Page 16 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“Dad must have known about it,” I say. “Maybe he had friends here?”

Dante blinks. “That’s not a bad thought, Ella. Maybe your father had a trusted friend somewhere in Italy. Actually, now that you said it, I’m more and more convinced she had to have help.”

“Look at us.” I smile. “We are a great team.”

He hugs me from behind. “You are the second part of my brain,” he says. “Of my soul and mind. It’s so much easier for me to think when you are around.”

I can’t help but enjoy how safe I feel in his arms. It took me a long time to allow myself this comfort in a man’s embrace, but here we are now. “It’s the same for me,” I admit. “I’ve always been fairly analytical, but I like how you challenge my thoughts sometimes.”

“So, what’s next?” he asks.

“I think I will call Bernard,” I say. “Or Prince Eric.”

“I can call Prince Eric,” he offers.

I raise my brows. “You volunteer? You hate talking on the phone.”

“He is always so flirty with you,” he mutters.

I laugh. “He is flirty with literally everyone. It’s the way he talks. Also, he has a mate and is one hundred percent committed to her.”

He smiles. “Alright, you win. I’m still going to volunteer. We are going to be faster that way.”

I take pity on him and let him call Eric. My big bad lycan is terrible with making phone calls to strangers, and Bernard is an elder at the Council. It seems Dave and the years I spent in solitude rubbed off on me because I couldn’t care less about who I need to talk to. The only people I respect for their rank are my alpha and Luna, as they have proven themselves over and over again to be fantastic people… everyone else is just a normal person.

Dante and I both spend over an hour on the phone. It happens that Eric manages to run facial recognition software on the man who was with Candy. He indeed works for the SOS Children’s Villages organization, but not in Italy. He is in England.

“His name is Jason Roberts,” Dante tells me once we catch up with each other on our newfound information.

“Bernard had his assistant dig deeper, and it seems like Candy, and he boarded an airplane. They went to London. Not directly, though. They went to other countries first, probably to make it more difficult to track them.”

Dante furrows his brows while he skims through his phone. “There are no flights with open seats to London this evening. But I can book something for tomorrow. It’s going to be very early, though.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I reassure him. My heart thumps in my chest. Candy had a plan. I just hope it worked out in her favor. I hope she managed to keep her boy safe and that her efforts paid off. And I hope this Jason Roberts was trustworthy and not just another bad apple.

My head starts spinning slightly, and I make sure to grab a glass of water.

“Are you alright?” Dante asks.

I down the glass in one go. “Yes.”

“Now who’s the one trying to trick the mate bond?” he asks.

I sigh. I hate when he’s right, even more so when he uses my own weapons against me. “I’m just worried,” I admit. “The closer we get, the more terrified I am. And D, it’s not been too difficult to find Charlie. I’m worried someone else might have found him before us.”

“We had the help of the Council, though,” Dante reasons. “And they had the finances to cut our search short.” He pauses. “But I’m worried too. Let’s make sure to find the boy fast. I will book those plane tickets for the earliest flight tomorrow.”

Something about him sharing my worries feels oddly comforting. It makes me feel less like a nutcase and more validated in my feelings. I take his face between my hands, planting a kiss on his lips. “I will call room service meanwhile,” I promise. “And have them bring us something to eat.”

Dante smiles. “We clearly speak the same love language.”

While I order something to eat for us, Dante manages to secure us two tickets. Tomorrow, 6:30 a.m., we will be on our way to London.

Please, Goddess, let Charlie be safe.

seven

Someone Is Watching