Page 27

“What’s the truth?” I breathed out, moving closer to her, our bodies almost touching.

“That I’ve always loved you,” she said. “That I’ve never stopped.”

I was on her in a second, clutching her body to mine, pressing my lips to hers.

It was like fifteen years of pain and misery flooded out of me, dispersing to the wind like the fluffy seeds of a dandelion fluttering away on a stiff breeze.

I kissed her like my life depended on it, and deep down, I thought it did.

Avery kissed me back, wrapping her arms around me, digging her fingers into the muscles of my back, her tongue tangling with mine.

“You idiot… fucking moron. Can’t believe you… did that,” she said between kisses and gasps for breath.

“I’m sorry. It’ll never happen again,” I murmured as I tried to wash away years of regret with my lips.

Standing there on the edge of the lake, wrapped in each other’s arms, I noticed a sensation I hadn’t realized in all the years I’d been gone.

For fifteen years, my inner wolf had been in a state of constant sadness and misery.

It had become such a big part of my inner self that I hadn’t even noticed it anymore, but now that I held Avery in my arms, tasted her again, my wolf relaxed once again, content for the first time since we’d left Harbor Mills.

We spent a long time out on the lake shore, mostly in silence. Everything we’d needed to say had already been expressed. By the time we returned to the truck, things between us weren’t perfect, but they were so much better that I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.

Trent was sitting on the porch when we got back to Avery’s place. He rose to greet us as we walked up. “Um, Cole?”

“What? What’s wrong?” I asked, worry building in my chest.

He touched the corner of his mouth. “You got a little lipstick on you there.”

“Oh, shit.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

Avery snorted and bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“I’m glad you two crazy kids got everything worked out,” Trent said.

“How’s Ash?” Avery asked.

Trent’s eyebrows shot up. “Lots of testosterone in that one. He used quite a few curse words about our friend Kyle Alexander. He calmed down a bit when Al dropped off a burger and fries, though.” Trent shook his head and chuckled. “Man, I’ve never seen a person eat so fast.”

Avery led us inside, and despite my worries, I thought there was real hope. We weren’t back together—not by a long shot—but I had a true chance to win her back now that she said she still wanted to be my mate.

Ashton emerged from down the hall as I closed the door.

“Is everything okay?” he asked his mother. “I thought you guys were gonna be right behind us.”

“It’s fine, Ash,” Avery said. “Cole and I needed to talk and work out some things.”

He nodded, but I could see he was still a bit shaken by everything that had happened. Another reason for me to be pissed at Kyle. Making my life difficult was one thing, but doing the same to Avery and my son was a whole new ball game.

Ashton turned his eyes to me. “Who the heck was that guy? Trent wouldn’t tell me anything. Said I needed to wait for us all to be together.”

Trent and I shared a look, and I decided I might as well tell them all of it.

“My father made worse mistakes than drinking,” I said, and Avery and Ashton stared at me with intense interest. “After Farrah and I left, he went downhill fast. He got addicted to gambling. Sports betting, from what I’ve found.

I think he was trying to find some kind of adrenaline shot or something.

If I’m honest with myself, it was probably his attempt at feeling some sort of emotion again.

It went badly for him. He wasn’t great at it and went bust more times than he won.

Over the last fifteen years, he burned through nearly all the pack’s money. ”

“Not nearly,” Trent said. “That’s why I came to find you at the diner. I did some digging. The pack bank accounts were all in the negative until about eight months ago. What little money is left didn’t get there by honest means.”

I heaved a sigh. “I was afraid of that.”

“Wait.” Avery held her hand up and closed her eyes. “You’re saying your dad spent all the pack money? There should have been like… I don’t know, millions.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I found some old bank statements. When I left, there was about 3.4 million in the accounts. That was the combined wealth accumulated since my great-great-grandfather founded the pack. It’s all gone,” I said, nearly snarling in frustration.

“He must have gotten desperate, and none of the banks would loan him anything, so he went to a loan shark. Our friend from the diner. Kyle Alexander loaned him a hundred thousand dollars to cover pack finances, but that’s running low, too. There’s no money to pay the guy back.”

“What are you going to do?” Avery asked. “He said thirty days. How are you going to come up with that much?”

Trent glanced at me and shrugged. “Can you cover it if need be?”

Avery’s head whipped around, her brows knitting together. “Do you have that much?”

“I’m not rich,” I said. “But I have the money. I could pay him, but I’ve been using my own funds to keep the pack afloat.

If I gave him a lump sum, then the pack would be right back in the hole they were in.

Electricity bills, mortgages, and taxes would go unpaid.

What good is getting a loan shark off our back if it’ll just bring the banks sniffing around to take everything generations of my family have built? ”

“Your kneecaps will be intact,” Trent said, trying to bring levity to the moment, but I didn’t laugh.

Kyle hadn’t outright threatened violence, but it was easy to see what his next step would be if he didn’t get paid.

“I know we don’t want to think about it, but the pack needs an enforcer,” Trent added. “I guess I’m sort of doing that right now, but we need someone to handle security full-time.”

I waved my hand dismissively. “We can address that at the upcoming pack meeting. See if anyone wants to volunteer.”

“We’ve got some money,” Ashton said. “What about that college account you have for me? You’ve been putting money in there for years, Mom.”

“No,” Avery and I said in unison.

“We aren’t depleting your college fund for a stupid mistake my dumbass father made,” I said. “I can call in some favors. Some old business contacts and whatnot. I think I can swing this.”

“But if it can help, why not?” Ashton asked.

“Ashton, your mother set up that account for you, and you alone,” I said. “It’s for your future. I appreciate the offer, and it’s incredible that you want to try to help the pack already. That’s a sign of a good alpha. But this is not your mess to clean up.”

“It’s not about the pack.” Ashton shrugged one shoulder. “Well, it is, but it’s mostly about keeping Mom safe from that asshat at the diner. I don’t like the way he was checking her out. If it keeps her protected, then I’ll give away everything I have.”

Avery put a hand to her mouth, her eyes going teary.

My own heart surged with affection. Again, I was struck with regret that I hadn’t been there to see this kid grow up and become the person he was, but whatever Avery had done, she’d done well.

Being this selfless at the age of fourteen was remarkable and impressive.

I knew Avery was a good mom, but this sealed it.

“Don’t worry about your mom, buddy,” I said. “I won’t let a damn thing happen to her. I promise you that. We’ll have this figured out soon. How about you two relax the rest of the day? You’ve had a busy afternoon. We’ll get out of your hair.”

Trent headed for the door, but before I left, I grabbed Avery, pulling her into a hug.

“We’ll talk more later, okay?” I whispered.

Her head moved against my chest as she nodded. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Lifting her chin, I kissed her.

Behind us, Ashton muttered, “Finally.”