"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...
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EVEN though I appreciated Wade's attempt at comfort—telling me Reapers would be of no worry—I couldn't help but do exactly that: worry.
If Reapers had the better sense to not congregate near where we were headed, then shouldn't we be on even higher alert? My brain struggled to compute the idea that something was lurking out there that was more dangerous than a Reaper. It just didn't seem possible.
I knew Wade could sense I had not fully settled. When we returned to the car, continuing our journey to some unknown forest—at least unknown to me—Wade kept stealing glances in my direction. He'd adjust his hands around the steering wheel and lick his lips. He'd then refocus his attention on the car.
After a while, he broke the silence and asked, "Can you promise me something?"
"What?" My interest peaked as I snuggled into my chair, watching the moon—which was close to showing its full form—dance across the window.
Wade did not speak right away. But, eventually, he continued his question, "Can you promise me that you won't hate me after this?"
"What?" I repeated my question, confused. "Why would—"
"Can you promise me?" His knuckles turned a pale white as his eyes locked on my face.
I raised an eyebrow and shrugged my shoulders. "What's going on?"
"Violet," his voice cracked. "Can you?"
Watching his eyes flame with urgency, I said, "Wade," and then I paused. "Wade, if you haven't figured it out yet, it would be pretty hard for me to hate you."
My words were an understatement. It would have been extremely—and quite possibly impossible—for me to ever forge a hatred for my mate. He had been there for me when it mattered, and I could not get the image of him helping me through my heat out of my mind.
Wade sat back in his chair, his hands still grasped around the steering wheel. He stated, "I wasn't too kind to you when we met, was I?"
"Understatement of the century," I breathed, shaking my head. "You thought I was here to bring your life crumbling down. I can't remember your exact words, though."
In a low voice, Wade said, "You bring my life crumbling in ways I didn't expect."
Choosing to ignore Wade's off-handed comment, I twiddled with my thumb as a pair of headlights blasted onto the road. The onset of light was blinding. I couldn't see how Wade did not swerve off the road; we had not seen another soul on the road for a while now, and the car ahead of us must have had its brights on full blast.
Wade honked at the car, but they flickered their brights on and off, causing a flashing influx of light. A growl rumbled from Wade's chest, and he gritted his teeth. "Fucking rogues."
"How do you kn—"
"Smells like rogues," he explained and then turned toward me. "I did say there would be creatures worse than Reapers out here."
