Page 118 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

She spoke cautiously, like she was afraid of angering me. Farrah and Trent shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

“We all want to save Ashton,” she said, and I could hear the heartache in her voice, “but that doesn’t mean you need to throw your life away to do that. We need to come up with a plan that doesn’t treat you like some sacrificial lamb.”

Holding up a hand for her to wait, I said, “Hang on a minute, that’s not what I was saying. I don’t think that’s what this plan is. It’s a good plan. It will work. I don’t see any other way to do this and keep Ashton safe. In my eyes, this is the best possible way to do that.” I glanced at the other two. “Right? The only thing you guys have done is tell me how my plan won’t work, but I haven’t heard any of you coming up with any other ideas.”

“Well, if you’d asked before launching into your plan, you’d know that wasn’t true,” Avery said almost apologetically.

I looked at her, my eyes widening in surprise. “Great. I’d love to hear your ideas. Seriously. I’m not being a dick here. I want options, anything to save Ashton.” The more heads working on this, the better.

Avery twisted her hands in her lap, a movement that screamedI’m uncomfortable. She was clearly trying to work up the courage for whatever she wanted to say. A trickle of worry ran down my spine. Was she going to offer up a plan even more dangerous than mine? Was she going to offer herself up in exchange for Ashton? If so, regardless of how she felt, I’d veto it immediately.

“You don’t want to involve the rest of the pack, which I understand,” Avery said, still keeping her eyes down. “But we need help. There’s only the four of us. I… uh, well, I know someone who might be able to assist.”

Narrowing my eyes, I glanced at Trent, who looked just as confused and surprised as I felt.

“Someone? Who?” I asked. “Did you approach someone from town? A pack member?”

The idea that she’d gone behind my back and contacted a member of my own pack didn’t sit well with me, but maybe it would be for the best. At least we could trust someone from my pack.

“I didn’t contact anyone from the pack,” Avery said, then rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Not this pack, anyway.”

Trent frowned. “What?”

“I called an old friend from back in Iowa. He’s part of the pack that helped shelter and mentor Ashton when he was young.”

“He had a pack before you guys came back to Harbor Mills?” Trent asked.

“You never said anything about him having joined another pack,” Farrah said.

“He didn’t fully join,” Avery said. “They saw that he was having trouble fitting in without structure and took him in as a sort of temporary member.” She sighed. “It helped a bit, but he never really fit in, you know? I think his heart was always longing to come back here.”

“Who is this guy?” I asked. I already knew it was a guy. A weird, dark part of me was overcome with jealousy, but I pushed it aside. It would do no good to judge before I knew what was going on.

Avery’s eyes flicked toward me, but then she quickly returned her gaze to Trent and Farrah, almost like she couldn’t look at me.

“He’s a member of the biggest pack in Des Moines. We met when Ashton was really young. He introduced me to the Des Moines pack and talked to the alpha about the special circumstances.” Avery finally met my eyes. “There are people in that pack who love Ashton. He was never an official member, but he made friends there. Connections. They would want to help.”

For a few seconds, I simply sat there, taking it in. Finally, I nodded. “You want this guy to come down and save the day or something?”

As the words came out of my mouth, I heard the petulant tone and winced inwardly. Even my wolf whined in embarrassment. Why was I acting like a goddamn child when there were bigger things at stake?

Avery chewed her lower lip. “Uh, well, he’s already on the way.”

“Really?” I said, blinking in surprise.

“When I told him what was going on, he said he’d be here as soon as he could.”

“Do you trust him?” I asked.

She nodded vigorously. “I do. He’d do anything to help Ashton, or me, for that matter. Like I said earlier, we need help, and he was the one I thought of first.”

It was like she’d punched me in the gut. The thought that Avery didn’t think I could handle this, that someone from outside would be better able to save my own son, was like a knife twisting in my heart. Yes, we needed help, but that wasn’t the issue. It wasn’t even that it was someone from a different pack. It was the insinuation that I wasn’t up to the challenge.

The rational part of my mind told me I was being childish, but I couldn’t get that thought out of my mind. Having strangers come to town and getting involved in this didn’t make me happy, but I’d do anything for my son. I’d push every ounce of my pride aside if it meant getting him back alive. I’d welcome any plan this dude might have, and accept any help he or his pack could give.

“All right, then,” I said. “We’ll see what this guy has to say when he gets here.”

“Really?” Avery said, looking surprised that I’d agreed so quickly.

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