Page 107 of The Gamma's Second Chance

Kimberly strains and shakes her head, her body trembling as she fights against Haven’s orders, but even the strongest lycan in our world wouldn’t be powerful enough to fight off Haven’s command. “I needed a mate. Someone with a higher rank who could take care of me and protect me.”

I growl at her response. “Do you hear yourself? It’s all about power for you. You don’t even care about Nolan or anyone except for yourself.”

“He is mine!”

I laugh. “You may have had a mate bond with him, but he was never yours. You wouldn’t have rejected him if he was.”

His fingers flex on my hip, and he angles me closer to him, pride radiating from him. “How did you know we were at the mating ball?” he asks.

She tries once more to resist, clamping her lips shut, but the aura compelling her to do as Haven says is too strong for her, and her mouth pops open with a gasp as she answers. “When I arrived in California, I looked Crescent Lake up on social media. Your pack members were posting about the ball, thanking Alpha Wesley and Luna Haven for finally taking the pack to one after so many years of not attending any. I knew if the luna was attending the ball, then the gamma would be there too, so I changed my course and headed to the hotel first instead of the pack.”

“And the bomb?” Nolan asks, and Wesley’s lip curls, his muscles tensing and his hold on Haven tightening. His arm slides around her waist and his hands rest over hers on her belly, protecting their unborn pup. “Where did you get it, and how did you get into the hotel room?”

“I saw you withher,” she spits, glaring at me. “When I entered the hotel, you were all over her on the beautiful stairs in the lobby, tarnishing them with your vile display. After you went into the ball, I followed her scent to that room. I used the black web to find a group of rogues selling bombs nearby, and I bribed one of the poorly paid hotel employees to let me into the hotel room. I told her it was a friend’s room, and I wanted to set up a surprise for their birthday.”

“And you didn’t think about the bomb hurting Nolan when or if he went back to the room with me?” I shake my head, and her face falls as my words hit her and she realizes the major flaw in her plan. “You really are delusional.”

“Thank you, Luna Haven,” a male says from behind us. “I recorded the entire confession. I’m sending it to King Malachi now.”

We all glance at an older male with salt and pepper hair, who pockets his phone as he walks towards us. There is a royal council badge pinned to his sharp suit, and he unclips a pouch from his belt and pulls on a pair of gloves.

“Of course, Frederick.” Haven nods at him with a smile.

“I’ll take it from here,” he adds, producing silver cuffs from the pouch as he approaches Kimberly, where she lies prone on the ground.

None of us say another word. We all turn and head towards the packhouse, Wesley keeping Haven close and Nolan keeping me close. My lips twitch in a small, silent laugh, but it’s interrupted by a flash of blonde hair filling my vision and a growl filling my ears. I blink and both are gone, but with this being the third time it’s happened in the last twenty-four hours, I know it’s not a coincidence.

Not one second later, a growl echoes on the grounds for real. I whip my head around, and for a third time, Kimberly charges towards us. I can’t tell who she’s aiming for—Nolan, Haven, or me—but it doesn’t matter. I act before I have time to think about what I’m doing, grabbing her outstretched arm, wrenching it up and around behind her, and wrapping her in a chokehold until she passes out.

Everyone stares at her crumpled, unmoving body as it falls to the ground. My shoulders heave, and my hands tremble. Nolan wraps himself around me in a heartbeat, one arm across mymiddle and one across my shoulders, his face in my neck as my shaky hands grab his forearm, and I let out an unsteady breath.

“I didn’t know who she was going after,” I explain, even though no one asks me or seems perturbed by what I did. “I just reacted.”

“I’m so sorry, Frederick,” Haven says, feigning innocence, her hand resting on her chest just above her heart. “I thought you’d cuffed her already when I lifted my aura off her.”

Nolan laughs into my neck and Wesley ducks his head to her ear, whispering something to her that only she can hear. Her cheeks turn pink as Frederick shrugs and lifts Kimberly over his shoulder and takes off towards the parking lot. “Makes it easier for me to get her to the airport.”

Relief and exhaustion fill me in equal parts as we watch them leave. I lean back into Nolan’s warmth, letting him support me and keep me upright. With everything that’s happened since my birthday began, I am emotionally drained. The whirlwind of a day whipped me up, down, and sideways. But the warm press of Nolan’s chest on my back reminds me that no matter what, through it all, I’ll always have him.

Chapter 37

CASSANDRA

“Mama! Mpampa!”

I sprint down the dock of Selene’s island towards my parents, flinging myself into my mother’s arms when I reach her, hooking my chin over her shoulder. My dad stands behind her, hovering protectively with his arms crossed, much like my own mate doesto me. I reach my hand out to him, and he grabs it, squeezing it and smiling at me, his face softening as it always does when he’s around me.

“I missed you,” I say, returning his squeeze.

He nods, and then his focus switches to Nolan, his face returning to the stern, concerned father look. I lean away from my mom and take Nolan’s hand, guiding him closer to my family. His dark bronze skin has a sickly green tint to it, and his palm against mine is sweaty and trembling with his nerves at meeting my parents, even though he’s spoken to them numerous times on the phone, both with me and without me.

“Mama, Mpampa,” I say, beaming up at my mate and sending reassurance to him with my touch and my smile. “This is Nolan. My mate.”

My dad stares at him, appraising him with an unreadable expression, and Nolan shifts his weight between his feet but returns his gaze with equal strength. “I’m honored to finally meet you in person,” he says, holding his hand out to my dad to shake.

My dad’s face cracks into a grin, and instead of shaking Nolan’s hand, he yanks him into a hug. “We’re happy to have you as part of our family,” he says, and Nolan relaxes, letting out an audible sigh of relief.

My dad releases him, and my mom takes his place, hugging Nolan as well. Nolan smiles at me over the top of her head as my dad slides his arm around my waist.

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