Page 26 of Alpha's Second Chance

Much to my extreme displeasure, the plans were laid out. Eve had called her boss. My entire MASK team was up to date, and our security detail was ready to roll. Now all we had to do was wait for someone to get visuals on Bull.

Behind the cabin, Eve and I were going through drills. First we’d practiced shooting with a rifle, then with a shotgun, and then a handgun. Next we’d practiced grappling, and shifting quickly. Now we’d moved onto knife throwing.

Eve sharpened the blade she had before aiming it at the nearest tree. I didn’t practice with targets for knives -- in an actual fight, no one was going to hold a piece of specially crafted Cottonwood for you to aim at.

“Last week, before all of this had happened, I got a job offer,” she said. Her knife sank flawlessly into the tree.

She kept practicing, and on an outdoor table, I laid out all the firearms and ammunition I’d stocked in the cabin. In the woods nearby, my team was doing the same thing.

I had fourteen guns and twenty knives. I also had a supply of flash-bangs, smoke grenades and three drones. Two of my teammates already had drones in the air. One was searching the woods from the sky, while one was searching the roads. “Oh yeah? What kind of job?”

Eve laid the knife down on my table. “A district attorney’s office in Chicago. I met one of their elected officials at a conference, and they liked an article I wrote.”

Chicago? She was thinking of moving to Illinois and she hadn’t mentioned it at any time in the last few days? How the fuck was that possible? Now she chose to bring it up while we were testing our weapons, knowing we were about to be attacked again? My back stiffened. The blood in my veins sped up, rushing through my body, causing my heart to pound.

I didn’t think I’d ever understand Eve. “Not many bears in Chicago. Real or shifter,” I said.

“No. It’s not really a place where many shifters of any type gather.”

“Maybe those who don’t want to be shifters,” I grumbled.

“Are you implying I didn’t want to be a shifter?” She asked, as an edge crept into her voice..

Wasn’t that exactly what she’d said? I was under the impression she’d rather have been human. “Now is not the time to get into this.”

“When exactly is the time? After we’re dead?” she said.

“What does that even mean?”

“We could die doing this.” Eve snatched a knife off the table and flung it, slamming into the tree so hard bark flew off

“I’m well aware. That’s why I find it odd that you bring up the fact that you want to move to a place with no shifters!” I tried to stop my voice from rising, but it got louder without my consent.

“I didn’t say that!” Eve yelled.

I rubbed my hand over my mouth. I couldn’t stop a harsh exhale. “That is exactly what you said!”

“I was telling you about an opportunity I got. Then I was going to ask how you felt about me moving, you idiot!”

I had no idea what to say to that. I stood in silence for a few moments while Eve picked up a gun and fired several rounds into one of the shifter-shaped targets I did keep for shooting practice. She was still a good shot. She always had been, even when we were kids.

Had Eve been testing me? Trying to see how I’d react? Was I supposed to ask her not to go? No. She wouldn’t set me up. She’d just say something. She’d tell me what she wanted, or she’d ask me what I wanted to give.

Every part of me wanted to slink into the house and turn on the television, and numb myself to the agony of trying to deal with an omega you loved, but couldn’t have.

I wouldn't though. I was the Alpha. I dealt with problems head-on, or so they told me. I wasn’t going to wimp out and hide from this, no matter how much I wanted to.

I took a few steadying breaths, and walked around the perimeter of the cabin. No one in this world pissed me off like Eve did. And yet, no one else made me feel as alive.

It was time for me to grow up and tell her how I felt. I could stand around and wait for a clear signal, or I could take action. The worst thing she could do was tell me off, or never speak to me again. I’d already survived that heartbreak once. Thousands of people and shifters alike suffered far worse things on a daily basis. I could do this.

When I got back from my walk, Eve sat cross-legged on the ground, sharpening each knife with precision. She fixed me with a strident glare but didn’t comment.

I sat down on the ground next to her. “I’ll get right to it. I am in love with you. I want you as my mate. Not because you’re the one that got away, but because I’ve fallen in love with the adult you. The one that’s brave and fiery, and who doesn’t hesitate to get in my face.”

I cleared my throat. “When you said you wanted to move, I didn’t react well.”

Eve’s mouth dropped open.

---