Page 204 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“One last thing,” I said before the men could head out. “I want him brought in alive. If he’s getting taken down, then I’m the one who’s gonna do it.”

48

AVERY

“Dammit,” Cole hissed as he walked through the front door. Behind him, Langston and Trent followed. All three of them looked exhausted and sweaty.

“Still no luck?” I asked, feeling stupid the moment the words were out of my mouth. Obviously, they’d been unsuccessful.

“No,” Cole grumbled.

“I’m not sure where he could be hiding,” Langston said, walking over to the coffee machine to start a pot. “Our teams have scoured the whole county. We keep catching slight hints of his scent here and there, but nothing substantial.”

It had been two days since Cole first led the pack on their search for Dallas, and they still hadn’t found him. The fact that he was nowhere nearby allowed me the chance to come over to Cole’s house, which was a blessing. I hated being away from him. As much as I loved Stormy and her family, Cole was safety, he was stability, and I needed that right now. At first, he’d argued against it, but we’d compromised. I spent my days at the alpha house, then went back to Stormy’s at night.

Cole sat at the kitchen table, brooding, as Langston put a mug of coffee down before him. He glanced at the steaming liquid, and I worried he might sling the cup across the room. But it wasn’t anger in his eyes. It was frustration.

“He’s got to be around here somewhere,” he finally said. “He was on video, attacking that guy.”

“Maybe he’s holed up in Kyle’s mansion,” Trent said. “It’s the safest place for both of them at this point, right?”

“Maybe.” Langston’s face said he didn’t buy it. “But we’ll never be sure. I took a team to skirt that mansion late last night. There are so many scents around it, there’s no way to know for sure. Wedidcatch Dallas’s scent, but it was faint. It could be from a couple days before. Who knows. Wecan’tknow until we get inside that place.”

“This isn’t working,” Cole said. He didn’t sound defeated, just pissed off.

“You’re talking about finding Dallas, or about Kyle?” Langston asked.

Cole blew out a breath and put his cup down. “Both, but mostly about Kyle. I wassurehe’d have challenged me by now. Especially after that call from Avery. It’s been days, and nothing but radio silence.”

“I really thought he bought it,” I said. It had worried me as well when Kyle hadn’t outright challenged Cole for leadership of the pack. With each hour that went by, it seemed less and less likely that he would.

“I’m worried he may have seen through the act,” Cole said. “Kyle may have figured out that you were playing him.”

An icy shiver ran down my spine. I didn’t want to think about what Kyle might do to Ashton if he thought I’d been screwing with his head. The man was unbalanced, and I wouldn’t put anything past him. That knowledge terrified me beyond belief.

Cole must have seen the look in my eyes, because his face softened. “He won’t do anything to loosen his hold on us. The only bargaining chip he has is Ash, and he won’t do anything to weaken that hold.”

“You’re probably right,” I said. “I’m just terrified. Ash’s been gone so long. I just want him home.”

“And we’ll get him home,” Cole said. “I’ve promised you that, and I swear to all that is holy, I’m going to keep that promise.”

“I know,” I said. “You guys are doing everything you can, and I understand that. It’s just—” I tapped the side of my head “—the mind of a mother never stops. Especially when your child is in trouble.”

“I get that,” Cole said gently. “I do.”

He pushed away from the table and came over to hug and kiss me. He glanced at the others. “Let’s hit the road again.”

“Already?” Trent looked incredulous.

“I won’t be able to rest until we’ve found Dallas.”

“Let’s do it,” Langston said wearily. “The others are still out searching, anyway. No reason for them to be working when we aren’t.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours?” Cole said to me.

I nodded, hoping he couldn’t read my thoughts as he kissed me again. If he could, he’d probably lose his mind.

I watched through the window as they shifted and bounded off toward the woods again, set on hunting Dallas down. Maybe they’d find him, and maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, there was nothing I could do on that front. I was neither a shifter nor a man. As bitter as the pill was to swallow, there was a sexist line drawn through the world. Men searched, hunted, and fought. Women worried, planned, and waited. It was ridiculous, but so ingrained in both human and shifter societies that it might as well be written in stone.

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