Page 64 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“Okay,” he says. “Seeing you and Charlie put everything into perspective again.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I offer.

“I’m not sure. I didn’t expect to hear from her ever again,” he says. “Let alone for her to just call randomly. Did Liam say anything?”

“Do you really want to know?” I ask.

He nods.

“He said he called Prince Eric. She is with one of the packs around Paris. And it seems like she… well…” I swallow down my annoyance. It’s not my call to make, after all. “Wants to reconnect.”

“With me?” he asks.

“Yes.”

His reaction comes as a huge surprise because he just laughs. It’s not a hysterical laugh, but something between feeling truly amused and annoyed. “The nerve,” he mutters.

I can feel the anger through our bond. That’s new. Normally when his past trauma hits him, he feels sad, devastated, guilty, but it’s the first time I’ve encountered him feeling angry. I call this progress, and I’m so glad he is starting to move away from feeling like everything that happened is his fault.

When we enter the packhouse, Liam is expecting us, and we give him a swift update on what happened. “I would like to discuss something else with you, Alpha,” I tell him. “With the both of you.”

“Let’s go to my office,” he says.

Once there, I fill him and Dante in on what I saw, the way Charlie’s eyes flashed. None of them shoots me down, fortunately. “It could be her gift.” Liam voices what I initially thought too. “But it could be something else as well.”

“But what?” Dante asks.

“I’m not sure yet,” Liam says. “I will keep an eye on her and have some tests done. Is that okay for you?”

He is the alpha, and technically, he could just order these tests to be done, but Liam has always liked to include parents in decisions concerning their kids. Dante and I are definitely on board, though. “Please do so,” I say. “I think we really should find out what’s happening with her to be able to help her properly.” I pause and then proceed to tell Dante and Liam the true reason I asked for a meeting. “I also want us to track her dad,” I say.

“You think he is still alive?” Liam wants to know.

“I think we need to make sure,” I say. “I admit, I completely forgot about it due to everything that happened the last couple of weeks.”

“Why did you think of him now?” Dante asks.

“It’s… it’s just a feeling, an instinct,” I admit. “Candy did everything to keep Charlie safe. She didn’t talk to anyone aside from that Italian pack. I think my dad helped her with it. Why is there nothing about Charlie’s dad? Not even one clue? Candy left us clues and breadcrumbs but nothing about him.”

“Wait a moment…” Dante says. “You think he is the one searching for Charlie? He is the one who hired those hitmen?”

“It’s a possibility we didn’t consider up to now,” Liam agrees. “I think you and Dante should go through with the plan you had. Go on a date—make sure our witches spread the news somehow so everyone knows you are out—and then don’t be subtle.”

“This sounds awesome,” I say with a grin. “Not being subtle is something we can definitely do. But we need someone to pose as Charlie.”

Liam nods. “We will have one of the female warriors do that job. I will tell Aryanna and her mate Jazz to help dress her up to look like Charlie. Maybe she could even borrow some of her clothes?”

“Good idea,” I say. “I will talk to Charlie about it tomorrow. I really want to do this as fast as possible.”

“Ella is right,” Dante says. “I think we wasted too much time already.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Liam says. “You had a lot on your plate. Your priority was finding Charlie and ensuring she returned home with you.”

“I still think we should have acted earlier,” Dante says.

“There is no use in getting hung up on that,” Liam says. “It’s in the past and we can’t change that. But we can do everything now.”

“Then let’s proceed with the plan,” I agree. “I will help Aryanna and Jazz pick out a warrior who can pose as Charlie and help them dress her. I still want to tackle this fast. Preferably on the weekend.”