Page 79 of The Gamma's Second Chance

His eyes flick to me, and I give him a small smile. He’s apprehensive about attending this ball. It will be the first one he’s been to since Kimberly rejected him, and he’s unsure how he’ll feel once we’re there.

But I have a secret weapon. My dress. The one my mom had custom-made for me. It’s currently hidden away in the back of a guest room closet in Haven and Wesley’s house so Nolan won’t accidentally stumble across it.

He may be nervous, but once he sees me in that dress, thoughts of anything else will vanish from his mind.

I smile, and his conversation with Holden and the instructor’s directions fade to background noise as I imagine his reactions upon seeing me. The way his eyes will widen, and his nostrils will flare. The way he’ll drink in every inch of me as I walk towards him.

He’ll yank me against his body and hold me close, telling me how beautiful I am and how he can’t wait to take my dress off me at the end of the evening. His hands will roam over the velvet bodice, and his fingertips will trace the edge of the low V in the front, and—

“Nolan!” A booming male voice echoes over the grounds, interrupting my daydream and snagging Nolan’s attention.

A couple approaches him, both with dark hair and eyes and golden brown skin, excited smiles on both of their faces.

“Hello, Abel. Lorena,” Nolan says, nodding at each of them in greeting, his arms still crossed.

The instructor keeps talking to me, but my attention is only on Nolan.

“How are you?” Lorena asks.

“Fine,” Nolan says.

I am handed an arrow, and I stare at it, giving the instructor a nod even though I remember none of what he told me. I nock the arrow in the bow, lifting and aiming the best I can, racking my brain and praying for the smallest bit of muscle memory from when I did archery for a few years as a child.

“Did you hear the news?” Abel asks.

“What news?” Nolan inquires.

“Rachel found a second chance mate!”

Thwack.The arrow releases and hits the left side, as far to the edge as it can be without being off the target. I pay little attention to it, though, as my focus is on Nolan and the couple he speaks with.

Nolan blinks at them. “Really?”

Lorena nods, her dark brown eyes shining with excitement. “Yes!”

I nock my next arrow, and the instructor nods encouragingly at me. Only then do I realize he was speaking to me again while I was listening to Nolan. I raise the bow, but I’m only half focused on the target across the field. The rest of my brain is processing Nolan’s conversation.

“That is great news,” Nolan says. “Who is he?”

Thwack.The second arrow hits the far right side of the target, directly opposite of my first arrow. I reach for the third arrow right away, broadening and strengthening my stance and engaging my abdomen muscles as I raise my bow and take aim.

“He’s from the pack whose packhouse she’s redesigning currently,” she tells him. “That’s all she gave me permission to say about it right now. Rachel has some concerns and is hesitant about the whole thing at the moment. But I have high hopes that she’ll come around to him.”

Inhale. Exhale. Focus. Don’t let outside distractions interfere. It’s just me and the target.

“I wish her the best,” Nolan says.

“We’ll let you get back to work,” Abel says, wrapping his arm around his mate. “I’m sure Alpha Wesley and Luna Haven are waiting for you.”

My last arrow flies, and I spin around, not caring what area of the target it hits. They both wave at Nolan, and he stares after them as they walk away, his body tense. A chill runs down myspine, sending goose bumps over my skin and forming a block of dry ice in my stomach.

“Nolan?” My voice shakes with the shivers cursing my body and my soul as I hand the bow to the instructor and walk to the exit of the enclosed area.

I rest my hand on his shoulder, and he blinks at me. His fingers dig into his biceps, and his nostrils flare as his jaw ticks.

“Who is Rachel?” I ask, working to keep my tone curious and free of jealousy or bitterness.

I’m certain I failed.

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