Page 234 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Gotcha, you traitorous cunt,” Kyle rasped, breathing heavily. “Gonna make you pay. Gonna make youallpay.”

56

COLE

Hordes of men spilled from Kyle’s mansion—far more than any of us had anticipated. At least three dozen, from what I could see and smell. Thankfully, they’d been caught by surprise. That helped swing the tide in our favor.

The hidden Harbor Mills pack members unleashed two volleys of gunfire, taking out at least ten men before our two groups crashed together. When we met, the night air shattered into an explosion of howls, snarls, and snapping teeth. Langston, Zayde, and the men from Des Moines and North Carolina rushed to the left. Trent, Farrah, and I led the Harbor Mills contingent.

The first of Kyle’s men to meet me was a shaggy, rust-colored wolf. He leapt at me with claws and teeth like a buzzsaw. His aggression and speed were enough to throw me off for a few seconds until his teeth dug into the furry flesh of my chest. The burst of pain brought me surging back. I latched onto the scruff at the back of his neck, twisted and yanked, pulling him free and tossing him aside. He crashed into two other enemy wolves, and my men quickly swarmed them.

A few more gunshots rang out, but not many. All the men in Kyle’s employ had shifted, favoring battle in wolf form over pulling a trigger in a more exposed and delicate human body.

Chaos reigned, but faster than I could believe, our team managed to subdue and defeat nearly all of his men. Trent and I took on the remaining minions at the steps to the house.

A familiar scent reached me over the blood in the air. It stopped me in my tracks.

Ashton.

I gazed around the madness, trying to spot my son. I threw my head back and howled, hoping he could hear it, hoping that it would lead him to me, then shifted to my human form.

My wishes were granted when, a few moments later, Ashton came sprinting from the side of the house. My knees buckled at the sight of him. After being gone so long, it was surreal to have him rightthere.

“Dad!” Ashton shouted as he spotted me, and despite the battle going on around me, a lump formed in my throat.Dad. He’d called meDad. No word had ever carried so much weight, so much responsibility, so much love.

“Ash!” I rushed toward him, but then I saw the terror on his face and slowed to a stop. Dismay, shock, and horror were all etched into his face, and he pointed behind him.

My heart lurched. Thirty feet behind Ashton, Kyle had a gun pressed against Avery’s temple. He held her tight in front of him, his arm around her neck. My lips peeled back in rage, and a menacing growl emanated from the depths of my chest.

Ashton stood beside me, an equally menacing growl rumbling from him.

“Stay back,” Kyle snarled, yanking on Avery. Tears streamed down her face. “Or I’ll put a bullet in this traitorous bitch’s head.”

I moved in front of Ashton, blocking him from danger and making sure he didn’t rush Kyle. The boy looked ready to kill.

“You think this changes anything?” Kyle nodded around at the havoc.

“It’s over, Kyle,” I said, barely keeping my voice controlled.

“Nothing is over!” His voice had taken on a frantic falsetto. He shook his head, then continued in his usual voice, “It will never be over. I’m going to be the most powerful shifter in the world. None of this matters.”

“All these men?” I asked, sweeping my hand around at the dead, unconscious, and incapacitated men littering the ground. “They don’t matter?”

“Cannon fodder,” Kyle said, spit flying from his quivering lips. “Stooges like this are a dime a dozen. The weak-minded are always looking for a savior. A man who will say the things they want to hear.” He made a strange, giggling sound. “A little cash in their hand helps, too. Your brother is a prime example of that.”

“What about my brother?” I asked, taking a single step forward, unable to stop myself.

Kyle mimicked my step but in reverse, tugging Avery back with him, keeping the distance between us equal. “Your piece-of-shit brother liked money. He was weak and pathetic after the wayyour dearly departed daddy treated him. In all honesty, I never dreamedhe would betray me. Yet, even I couldn’t foresee the little prick’s penchant for making bad decisions. It’s why he’s bleeding out in my basement as we speak.”

I lunged forward, my anger and shock too much to hold back.

Kyle rapped Avery on the temple with the gun. Not enough to knock her out, but enough to make her cry out. A dribble of blood oozed from a cut that appeared where Kyle pressed the barrel.

“You think I won’t? Huh? That I won’t splatter this pretty little cunt’s brains all over my yard? Stay thefuckback.”

Avery whimpered. “Cole.” She said my name like a prayer, and it nearly ripped my heart out of my chest.

“It’s okay, baby,” I said. “I’m right here.”

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