Page 34 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Ashton froze in place, staring at me with wide, terrified eyes. “I didn’t think we’d do that today.”

“No, no, no, it’s fine,” I said quickly. “Only an offer. But I know of a park nearby that also has a basketball court. A bunch of the pack kids play there sometimes. It might be more fun to play an actual game with kids closer to your age. Maybe? Then you could get to know a few pack members in a more relaxed way. How does that sound?”

He thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. “Okay, sure. Are they cool?”

I chuckled as we walked back to the car. “As cool as teenagerscanbe.”

“Hey!” he said, giving me a playful shove.

At the park, I introduced Ashton to the seven guys playing. They were glad he’d joined the game, as it would allow them to play four-on-four. Ashton was less shy around the boys than around me. I walked over to the picnic table under the large oak tree and took a seat. It was far enough away that it didn’t look like I was hovering, but close enough for me to watch his interactions with the others—all shifters. I hadn’t told them he was my kid, but Iwas sure the boys saw the resemblance. I hoped they wouldn’t treat him strangely for being their alpha’s surprise son.

They would talk, though. They’d mention him to their parents, their friends. Word would get out. It stressed me out. The quarterly pack meeting was in a few days, and it would be the perfect place for me to introduce Ashton to everyone. But I didn’t want to push Ashton. He’d looked like a deer in headlights when I’d mentioned it before. Avery would bebeyondpissed if I did something like that without both of them being fully on board. It would be only a rumor passed around by a few kids, but it wouldn’t remain a secret for long. People would see Ashton, see his uncanny resemblance to me whenever he and Avery went into town.

This made things even more tenuous. I’d been acting as a sort of de facto alpha since returning, but I hadn’t been sworn in officially. Part of mewantedit. To take my inheritance, fix the finances, and make the pack better and stronger. The issue was that Harbor Mills held as many bad memories for me as it did for Avery. Regardless, my accepting the title and introducing Ashton was something that needed to be addressed—sooner rather than later.

I watched Ashton shooting hoops with the other boys. Part of why I’d wanted to bring him here was to let him hang with kids his age, but the other was to see how he interacted with them. Could he control his anger and his newfound strength? It would show me how he was handling the change.

The kids talked trash back and forth as the game progressed. As a playground game with no refs, it got a bit more physical than it typically would have, but none of them acted like it was abnormal. At one point, a boy accidentally tripped Ashton, and he went down hard. He got up, hands clenched into fists, and fora half second, I thought I’d need to run over to prevent a fight, but nothing came of it. The other boys, seeing his anger, patted his back and said a few words. Ashton nodded, then they all got into a playful shoving match before resuming the game.

Even though Ashton hadn’t made full contact with his inner wolf yet, he was there, deep in his mind, slowly dragging himself to the surface. He knew these boys as part of his pack, even if Ashton didn’t. The roots of our family ran deep here, and even now, I watched as Ashton began to bond with the other kids—a bond led by the wolf within him. Regardless of what Avery or I thought about the place, Harbor Mills was exactly what Ashton needed. Blood ran deep.

As though fate or the world itself had heard that thought, I caught sight of a familiar face at the far end of the park. Dallas. My half-brother. He leaned against a tree, watching the boys play, his arms crossed. I hadn’t seen him since I’d come home. He looked different. Older, of course, but also more haggard and worn out. Like life had been unkind to him since I’d left.

Dallas turned his head, spotted me, and tilted his head up in greeting. Taking that as an invitation, I stood and headed toward him.

“Dallas,” I said as I drew near. “Been a long time.”

“Yep,” he grunted, keeping his eyes glued to the game. After a few seconds, he nodded toward the court where Ashton was shooting a three. “Looks like the family genes run strong.”

What could I say to that? The resemblance, as everyone could see, was too strong to deny.

“Yes, they do,” I said. “What brings you to town? Farrah’s home, too, and she hasn’t seen you, either. Most folks say you don’t come around much anymore.”

He grinned humorlessly, finally meeting my eyes. “I came to warn you.”

A chill ran down my spine at the words. Ominous and terrifying. Warn me about what?

“I know you only got back to town a few weeks ago,” Dallas said, letting his eyes slide back to the game. “But I figured you should know the truth.”

“The truth about what?” I asked. “I don’t remember you being so cryptic, Dallas.”

“The truth about our piece of shit of a father.”

“What?” I said, feeling the old bitterness well up. “Did he have another kid with a new lady?”

Dallas chuckled and bowed his head. As soon as the words were out, I felt ashamed of myself. Farrah and I had always known Dallas was innocent in what our father had done. A child can’t choose when, how, or to whom it’s born. It was a shitty comment, and I chastised myself for it.

“Nope,” Dallas said. “Probably worse than that.”

“You gonna tell me? Or do I have to guess?”

“I suppose you and Farrah have figured out the pack is in some pretty fucked financial straits?”

“We have,” I admitted. “Been going through all the old receipts and stuff. Haven’t been able to figure out where the money went.”

“It went there,” Dallas said, pointing at the court and the boys playing.

I frowned, then shook my head. “What the fuck are you talking about? What? He built a playground? Put the money in a college fund for the pack kids? What?”

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