Page 13 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

As I spoke, the anger in Cole’s eyes ignited further, but this time it wasn’t directed at me. He reached forward as if to put his hands on my shoulders, then stopped himself.

“Avery, I never knew,” he whispered. “No one ever told me. I wouldneverhave told you that. If I’d known, I would have come home. You have to believe me.”

There it was. He’d always been a terrible liar. I could see the truth in his face, hear it in his voice. Cole never knew he had a child. We’d both been lied to. All these wasted years being angry at him, and it had all been a lie. He’d left me, yes, but he hadn’t leftus. My son had gone fourteen years without his father because of a lie.

My rage, a roaring inferno now, threatened to overwhelm me. And as I studied Cole’s face, I saw that rage reflected back at me.

4

COLE

In the span of a few seconds, my entire world had been turned upside down, shaken, and then thrown out the window. I had a son? Was this really fucking happening?

Millions of thoughts and emotions surged through me. How could I have abandoned Avery? I’d let her raise my child by herself for fifteen years. Farrah had lied to both of us. That made it all worse. Why would my sister have lied?Why?

“Okay, Mom? I know you said go to my room, but?—”

“Oh my God, Ashton, what did I say?” Avery snapped, jamming her fists onto her hips. She’d always done that when she was mad.

The boy was staring at us, a pensive look on his face, his eyes dancing from his mother to me. Each time he glanced my way, I had the surreal feeling that I was looking in a mirror—a mirror from twenty years before, but a mirror, nonetheless. There was no denying it. No hiding the truth. The kid was mine.

That was when I noticed his black eye, and the bruise on Avery’s cheek. What was that from? Who’d done that? Despite all the years, heartache, and time between Avery and me, a sudden and surprising rage filled me. Someone had put their hands on them. Though, this was obviously not the time to address that.

“I know,” Ashton said. “But I want to know what’s going on.”

Avery took a deep and steadying breath. Even though she wasn’t looking at me, I could tell by her body language that she was doing her best to remain as calm as possible. My inner wolf whined, both from seeing the woman we loved after so long, and from feeling the anger radiating off her. Anger directed at us.

“Ashton, give me a few minutes, okay? I need to talk to your… er… I mean, I need to talk to this technician about, uh, the water. All right?”

Ashton rolled his eyes and pointed at me. “Technician? Mom, seriously. Look at this guy. Look at me. He’s?—”

“Please.” Avery was almost begging now. I could feel my own heart tearing at the desperate sound of her voice. “A few minutes, Ashton.”

The boy’s shoulders slumped then, and he looked likehewas on the verge of tears. I’d known about him for less than three minutes, and already I wanted to jump in and say something. Make it better somehow. But I had no place here. I’d forsaken my say-so by walking out on Avery all those years ago and never even trying to make contact.

As Ashton turned and slowly shuffled down the hall, I wondered what his life had been like without a father to guide him.

As though the kid could read my thoughts, he stopped and turned to look at me. I didn’t miss the unspoken warning in his eyes:Don’t fuck with my mom.

Fair enough, kid. I’ll do my best.

Once he was gone, Avery pushed me back out to the porch and closed the door behind her, giving us more privacy.

“Avery, I swear I didn’t know,” I said, holding my hands out, pleading.

She stood silent for several long moments, rubbing her temple. Finally, she said, “Let me get thistotallyclear. You’re saying that neither Farrah nor your dadevertold you?”

I shook my head. “No. I never knew. They said nothing to me about it.”

“Well, what did they say?” Avery said, fire returning to her eyes. “When you asked about me? Or—” her lips curled into an angry sneer “—did you never ask? Did you forget all about me the moment you left town? What did you do? Head straight for Atlanta or Charlotte and fuck the first hot chick who walked by? ‘Screw Avery and the baby I put in her belly? Fuck all the sweet words I told her and the plans we made?’ Is that what you did?”

Each word was like a slap in the face. And I was beginning to think I deserved it.

“I’m telling you, Avery. This is all brand-new information. If I’d known we were having a baby together, I never would have left.”

“Bullshit!” She shoved me in the chest, and I staggered back a step. “I already told you what Farrah said. She told me you didn’t want anything to do with me or the baby. Told me you wanted me to ‘get rid of it.’ That’s when I realized we were truly done.You can act like it was all a lie, but if she wasn’t telling the truth, then why did you never contact me again? You sure as shit acted like you wanted me out of your life forever. Why wouldn’t I believe that?”

All I could do was gape at her. Explanations streamed through my mind like sand in an hourglass, but they all sounded lame and ridiculous. Her impression of what I’d done sounded exactly like the kind of thing a jackass who didn’t care about her would do. All these years, I’d regretted what I’d done, and now I had to face the heartache and sadness I’d left in my wake.

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