Alpha's Second Chance (Second Chance Book 2)

18

"Excuse me," I said awkwardly.

He looked up, sea green eyes wide with surprise. When he saw me, he about flew to his feet, grasping my hand with a large smile on his face.

"You must be Evan!" he said happily. "I'm Jackson!" He shook my hand, and then gestured to the two car seats. "These two are my youngest, Justin and Jacklyn. Over there, running around with the two man-children are Jason, who's two, and Jocelyn and Jordan, who are both three. Clay! Deven! Stop goofing around and get your asses over here!" He called out to the two men, who immediately stopped, and ushered the three youngsters over to us.

"Um, hi," I said, not quite sure where to start. This was an incredibly awkward moment.

"You must be Evan. I'm Clayton Hayes, the Alpha of Crimson Blood. This is my head warrior, Deven." Clayton had sandy blond hair, and blue eyes that sparkled whenever he looked at Jackson. Deven had black hair and dark brown eyes, that almost resembled the color of dark chocolate.

"It's, um, nice to meet you both. I'm Evan Wolfe... Dean's mate... well, second chance mate, I guess."

'Dammit, why do I sound so awkward?! If I'm going to be Lunos of the den, I need to get over my shyness and anxiety of speaking with strangers, quick!' I thought bitterly.

"It's nice to meet you as well. Shall we head over to your pack? How do we reach it?" Clayton— Alpha Clayton asked.

"Normally, I'd say shift and run, but with the small children, it might be easier to take the car. Besides, there's a very little known road that leads as close as you can get to the den before the forest becomes too dense."

They all nodded, and I took a moment to speak with Glinda about a certain type of flower I had called her about a couple days earlier. Somehow, despite everywhere I looked saying it was rarely available in flower shops, she was able to get it. I sometimes wondered if she was magic or something.

I shook off that thought and thanked her graciously, and then followed Jackson and his family as they led the way to their van. When the kids were strapped in, Jackson and Deven both sat in the back, while Alpha Clayton took the driver's seat, looking expectantly at me. I realized that meant they wanted me to take shotgun, so I reluctantly climbed in and buckled up.

I helped us navigate down the dirt road, and had Alpha Clayton park near the other vehicles that some of the people in the den owned.

Everyone unloaded, and I quickly helped them carry some of the bags they had packed. When we walked in, there was a lot of commotion, as many of the shifters had never seen outsiders, who still belonged to another pack, show up at the den. We navigated the halls, and I showed them a few guest rooms on the second floor, right below my own, all side by side for convenience with the kids.

I left them to get situated, and started heading back to Dean's room in the infirmary, asking one of the teens if they wouldn't mind guiding the guests there when they were ready.

It was a good two hours later that there was a knock on the door. I had been holding Dean's hand, and telling him stories that I'd made up. I stood and opened it, permitting Jackson and Alpha Clayton into the room, along with the two older girls.

As I took a closer look at them, I could tell they had inherited some of Dean's features, which meant that they were basically my step daughters...? I wasn't sure how that worked.

Jackson let out an audible gasp when he laid his eyes on Dean's prone figure. He let go of Alpha Clayton's hand and slowly approached the bed.

As jealous as I'd usually be if another Omega got so close to my mate, I knew I had nothing to fear from Jackson, because he was already mated, and said mate was also there.