Page 177 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“I miss him,” I said, collapsing onto the couch. “I miss him so much.”

Cole put his arm around my shoulder and rubbed my arm. “This will be over soon. I promise.”

“Can you take me to my house? I want… I’d like to sit in his room for a bit.”

“Of course. Now?”

Shaking my head, I stood up from the couch. “No, we can eat breakfast first.”

Trent refused to allow me to cook anything and took it upon himself to make pancakes, bacon, and eggs. My appetite wasn’t completely back. The stress had dulled everything, but I managed to choke down enough food to ease the hunger pangs in my stomach.

“I’ll go with you guys,” Zayde said. “I can hang in the car and watch the place. I need to stay close to Avery in case our douchebag calls.”

“Good plan,” Cole said.

The three of us departed, Cole and I in his truck and Zayde in another car, and headed back home. When we pulled into my driveway, I couldn’t help but scan the window of Ashton’s room. Some insanely hopeful part of my mind thought all this might have been some weird nightmare and that he’d be in there, wondering where I’d been, but his room was as dark and quiet as ever.

Zayde stayed in his car. I headed straight for Ashton’s room, my heart aching fiercely as I stepped inside. It smelled like him. Posters of athletes and musicians adorned the walls, and I sat on his bed, doing my best to absorb every detail. I’d been spending more time at Cole’s and Stormy’s because I didn’t want to be alone, but also because this house reminded me too much of my son.

Cole leaned around the door. “You good?”

“Yeah,” I said. To my surprise, I actuallywas. “I feel a little better being here, around his things.”

“That’s great.” He rubbed the fingers of his right hand together and tapped his left floor anxiously on the floor. Cole was never this twitchy, except when he hadn’t run in a while.

“When’s the last time you went on a run?” I asked.

Cole blinked. “Not since that day I acted like a douche.”

“Go,” I said, waving to the back of the house that faced the forest.

“No. I don’t want to leave you here by yourself.”

“Zayde’s outside, I’ll be safe. You need to let off some steam. I promise, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, and I could almost see his wolf in his eyes, desperate to get out and run around.

“I’m sure.”

For a few seconds, he looked like he was going to argue, but his inner need won out, and he turned toward the back door.

“I’ll only be gone thirty minutes,” he called over his shoulder. “I promise.”

“See you soon,” I called, and a moment later, the back door shut behind him.

Truly alone in the house, I tried to keep my mind off Ashton. I hadn’t swept or dusted since he’d been taken, so I busied myself with that. I also hadn’t emptied the dishwasher from the last load I’d run. I spent the next twenty minutes doing little chores around the house until my phone buzzed.

Zayde:Incoming. They’re cool, though. All good.

I frowned down at the text until I heard a knock on the door. Taking Zayde’s message to heart, I opened the door and found a woman roughly my own age with a boy I recognized.

“Braylen?” I said, staring at him.

“Hello, there,” the woman said. She held a large container under her arm. “I’m Lily, Braylen’s mom.”

“Hey, Ms. Carlisle,” Braylen said, his eyes downcast.

“Oh, uh, come in. Come in,” I said, stepping back.

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