An Unwanted Second Chance (JB Tirado) novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Riley spent the next couple hours dozing on and off in her room, feeling worse as the time went on. Her chest hurt, her head pounded and her stomach churned. With nothing to do but feel terrible, Riley continued to replay her last confrontation with Kent. He was completely out of line, but she felt guilty. She had asked Patrick not to tell Kent about her illness and now she had put him in a bad position. She knew that if she had just been upfront with Kent, there wouldn’t have been the fight with Patrick.

A knock at the door pulled Riley out of her thoughts. She climbed slowly out of bed and opened the door to find a beautiful woman with long blonde hair pulled up in a bun. She smiled, her bright green eyes lighting up.

She was also clearly very pregnant.

“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand, “my name is Lana. I’m Patrick’s mate. He asked me to stop by and talk to

you.”

Riley shook her hand and forced a smile. “Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it.”

Lana followed Riley into the room and set her bag on Riley’s bed. “Patrick tells me you haven’t been feeling well for a couple days now. He also told me that I am not to talk to the alpha about what we discuss.” Riley nodded. “Not that I would,” Lana added. “Patient confidentiality is very important to me. Not even the alpha is

above that.”

“Good,” Riley murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Tell me what’s been going on,” Lana said, sitting in one of the armchairs.

Riley described her symptoms, going over when they started, how they seemed to come and go suddenly and were starting to affect her wolf. She went over her back to back assignments and lack of rest as well. When she finished, Lana opened her bag and checked all of Riley’s vitals.

Lana put her stethoscope around her neck when she was done. “Everything seems ok. Your heart rate is slightly elevated, but nothing that abnormal. Is there anything that makes the symptoms better or worse?”

Riley shook her head. “Not that I can think of.”

“Any chance that you could be pregnant?”

“No” She shook her head again.

“Do you have a mate?”

Riley paused, debating how to answer that question.

Lana c****d her head to the side. “You would know if you had a mate.”

Riley sighed. “Can you keep a secret?”

Becres?

Lana nodded. “Of course I’m a doctor. It’s my job to maintain my patient’s confidentiality.”

“The alpha is my mate”

Lana opened her mouth but closed it, her eyes widening slightly “My alpha? Alpha Kent?”

Riley nodded slowly, watching Lana.

Lana blinked. “Does Kent know?”

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Riley laughed. “Of course he does.”

“Does Patrick know?”

Riley hesitated. “Um… yeah.”

+15 Points

“And that rat didn’t tell me?!” she cried. “I’m his mate. He’s supposed to tell me everything. How can he have tea like the alpha having a second chance mate and not think to tell me!”

“We asked them not to,” Riley explained. “Kent said they couldn’t even tell their mates.”

“Wait.” Lana held up her hand. “Does that mean Max knows too?”

Riley nodded.

“Oh, Penny is going to be so mad!” she exclaimed. “She was telling me the other day that she thought there was something going on with the two of you. She said Kent couldn’t keep his eyes off you.”

Riley’s cheeks reddened slightly. “Really?”

Lana nodded. “That’s what Penny said. She said he watches you whenever you’re around.” She absently rubbed her hand over the swell of her stomach. “Wait,” she said, her eyes snapping to Riley’s, “are you the reason the alpha pushed Patrick into a wall today?”

Riley grimaced. “He told you about that?”

“Yes, he tells me everything. Or at least I thought he did. He said he was helping you to your room and Kent went ballistic. But if you are his mate and you aren’t marked, then that makes sense. He’ll see any male as a threat. Especially given how much time you’ve worked with Patrick over the last couple days.”

Riley frowned. “He still shouldn’t have shoved Patrick. But I do think I put Patrick in a bad position. I asked him not to tell Kent about how I’ve been feeling and now Kent thinks we’re hiding things.”

“Well,” Lana said with a shrug, “you are hiding things from him. He’s your mate. He knows when you’re not being truthful with him. And if you’re telling things to Pat and not him, that probably hurts.”

Riley looked at the ground, biting her lip, not sure how to respond.

“Look,” Lana said sitting down in the chair again, “I’m not judging you for your choices. It’s obvious you’re not marked. Have you guys mated?”

Riley shook her head.

“Most werewolves mate and mark the same night they meet their fated mate. Is there a reason you two are waiting so long?”

Riley glanced up, rolling her bottom lip between her teeth. “Do you really need to know?”

