A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 79

FAYE

The knock I gave Alexander’s door was soft, almost hesitant, though I had no reason to be. He had summoned me, after all. Still, I lingered outside for a heartbeat longer than necessary, listening to the echo of my knuckles against the wood.

I had gone to the salon this morning to tame my hair. Immediately I arrived the pack house, I hadn’t even caught my breath or looked in the mirror properly when his name lit up my screen. “Come to my room, please.” he had said, and then ended the call before I could reply.

Now, here I was, wondering why he needed me so urgently.

“Come in,” his voice rang from the other side.

I pushed the door open, stepping into his room. He stood with his back to me, hands buried deep in his pockets, shoulders tense. I closed the door. “Is everything alright?” I asked.

He didn’t turn.

“Not really. Did you tell anyone?” His voice came up. “Anything at all… about the situation with the northern border and the security threat?”

I froze. For a moment, I wasn’t sure I had heard him right. My brows pulled together. “What?”

“Did you,” he repeated, still facing the wall, “tell anyone about it?”

It stung, more than I wanted to admit. Of all the questions he could have asked, that was the one? Distrust? Suspicion? My lips parted, but no sound came out for a second. I took a breath, steadying myself.

“No, Alexander,” I said finally, my voice firmer than I felt. “I haven’t told anyone. Not a word.”

He was silent.

I folded my arms, watching his broad shoulders remain perfectly still. “Do you honestly think I would? That I’d risk something like that?” I briefly wondered why he was asking. Maybe the news got out, I wouldn’t know because I didn’t mingle with the others. I only knew whatever I was told directly.

He didn’t respond to my question.

My chest tightened, and I forced myself to swallow the bitterness rising in my throat. Of course he had to ask–who else was left? Only three of us knew the full details: Alexander, his

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beta and childhood friend Cole, and me–the mate who had barely stepped into this world. Why would he doubt Cole, who had stood by him his entire life, when he had me, the outsider, the newcomer, the untested piece of his carefully built empire?

I didn’t blame him for thinking it. I just hated that he had to voice it.

Finally, he turned. Slowly, deliberately, like a man weighing every motion. His eyes locked on mine, and I felt the weight of his gaze sweep across the space between us. He started to walk toward me, and with every step, my pulse quickened.

There was no anger in his eyes, no hardness–just intensity, that raw, quiet kind of scrutiny that stripped me bare.

I held my ground. My body wanted to retreat, to step back, to shield myself from the storm of his presence, but I refused. If this was some kind of test, I wouldn’t flinch.

When he stopped in front of me, so close that I could feel the heat radiating from his body, he didn’t speak. He just looked at me, long enough for the silence to thrum in my ears louder than my heartbeat.

Then, without warning, his hand lifted.

His fingers brushed against my hair, tucking it gently behind my ear, sweeping it away from my neck. His touch was featherlight, but it set fire to my skin. His thumb traced over the mark he had left there–the proof of our bond, etched into me for life.

The world seemed to stop.

I couldn’t breathe. My heart pounded so violently I was certain he could hear it. The gentleness of his touch clashed with everything else. He was, looking at his own mark as if seeing it for the first time, as if marveling at the claim he had made.

His thumb lingered there, circling slowly, and his eyes lifted to mine again.

It was the kind of gaze that unravelled me, stripped away every wall I had built. Something in it was hungry, searching, but also conflicted. For a second, I thought he might lean closer, close the distance, seal the space between us with something that would change everything.

My knees went weak.

But then–his jaw clenched. He forced his eyes shut, as if fighting himself, dragging in a deep breath through his nose. His hand stilled, then dropped away, leaving a rush of cold where his

warmth had been.

When his eyes opened again, the fire was gone. In its place was restraint…self–control.

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Chapter 79

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“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, turning his back on me as quickly as he had closed himself off. You can go.”

Just like that.

I had no idea what exactly he was sorry for, but I stood frozen, heat still burning across my skin, my chest tight with everything unsaid. He didn’t look at me again, didn’t offer explanation, didn’t allow me the chance to respond. His shoulders rose and fell with steady breaths, like a man containing something that threatened to break loose.

And me? I stood there with my heart still racing, my hands trembling at my sides, fighting the emptiness his retreat left in me.

For a moment, I considered pushing. Asking why. Demanding more than this half–measured, restrained withdrawal. But I didn’t.

Because I knew.

ALEXANDER

I could hear the faint rhythm of her steps as she left my room, the sound fading down the hall. I shut my eyes and drew in a slow breath, trying to steady myself. The truth was, I had almost lost control in there. No…I did lose it, even if only for a moment.

I must have frightened her without meaning to, and the thought made my chest tighten with guilt. “Damn it!”

I had only called her in to ask one simple question: whether she had spoken to anyone about the threat we were facing. Deep down, I didn’t believe she had. Faye wasn’t careless like that. Still, I needed to hear her say it, to clear every doubt in my mind.

But the second she stepped inside, everything shifted. Her scent, her voice…clouding my thoughts. Every shred of composure I had been holding onto frayed at the edges.

Even Aiden stirred restlessly inside me, pacing, growling, ready to break through the thin walls of restraint I’d built. It wasn’t just attraction–it was need, sharp and urgent, like a fire burning beneath my skin.

Maybe it was the stress, maybe the weight of this whole thing. Or maybe it was the sheer intensity of her presence, the way she drew me in without trying. Whatever the reason, in that moment, all I could think about was her.

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