Page 51 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

When Avery spoke, she didn’t look at me. “You took away my choice to love, Cole. You made it so I couldn’t have youandI couldn’t have anyone else. Do you know how fucking selfish that is?”

“I’m sorry, Avery. I truly am. I truly believed that the connection would break after a while since you were human,” I said. “But when I was hanging out with Ashton, he let it slip how sad you’ve been over the years. That told me you’ve been experiencing the same thing I had all this time. The pain and loss.”

Avery kicked a rock into the lake, the stone making aplunksound as it vanished below the surface.

“So, you’ve been single this whole time?” Avery asked, turning to look at me.

Truth always wins. No reason to lie now.

“Not always, no,” I admitted. “I think it was sort of like it was with you. I’d find someone, try to make it work, then things would always fade, even when I thought I loved them. Eventually, I’d drift away, or we’d fight, or something else would come up that ruined it. Then I’d try again. It was an awful cycle. It’s like I could never fully give my heart over to someone. And honestly, I didn’t want to.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” she said with a sigh, and bent to pick up a handful of rocks.

For the next several minutes, we sat in silence as she tossed rocks into the water.Plunk-plunk-plunk.

“Why are you telling me this all now, Cole?”

“Part of it is because of what Kyle said,” I admitted. “I knew you’d put two and two together, but it’s also because I was tired of keeping this secret. Tired of pretending my soul doesn’t cry out for you.” It was like a dam had broken. The words tumbled out like water, and I couldn’t have stopped them even if I wanted to. “I want to give you back the choice I stole from you. To let you choose whether you still want to be tied to me or not. No matter what you choose, Kyle will still target you, but I swear I will do everything I can to protect you and Ashton. I’ll die before I let anyone hurt you guys.”

I stared at her, my heart thundering, my wolf whining. Would she look us in the eye, reject us, and turn away forever? I’d never been much for prayer, but in those few seconds while I waited for her to speak, I threw out every prayer I could think of to any higher being I thought might possibly be real.

“So, you’re saying that, regardless of what I decide, Ashton will be safe?” she asked.

“You can tell me to fuck off right now, and I’ll keep him safe,” I said. “No matter what. I’ll stay in his life or go away, whatever you want, but I’ll do all I can to keep him from danger.”

What I didn’t add was that since she had not been officially claimed, she was in even more danger than Ashton. Kyle obviously wanted to get under my skin and force me to pay him money I didn’t have. He might try to swoop in and do something dumb to move things along, but that was beside the point. Evenif he did, and even if Avery rejected me, I’d protect her like I would my son. It was the least I could do for ruining her life.

Avery let out a long, weary sigh. “I… I don’t reject you, Cole.”

I had to clench my teeth together to keep from gasping in relief or crying out in joy. My wolf surged forward, actually trying to wrestle control from me. He wanted to shift and wind his way around her legs, rub against her, but I held back, trying to remain calm. What I couldn’t stop was the two small steps I took toward her.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful,” I said, lowering my voice, “but why not? Why don’t you want to reject me?”

Another step closer, and I could see her chest rising and falling rapidly, almost panicked. More hope seeped into me, expanding and blooming like a flower, but I couldn’t trust it. Not really. Not until she told me what I wanted—needed—to hear.

Only a foot separated us now, and I gazed down at her. “What do you want to say?” My heart tried to break free of my ribcage as the moment stretched out.

“What Iwantto say and what Icansay are two different things, Cole,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “My mind wants to say it, but my heart won’t let me.”

The building energy and the scent of her made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a long time. She was so close. It was all I could do not to reach out and drag her to me, but I needed to hear her say the words.

“Say it,” I urged.

Avery swallowed hard and looked up at me. It seemed like she was fighting a battle within herself to look into my eyes. Itwas as though time had slowed down, both of us standing on a precipice. Some great and irrevocable change was about to happen. My breath quickened, and I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry.

“No matter how much I’ve hated you for leaving me, the truth won’t go away.”

My breath hitched, and my wolf whined, desperate to know if her statement meant what we both wanted it to mean.

“What’s the truth?” I breathed out, moving closer to her, our bodies almost touching.

“That I’ve always loved you,” she said. “That I’ve never stopped.”

I was on her in a second, clutching her body to mine, pressing my lips to hers. It was like fifteen years of pain and misery flooded out of me, dispersing to the wind like the fluffy seeds of a dandelion fluttering away on a stiff breeze. I kissed her like my life depended on it, and deep down, I thought it did.

Avery kissed me back, wrapping her arms around me, digging her fingers into the muscles of my back, her tongue tangling with mine.

“You idiot… fucking moron. Can’t believe you… did that,” she said between kisses and gasps for breath.

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