Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 187

Misty

Cricket asked me for the 100th time if we were almost there, fifty miles ago. Poor kid missed her auntie. I didn’t blame her, I missed her too. It had been a few weeks since everything had gone down with Carter and Clyde, before Carter and Bair said it was safe to come. I still couldn’t believe that piece of shit was the sire to my bestie. Maybe her mother somehow realized what a sadistic bastard he was, and that's why she ran away before she was ever born. Adelaide had made sure they exposed him before Carter took him out, essentially in front of the entire pack. I had to stop calling her that; it was Briar now.

I had been staying with my sister since then, with Cricket. It was good to see her and my nieces and nephews, but I was eager to get on with my new chapter in life. 

Adelaide had become such a needed and blessed part of our lives. My chosen sister, the one who had had my back in my darkest moments. The woman who had helped me raise my spirited daughter and knew me like no one else ever could. 

I followed Beck at a distance on the highway, wondering how he could stand riding the road on his bike in the chilling cold. I suppose it had something to do with his ‘extraness,’ boy, did I have some things to admit when I saw my dearest friend, Adelaide, Briar, face to face. Deep down, I knew that she would always be a sanctuary for us. Home wasn’t home if Briar wasn’t breezing in and out of our lives. The last several months had been a whirlwind, and I was so glad to get a reprieve from that chaos and the confusing emotions I had finally come to terms with. 

However, a lot of anxiety rolled off me; my best friend’s new friends could give her something I never could. Were we still going to be as close as we were a few months ago? I had seen her battered and broken and watched her transform into a different kind of strong, no bullshit woman than she was before. Not to mention, she was in love with Carter, and it was unmistakable that he felt the same. Beck said they were now a lifelong pair, and she was pregnant with twins! I was very happy for them. My bestie deserved no less.

However, the fear of not knowing where I stood with someone who meant so much to me was a heavy pit in my stomach. I couldn’t be there for her when she needed me most, not like she had been for me. At the end of the day, I was a mother. I know my friend would have wanted me to put Cricket first, but it ate at me every fucking day as I watched her struggle on the camera footage, not being there as she grappled with her trauma, and fell impossibly in love with the new alpha of this pack of wolves, or were they both alpha? I didn’t fucking know anymore! My mind swam, and the tension rose inside of me.

I glanced at my daughter, finally sleeping in the backseat. We were going to start over in this wild little town full of wolves in Colorado. Beck agreed it would be for the best to avoid what had happened to Briar. Beck turned off past a gas station, and I watched the rustic little town unfold down its main street before we turned off down a road that left the lights of town in our rearview window.

I had technically lied to Briar, but how was I supposed to know what she was back then? I wasn’t one of them, and Beck told me he even thought she was an enigma, a sort of half breed that couldn’t shift and presented as human. Deep down, I was so thankful I was finally about to change everything for myself and my little girl. I was also ready to unveil the last of our secrets to the person I trusted the most. Maybe I should have told her then; maybe it would have changed what happened to her. That pit grew as I took the sharp turn down a dirt driveway following Beck’s bike. 

The bouncy road jostled Cricket awake. She sat up as the modest yet elegant cabin came into view.

“Are we there?” she asked excitedly, pushing the sleep away, her eyes widening as she took in the house through the small SUV’s window. It was all lit up with Christmas lights, glowing icicles hanging from the eaves, and candy canes stretched out in front of the porch. Warm light spilled from the front windows, which framed a massive Christmas tree, its lights winking at us. A soft blanket of snow covered the roof and ground. It was beautiful.

“It’s so pretty! Auntie Ads lives here?” 

“Yes, this is Carter’s place. She lives with him now, but remember everyone here calls her Briar,” I said, parking next to a minivan. She had told me they were having a movie night with their friends’ kids, so the parents could slip away and prepare Christmas at home without interruption. She also thought it would be good for Cricket to meet some of the other kids who were more accepting before she started school to make her more at ease in a new place. I couldn’t argue about that. 

Cricket went to bolt out of the car the second I put it in park, and she saw Beck walking over.

I hit the lock button, and she glared at me.

“Coat,” I reminded her, and she huffed and pulled on the bright pink puffer jacket before I grabbed my black one and unlocked the door. Cricket might not mind the cold, but if I were freezing, I’d at least do my mommy due diligence.

The front door flew open, and a blonde who could be no other than my bestie flew out of it, followed by an Australian cattle dog and Carter on her heels. There she was, alive and glowing.

“Auntie Ads!” Cricket yelled, running full speed up to her, wrapping her entire body around her like an octopus. I laughed as I walked up more slowly, letting them savor this moment, as Beck stepped up next to me. He scowled.

“What?” I asked, nudging him with my shoulder.

“Guess, I’m gonna lose my little buddy now that the real deal is back in the picture,” he admitted with a sigh, 

“You’re jealous?” I asked, aghast. He gave me a side glance that told me he wouldn’t verbalize the answer to my question. “Well, just think about it, Mr big bad and burly, there will be a babysitter ready and willing just up the road, which means…” I trailed off, giving him a smirk as we approached Adelaide.