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“You find the guys,” Langston said, looking at me and Trent, “and I’ll set up the rest. I doubt Dad has the house rented out at the moment, but if he does, we’ll figure something else out.”

“Got it,” I said. “Just keep track of what all this is costing you and your family. Harbor Mills will pay back anything we need to, plus interest.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Langston smiled and put a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m not worried about money. I’m doing this because I love Ashton and Avery.

I’ll do anything for them. They’re family.

My father would wring my fucking neck if anything happened to either of them.

He loves them, too. They might not have been official members of our pack, but they were as close as you could be. ”

Thinking about how wealthy Langston’s family was and the fact that he ran the biggest pack in the state of Iowa, I voiced a question that had been stewing in my head.

“What kind of pull does your dad have? Does he have the power to get Kyle to come to heel? He’s obviously got more strength and resources than Kyle has. Than I have.”

“Dad’s getting old. I’ll be pack alpha one day.

” His smile faded. “I told him about this before I left.

He offered to come out and help, but I need to prove that I can handle stuff like this, that I can do hard things on my own.

Plus, it might all be over before he managed to get a big crew out here.

“Even if that wasn’t the case, Avery asked me to come help, not my father.

That’s not something I take lightly. I know you had some issues with me earlier, Cole, but you need to know, there was never anything between Avery and me.

Is she beautiful? Of course, but I say that the same way a brother would admit his sister is gorgeous.

Okay? This is about loyalty to friends, nothing more.

” Langston grinned again. “And if you need more assurance, I’ve already found my fated mate.

It looks like fate had more reason to bring me to Georgia than just helping my friends. ”

I raised an eyebrow, letting the words rattle around in my mind before coming to the only conclusion that made any sense.

I gaped at him. “Stormy?”

“I need to go make some calls to arrange things,” Langston said, ignoring my question, but his smile lit up his whole face. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Langston departed, leaving me and Trent to look at each other incredulously.

“Fated mate?” Trent said. “Is he serious?”

“The dude can’t stop talking about her when we’re alone,” Porter said. “He’s got it bad.”

“Never saw that coming.” I opened the fridge and perused the contents. “We do need to feed Scotty. I’ve got some frozen burritos in here. Who wants the duty?”

“Fuck it,” Trent said. “I’ll be the nursemaid. But I’m not doing the whole ‘here comes the airplane’ thing while I’m feeding him. I have standards.”

T hirty minutes later, Avery’s car pulled back up in the driveway, with Zayde’s close behind. Trent was down with Scotty, and Porter was doing a sweep of the perimeter.

She got out and hurried in, looking breathless and worried. “So, uh, how did things go?” she asked, glancing around the room.

“Are you looking for blood splatters?” I asked.

Swallowing hard, she snapped her attention back to me. “Uh, well, maybe not blood. I sort of figured?—”

“We didn’t have to resort to violence. The guy talked.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Thank God.”

“He gave us some pretty damning information, though. Not good news.”

“What did he say? Anything about Ashton?” Anxiety swirled in her eyes.

“He says Ash is fine. Locked up in some fortified mansion outside North Crest. No, the bad news was about that drug we saw Kyle use.”

I told her everything. By the time I was done, Avery looked horrified.

“He really wants to rule over all the shifters? He wants to take over the world or something? Would human society allow that?”

“Humans tend to be hands-off with this stuff,” I said.

“And if he’s successful with the serum, he could do it legally.

All he’d need to do was challenge an alpha, and if he really was stronger and more powerful, he’d win.

From there, shifter law is clear. The only way to become a pack alpha is through battle or by having it signed over to you.

Usually, it’s from father to child, but also through a will.

He would be well within his rights to take over every pack he came across. ”

“Holy shit,” she muttered. “What do we do from here? How do we stop him?”

“Langston will be instrumental. Honestly, I’m really happy you called him and his guys down to help. I don’t think we could do this without him.”

She lifted an eyebrow, a pleased smile spreading across her lips. “Really? Is this from the same guy who thought Langston was trying to get into my pants a couple days ago?”

Heat crept up my neck, but I shoved the embarrassment away.

“I know. I was a dick, and I’m sorry about that.

Looking back at it, I’m glad you had people like Langston and Stormy to have your back while I was away.

I’ll never be able to express to them how much it means to me that they loved you and Ashton the way they did. ”

Avery trailed her finger down my chest. “I think this is where you’re supposed to kiss me.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

Pulling her close, I kissed her, parting her lips with my tongue. Her tongue tumbled across mine like wet velvet. We pulled apart, both of us breathing heavily. If we didn’t have so much to do, I probably would have dragged her upstairs and had my way with her.

Cupping her face in my hands, I stared deep into her eyes.

“I know we had some issues, and the dumbest thing I ever did was leaving you. The second dumbest thing was when I almost lost you again. I don’t want that to happen again.

This place is your home. I want you here.

You and Ashton both. I never want you to be away from me again. ”

Avery blinked rapidly. “Are you serious?”

“I am. I want to be the man I should have been from the start. A man you can count on and rely on and come home to every day. That is what I want. With you and Ashton. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Avery’s eyes grew. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

We kissed again, this time more intimate and gentle. Deep in my mind, my wolf growled contentedly.