Lana shrugged. “As a doctor you are trained to believe that any information could hold the key. Also, I’m just nosy”

Riley rolled her eyes. She kind of liked this doctor. She could see why Lana and Patrick were good mates.

“I’m not sure I want to accept the mate bond right now. Kent is also my second chance mate. I had a very bad experience with my last mate and he ended up rejecting me. I’m not sure I can go through that again.”

Lana looked at her sadly. “I’m sorry to hear that.” She ran her fingers over her swollen belly, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. “Kent is a good guy though.”

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“He threw Patrick into a wall this afternoon,” Riley pointed out.

+15 Points

Lana shrugged. “There are times Patrick needs to be thrown into a wall.” She smiled for a second. “As for your illness, my first thought is a virus, but human viruses don’t usually affect wolves and they don’t typically come and go. I would like to run some tests, but we would need to go to the hospital for that.”

“I’d rather not go to the hospital. I’d rather others not know I’m sick.”

“Your mate is going to figure it out eventually,” Lana said seriously.

“It’s not just him. If the Council finds out I’m sick, they may pull me off the assignment. Plus I haven’t disclosed finding my mate like I’m supposed to so that could get me into more trouble. I want to keep everything quiet from the Council as well.”

“That makes sense, I suppose. I’ll start with some blood tests. I can draw the blood now and I’ll get back to you. But if you get worse, you’ll have to come to the hospital.”

Riley nodded as Lana got up, taking more supplies out of her bag. After she was done, she slid the vial of blood into her bag and threw the trash away.

“Have you eaten today?” Lana asked.

“I had a sandwich at lunch time, but I’m not hungry right now.”

“You should try to eat something.” Lana snapped her bag shut. “Dinner will only be served for about twenty more minutes so you should head down to get something.”

“Ok.” Riley stood up, following Lana out of her room. “Thanks for coming,” she said as she shut the door. “I really appreciate it.”

“I’m happy to help,” Lana said.

They were walking down the hall when movement from the sitting room caught Riley’s attention. She looked in and saw Kent standing up from the couch. He froze when he saw Lana and Riley, his eyes narrowing. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a light cream colored sweater, his black hair brushed neatly back from his face.

“What are you doing up here, Lana?” he asked quietly.

“Just meeting Riley,” Lana said cheerfully, taking a few steps in the sitting room, Riley following. “Patrick has been talking about her so much, I had to meet her.”

Kent looked from Lana to Riley and back, “Why do you have your bag?”

Riley’s stomach twisted but Lana didn’t miss a beat. “I’m a doctor. I always have my bag.”

Riley knew instantly that Kent didn’t buy that. His eyes darkened as his lips disappeared into a thin line.

“Why is everyone so hell bent on keeping secrets from me?” he growled.

Lana glanced at Riley before sighing. “Alpha, you need to talk to your mate, not me.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Who told you we’re mates?”

Lana froze, her eyes widening.

“I did,” Riley sighed, rubbing her forehead.

“Why?” he exclaimed. “You were the one who wanted to keep things a secret, but then you’re just going to tell

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other people.”

“Kent,” she started.

+15 Points >

“Just don’t,” he cut her off, pinching the bridge of his nose, turning away from her slightly. She could tell he was trying to calm down.

“You should go,” Riley said to Lana.

Lana nodded, leaning in slightly to whisper to Riley, “You should just tell him. It’ll be easier.” She turned to Kent. “If you’ll excuse me, Alpha.”

Kent nodded in her direction, not looking up. Riley waited until she heard the elevator doors before she spoke.

“Can we talk?”

He stared at her for a long moment before he shook his head. “No.” He waved a hand dismissively at her. “Go

talk to someone else. You clearly prefer to talk to anyone who isn’t me.”

“Don’t act like that,” Riley snapped. “I’m trying to tell you what’s been going on.”

“I don’t care,” he yelled, throwing his hands up. “I don’t care what you’re doing or who you’re talking to or what

you’re not telling me. I don’t f*****g care. I want you to leave me alone. I want you to get the hell out of my life. As soon as this rogue issue is over, I’m going to reject you.” He turned, storming past her to the hallway.

Riley felt rooted to the spot as he walked away, Rose howling in her head. She closed her eyes, trying to tell

herself that it was for the best. She didn’t want a mate. She didn’t want to be with Kent.

But then why did it hurt so bad?

She turned, intending to go back to her room, but everything tilted sideways. She staggered, losing her

balance. She fell sideways, her forehead striking a side table as she toppled.

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