Page 131 of Second Chance Mates

Kayden’s dark eyes find mine as he nods. “Yeah. It was her.”

I stare at my Beta. Those words coming from his mouth makes my back turn rigid. My lungs constrict. He would never lie to me. He’s my second-in-command who I trust more than anyone in this pack.

My throat tightens around a ball of wariness.

“Did you speak to her?”

“No, we didn’t get close enough to speak to her.”

There is no way this is happening.

“I have to see her,” I blurt. “I need to know if this is real. I need to know what the fuck is going on and why I didn’t know a thing about it.”

My wolf is on edge, and I have to clench my fists to stop myself from shifting.

“Jaxon.” Kayden steps forward. “You need to listen to us.”

“What?” I snap. “What else do I need to listen to? You come in here and tell me my first mate is alive after being dead for over a year? Tell me how any of this makes any fucking sense!”

All the air in the room seems to have evaporated, and I’m barely holding on by a thread. I run a hand through my hair and grip the roots. No. This must be some misunderstanding.

“Something was off,” Kayden’s voice levels with mine. “She was with a few men we’ve never seen in town or the district before. She looks different. I didn’t get welcoming vibes from her at all.”

“Something was off?” I repeat with a scoff. “What does that even mean?”

“Well, why would she fake her own death?” Sam shouts over me. “If she was still alive, wouldn’t you be the first person she came to? This isn’t adding up, Jaxon. None of it is. You would have felt something. Don’t you think?”

Sam’s words trigger something inside me. My wolf hasn’t even flinched, and I would have felt something. If she was still alive, she’d come back for me. She knows where to find me. She knows how devastated I would have been.

My hands tremble with the need to smash my fist into something. I can’t grasp this situation. I can’t grasp my emotions. But something settles in my stomach like an anchor. This can’t be right.

Why hasn’t she come to see me?

A million questions fly through my mind, and I itch my head, but it doesn’t relieve anything. I’m bound by dread and panic. This doesn’t make sense.

I can’t ignore the way my wolf is clawing at the idea of being with Julia’s wolf again. But that’s only because he’s heard this information, not because of feeling her. Instead, we both feel nothing.

I hate the guilt that crashes over my sternum.

My entire life has changed in the last few months. The grief I endured to meet the most courageous and wonderful woman. We helped each other out of our darkest times. We found peace within our sanctuary of one another. Our safe space.

“Something didn’t feel right,” Sam says, snapping me back into the room.

“Did she see you?”

Kayden shakes his head. “She was gone in a flash. We couldn’t get to her.”

“Shit,” I rasp.

“And you’ve felt nothing?” Sam asks.

I shake my head. Nothing. Not even a twitch or an inkling she could be alive.

“Where is Ava?” Kayden asks suddenly.

“Out with Lucy.”

Sam and Kayden share a glance. “In town?”

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