Page 162 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Family?” he snarled. “You want to talk to me about family?”

Before I could react, Dallas shoved my chest. I was bigger and stronger than him, so instead of falling on my ass like he’d intended me to, I simply stumbled away a few feet. Langston rushed forward to put himself between me and my brother, but I waved him off.

“You don’t know shit about me,” Dallas growled. “You and Farrah placated me all those years. Pretending to be nice while Dad treated me like dogshit on the bottom of his shoe. Your mother looked at me like I was some vile monster until the day she died. You have no idea how that felt. My mother and I had to scrape by on almost nothing while Dad bought you and Farrah new cars, sent you on trips and vacations. You act like you’re some noble fucking survivor for running off when you and your daddy got into a fight?” Dallas made a sound that was something between a laugh and a derisive snort. “I stayed.” He jammed his thumb into his chest. “I didn’t run away like you and our sister. I was here, and I saw how weak the old man was. I watched it all happen while you two were off doing God knows what, so who was the real son? The one who ran, or the one who stayed?

“Kyle’s in charge,” Dallas stated, “and he’s more powerful than Dad or you could ever hope to be.”

“Oh, we know how dangerous he is,” Langston said.

Dallas gave Langston a reproachful look and shook his head. “No. You have no clue how bad he is.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that wasn’t true, that we’d seen the video of the drug Kyle had access to, but I stopped myself. Could I trust my brother with that kind of information? No fucking way. Yes, there was still a faint chance that Dallas was only following Kyle because he’d been threatened, manipulated, or freaking brainwashed, but I couldn’t tell him everything we knew. He’d tell Kyle, then we’d have one less chip to bargain with.

Dallas pulled his phone out and checked the screen. He sighed. “I’m being serious. They’re on their way.” He held up his phone for emphasis. “Trust me, you don’t want to be here when they arrive. We were the collectors. Nothing more. Hisrealbadasses won’t be easy to take down, big brother.”

“What’s the plan? Do the same thing to Harbor Mills that you’re doing to North Crest?”

Dallas raised an eyebrow. “You guys did a good job figuring out our little deal here, I’ll give you that. Problem is, this isn’t the only town Kyle has under his thumb. We’ve got a few. Once he realized how hands-off the authorities tend to be with shifter-run towns, it became easy. He’s building a little kingdom, and he wants Harbor Mills to be his seat of power. You’re biting off more than you can chew if you try to fight back. If you try to take me, he’ll only make things worse for you and the people you love, Cole. It’s as simple as that. He needs me. I’m one of his right-hand men.” He chuckled. “Hell, look at that acting job I did the other day. Blubbering and crying on the side of the road. Shit, I deserve an Emmy for that fucking performance.”

“Are you fucking dense?” I hissed, taking a step toward him. “Kyles doesn’t give a fuck about you. He’d have you dead in a ditch if he didn’t need you to sign Harbor Mills over to him.”

That finally got through to him. His cocky smile faltered, and he frowned, looking off-balance. “What the hell do you mean? What are you talking about?”

“Dad left me a letter. I know everything. I also know that he probably never completed the transfer of power, otherwise Kyle would have swept in and taken the town. This bullshit about threatening me and my family is his way of forcing me to sign over the pack rights.” I took another step forward and shoved my finger into his chest. “That’s what’s going on, isn’t it? Dad died before the will could be finalized, and now, it belongs to me. You and your prick boss want me to sign it all over to save my mate and child?”

“Wh… wait. You aren’t you going to sign it over? Your kid’s life is at stake. You have to, Cole.” Dallas pounded his fist into his chest. “It’s mine. My birthright. You have to give it to me. Just because Dad died before we could finish this deal doesn’t mean it isn’t still mine.”

“Your birthright? Jesus Christ, Dallas,” I snarled. “You want it just so you can hand it over to Kyle? The pack deserves better than him. It deserves better than you.”

Dallas bared his teeth in a snarl and backed away. Fear slowly overshadowed his anger. What promises had he made to Kyle? Had he assured his boss that things would go smoothly once they had Ashton? That I’d bend over and take it like a good boy? Now that he saw I had no intentions of doing that, he was worried Kyle might take his pound of flesh from someone else. From himself, maybe?

In the distance, a howl echoed.

“That’s Porter,” Langston said.

A moment later, more howls shattered the silence, rising and falling in a specific pattern we’d agreed on. A warning.

“Something’s wrong,” Langston said, worry creasing his brow. “We need to go.”

I glared at Dallas as he slowly backed farther away. Deep down, my inner wolf begged me to take him, to drag him back to Harbor Mills kicking and screaming, to interrogate him until we found Ashton. My analytical side knew that wasn’t going to happen. I’d never be able to fight my way through whatever was coming, not while trying to keep Dallas subdued, not when he had no intention of going willingly. We’d been outplayed.

“You’ll pay for choosing the wrong side,” I said.

“Oh, yeah?” Dallas smirked. “Really?”

Langston tugged at my arm, trying to pull me along, but I stood my ground and let my gaze burrow into him.

“If one hair on my son’s head is harmed, I will come for you. I will find you, and I’ll make sure you don’t see it coming.” My lips pulled back in a snarl. “You will know pain unlike anything anyone has ever experienced. I will not stop, even when you beg me to. Do you fucking hear me?”

Whatever anger was left on my brother’s face vanished. True fear filled his eyes. He knew I was telling the truth. He could see it in my eyes. Hell, he was probably picturing the horrible things I had planned for him if Ashton was hurt. He opened his mouth to say something, but his ringing phone cut him off.

“You should all run. They’re here.” He spun on his heel and shifted. Casting one last glance at us, he sprinted away from us.

“Cole!” Langston shouted. “We gotta go.”

I watched Dallas’s retreating wolf, then let out a growl of frustration before turning and shifting. Langston joined me. Soon, we were two streaks of fur as we sprinted toward Porter and the others. As we ran, another howl ripped through the air. This one was more panicked and urgent than the ones before.

Langston’s head whipped toward me, and he gave me a worried look, his green eyes glinting in the sunlight. Digging my claws into the pavement, I picked up speed. When we turned the corner of the elementary school and found the group, Langston and I skidded to a stop.

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