Page 181 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Trent:Yup. Just didn’t want you to be surprised when you got here.

My brow furrowed. Was he serious? Had he made contact with Chris? Was he really at the coffee shop with Trent?

The bleat of a horn behind me snapped me out of my reverie, and I pulled through the intersection and added a little speed to the truck, arriving at the shop a few minutes later. The bitter scent of ground coffee assaulted my senses, making my mouth water. In the back corner, I spotted Trent and an older guy with salt-and-pepper hair and a thick mustache.

Chris Riddle. Son of a bitch.

They both waved to me, and I went to join them.

“Chris,” I said, extending my hand. “Been a real long time.”

“Sure has, boy,” he said with a thick Southern accent as he shook my hand. “Ain’t you grown into a shit-kicker? Look at ya. You’re even bigger’n your daddy was.”

Taking a seat, I called the waitress over and ordered a drink.

“So,” I said, glancing back and forth from Trent to Chris. “What’s this all about?”

“I found the contact numbers for the pack at your house,” Trent said. “I saw Chris’s name and made the call. He agreed to meet. I thought we could pick his brain on how to protect the pack.”

Glancing over at Chris, I said, “Did Trent fill you in on everything that’s been going on?”

Chris blew out a breath. “Hell, yes, he did. Dammit, Cole, I had no idea. Me and Ricky and the others barely started asking questions before Lance tossed us out. Hell, if I’d known it was this bad, I’d have done more. I thought it was a man getting pissy as he got older. I’m sorry as hell about all this. Especially about your boy.”

“Is there anything you can think of that we can use to stop Kyle?” I asked. “Some kind of old pack law or rule that might give us an upper hand?”

Chris sipped his coffee. “Trent told me about this whole last-will-and-testament shit. Neither of you think the paperwork was filed?”

“I don’t think so,” I said as the waitress put my cup down in front of me. “We haven’t been able to find any record of the original will being changed in the county clerk’s records. We’re pretty sure that’s why Kyle’s being this aggressive. They thought they had the pack dead to rights, but then my father died before finalizing the new will. They need me to sign it over to them.”

Chris grunted noncommittally. “But they have an official copy of a will that says otherwise?”

“Yes,” Trent admitted.

“See, the issue is, regardless of what you’re saying, having two wills saying two different things is a legal fucking nightmare. Truth be told, you’ll more than likely come out on top after litigation through a shifter court. The problem is time. It could take months—hell, maybe even years to get it sorted out. All that time, you’ll have Kyle breathing down your neck.”

I thought about spending years looking over my shoulder, and my wolf snarled in irritation.

“If it comes to that, this fucker may decide it’s better to knock you and your boy off for good.” Chris snapped his fingers. “Then, the only person available to take the pack is that bastard Dallas.”

“What about any old, antiquated laws?” I offered. “Trent and I haven’t been in this very long, and I never had a greatrelationship with my father. Even back when I was here, I didn’t put a lot of emphasis on learning the ins and outs of leading a pack. Is there anything I can do?”

Chris eyed me for a few seconds, chewing at the inside of his cheek. When he finally spoke, it was in a whisper. “There is one guaranteed way to settle this once and for all. Challenge him for supremacy of the pack. A fight to the death. Winner takes all. It’s ironclad.”

Trent and I shared a look. I knew about that little loophole, but I hadn’t really considered it until that moment. It was something that was done far more often in earlier generations. I wanted Kyle dead, sure, but for some reason, the idea of challenging him to a one-on-one fight seemed more surreal.

My phone buzzed, and I flipped it over, reading the text. My heart lurched in my chest, and I looked up at Trent.

“We gotta go. Kyle called Avery again.”

“Shit,” Trent hissed. “Okay.”

“Chris,” I said, looking at the man, “I really appreciate you coming to talk with us. And I’m sorry about what my father did. I just want you to know, if this works out, you and the others who were cast out will always have a place in Harbor Mills. I understand if you don’t want to come back, but the offer is there.”

Chris and I shook hands again.

“I’ll think about that,” Chris said. “I’ll let the others know. For what it’s worth, I’m rooting for ya, boy.”

Outside, I pointed at Trent’s truck. “You drive. We can come back for my car later.”

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