Page 222 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Y–yes,” Avery said. “I’m at my place. Cole, I?—”

“I love you, Avery. I’ll be there soon, I promise.”

I put my phone back into my pocket as Langston rejoined us.

“What’s going on?” Trent asked him.

“There’s a pack in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dad and I did business with them a few years ago. Some nasty stuff. Not nearly as bad as this, but not good. They owed us a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” I asked.

“They’re sending help. It’s only a four-hour drive away,” Langston said with a cocky grin. “We’ve got reinforcements coming.”

“Hell,yes,”I said, slapping him on the back.

Things were falling into place. Help on the inside, help from the outside, a cure for the drug Kyle had developed. Regardless of how bad things had been before, everything was looking up. It was hard to keep the smile off my face. I couldn’t see how we would fail at this point. It was almost as if fate itself was stepping in to assist us in taking Kyle down.

“Get on the horn to our men from the pack,” I said. “Have them gather at the alpha house.”

“Way ahead of you,” Trent said. “I sent a group text as soon as you told me what was up. They should all be there in the next ten minutes.”

“Let’s get home, then,” I said.

Trent drove us back to the alpha house. Langston made more calls to his contacts in North Carolina as I replied to a rapid barrage of texts from our men and one from Farrah, who wanted to know what the hell was going on. I didn’t have a moment tothink because by the time we arrived back at my house, the pack members who’d been helping us were already assembled.

“You got good news for us, Cole?” one of them asked.

“You could say that,” I said. “Gather around.”

The men shuffled forward, creating a semicircle around us. Each of them looked intrigued and anxious. I couldn’t blame them.

“We have news. Someone on the inside of Kyle’s mansion has made contact. Tomorrow night at midnight, we need to be in position near the mansion. That’s going to be our time to attack. This should all be over soon.”

“How do we know this isn’t some sort of trap?” one of the men asked.

That thought had occurred to me, but Kyle wasn’t subtle. The cloak-and-dagger way the note had been passed along wasn’t his style. There was also no way he could have known about the basketball game. That was something only Ashton would think of adding to a note to get me to believe. That, paired with the truth I’d seen in Dallas’s eyes, gave me enough hope to go for it. Besides, we’d need to attack Kyle’s mansion at some point. We’d run out of options to play. Even if itwasa trap, this face-off had to happen, and we’d have had to figure it out along the way. I didn’t believe that, though. My gut told me this was the real deal.

“It’s not,” I said, projecting as much confidence as I could. “Trust me on this. When the time comes, someone inside will help us, and I think we’ll know it when it happens.”

One by one, the men nodded.

“We trust you, Cole. If you say it’s a good lead, then we’re with you,” an older man said.

Warmth spread through my chest. Not an unpleasant feeling.

“I want to make things very clear,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “Even with help, this will be dangerous. I cannot, in good conscience, go into this without telling you that some of us may not make it home after tomorrow night. If that is too much, head back to your houses now. There will be no hard feelings, no retaliation, and your standing in the pack will remain as it is. The Garrett family does not throw good men away against their will. Say the word right now, and you’re free to go.”

No one spoke. Intense, driven gazes looked back at me, and I felt the comfort ofhome. It made me hate myself a little for leaving all those years ago. Not only had I missed out on raising my son and being with my mate, but I’d missed out on leading these people. I could have taken over for my father earlier. I could have kept us out of this shitstorm to begin with.

“It means a lot to me that you’re all here. That you’re helping me get my son back. Thank you. I want to be a better alpha than my father was. That’s all I can hope to do to repay you for what you’ve done for me.”

“You’ve already done that,” a man said.

Murmurs of agreement rippled through them, and a knot formed in my throat. The corners of my eyes burned, but I managed to control myself. This wasn’t the time to shed tears of gratitude. It was time for alpha shit, and by God, I was gonna do it.

Kyle had no idea what kind of hell was about to rain down on him.

“I’m gonna let Trent and Langston give you the rest of the information. After that, go home and get some rest. Spend sometime with your families. I can’t promise what tomorrow night will bring. I cannot guarantee that we’ll all make it home, so take the time you need with them tonight. And—” I held up a finger “—if tonight, while you’re holding your mates or your babies and you think the price is too high, send me a text. No harm, no foul. Your lives are yours to spend, not mine.”

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