An Unwanted Second Chance (JB Tirado) novel Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Kent did not sleep well. He had slept in his own bed at Riley’s insistence. She had demanded space from him

to clear her head so she could focus on making the right choice. He didn’t really feel in a position to bargain

with the woman who had saved his life and then felt betrayed by him, so he acquiesced to her demand.

Then he spent the night struggling to get comfortable, torn between the discomfort of his still bandaged arm

and shoulder and Riley’s illness that pulsed through the bond all night. Pax had begged him to go to her, but

Kent resisted. He knew it was not the time to push her. If she needed space, he would give her all the space

he could, even if it pained him to do so.

He had asked for breakfast to be sent up and was sitting behind his desk sipping coffee when Riley walked in

without knocking. She looked rough, her skin pale with dark bags under her eyes. Her hair was pulled back

into a tight bun and she wore a pair of jeans with a soft cream sweater.

She nodded at him before beelining to the coffee and bagels that sat on the coffee table. She sunk into the

couch, sipping coffee slowly.

“How was your night?” he asked, watching her over the rim of his coffee cup.

“You know how it was,” she muttered, leaning back into the couch and closing her eyes. “It was about as

good as yours was.”

He smiled slightly. “I would have slept better if someone didn’t have such awful nightmares.”

She glanced at him, her cheeks reddening. “I wouldn’t have had nightmares if someone didn’t almost get

himself killed.”

He grimaced, looking away. It killed him to think she was dreaming about his injuries. He had held her for a while the night before when she broke down in her bedroom. It hadn’t occurred to him how strongly she would react to his near death experience until she had been going into a panic attack right before his eyes. He hated that he was causing her any more pain than he already had.

“I have a call scheduled with the commander in half an hour.”

He felt what little blood remained in his face drain. “What are you going to tell him?”

“Everything.” She didn’t look at him, just stared across the room, taking another sip of coffee.

“Everything? Even about us?”

. She nodded. “It’s what I should have done in the first place.”

He ran his good hand through his hair, wishing she would look at him.

“Does that mean you’re going to accept our bond?” He refrained from adding the word ‘again‘ to the question.

“No, it doesn’t.” She took another sip of coffee. “It just means I’m going to accept my mistakes and deal with the consequences. You and this bond have been clouding my judgement. I need to do what I should have

done to begin with.”

Kent narrowed his eyes. “Our relationship wouldn’t be clouding your judgement if you just accepted it.”

When she finally looked at him, her eyes were black. It was the first time, he realized, that he had seen her

angry enough for her eyes to change.

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“Don’t,” she muttered, standing up. “I’m not trying to start an argument, but you and I both know I’m not the

only one who has made mistakes here.”

He frowned at her, still not moving from his chair. “I never said you were.”

She set her coffee on the table, turning towards the door.

“Hey,” he called, when he realized she was leaving, “you didn’t eat.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Just

stay. I’ll shut up.”

She stopped at the door, turning to look at him. “I’m not hungry and I’m not staying. I need to get ready for my

call.”

“Will you come tell me how the call went when it’s over?” He tried not to make it a plea, but he knew it

sounded like one.

Her gaze softened slightly. “Of course.”

Riley accepted the request for the video call as soon as it came up on her screen, ignoring the pounding in her chest. Commander Whey was sitting in his office, his dark hair neatly brushed, wearing a green shirt with

a silver tie. He smiled when Riley came up on the screen.

“How are you doing?” he asked, his voice cheery. “We were all worried for you the other week when you ended

up in the hospital.”

Riley forced a pleasant smile. “It was a rough few days, but I’m getting back to normal.”

“So how are things at Red Moon? Leo’s report came through yesterday about the last attack. I understand it was pretty brutal. Even the alpha ended up hurt pretty badly.”

Riley’s chest constricted at the thought, but she forced herself to nod. “He’s going to be fine. He’s already

back to work this morning.”

“That’s good.” Whey nodded, his face growing solemn. “I am concerned about these attacks though. This pack can’t keep sustaining these losses. I’ve been reading through all your reports. Any more ideas on what is driving the attacks?”

Riley took a deep breath. It was now or never.

“Yes actually. I finally have the answers, but this might be a long story.”

Whey nodded. “We’ve got the time. Tell me what you know.”

She nodded, looking down at her hands. She twisted her fingers, trying to decide the best place to start.

“Riley?” She looked back to the screen, aware he was watching her.

“I think…” She paused, swallowing hard. “Well, I know that I’m going to get in trouble. I’ve made some poor

choices.”

Whey’s forehead furrowed. “Well, let’s just start with what’s happened and we’ll worry about the

consequences later.”

She nodded. With a deep breath, Riley started talking. She explained Lily’s death and Kent’s attack on the rogue camp four years prior. She explained about the discovery of the baby in the tent and how the ranked members chose to hide the child in fear of Kent’s leadership being called into question. She then discussed

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Chapter 61

the interrogation of the rogue two months prior and how they had learned that the rogue leader was a woman seeking the return of her child.

When she finished, Whey was leaning back in his chair, rubbing his chin.

+ Points

“So they’ve known the motives behind the attacks for two months and did not disclose it to the council?”

She nodded. “Correct.”

“And when did you learn of this?”

“I learned most of the details the night before last, but I was aware that the ranked members were hiding

information for over a week.”

He tilted his head slightly as he watched her through the camera. “How did you become aware that they were hiding information?”

Riley bit her lip, looking away. She clenched her hands to stop them from shaking.

“Riley?”

It’s now or never, Rose prompted her. Just get it over with.