A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 201

ALEXANDER

+25 Points

We had barely been on the road for ten minutes when my phone vibrated against the console. I glanced at the screen–Kyle. That alone made my stomach tighten. Kyle never called directly unless something was wrong or Cole was not available.

I picked up immediately.

“Kyle… what is it?” My voice came out sharper than I intended.

There was noise in the background–shouting, boots hitting floors. Kyle’s breathing was rough when he finally spoke.

“Alpha… there’s been an attack.”

My grip on the steering wheel went rigid. I had to park.

“What kind of attack?”

“It happened at the pack house this evening,” he said quickly. “Cole was stabbed.”

For one second I forgot how to breathe. The sound that left me was barely a whisper.

“What?”

“He’s alive,” Kyle rushed to add. “We have reason to believe you were the target.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He was stabbed in your office. The guy walked in while Cole was at your desk doing some paperwork.”

I felt the blood drain from my face as the implication hit.

The target was me… Someone dared to walk into my office to stab me… at the pack house.

“They apprehended him before he escaped the building,” Kyle continued. “Security is on full lockdown now. I’m calling to tell you–don’t come back tonight. Lay low somewhere else and return in the morning when we’ve swept everything.”

Lay low? Sleep somewhere else? With a threat in my home? With my people shaken and Cole injured?

That was never going to happen.

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Chapter 201

+25 Points

“How’s Cole?” I asked, my voice cracking despite everything in me trying to hold it steady.

“Receiving treatment,” Kyle answered. “The stab went deep, but he’s conscious.”

My chest tightened painfully.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Cole was like a brother–he’d taken a blade meant for me. And someone had gotten far enough into my office to do it.

“I’ll be there soon,” I said.

“No–Alpha, listen to me-”

But I hung up.

The idea of hiding somewhere while my pack was in chaos was insulting… cowardly. And it wasn’t me. I had handled assassins before, threats before… and I wasn’t about to start hiding now–especially not when Cole was lying on a medical bed because he’d stepped into my

path.

I dropped the phone back into the console.

Faye had been quiet beside me, but I could feel her watching. She reached over, touching my arm lightly.

“What happened?” she asked softly.

I hesitated… just long enough for her expression to harden.

“Alexander.”

I exhaled. “Cole was stabbed.”

Her gasp was sharp and immediate. “How?”

“He was in my office. Someone walked in and stabbed him,” I admitted.

Her eyes widened. “Is he… is he okay?”

“He’s getting treatment.” The words felt useless. Empty. “Kyle says he’s conscious.”

She sat back slowly, processing. For a moment, all I heard was the hum of the engine and her breathing–quick, strained. Then her brows drew together.

“We’re going home, right?”

Here it was–the part I wished I didn’t have to say.

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“I’m taking you somewhere safe first,” I said.

Her head snapped toward me. “Excuse me?”

+25 Points

“I don’t know how many people are involved or if this attacker acted alone. I’m not driving straight into the pack house with you in the car.”

She stared like she couldn’t believe I’d spoken the words. “Alexander, I’m not helpless. My wolf might be asleep or moody or whatever right now–but I’m still a warrior. Don’t talk to me like I’m some fragile-”

“This isn’t about your wolf,” I cut in gently but firmly. “And it isn’t about whether you can fight.”

Her jaw tightened.

“You’re pregnant… it’s not just you anymore.”

The words sounded louder than they were.

She opened her mouth, then shut it. I could see the conflict in her–her pride, her instincts, her protective nature all snarling against the truth she couldn’t ignore.

“And the vision,” I added softly. “We don’t get to be careless right now.”

Her eyes flickered away toward the window. I could see the stiff line of her shoulders, the irritation in her posture–annoyed not at me, but at the situation. At being vulnerable. At the reminder that this wasn’t just about her anymore.

After a long breath she whispered, “Fine.”

I nodded and reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t look at me either. Even so, the faint trembling in her fingers told me everything–the fear she didn’t want me to see, the anxiety she was trying to swallow.

I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles lightly.

“We’ll figure everything out,” I murmured. “But I need you safe so I can focus.”

She didn’t answer, but her shoulders loosened slightly.

The road ahead branched into two directions–one leading home, the other toward town where I could keep her temporarily safe until I returned from the pack house.

We reached the junction.

I made the turn.

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$25 Points

FAYE

I sat on the couch with my hands folded in my lap, though I couldn’t keep them still. My fingers kept twisting the hem of my dress, tugging, smoothing, tugging again. The place Alexander brought me to was quiet–too quiet. A little guest house tucked behind someone’s property in town.

I hated it. Not the place… the feeling.

The feeling of being placed somewhere… left somewhere. Protected like I couldn’t protect myself.

Alexander was outside again, pacing along the small porch as he spoke rapidly into his phone. He had barely stopped making calls since Kyle phoned him. Even on the drive here, he’d been handling communications, trying to give orders while still focused on not speeding us into a tree. And now… now he was doing that thing he did when the world wasn’t cooperating–jaw tight, shoulders rigid, voice sharp.

He should have been home by now. He should have been in control of his pack house.

But instead, he was here… because of me.

I bit my bottom lip, annoyed at myself the moment I felt the sting. My eyes drifted to the window again–Alexander’s silhouette pacing back and forth, the dim porch light brushing along his shoulders. He kept running a hand through his hair the way he always did when he

was restless.

Alexander finally walked in, still on the phone.

This wasn’t supposed to happen tonight. We were supposed to still be celebrating. Happy, hopeful.

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