Page 163 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

What we found looked more like a war zone than a simple shifter fight. The number of men Kyle had was much higher than we’d estimated based on the camera footage. At least a dozen shifters battled my pack members and Porter. Had the men we’d chosen weren’t experienced fighters, it would have probably been a blood bath.

Langston threw his head back and released a long howl of rage. At the other end of the football field, Porter howled in answer. A moment later, Langston bolted into battle. I followed, wading into the fighting, heedless of the danger. I hadn’t been in a real fight in years, but it came back to me in a flash.

A black wolf with a white patch across his face lunged at me, jaws snapping. I jerked away, and his teeth clacked shut on the empty space where my neck had been a moment before. Growling, I jumped forward, tumbling across the ground. Teeth tore and bit, claws pawed and scratched. This wolf was only a beta, not evenhalf my strength. Once I had him on his back, I sank my teeth into his muzzle, shredding the flesh along his nose. Blood oozed forth, and he rolled away, whining and whimpering.

There were no other alphas here besides me and Langston. Along with my pack and Porter, we made quick work of the rest of them. Eventually, they all turned tail and retreated. Unfortunately, they managed to free most of the captives we’d taken—all but one, and that was enough.

Porter jogged toward us, shifting into his human form as the enemy fled into the forest. “Thanks.” He bent and rested his hands on his knees, panting. “I don’t think we could have held them off much longer without you two. Where the fuck did they come from?”

Langston and I shifted back. “Dallas told us Kyle’s got some woman working for him. We didn’t even think to look for a female. She saw what was going down and informed Kyle. He sent backup to take us on.”

“Shit,” he cursed, and looked around. “I don’t see your brother. Did he get away?”

“We had to cut him loose,” Langston said. “Would have been like bringing another enemy to the battle.”

“Should we follow?” Porter asked, gesturing toward the final stragglers retreating.

“No point,” I said. I pointed at the remaining captive my men were dragging away. “We’ve got one prisoner. Plus, I wouldn’t put it past Kyle to have more men in the woods to ambush us if we tried to take them from the rear. It’s what I’d do. We call this a win and get the hell out.”

“I’ll take him,” Langston said as my men toward us, the unconscious prisoner sagging between them.

“This guy was alone at the south end of town,” Porter explained. “I knocked him out while he was trying to shake down some poor old lady in a bakery.”

Reaching forward, I grabbed a handful of the guy’s hair and tugged his head up. His mouth sagged open, and his half-lidded eyes showed he was still totally out of it. Langston grabbed the man’s arm and leg and hoisted him onto his shoulders with surprising ease.

“Let’s go,” he said, heading into the forest.

“Follow Langston,” I called to the others, hands around my mouth to create a bullhorn effect.

They did as I asked, and Porter and I took the rear to watch for anyone from Kyle’s crew who might try to jump us. Once we were a safe distance from North Crest, I pulled my phone out to call Avery.

“Cole?” she said, nearly shouting.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I said.

“Oh, thank God. We were worried.”

“We’re all fine. Didn’t manage to get Dallas, but we have one of Kyle’s men.”

“Good,” she mumbled, and I heard the tremor in her voice.

“What’s wrong? You don’t sound okay.”

“Kyle called me.”

I froze. Porter nearly slipped as he stopped in his tracks.

“Did Zayde manage to trace his location?” I asked.

“No. Some… ugh, some woman managed to stop what he was doing. She locked us out of the security cams, too. We couldn’t see anything. We tried calling you, but you didn’t answer. We were worried that… well, you know.”

Her voice was thick—she’d either been crying or was on the verge of it. My heart ached, and I choked back a curse as I started walking again.

“I’m fine, I promise. I guess this bastard is smarter than we gave him credit for.”

“I’m worried about Ashton,” she sobbed. “What if he hurts him because we did this? What if?—”

“Ashton will be fine,” I said, trying my best to reassure her. “Kyle can’t risk hurting him until he has what he wants. We’ll get him back. I still believe that, Avery, and you need to believe it, too.”

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