Page 74 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

I moaned. “That sounds amazing. I’m glad you’re more than just a pretty face.”

“Very funny.”

We dressed and headed to the kitchen. Ashton’s door was still closed, and it was a shock for me to see that it was almost ten in the morning. We’d slept really late. Of course, Cole and I had exhausted ourselves, and Ashton had been tired as well, but I’d never seen him sleep as much as he had the last few days.

After putting a pan of bacon in the oven, Cole mixed the pancake batter. Even with the noise we were making, Ashton didn’t stir.

“Should I go check on him?” I asked. “Usually, the smell of food wakes him right up.”

Cole glanced at a calendar I had hanging beside the oven. “His birthday is coming up, plus the full moon is in a week. His body is going through a ton of changes. If I had to guess, his first shift will come in time for the full moon. We’re almost there.”

He sighed and dropped the spatula into the bowl. “I suppose I need to get the pack together for a group run soon. Maybe time it with Ash’s shift. It’ll give him a sense of community. I’ve been so worried about the finances and getting everything back in running order, I’ve neglected some of the alpha stuff I need to do. Even though I’m not technically the pack alpha yet, someone’s got to do it.”

The look on his face was a combination of irritation and worry. Like the last thing we wanted was to take on that responsibility and stress.

“What are you going to do?” I asked. “With the pack, I mean. Will you be their alpha?”

He shrugged and put a pan on the stove to heat. “Depends, I guess.”

“On what?”

“On what you and Ashton decide to do after the summer is over.”

“Excuse me?” I gaped at him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. You know I never wanted to be alpha. I didn’t think I had what it took. Now? After all these years? That dumb kid is gone. I know I can lead, and that I’d do a good job, but there are more important things now.

“By rights, Ashton will be next in line for alpha after me. If you guys decide to stay here permanently, then I’ll take over the pack, shore things up, get everything sorted out, and make sure Ashton doesn’t take over a shitshow.”

“And if we decide to move on?” I asked, my voice low but hopeful.

He shrugged again, like the answer was obvious. “If you go, then I go. I’ve missed too much of Ashton’s life, and I refuse to miss even another second more. He’s almost fifteen. In a few years, he’s going to head off to college. Whatever time I have left with him as a kid, I want to savor and enjoy. And I’m never letting you go again, either,” he said, his gaze never wavering from mine.

Not even a moment of hesitation to say he might not be telling the whole truth.

My heart fluttered. There was nothing but truth in his eyes. He really would give up everything to go with us. He’d leave his pack behind to be with us. It was something I knew almost no alpha would ever do. To shifters, pack was life, even above family. But for Cole, it was different. For him, family appeared to be more important than anything else. For most shifters, it would be a massive decision, but the way he was approaching it, there really was no decision at all.

His phone rang a few seconds later. Almost as though fate itself had heard, it was a pack elder needing Cole to go deal with something that needed his say-so.

“Damn,” he said as he got off the phone. “I’ve got to go. I guess you two will be eating without me.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I can finish up. Maybe by the time I’m done, Ash’ll be awake.”

Cole kissed me again, and like every time before, it took my breath away. When would it stop feeling surreal and start feeling normal? Actually, I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel normal. There was something nice about how special it felt to be with him now.

“I’ll text Trent,” he said as he pulled away. “He only lives about three miles from here. Let him know that if you guys need anything, you can call him while I’m gone.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine. Go on. Go be the alpha.”

He grinned and kissed me one last time before hurrying out the door. As I watched him go, I armed the security system. Thoughts of Cole and what he’d done to me—what we’d done to each other—the night before filled my mind as I finished cooking breakfast. It made me blush like a schoolgirl, but it didn’t stop me from reliving each moment in high definition inside my mind.

I ate my breakfast and put the leftovers away, and still my son wasn’t awake. Nearly two hours later, close to lunchtime, Ashton finally came shuffling down the hall. The poor kid looked exhausted. He’d been dead asleep, but he looked like he’d gotten no actual recovery from his sleep.

“Want some food?”

“Yes, please,” he mumbled.

The poor guy was being put through the wringer, and I hated it. What I hated worse was that there was nothing I could do to make it better. That alone was a hard pill to swallow as a mother. In my mind, my entire job was to make my baby feel better when he wasn’t a hundred percent. Now, I had to sit back and watch while this change wrung him out like an old dish rag.

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