun off into hysterics. The only thing keeping my mind from shattering was Cole’s steady presence.

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