An Unwanted Second Chance (JB Tirado) novel Chapter 57

They both turned to see Patrick in the doorway, his face pale as he stared at the two of them.

“How much have you told her?” Patrick asked, his voice strained.

“Everything.” Max shouted. “I told her f*****g everyting.”

“Why would you do that?” Patrick yelled back. “We agreed to wait.”

“Wait for what though?” Riley exclaimed, looking between the two of them. “How many attacks were you

going to wait through before you told me what they are after?”

Patrick and Max exchanged glances.

“What were you waiting for?” she demanded…

“We’ve come this far,” Max said to Patrick. “We might as well tell her everything.”

Patrick held his hands up in front of him. “This is all you, Max. I’m not doing this. I’m not f*****g doing this!”

His voice rose at the end, his hands shaking.

“What are you yelling about?”

The three of them turned to see Leo standing in the doorway, looking between the three of them warily. He

was wearing only a pair of sweats, his chest streaked in dried blood. It was clear he had come directly to the

hospital.

Riley shook her head, grabbing her temples as a wave of pain pounded through her head. A moment later she

felt Leo’s arms around her, hugging her tightly to his chest. She could smell the blood on him as she tried to

stop her tears.

“Her mate is hurt,” Leo said accusingly over her head. “Why are you upsetting her like this?” He rubbed her

back soothingly. “Does anyone even know what is happening with the alpha right now?”

“He’s still in surgery,” Patrick said quietly. “I checked right before I came in here.”

“I didn’t mean to upset her.” Max’s voice sounded strained. “I was trying to explain something to her. I guess

apologize in a way.”

“Apologize for what?” Leo asked, his voice sharp.

Riley gently pushed out of Leo’s embrace, wiping her face. He looked her over, frowning darkly.

“I guess…” Max took a deep breath. “I guess I feel like this is my fault.”

“How?” Leo looked confusedly at Max, his forehead furrowing.

Max rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. Slowly he started explaining to Leo what he had already told Riley, explained how he knew that the rogues were after his son. When he finished, Leo opened his mouth but no words came out. He looked around the room for a moment before his eyes landed on Riley.

“You knew that they were hiding this?” he asked incredulously.

She sighed. “I knew they were hiding something. I just didn’t know what it was. Kent refused to tell me. He said he had to protect Max, that I needed to wait.”

Chapter 57

“Wait for what though?” Leo said, shaking his head.

“I don’t know,” she exclaimed, feeling close to tears again. “They haven’t told me that.”

Leo turned his eyes to the other two, his lips pursed. “What were you three waiting for?”

Pants

Patrick shook his head, sinking down into a chair and dropping his head into his hands. Max raked a hand through his blond hair, his face red.

“We were waiting for Riley to accept Kent as her mate,” Max finally said.

“What?” Riley felt confused, pressing her fingers against her forehead to try to stem the throbbing pain.

“We agreed,” Max said slowly, his voice soft, “that once you accepted Kent, we would tell you everything. We knew that you would help us keep this secret once you were our luna.”

She frowned, looking at Leo. He was staring at Max, his mouth agape and his eyes wide. Patrick looked up through his fingers, watching Riley.

“Who…” She paused, looking between the three men. “Who said I was ever going to accept him?”

Max swallowed. “Kent said so. He was so sure about it when he got back from New Dawn. He didn’t think it would take much longer.”

Riley felt her mouth go dry as the world suddenly tilted. Leo grabbed her arm, keeping her on her feet as she staggered slightly. He guided her to a chair, sitting her down gently. She could hear Max saying something else but his words weren’t registering.

All she could think about was the last week. She thought about going to sleep in his arms every night and waking up with him in the morning. She thought about the passionate moments over the last couple days, of

being on his lap just hours earlier, so ready and willing to accept him.

Was it all part of his plan? Get her to accept him so that she would keep his secret?

“It’s not like that.” Patrick’s voice cut through her fog. She looked up to see him watching her. “I know what

you’re thinking and it’s not like that. Kent cares about you. He really does.”

“He does,” Max echoed, taking a step towards her. “You don’t realize it, but you’ve brought him back to life. I

haven’t seen him as happy as he’s been the last few weeks with you.”

“Your whole plan depended on me accepting him,” Riley whispered, the words tasting bitter as they came out.

“Stop,” Leo said softly, stepping in front of Riley, blocking her view of the other two. “Just stop. I don’t know what you two have been thinking. I don’t know what to think right now, but I can’t believe you’re doing this to her now. Her mate is seriously hurt, in surgery and she’s still covered in his blood. Yet you decided the best time to clear your conscience was right now. You’re both pretty unbelievable.” He shook his head. “I’m taking her back to the packhouse to wash off and get clean clothes. I expect you will send word the moment the alpha is out of surgery.”

The beta and gamma murmured agreement as Leo turned, taking Riley under the arm and guiding her from the room.

Leo went down to his own room to shower and change clothes once he got Riley safely to her room. She felt tired and sick, her body aching sorely as she walked towards the bathroom. She wanted nothing more than

< Chapter 57

to lie down in her bed and sleep, but the sight of Kent’s dried blood still on her hands propelled her into the bathroom. She turned the water so hot she was sure it would burn her skin and stood there, watching the water tinged pink with blood as it swirled around the drain.

Once she was out of the shower, she pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, forcing herself to braid her long hair before laying down in the bed. Her chest throbbed as she pulled her knees to her chest as she closed her eyes. There was no relief though. All she could see was the blood pouring out of Kent’s wound as she pressed her hands against it. She saw his lifeless body hanging from the back of the wolf that ran him to the hospital and she could still hear the shouts of the doctor who was trying to stem the flow of blood before.

he went to surgery.

She heard the door open and looked up to see Leo step in, his hair damp from his shower, wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a black t–shirt. He climbed into the bed beside her, heaving a heavy sigh.

“This is a mess, Ri,” he muttered, staring at the ceiling.

“I know,” she murmured, her chest aching. “I should have told you the moment I realized he was hiding

something.”

Leo rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, I guess you should have but…” He turned his head to look at her. “I don’t know what I would have done in your position. You’re one of my best friends. I’ll always trust your judgment. If you had a reason for not telling me, I’m sure it was a good one.”

She smiled faintly. “You’re a good friend. But I still should have told you. We’re supposed to be a team. I feel like I’ve been off my game since meeting Kent. Like I can’t think straight.”

Leo nodded. “That’s what having a mate does to you. Did you think clearly with your first mate?”

She scoffed. “Of course not. I was a complete i***t with him.”

Leo stared at her for a moment before looking back to the ceiling. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before sighing. “For what it’s worth,” he said after a moment, “I think Kent cares about you. They said that he was sure you would accept him once he came back from New Dawn, but he wanted to be with you before he came back. I spent a lot of time talking to him on that trip.

She closed her eyes tightly. “I can’t think about this right now, Leo,” she whispered. “I just need him to be ok and then I will figure the rest out.”

“I’m sorry,” he said soothingly, taking her hand. “I’ll stop talking about it. I think you’ve been through enough

today.”

“Can I tell you something?” she whispered, opening her eyes to see him watching her.

“Of course.”

“And you won’t repeat it?”

He nodded.

“I wanted to accept him tonight, right before the attack.”

Leo’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak when someone knocked on the door.

“Riley,” Max called. “He’s out of surgery.”