Page 212 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Aves?” I checked the bathroom and closet, but there was no sign of her.

Downstairs, I heard the rustle of movement. Maybe she was down there making coffee or something. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, all I found was Trent making toast.

“Where’s Avery?” I asked.

Trent gave me a pained look. “She asked me to take her home. To her place.”

“Damn,” I hissed, pounding my fist on the counter.

There was too much going on, too many moving parts, too much danger for us to get into a bad place. I could understand why she was upset, but I still thought I had a good point. Last night, when we talked, it looked like she understood where Langston and I were coming from. Maybe I’d been wrong? Could she still be pissed?

“Was she angry when she asked?”

Trent pulled his bread from the toaster and turned to look at me. “Not that I could tell. Depressed, maybe?” he shrugged. “Not super happy, though, that’s for sure.”

I flopped onto one of the bar stools and stared off into space, brooding for a few moments before speaking again.

“Is there anyone watching over her?” I asked, suddenly worried about Kyle making a play for her or something.

Trent nodded as he tore into his toast. “Yeah. Porter’s with her.”

That was good. At least she was safe. She’d be safewithme, but as long as she was with someone I trusted, I could breathe a little easier.

“Things are a bit rough between you two right now, aren’t they?” Trent asked. “That little fight didn’t look great last night.”

“We aren’t talking about that right now,” I snapped.

“Whew. Touchy, touchy. All right, then. Let’s talk about the next most important thing. Avery said Kyle told her that he was coming for you in two days. How is that going down?”

That part had barely set in. I’d been too upset that Avery had called him behind my back to really register that part of the conversation.

“What it sounds like to me is that he hasnoplan to officially challenge me,” I said.

“He must have some other plan up his sleeve. It’s weird. If we’re right, and your dad never fully filed that will, theonlyway he can gain control of the pack is through a challenge or you signing it over. Does he not want the pack anymore?”

“No, he wants it. I’m worried he’s using Ashton as a pawn. It may be why he’s kept him without hurting him. Maybe he thinks he can kill me, then force Ashton to sign it over. As my only child, he’d be the heir.”

“Hmm,” Trent said, and from his tone, I could tell he wasn’t buying it. “I hate to be this way, but if Dallas really is his right-hand man, wouldn’t it be easier to kill youandAshton, then use Dallas to get access to the pack?”

“You’re forgetting one thing,” I said with a growl. “Avery.”

Trent tilted his head back, hissing in irritation. “Right. I didn’t think about that.”

“If he wants her to be his, then he can’t just murder her son. No. He needs Ashton alive to try and win her over. Two birds with one stone.”

“Speaking of Dallas,” Trent said, “I got a call from Langston super-early this morning. It’s why I was awake when Avery asked for a ride. No sign of Dallas.”

“Goddammit.” I sat back in frustration.

“Yeah. Langston’s pretty pissed, too.”

“He’s got to be in hiding. That’s all that makes sense,” I said. “He tucked tail and ran back to that damn mansion.”

“That’s what Langston thinks, too. Any scent trail they pick up ends up dead right around there,” Trent said, sliding his plate into the sink.

“He’s got the answers we need, and we can’t find him. Great. Really great.” Tapping my fingers on the counter, I tried to shove the doubts out of my mind.

“What are you thinking?” Trent asked. “I can tell you’re working something around in your head.”

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