Page 6 of The Gamma's Second Chance

“He’s better. He still has rough days. Nothing like before, though. He asks for help now when he knows he can’t cope.”

I nod. “He does seem more like his old self. Like how he was before your mom died.”

Reid nods too, his hand idly stroking Savvy’s back as she snoozes, his eyes flicking to his mate, Taryn, where she practices her hits and kicks against a training dummy. Even at almost six months pregnant, her bump isn’t a hindrance. Her skills arestill top-notch, honed by years of self-disciplined training and refined with the help of Reid after they met over a year ago. She finishes the round of exercises and grabs her water bottle, waving at us.

“Nice work, Cadet! Go ahead and take a lap!” Reid calls to her, his hands covering Savvy’s ears so he won’t wake her. Taryn smiles at him and turns around, heading towards the edge of the field to start her run. Reid’s eyes linger on her, the bright blue of them glittering with pride, and he leans over to me, talking out of the corner of his mouth so he doesn’t have to take his eyes off of her. “I’m totally tapping that later.”

He bites his lip and wiggles his brows, and I throw my head back and howl with laughter. “And people are surprised Taryn is already knocked up again.”

Reid’s nose wrinkles, and he finally breaks his staring contest with Taryn’s butt. “Who is surprised?”

“No one is actually surprised. I just meant… never mind.” I glance at my watch and then clap him on the shoulder. “I’ve gotta get home and shower. I’ll see you later.”

“Does Haven have rehearsal today?” he asks as I walk away.

I pause my steps and shake my head. “No, she has an appointment. I took the day off from everything else as well, so I can drive Rachel back to the airport.”

His brows pinch together. “I feel like a broken record when I ask this, but I thought you two ended things when she moved away?”

“We… did…”

“You ended things—mutually, so says you—and yet you drive her from and to the airport and fuck her every time she visits?”

I bristle and cross my arms, immediately getting defensive. “I don’t fuck her every time she visits.”

That’s a lie. We totally sleep together every time she visits. She’s literally asleep, naked, in my bed as I stand here speaking to him. But I don’t need to confess that to him.

And I’m not even going to touch on the “mutually” part of his sentence. Because that’s one of the biggest lies I’ve told everyone since the day she flew across the country and left me behind. Unless by “mutual” he means she said “I’m moving” and I let her walk away without trying to convince her to stay. Then yes, I guess you could say it was mutual.

Reid raised a brow. “Who are you trying to convince?”

“We are still… friendly.”

“Friendly.” He huffs out a laugh and smirks. “Right.”

I sigh and shake my head and continue my journey home. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you around,” I throw over my shoulder.

Cavalier follows me around the training fields and towards the lake, breaking away from me to head back to Haven and Wesley’s home as I make my way to my house. I used to reside in the gamma apartment in the packhouse, but since Haven and Wesley didn’t live in the packhouse, it made more sense to live in town like they did, so I could be available to do my gamma duties on shorter notice, and I moved out shortly after Haven moved in with Wesley.

I head straight upstairs when I get home and gather my clothes to change into after my shower, pausing only to greet a dozing Rachel. She has the blankets tucked up under her chin, and I kiss her cheek and her forehead, then go into the bathroom to check off the next step in my daily routine.

I don’t rush, but I don’t exactly take my time either. The warm, steamy shower soothes my muscles from my run and washes away the sweat and grime, and while I enjoy the massaging streams as they pound against my skin, I also want to spend every last second I can with Rachel before she flies back to Boston again. I settle for long enough to soothe my achingmuscles but short enough to maybe get in at least a quick hot and heavy make-out session with her before we leave for the airport.

But when I exit the bathroom after my shower, dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt, she’s nowhere to be found in the bedroom. The tan sheets are changed, the bed is made, and her bag is no longer by the window. I frown, but slip my shoes on and grab my things from the dresser, sliding them into my pockets as I make my way out of the room and down the stairs.

Rachel stands at the door, her straight brown hair pulled back into a low, loose ponytail hanging over her shoulder, her suitcase at her feet as she fiddles with her phone. My feet slow as I step off the last stair, my hand trailing behind me on the banister.

“Hey,” I say, pausing with my hand still on the railing, my brows furrowing.

She whips her head around to stare at me, her eyes wide in surprise, her body utterly still, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“Hi,” she squeaks out.

“What are you doing?”

She presses her lips together, shoving her phone in the back pocket of her black jeans before crossing her arms and looking down at her feet. “My dad is driving me to the airport. He’ll be here in a few minutes. I was actually hoping he’d be here before you finished your shower. You usually shower for longer.”

My hands slide into my pockets, and I move closer to her. “I told you I would drive you. I’m not working today.”

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