"I may be your second chance, Wade, but I will not be your second choice."
Reeling from the death of his mate, Alpha Wade tried everything in his power to bring her back to life. So consumed with raising her from the dead, he almost missed his secon...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
AFTER Wade and I spent countless hours scouring the surrounding land for more mushrooms than we could fit into the confines of our arms, we were exhausted. We brought back the morels to Wade's grandmother, and she did not miss the opportunity to scold Wade for wearing me out.
She had been right; I was dead on my feet. After we dropped off the mushrooms in the kitchen, Wade and I somehow managed to drag our aching bodies to the guest room.
Before either of us could muster up the courage to shower, we were both passed out, side by side, on the couch.
We would have stayed like that, bodies pressed tightly together for longer if it hadn't been for the pounding knock at the door. So much time had passed that it was time for dinner.
Groggy from sleep, Wade and I took turns using the bathroom to shower and freshen up. By the time we made it to the dining room, everyone had been seated and were waiting for us.
"Wade." His grandmother shook her head. "I told you to go easy on Violet. She's a guest."
"She—"
"It's no worry, Sheila." I smiled. "I actually had a really good time."
She blushed, and then his grandfather spoke. "I'm glad to see you moving on, Wade."
Wade stilled.
The jaggedness of his body was not lost on his grandfather. He narrowed his gaze. "Wade."
"We don't need to talk about this tonight."
"You might be Alpha, son, but you're still my grandson, and you will do well to remember that under this roof." He breathed, shaking his head. "Wade took his grief too far. He spent almost two years trying to bring his mate back to life. But I'm happy to see that he's found someone to put him on the right path again."
"Right path?" Alpha Wade inquired as a vein on his forehead threatened to pop.
"Would you like some of Aunt Miriam's concoction as well, Wade?" Wade's cousin, who I had yet to learn the name of, offered with a coy smile.
Wade glared at him in response.
Continuing further, Rufus expanded on his explanation, "You have a pack to lead."
"Rufus, we don't need to get into this today," Alpha Wade's grandmother put a tender hand on Rufus', trying to calm the brewing storm.
"He's a grown man. He can handle the truth, Sheila. He nearly killed himself with all the efforts he made to bring back Willow," Rufus exhaled, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at his half-eaten plate of pasta.
"Don't say her name," Wade said through gritted teeth as I shoved some of the pasta in my mouth.
"Wade," Sheila's face softened. "She might not be with us earthside anymore, but she still is in our memory."
