Second Chance

SEAN

The clock on my office wall read 10:30. I tapped my pen against the papers on my desk. Patrol should have gotten back to base an hour ago. If I hurried, I could watch them train before their lunch break.

I needed to be updated on what they found with their inspection of the borders. And if I visited the training center, I could get the report directly from Aaron.

I tapped my pen faster. The hands of the clock moved by one minute.

My father would have waited for his gamma to notify him of any problems or concerns after a patrol. If there was a problem, Aaron would have reached out to me by now.

The clock moved another minute.

There had been rogue sightings recently. And as alpha, I should be in the loop if there were any signs of trouble.

I threw my pen on the desk. Who was I kidding? I didn’t really need to see Aaron. My gamma was more than competent.

No. I wanted to see Alison.

The Blood Moon was tonight, the night our primal instincts took over, and our wolves were in control. Tonight, my wolf would have only one thought on his mind: find a mate.

And despite all my misgivings, my wolf wanted to claim Alison. The longer I sat there, unmoving, the more he howled in frustration. He knew tonight would be the night I finally gave in and accepted a chosen mate, and he wanted it to be Alison.

I gave up all pretense and stood—and walked to the door, thoughts of Alison filling my head.

She lost her true mate ten years earlier. She was only eighteen at the time and had just recognized Peter as her true mate. They hadn’t even been able to celebrate finding each other before he was so cruelly killed.

It had been a massacre that night. The rogues were relentless. And she had looked so powerless in the aftermath, tears streaming down her face, her voice raw from screaming like a mad person.

I feared that we would lose her that night too. That her wolf wouldn’t be able to handle the grief.

In the years since, I also learned how much it hurt to lose your one true mate. There was no larger pain.

And yet Alison had been so strong that night, killing many rogues and saving even more lives, that I decided, with Aaron’s encouragement, to offer her a warrior position in the pack, along with the rank of delta.

In the months and years that passed, I’d tried to help her recover the best I could. I took control of her warrior training, helping her hone her natural abilities and strengthen her weaknesses. I did it under the guise of making sure she didn’t succumb to the darkness of losing her true mate. But in truth, I saw something in her, even then.

And now, we were close enough that I found myself yearning to be near her. If I were to be honest with myself, there was more than fondness between us, but I would never admit it.

After everything I went through with my true mate, I didn’t deserve those feelings.

I stepped outside, the sun high in the sky. Even though it was already September, it was still warm. I took a moment to breathe in the scent of early fall, but my wolf nudged me along, not wanting to take the time to appreciate the weather.

Various pack members greeted me as I made my way to my car. I waved to them, ensuring I was polite but aloof. My wolf needed to get to the training grounds, and I didn’t want to get caught in a conversation with anyone and miss my chance to watch Alison train.

Within minutes, I arrived at the outdoor training grounds. I noticed her immediately, as if my eyes naturally sought her.

She was boxing with another warrior; her back was to me, her ponytail sweeping from side to side as she moved.

As if she sensed my eyes on her, she turned her head and offered me a bright smile. I couldn’t help but reciprocate, forgetting about the world around me as I slowly raised my hand and waved.

“Can I help you with something, or are you just admiring the view?”

I refrained from jolting as I looked at my friend and gamma. Aaron harbored a smirk on his face, so I knew he caught me staring.

“I’m just making sure that they’re training properly.” I frowned, adjusting my posture.

“Yeah, sure. Alison knows what she’s doing. She’s still one of the best deltas we have, and she won’t let anyone take her place.” He playfully nudged my shoulder with his. “She’s very pretty too. I wouldn’t mind getting a bite or two.”

I wanted to growl at that comment, but it wasn’t my place to do so. She was only one of my deltas after all—nothing more.

I needed to keep reminding myself of that.

“The elders want me to take a chosen. They said it’s time. That I can’t stay like this any longer, or they might reevaluate my position as alpha,” I said seriously. “They’re giving me until the end of the Blood Moon before they act. They mentioned Alison as a possibility.”

