Page 63 of A Second Chance for the Beta

Liam smiles and nods. “Of course, she is your kid.”

“How did you know?” I whisper.

“I felt your emotions going through the roof,” he admits. “And instantly knew something was wrong.”

We can deal with it,I reassure him.I promised to give you time. If you need more—

No,he interrupts me.You and Charlie are my family. And I will be damned if I leave you hanging.

Goddess, I love this man so much. He scoots Charlie up in his arms and makes sure to make a run for the infirmary. I follow him while my thoughts go back to the way Charlie’s eyes flashed when she was scared.

Could it be her wolf?I ask Nefeli.Charlie is only turning sixteen soon and will receive her wolf when she turns seventeen. But it’s not entirely impossible that she feels the presence of her wolf spirit already.

No,Nefeli says.I’m sure it wasn’t her wolf. I would have felt her presence if she were on the surface.

Then what was it?

I have no idea.

While I follow Dante and Charlie to the infirmary, my thoughts circle around all kinds of possibilities. I want to believe that I imagined it, but deep inside I know I didn’t. Maybe she has a gift? She was tested when she entered the pack, and she ranked beta, meaning she has a gift.

So maybe it was that.

However, I somehow don’t think it is.

It’s nothing more than a gut feeling I have. I have no proof, nothing. But at the back of my mind, I suddenly go back to when Dante and I started to look for Charlie. We knew Candy was her mom, but we didn’t know anything about her dad.

Why did Candy not contact him? Why didn’t she make sure Charlie was with him? There can only be three reasons… either Candy doesn’t know the father, which I doubt. Or he is dead, which is a possibility seeing how she was on the run.

Or she was trying to protect her from him.

twenty-one

Mysteries

*ELLA*

Ittakesawhile,but eventually our pack doctor manages to stop the bleeding. He decides to keep Charlie there for a night and run a few tests. Austen also has to spend the night in the infirmary due to the assault he and Charlie faced, so instantly Charlie’s mood gets better.

She is a true fighter and adapts to new situations fast. Gisela drops by, and the three of them begin to watch movies.

“Are you okay on your own?” I ask. “I can stay the night with you.”

Charlie grins. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

“We will make sure to have the breakfast of your dreams ready for you tomorrow,” Dante promises. “Anything you want in particular?”

“Yes.” She beams. “Pancakes. Oh, and bacon with eggs.”

Dante nods. “We got you.”

Charlie smiles contently. “Thank you,” she says. It seems like everything that happened today, starting from her encounter with Rob to Dante coming back despite being severely depressed, helped her truly accept him.

My heart makes a little leap of joy. I feel like this is a significant step towards becoming a real family. Dante and I take Charlie by her word and decide it’s okay to leave her with her friends—we would probably just disturb their privacy anyway.

Gisela is a little firecracker, so I wouldn’t put it past her managing to stay the night in the infirmary too.

On our way back to the packhouse, Dante takes my hand, squeezing it tightly. “How are you holding up?” I ask him.