Page 10 of A Second Chance for the Beta

Liam’s eyes gloss over again; there seems to be more Luna Annalise needs to tell him. He lets out a sound of surprise. “Emerson, take me directly to the packhouse. There is research I need to do.” He turns to look at me. “Take the rest of the day off, Dante.”

“But Alpha—”

“Stay with your mate. She needs you now. If I need something, I will ask Aryanna for help.”

I nod, deciding to take him at his word. Ari is his second beta, one of Liam’s and my closest friends, and she is very capable. It’s not unusual for lycan alphas to have two betas to divide the workload and have extra backup.

My soul calls for Ella now, and I need to ensure she is alright. Emerson has barely parked the car when I jump out of it, grabbing my food, before running into the packhouse. We live in the beta suite, which was renovated and modeled to our liking and turned into a beautiful, relaxing space for us.

Liam said no one attacked and that she isn’t hurt, but I can’t will these feelings of dread down. They just fill me to the brim, making my heart beat faster and my mind foggy. Sylvan is saying something, but it’s only a distant voice in my mind.

I burst through the door. “ELLA! Where are you?” I run through the apartment until I find her in the kitchen.

Ella is in lemon-yellow hot pants and a yellow sports bra with a cup of ice cream in her hands. She turns to look at me. “D? Are you alright?”

“Areyoualright?” I breathe out.

The stunning creature I call my mate looks at me now. She is so beautiful, with her heart-shaped face, the little freckles around her nose, and her short hair. She is tough and is never scared to tell me her opinion.

“Did you think I was getting attacked?” she asks.

Having her say it now makes me realize how stupid I acted again, especially after Liam told me the reason why my luna wanted me to go to her. Ella doesn’t laugh, though; fortunately, she never makes fun of me when I’m caught in these moments. Instead, she puts the ice cream tub aside and walks over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I hug her instinctively. “Annie was just concerned because I had a little panic attack earlier.”

Her words unsettle me in a different way now. “A panic attack. Ella… I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I—”

“I was just overwhelmed.” Ella tries to reassure me. She takes my hand, leading me to the kitchen table. There are a few photos on it, and she shows me one.

“Who is this?” I ask curiously. There is a young woman on it with a baby in her arms.

“That’s Candy,” Ella tells me. “With her son, Charlie. Or at least we think it’s her son…”

I look at her, seeing a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Who is Candy?”

“My half-sister,” she mutters. “Dad’s child from his first mate. My mom was his second chance.”

I swallow thickly. Her father had a similar fate to me, it seems. He got a second chance, too, yet he lost his second mate to a cruel alpha. I… I hope this is not a foreboding sign that I will lose Ella too.

Mate needs us now,Sylvan says.We cannot lose ourselves in our self-pity and anxiety.

He is right, yet his words kind of cross me.I hope you are aware of how rich this is coming from you.

I know,Sylvan says quietly.I promised you that from now on we will be in everything together, no matter what happens. I will live up to my promise if you allow me to.

It’s not that I don’t believe him. I love my lycan spirit, and I understand why he went dormant for a few years, but my love for him doesn’t magically make me trust him again.We’ll work on it,I say, before turning my attention back to my mate.

“What happened to Candy?” I ask carefully. Ella’s eyes tell me everything I need to know. Sadness fills me at the revelation that she lost yet another family member without ever having met them. “I’m so sorry, Ella.”

“Her child might still be alive though,” Ella says. “When they found my sister, there was no child with her. He might still be somewhere.”

I can feel her fear and her hope, and I can understand all her conflicting feelings so well. She fears the truth that she might find out that the child was killed, too, but she also hopes that maybe she will get lucky this time. Then there is the possibility that the child isn’t related to her at all.

Part of me wants to shield her from this, wants to keep her away, for the possibility of finding out her nephew might not be with us anymore will break her. But at the same time, I know I can’t do this to her. She deserves to find out the truth, even if it’s crushing.

I will try to be there for her anyway.

“What’s the plan?” I ask her.

“You are not telling me this might set me up for disappointment?” she asks.