Rejected To Be Your Second Chance novel Chapter 92

　　　"Kade, can I have a word?" she asked seductively with a loving gaze. The same gaze she had when she lived here and we were planning a future; and the same gaze that she had when she came back. I hadn't seen it in a while, and it only seemed to further confirm the fact in the Alphas' heads that we were still mated.

　　"We are," my inner voice corrected.

　　"And I will fix that."

　　"I'm in the middle of something," I said and removed her hand. She warily looked at our guests, and they seemed quizzical over my reaction. A mischievous grin grew on Alpha Tristan's face, but I was too preoccupied figuring out her game to care.

　　"It'll only be a minute," she said softly and batted her lashes.

　　"Oh, don't worry, Alpha Kade, we can manage ourselves for a few minutes while you talk to your mate," Alpha Malik said. It was always the men who spoke the most that I watched the closest, and Alpha Malik and Alpha Tristan hadn't held back since we sat down.

　　"Please do," I said. Alpha Malik leaned in, his lips turned up in a smile as he looked over Danielle. The others suddenly relaxed back into their seats, as though one big breath was drawn, and they fell at ease.

　　"My brother will keep you company until I'm back." The smile turned into a snarl of disapproval, and the false state of security they had been lulled into vanished in the blink of an eye. Perfect. I smiled and stepped out with Danielle. The door closed behind us, and I knew that nobody in the conference room could hear us.

　　"Why did you come in?" I asked angrily and leaned over her.

　　Her facade dropped; the loving gaze was replaced by fierce determination, and she glowered as she raised her head and met my stance.

　　"If you tell them that we’re over, they will immediately wonder who your new mate is. What do you think will happen when you tell them about the Emberclaws and then they find out about Layla? You’ll put her in more danger than she already is." I was thrown back by her words. Was she right? "She won't be in more danger, I'll protect her," I said.

　　"Like you have been so far?" I clenched my jaw and formed fists by my side.

　　"Watch yourself," I growled. Danielle sighed and dropped her shoulders. Her hair fell back over her shoulder, and she stepped closer.

　　"I mean no harm, Kade. I told you that I was done trying to get you back, but you have to know that I'm right. If you tell them, then the Emberclaws won't be the only people after her; you’ll send our kind after her as well, and Layla will not stand a chance. We’ll fake it, we’ll fake the love and the joy long enough to get their help and bring Layla back, and then all hell can break loose, and we’ll handle that too." She grabbed my hand while speaking and cupped it between hers.

　　"You want to pretend that I'm in love with you?" I asked. Her eyes hooded, and she shrunk from that regal posture.

　　"Is that so hard for you to do? Have you already forgotten how it was?" She asked with a quiet voice that she only ever used when she felt uncomfortable and scared. She smiled when I didn't answer, her thumb drew circles over my hand, and she looked up through her lashes.

　　I stopped and stiffened.

　　"Everyone," Tristan laughed and shook his head.

　　"Let him. What’s one Alpha going to do against some of the strongest packs in the country? He doesn't stand a chance," Tristan said mockingly. He was really this full of himself. How he was considered to be one of the strongest was beyond me, but he was, and his pack had numbers. They had great fighters and strong leadership after his father. By my calculation, however, his pack would be falling within the next three years. I took away my hand from Danielle and leaned forward. I cupped my hands on the table and made sure to have my wolf upfront with me. Tristan coughed and squirmed in his seat.

　　"You know as well as I do that that is not the case. If they come up against us and we’re not united, they will run us over and leave behind piles of our dead people," I said. His jaw clicked, and his eyes narrowed.

　　"You all know the stories, and all I'm here to do is tell you that they are true and they are back. It’s either we do this together, or we all admit defeat before the war has even begun," I talked slowly and honestly and hoped they would hear.

　　"What do you need from us?" Alpha Malik asked.

　　"What I said earlier, I need to know everything you know about them," I said.