Page 53 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

I waved my hand dismissively. “We can address that at the upcoming pack meeting. See if anyone wants to volunteer.”

“We’ve got some money,” Ashton said. “What about that college account you have for me? You’ve been putting money in there for years, Mom.”

“No,” Avery and I said in unison.

“We aren’t depleting your college fund for a stupid mistake my dumbass father made,” I said. “I can call in some favors. Some old business contacts and whatnot. I think I can swing this.”

“But if it can help, why not?” Ashton asked.

“Ashton, your mother set up that account for you, and you alone,” I said. “It’s for your future. I appreciate the offer, and it’s incredible that you want to try to help the pack already. That’s a sign of a good alpha. But this is not your mess to clean up.”

“It’s not about the pack.” Ashton shrugged one shoulder. “Well, it is, but it’s mostly about keeping Mom safe from that asshat at the diner. I don’t like the way he was checking her out. If it keeps her protected, then I’ll give away everything I have.”

Avery put a hand to her mouth, her eyes going teary. My own heart surged with affection. Again, I was struck with regret that I hadn’t been there to see this kid grow up and become the person he was, but whatever Avery had done, she’d done well. Being this selfless at the age of fourteen was remarkable and impressive. I knew Avery was a good mom, but this sealed it.

“Don’t worry about your mom, buddy,” I said. “I won’t let a damn thing happen to her. I promise you that. We’ll have this figured out soon. How about you two relax the rest of the day? You’ve had a busy afternoon. We’ll get out of your hair.”

Trent headed for the door, but before I left, I grabbed Avery, pulling her into a hug.

“We’ll talk more later, okay?” I whispered.

Her head moved against my chest as she nodded. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Lifting her chin, I kissed her.

Behind us, Ashton muttered, “Finally.”

13

AVERY

Istood by the window, watching Cole’s truck head down the road until it was out of sight. My head was still spinning from our afternoon together. How was it possible that we had been connected all this time? A thread of our bond holding us together between miles and years. Was that what had kept me from hating him the moment I saw him? Maybe. As a human, I didn’t have all the answers when it came to what basically amounted to magic.

“Are you okay?” Ashton asked.

Snapping out of my reverie, I turned back to him. “Yeah. I’m fine. Why?”

“You’ve been staring out the window at nothing for a while.”

“I’m going to go to my room. I need to call Stormy,” I said. That was theonlyperson I could talk to about all this at the moment.

“Cool. Can I watch TV?”

“That’s fine,” I said absently as I walked to my room, my mind still processing the events of the day.

I called Stormy as soon as I closed the door.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Stormy said as she answered.

“I kissed Cole,” I blurted.

“Thefuck? What are you talking about?” Somehow, she sounded flabbergasted, disappointed, and excited all at the same time. “Youkissedhim?”

I told her what had happened at the diner, and then our drive together. When I got to the part about Cole never severing the bond, I thought she would lose it.

“That piece of shit!” she shouted into the phone. “How could he do something like that? The audacity and selfishness to?—”

“It wasn’t on purpose,” I cut in before she had a stroke. “He really thought it would stop once we were apart for a while. I think he was just as surprised as I was by it all, but the connection is still there, Stormy. I felt it the moment I saw him on my front porch, and I felt it even deeper when we kissed.”

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