Page 60 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

“Aves, it’s fine,” I said. I glanced at Ashton in the rearview window. “He is. I think he’s a good guy deep down, but he’s fallen in with some bad people. Maybe I can help him. We’ll see.”

Ashton nodded, then settled back in his seat.

Once we arrived at the alpha house, I told Ashton to go explore. His eyes went wide at the size of the place, just like it had when I brought him here the other day. I’d grown up there, so for me,it was only a house, but I supposed it was impressive. The place was more or less a mansion. My great-great-grandfather had built it when he founded the pack, and the two generations after him had added to it. Finally, my father had renovated the place when I was really little.

“You’ve got the run of the place,” I told him. “Go check it all out. You might like the game room down in the basement.”

“Game room?” Ashton asked, eyes widening.

“Yup. Pool table, dart board, ping-pong. Even a pinball machine and a couple old-school arcade games. I talked my parents into those when I was a kid.”

“Sweet,” he said, bounding off.

Avery tugged at my sleeve. “Are you gonna tell me why you’re getting rid of Ashton? What are you gonna tell me?”

With a sigh, I led her into the den. Once we were seated, I said, “I’ve got to pay Kyle the first twenty-five thousand within seven days.”

“Oh, shit,” Avery said. “Can he do that?”

A humorless chuckle escaped me. “This isn’t exactly a legal thing. Kyle can do as he damn well pleases. I wanted you guys here because Dallas implied you and Ashton might be in danger if I didn’t pay. Also…” I trailed off, trying to think of the best way to explain, then decided to just come out with it. “I asked Trent and Farrah to come over so we can discuss it. They should be here in about twenty minutes.”

“Farrah’s coming?” Avery hissed, her eyes narrowing and her nostrils flaring. She wasn’t a shifter, but at that moment, she looked like an angry wolf ready to tear someone’s throat out.“We’re leaving,” she said, jumping up. “I’ll get Ashton. We’ll walk home.”

I rose with her and put a calming hand on each shoulder. “Hang on. Let me explain.”

“Explain what?” Avery spat. “She’s one of the main reasons we never got back into contact. She lied. She never told you about your child, Cole. What is there to explain?”

“Because it wasn’t her fault. It was my father. Sit. Avery, please.”

She was still scowling as she sat.

“Farrah was only doing what my father told her to do,” I began, then explained everything.

Avery and I had been as close as two people could be, while my father and I had been one or two steps away from full estrangement. The time we’d spent together, I’d tried to keep the shifter part of my life private and isolated, and she’d never learned about some of the subtleties that came with it. She’d never heard about the power of an alpha’s aura, and the influence they could enforce on others. Nor had she learned about the unbreakable bond a promise made to an alpha entailed. That you could die if you broke that promise. A look of horror crossed her face as I explained it all.

She stared at the floor, brows knitted as though trying to understand. “Your father hated me that much?” she finally asked, lifting her eyes to mine.

On instinct, I reached forward and took her hand in mine. “It wasn’tyou. Not really. He tried to make it about you being human and me being an alpha, but I think it was mostly the fact that he’d convinced himself that love was the worst and mostdamaging thing a person could subject themselves to. He wanted to sever any ties I had to another woman, and this was his best idea.

“Granted, Dad did have some very old-school notions about who an alpha should be with, but I think that was secondary to everything else. He was a fucking broken old man who wanted everyone else to be equally as broken. I don’t want you to keep blaming Farrah for something that was out of her control.”

Avery pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’ll do my best. I’ll be cordial if she is. But if not, I make no promises. She wasn’t a fan of me even before everything happened, and you know it.”

“True,” I admitted. “But I promise you, she’ll be on her best behavior.”

Ashton came rushing into the den, a big smile on his face, forcing us to cut our conversation short.

“This house is so cool,” he said.

Avery forced a smile. “Glad you like it. Maybe you can come hang out with Cole this week sometime.”

Before he could answer, the front door opened. Trent came walking in, Farrah right on his heels.

“What was so urgent, bro?” Trent asked.

“Yeah,” Farrah added. “I had an appointment?—”

My sister froze at the sight of Ashton and Avery. Her face fell, warping under a mask of regret and grief. She flicked her eyes toward me.

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