Page 193 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Confused and terrified, the man-turned-wolf snarled and snapped its jaws at everyone around. The people fled, pushing and shoving at each other to get away.

There was only one person capable of doing this. We all knew it.

“Kyle,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Motherfucker.”

Trent took his phone back. “It’s worse than that,” he said. “After this, the wolf took off into the woods and people started calling anyone and everyone they could think of. News has spread. My contact said the county mayor is aware of the situation now. He’s pissed.”

“It’s not going to be a good look,” I admitted.

“You think?” Trent said with a bitter smile. “A random human gets turned into a wolf in downtown Harbor Mills? Andwe’rethe shifter pack of the town?”

“Looks like trouble is already here,” Langston said.

Looking up, I followed his gaze, and my heart sank. Two county sheriff cruisers were pulling into my driveway.

“Dammit,” I muttered under my breath. “Okay, boys. Smiles on. We have nothing to hide. Let’s not give them a reason to think we do.”

“Mr. Garrett?” one of the officers said as we walked toward them.

“That’s me,” I said.

“Good afternoon,” he said. “I’m Sergeant Witherspoon. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

“Of course.” I smiled, but a storm was welling up inside my chest.

“Fantastic. Could we do this in private?” he added, sending a glance at Trent and Langston.

“They can stay,” I said. “They’re my official advisors. Anything we need to talk about, they can hear as well.”

“Very well,” the cop said, adjusting his utility belt. “We’ve had a situation occur in town. Do you know a man by the name of Gabe Kolchak?”

“I can’t say that I do,” I said, and that was the truth. I’d never heard that name in my life.

Witherspoon nodded amiably. “Well, about thirty minutes ago, Mr. Kolchak had some sort of an attack in the middle of town. Screaming, shouting, seizures, the whole kit ‘n’ caboodle. We’re here to speak to you about what happened afterward.”

“And what was that?” I asked, playing dumb but already knowingexactlywho Gabe Kolchak was. The poor bastard from the video.

“This is gonna sound a little strange, but he turned into a wolf. We’ve got it on video. Now,” he added quickly, holding a hand up, “that type of thing isn’t truly unheard of around here, not with the pack living in town. What makes no sense is the fact that Gabe Kolchak is a human. I don’t know about you, Mr. Garrett, but that’s pretty weird to me, don’t you think? What do you know about this?”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to think of the best way to go about this. The cat was out of the bag now. As much as we’d wanted this to remain an insular problem, Kyle had taken that option away. The only way to proceed was to let the authorities know. Thelocalauthorities, at least.

“Listen, Sergeant, I think it might be best if you called the mayor and your chief. See if they can head this way. Once we’re all together, I can tell you everything I know.”

The sergeant’s expression darkened. “Are you saying you had something to do with this?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. In fact, my pack is totally innocent of any wrongdoing. Call your people. I’d rather only tell this story once.”

He chewed at the inside of his cheek for a few moments, then came to some sort of decision. “I’ll call ’em,” he called over his shoulder as he joined his partners, “but you better have a damn good story for me to get the mayor. He’s in the middle of a golf tournament as we speak. He’s gonna be goddamn irate if I pull him out of that.”

“I hate that for him,” I said with a fake smile. I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about a golf tournament. People’s lives were at stake here.

An hour and a half later, I sat in the living room, Avery at my side and the guys scattered around the room. On the opposite couch, the chief of the county police sat, glaring at me in irritation. Jonathan Milbanks and I had gone to high school together. Back then, we were friendly, but right now he was looking at me like I’d totally ruined his day.

The front door opened, and a harried-looking man stepped in. He was dressed in khaki shorts and a tucked-in polo that didn’t hide his pudgy belly. His thinning hair looked windblown.

“I’m here,” the mayor said as he stomped across the room. “What the fuck is so important that I had to leave the tournament?” He glanced around at all of us, a red flush creeping across his cheeks. “And why the hell are we meeting here?”

“Mayor Spencer,” Milbanks said. “Have a seat. We need to show you something.”

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