Page 186 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Langston put a hand on Avery’s shoulder. “You’ve done a great job. This should be the last time you have to talk to that asshole.”

“It will be,” I said. “I refuse to put you through this shit anymore.”

She took a deep breath and shook her hands out a few times. “It’s now or never, huh?”

“When you’re ready, no sooner,” Langston said.

Avery smiled sadly and hugged him. It made me feel like a jerk for how I’d acted before. Langston cared for Avery and Ashton nearly as much as I did, but this was familial, not sexual. He hugged her in a brotherly manner—there was nothing intimate about it.

As I watched them together, I reminded myself to ask Avery if Langston had told her who his fated mate was. I had a very good suspicion that it was Stormy, but he may have told Avery outright.

When they broke apart, Avery walked over to me, clutching her phone tightly. “How should this go?”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Do I play this like the simpering woman desperate for his affection, or do I act like the damsel in distress?”

I caught Langston’s eye, and we came to an unspoken agreement. “Damsel in distress. This fucker thinks he can rescueyou from me or something. Why not play into that?”

“Got it,” she said. Before she could talk herself out of it, she dialed the number Kyle had called from before and put the phone on speaker.

The woman was astounding. As the phone started ringing, she took a few deep breaths and pinched her cheeks, hard enough to make her eyes water. By the time Kyle answered, she’d worked herself up into a believable panic.

“Hello, my dear Avery. To what do I owe this lovely surprise?” Kyle said, and I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth to keep from growling. The fucker was talking to her like she was his.

“Kyle?Oh, God, Kyle, Cole knows. He knows,” Avery said, and I could actuallyhearthe tears in her voice as she spoke.

If I hadn’t known better, I’d have believed she was terrified. Porter, beer bottle halfway to his lips, paused and watched her with wide, surprised eyes. Zayde and Langston looked impressed as hell.

“Knows what?” Kyle asked, the silky, flirty tone shifting quickly into tense worry.

“He knows I spoke to you. Don’t ask me how, but he knows.” Then, without missing a beat, Avery began to cry. Honest to Godtears. “Kyle, he says he knows I chose you. He said that he’ll never let me go to be with you. He’d rather die first. He’d rather kill me than lose me. Kyle.” A new panicked hint of desperation entered her voice. “You’ve got to challenge him. That’s the only way. If you kill him, then we can be together. The pack will be yours outright, and we can live together. Please, Kyle, you have to help me, and this is the only way.”

“My poor girl,” Kyle said. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that piece of shit. I’ll do anything for you, but this is a very dangerous game we’re about to play. Are you sure he’ll agree to my challenge?”

Avery glanced up at me, licked her lips, and gave me a little wink before going on. “Yes. He’s full of himself. He doesn’t think anyone or anything can hurt him. I don’t think he gives a damn about Ashton, either. He pretended to want Ashton to get into my good graces. Please, Kyle.Please.”

It was a masterful performance, but even knowing it was completely fake, it made my stomach turn thinking that son of a bitch believed what she said. It was awful, but it seemed to be working.

“Don’t worry,” Kyle growled. “I’ll do what I need to. For you, and for Harbor Mills. The people there deserve an alpha they can be proud of. I’ll make the arrangements. Soon, you’ll see, I keep my word.”

“Thank you, Kyle,” Avery said in a trembling voice before ending the call. She put the phone down, wiped her eyes, then grinned at us. “Got him.”

44

AVERY

Shiloh made a happy, high-pitched squeal when Cole and Trent shifted into their wolf forms, then clapped her tiny hands.

“She loves watching them do that,” Stormy said. “There’s a shifter cartoon she likes, but seeing it in real life is better, I guess.”

We were sitting on the back porch. Trent was going to train Cole, help him hone the fighting skills he’d pushed to the side while he was away from Harbor Mills. It was barely noon, but the late summer sun was already beating down on us.

“It is pretty amazing,” I admitted. “I think we get a little jaded about fantastic things when you see it so much.”

“True,” Stormy said with a shrug as she handed Shiloh a cracker to chew on.

Langston appeared from around the side of the house, ostensibly to ambush the two other men. Suddenly, Trent turned on Cole, and he and Langston attacked the lone alpha. I winced as theybit and clawed at each other. It was all part of getting Cole back into fighting shape, and even though I knew they were pulling their punches, it looked terrifying.

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