Page 225 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Zayde’s face went slack in horror, and he shook his head. “No, man. Ain’t no way. Not Porter. Nah. Nuh-uh.”

“Get out of the way, Cole.” Langston looked at me with dark, hooded eyes. “Let us see.”

“You don’t want that, Langston.” I meant it.

Langston nudged Zayde aside and looked down at me—the man had three inches on me. The way he looked at me sent a tremor of unease through my chest. Grief could create monsters.

“Move,” Langston said through gritted teeth.

Dropping my head, I stepped aside. Arguing was pointless. They moved slowly, deliberately. When they peered into the truck, their reaction was exactly what I’d anticipated.

Zayde let out a low moan of anguish and sank to his knees, cradling his head in his hands. He was a grown man, a huge, terrifying presence, but heartbreak could shatter even the strongest of stones. He began to weep. My heart tore open for the man. If the roles were reversed, if I’d found Trent’s body like that... I didn’t think my soul could take the agony.

Langston stood stock-still, gazing in at the bloody scene. Emotions boiled up, one by one, each crossing his face. Shock, then disbelief, then pain, then sadness. Finally, a rage so complete and all-encompassing that I took a step back, wary of what he might do.

“I’ll kill them,” Langston snarled through gritted teeth. “I’ll fucking kill them all!” He punctuated the last word with a scream of anger and kicked the side of the truck.

The truck bounced from the power in his kick. He lashed out again, kicking the truck even harder, putting a dent in the side and nearly forcing it up on two wheels. He kicked the truck over and over, releasing all his pain and sadness.

“I’ll. Kill. Them. All!”

He let out a deafening howl after the last kick, throwing his head back and releasing pent-up anguish. Zayde tossed his own head back, letting his inner wolf cry out in mourning as well. It broke my heart, and I had no goddamn idea how to make it better.

“I know he’s your friend,” I managed to say, “but he’s dead. Avery isn’t. We need a plan to get her back. Now.”

Langston turned his face to meet my eyes, and the hatred emanating from his gaze was almost a living thing.

“I want Kyle’s fucking head.” His face fell. “We need to find Avery. Any ideas? Did you have time to try and track her?”

“I think she’s long gone,” I said. “I haven’t tried tracking her yet, but—” I cast an anguished glance at the truck “—I doubt she’s nearby. He’s… it looks like this happened a while ago.”

Langston pulled his phone out and dialed a number. I stepped over and clasped Zayde’s shoulder. The massive man was still crying, but put his hand on top of mine. I hoped he could take some solace from my presence. I wouldn’t have wanted to go through this alone, either.

Langston’s voice carried toward us. “It’s me. It’s, uh… it’s bad. Worse than you can imagine, actually.” His voice hitched, his hand shaking as he held the phone to his ear. “...Yeah. Way worse. Uh, P–Porter’s dead.” His lips peeled back, revealing white elongated wolf canines, his anger and heartache nearly forcing him to fully shift. “They killed him… okay… okay… yeah. Thanks, Dad. I love you, too… yeah, I promise I’ll be careful.”

He shoved his phone into his pocket, and a dam finally broke, shattering the powerful man I’d come to know. He put a hand on the truck and let his head fall forward.

“Goodbye, old friend,” he muttered.

Zayde and I joined him, putting our hands on his back, letting him get it out, and averting our eyes from the bloody tableau inside the truck.

When he recovered his wits, Langston rubbed his eyes and looked up at us. “We have more reinforcements coming. Zaydeand I were here helping a friend, but now? Now, this is the Des Moines pack’s fight, too. Dad always liked Porter. He’s as fucking pissed as I am.” He grabbed my arm, digging his fingers into my flesh with feverish urgency. “We’re gonna fucking kill him, aren’t we?” He shook me once. “Aren’t we?”

“He took my son, he took my mate, and he killed our friend,” I said, putting one hand on Langston’s shoulder and the other on Zayde’s. “This fucker is going into the dirt. Everything he’s built is gonna come crashing down, and I’m going to use every bit of it to bury him.”

53

AVERY

Before my eyes even opened, I felt like the world was spinning and upside down, like I was stuck on a rollercoaster. That, along with the roiling nausea in my gut, had woken me up. In flashes, my memories came back, snapping like individual photographs.

Blood smear on a car door… men chasing me… pain… terror… darkness.

I opened my eyes, but my vision was too blurry to make anything out. Blinking, I tried to orient myself, but before I could get a clear look at my surroundings, a hulking shadow rushed forward, blotting out the light source.

“Oh, thank God.”

“Wha?” I said, and my voice sounded slurred and drunken to my ears.

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