An Unwanted Second Chance (JB Tirado) novel Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Riley woke up the same way she had gone to bed last night alone. She knew Kent had come during the night, she recalled feeling his warm arms around her and the room still smelled of him as she woke up. With

Patrick taking a leave to be with his baby, Kent needed to spend part of his afternoon and evening attending to Patrick’s duties. Riley took a shower and got ready before wandering into the hall, checking the sitting

room and the office for Kent. After not finding him in either spot, she knocked on his bedroom door.

After a minute he opened the door, wearing only a towel around his waist, his hair still wet. Riley’s eyes

wandered down his chest, which was still damp from his shower.

“You ok?” He was smiling at her as she looked back up at his face, her cheeks reddening slightly.

“You weren’t there when I got up,” she finally said.

“I came in late last night, but you were asleep.” His smile widened slightly. “I needed to get up early. There’s a

lot to do today and I’m going to be short of help for a few weeks while Patrick is spending time with Lana and the baby.”

“Right,” she muttered, taking a step back to resist the urge to touch him. “I’ll head on down to breakfast.”

“I’ll be down in a few.” He took a step forward, giving her a soft kiss before disappearing into his room.

After breakfast, they listened to a scouting report. Scott expressed concern that they seemed to be preparing

for an attack. There were even more rogues in the camps. The warriors from New Dawn were due to arrive

tomorrow morning and Riley prayed the attack wouldn’t happen before they arrived.

Riley spent her morning in the office, working on her reports. Kent was in and out, going to check on training sessions and patrol schedules that Patrick normally handled.

After lunch, Riley changed into her workout clothes and went out to train. After working with her regular group of warriors, Riley found Leo and Wesley sparring while Max sat on the ground outside the ring. She sat

beside him as they watched Leo knock Wesley onto his pack, pinning him.

“Can you really take Leo down?” Max asked, looking at Riley. “I haven’t seen anyone but Alpha take him down.

”

“Of course I have.” She rolled her eyes.

“Care to spar?” Max inclined his head towards the ring.

Riley smiled. “It’s your funeral.”

Max was a strong fighter, but Riley was quicker than him. She had pinned him once by the time Kent

wandered over, joining Wesley and Leo where they watched outside the ring. Max wanted a second round, adamant that he was just warming up, but she took him down just as quickly the second time.

“Ok,” Max laughed, as he climbed to his feet, “that’s enough humiliation for me today.” He grabbed his water bottle, wiping the sweat from his head. “Have you sparred with Kent yet?”

She took a drink. “No.” She glanced at Kent who was watching her, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly.

“She doesn’t want to lose to me,” Kent said with a grin.

“Not to burst your bubble, Alpha,” Wesley said, “but you would lose.”

Chapter 52

“She actually could take you down,” Max said with a laugh.

“I doubt it.” Kent rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen her spar. I could take her down easily.”

Riley turned slowly to look at Kent. “Really?” She smirked at him. “I’ve seen you spar too. I wouldn’t even

break a sweat.”

“Prove it.” Kent nodded towards the sparring ring.

Max let out a whoop as Riley walked into the ring, Kent a step behind her. The other three men took spots outside the ring to watch.

“I won’t go easy on you,” Kent warned, getting into his ready position. “Mate or not, I don’t lose.” She smirked again. “I don’t need you to go easy on me, Alpha.”

Riley got into her ready position and waited for Kent to make the first move. Sure enough he lunged at her. She dodged but he changed direction quicker than she expected, catching her off guard and landing a blow on her side. She wheeled away, letting out a hiss of pain. He definitely wasn’t holding back. They circled each other and he lunged again, but this time she was ready and dodged before landing a blow of her own. As he turned to move away, she dropped quickly and kicked him just under the knee. He came down hard and she jumped up, grabbing his shoulders in an attempt to flip him but he swung her off, getting back to his feet quickly.

They circled each other slowly again, but this time it was clear that Kent wasn’t going to make the first move. His expression was serious, his eyes dark as he watched her. She feigned right and when he went to block, she jumped left, grabbing him under the arm and knocking his feet from under him. He slammed hard on his back and she jumped up, driving her knee into his chest and bending down to nip at his neck.

“Got you,” she whispered against his throat.

The men outside the ring were laughing and clapping as Riley moved off of Kent. She watched him as he laid on his back, staring up at the sky, his chest heaving. A fear bloomed through her. Maybe she shouldn’t have beat him in front of the other men. Maybe she shouldn’t have embarrassed him like this. He was the alpha after all, and he had made it clear that being a strong alpha was important to him

He slowly turned his face towards her. Slowly he smiled.

“That was f*****g impressive.”