Page 81 of Second Chance Mates

My head tilts towards Kayden as he approaches the bar. My heart skips a beat as I rest my eyes on his face. I thought my mouth tasted like stinging nettles before; they taste like paper cuts now.

“Kayden,” I murmur. “Hi.”

I ball my hands into fists to stop them from shaking and force a smile. I don’t want to seem rude, but it’s obvious that my body language is off.

“I was wondering if we could have a chat?” His voice seems hopeful and harmless.

I swallow back the lump in my throat. “Sure.”

“Great.” He nods. “What do you want to drink?”

“Um, just water. Please.” I say as I play with my fingers. Kayden notices, and I freeze.

Once I have my water and Kayden takes a drink of his own, we make our way to an empty table at the back of the room. I sit down silently and watch Kayden as he perches on the chair beside me.

“I wanted to speak with you properly,” he begins. “I feel like we’ve had some bad encounters, and I would never ask why you act this way around me. I couldn’t even try to imagine what you have been through. But I want you to feel comfortable around me, and I don’t want to see you almost pass out again. That scared the shit out of me.”

My lips press together. “I wanted to let you know that I’m glad you are in a safer place now.” His gentle brown eyes are giving me nothing but empathy. “Nothing will happen whilst you’re with Jaxon and the pack. We look after our own, and you’re one of us. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. If you want me to leave you alone for the foreseeable, I will.”

I take a moment to gather my thoughts. “I know, Kayden. I trust you’re a good person. It’s…it’s just hard to convince my defence mechanisms that. When I see you, I see him, the only other Beta I’ve known. Everything comes back to me, and I can’t help it. It’s hard to block it out, but I've been trying. I’ve been speaking to Gemma about dissociating things. It’s worked with Jaxon so far. I mean, I’ve managed to have this conversation with you without completely freaking out, so it’s going well.”

A look of appreciation covers his face. “You are one strong girl, Ava. I think that’s something you haven’t heard a lot of.”

My lips part to reply, but Jaxon’s appearance makes the hairs on my arm stand. “What’s going on?” His deep voice is full of worry.

I turn in my chair to see his tall frame. His forehead pinches, and his concerned gaze flicks between us before eventually settling on my face.

“We’re just talking,” Kayden admits.

Jaxon’s brow arches. “About what?”

“About being more comfortable in Kayden’s presence,” I admit. “Trying not to associate him with my past.”

Are you okay? Do you need to go outside? We can leave now. Jax’s voice is in my head in an instant.

I’m okay, honestly. I know I’m safe with him. He wouldn’t be your Beta if you didn’t trust him.

We hold each other's gaze for another moment. “O-kay,” Kayden says as he slaps his knee and stands. “Whilst you two mindlink about me, I’m going to find my mate.”

“You have a mate?” I ask in surprise.

“No,” he deadpans. “But maybe by some form of magic, she might be here. I’m sick of seeing everyone all lovey-dovey together. It’s sickening.”

This earns a laugh from Jaxon. “All in good time, my friend.”

Kayden rolls his eyes. “Or no time. I’m going to die alone. Fact.” His gaze moves between us rapidly. “You heard it here first.”

Jaxon ruffles his head teasingly, and it’s the first time I’ve seen their friendship up close. Before, I believed their relationship to be strictly professional, given they run the pack. “Get off me,” Kayden swats him away with a muscly arm.

“If it doesn’t work out, I suppose you could always go for a human,” he suggests.

Kayden sharply breathes through his nose. “Ava doesn’t count. She’s actually your mate.”

“Just an option, bud.” Jaxon shrugs.

A groan floats from Kayden’s mouth before he fixes his eyes on mine. “Have any cute friends from home, Ava? I’m getting desperate. Actually don’t answer that. I might be desperate, but I’m not that desperate.”

“Goddess, am I getting the impression that you could be a romantic at heart?”

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