Aaron grunted in surprise. “Really? Your grandmother is getting tired of you living the single life? As the head of the Council of Elders, I would have thought that she wouldn’t give you too much trouble. Not after everything that happened with Brittany.”

He shrugged. “Though Alison would make a great luna; she’s nothing like Brittany.”

Just hearing the name of my true mate was enough for the taste of iron to flood my mouth.

I’d loved Brittany so much, as I thought true mates should love each other. We were raised together in the pack and had known each other our whole lives. It wasn’t until we both turned eighteen that we realized we were fated to be together.

But despite being true mates, she never loved me. Not the way I loved her.

And then five years ago, she died.

The information that came to light after her death confirmed what a vile person she was. It still made me sick with anger.

I clenched my fists and jaw, and I knew it didn’t go unnoticed. Aaron knew full well how I felt about Brittany, so I knew he wouldn’t push the matter.

“Alpha?”

I turned around and noticed two warriors behind us. They were two females whose names I didn’t remember, and, frankly, I didn’t care to remember. And based on the look they shared with each other, I didn’t want to hear what they had to say because I knew I wouldn’t like it.

“Yes?” I barked. I could feel Aaron’s eyes on me, and I tried to temper my voice. “Is there something I can help you with?”

They flashed wide smiles and straightened their spines, forcing their cleavage out. My wolf growled that I was paying them any attention at all, but I knew that as the alpha of the pack, I needed to at least acknowledge their presence.

“We were wondering if we would see you later tonight—in the forest, perhaps?” the one on the right said.

The one on the left pushed out her chest even more. “It is the first night of the Blood Moon,” she said with a wink.

I frowned, my body instantly tensing. “This is what you interrupt my conversation with my gamma with? Do you think this is truly the right time for this discussion? Shouldn’t you be training right now?”

Their smiles faltered, and they lowered their eyes in submission. My anger had made my power rise to the forefront, and they couldn’t resist their alpha. Maybe they would get the message and leave me alone.

It happened each Blood Moon. Females threw themselves at me, hoping to be the next luna.

I was sick and tired of it. I didn’t want to hear how they loved me and how they would do everything for me. All of that always sounded so fake to me, every fucking time. They knew nothing about me, so how could they love me?

“Alpha!”

I turned away from the two females as Alison’s voice rang out. She was smiling, but I could see a fire burning in her eyes. What got her so annoyed?

“You look like you could use some exercise. Why don’t you change out of your fancy suit and join me? I could use a good sparring match.”

Silence descended over the area. Everyone stopped what they were doing, dumbfounded looks on their faces as they stared at Alison. No one ever dared to challenge me, even just for fun.

A smile graced my lips. Alison never did anything like the rest of the pack, and that was something I liked about her.

I looked to my gamma and found Aaron grinning too. I knew how much he liked her, and it wasn’t just physical, no matter what he said.

I returned my attention to Alison. “Think you can handle it, Delta?” I dared her.

“Only one way to find out.” She grinned. “Or are you scared that I might kick your ass?”

I would only accept that kind of talk from my closest friends, but it never bothered me coming from Alison. She always said what was on her mind, and I appreciated that.

“Don’t get too cocky now,” I replied with a smirk. “I don’t want you to cry when I hand you your ass on a plate.”

Aaron cleared his throat. “I have some spare clothes in my office if you want to go for it.”

“I’ll take you up on that. I don’t want to ruin my suit.”

Being outside, the training grounds were mostly made out of dirt, and it would be bothersome to ruin a thousand-dollar suit just to have some fun with Alison.

Maybe I needed that too. Needed to have some fun. How did she always know what to say to make me feel better? It was like a superpower, so maybe the elders were right, and I should accept her as my chosen mate.

Though I didn’t deserve a mate, true or chosen, after what I did, and I didn’t want to foist that on her.

No, I didn’t deserve a mate, no matter what the elders wanted. If the elders decided to take away my position as pack alpha, they would need to take it from me by force.

I walked to Aaron’s office, a smile on my face. That hadn’t happened in days.