Page 139 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Langston turned to look at me as the man on screen continued screaming.

“We’ve got no fucking clue.”

On screen, Giles began to seize. His jaw was clamped tight, lips pulled back, drool running down his chin in strings. I’d neverseen someone in such agony. I gasped as the screams stopped, replaced by the howl of a wolf. Giles’s body shifted, warped, and twisted, until a wolf lay on the ground.

“What the hell?” Trent said.

Before anyone could speak, the sound of Kyle’s voice on the computer cut through.

“Goddamn it!” he shouted, kicking the wolf, eliciting a sharp yelp from the animal. Kyle threw the injector at one of his men. “He’s nothing but a normal fucking wolf. He’s supposed to turn into a shifter. Tell the doc we need to work on this formula.”

Kyle turned in a circle, hands on his hips, and a moment later, he was staring right into the camera.

“What the fuck is that?” he yelled, pointing toward the camera.

“Sorry, boss,” one of his men said. “I thought we cleared the place before we started.”

“Find that footage and delete it with the rest. Get rid of it, or I’ll have your ass.” Kyle kicked the wolf again. “And dump this prick off in the woods somewhere. Maybe he’ll do better as the animal he is out there.”

Zayde stopped the footage and put his head in his hands.

“He turned a human into a wolf?” I said, turning my slack-jawed face to Langston.

The other man’s voice was husky and gruff when he spoke. “Yeah. I didn’t think that was even possible, but this shows what Kyle is capable of.”

“Where did he get that stuff?” Trent asked. “Even in the military, I never heard of something that could turn a human into a shifter or a wolf. This guy’s in some deep and crazy shit.”

“As far as I know, no one has ever heard of it,” Langston said.

“So that old lady was right,” I added. “Kyle iswaymore than some small-time crook. Anyone can intimidate people for money. He’s got to be into somereallydark shit to have access to this kind of drug or serum or whatever it is.”

“And that means this asshole iswaymore dangerous than any of us thought,” Porter said.

Avery was shaking, her hand covering her mouth, eyes glued to Zayde’s dark computer screen. She looked so devastated, and I knew she was imagining what Kyle was doing to Ashton. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close to me. She didn’t resist. Instead, she sank into me, burying her face in my chest. I stroked her hair, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

“It’s gonna be okay,” I said. “It’s all right.”

Avery’s head jerked up, teary eyes blazing with panic. “But it’s not, Cole,” she said, her voice wet with tears. “What if he’s experimenting on Ashton? What if that fucking psycho is injecting him with whatever that shit is?”

I’d had the same thought. My heart slammed in my chest, fear seeping into my bones. I’d promised myself that I’d keep my head, and that was exactly what I planned on doing. Avery, however, was too consumed with terror.

She pulled away from me, pulling at her hair as tears streamed down her face. Stormy rushed to her side and got her settled on the couch, rocking with her as she cried.

“My baby,” Avery cried. “I need to get my baby back. Oh my God. Cole, please.” She looked up at me, an animalistic misery in her eyes. “Please bring him home. Get our baby boy back.”

She was on the verge of a breakdown. I didn’t know how much more she could take. The images we’d seen on the screen, the shouts and screams of agony that had come from that poor soul echoed through my mind, and I was sure Avery was experiencing the same thing. Except in our heads, it wasn’t a stranger named Sam Giles screaming. It was Ashton.

I could almost picture him strapped to a table in a warehouse or lab, with Kyle standing over him, lowering the injector until it was pressed against his neck.

Grimacing, I forced the thoughts aside and knelt in front of Avery. She was still crying, but her sobs had subsided. I cupped her cheeks and gazed into her red-rimmed eyes.

“Avery, look at me,” I said, summoning all the control and strength I had.

She peered into my eyes as she sniffled and hiccupped.

“I am going to get Ashton back. I will not stop until he’s home. I will lay waste to anyone or anything that tries to stop me. I’ll fucking demolish the entire world if I need to, but he is coming home.”

The confidence in my voice surprised the hell out of me, considering how down and dejected I’d been just an hour before. Part of it came from my own deep desire to have my son come home safe and sound—my fatherly instinct had kicked in at high gear and stoked the flames of my anger. The other part came from watching my half-brother participating in such God-awful things. I’d never felt such rage. Farrah and I had thought the bestof him. We’d been so sure Kyle was forcing him to do the things he did, that he’d threatened Dallas with death. Be that as it may, some things were worse than death. Some things had to be fought against. I understood that. I would die for Ashton, Avery, my sister, or Trent. I’d do everything I needed to make sure the people I loved were safe.

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