The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 128

Athena

The tears came then and I couldn't stop them. Everything from the past few days, the fear and the pain and the overwhelming love these people had for me, it all came pouring out.

I turned to Orion first and wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder. He held me tight and I felt him trembling too.

"Thank you," I whispered. "For everything, for never giving up on me."

"Never," he said against my hair. "I would never give up on you."

When I pulled back, Tristan was right there waiting. I walked into his arms and let him hold me while I cried into his chest. His hands moved through my hair and he whispered that everything was going to be okay.

"You got me a motorcycle," I said, my voice muffled against him. Though I had one before but it didn't make it any less special.

"I got you freedom," he said. "The motorcycle is just how you get there."

I laughed through my tears and looked up at him. His eyes met mine and I saw everything there, the love and the pride and something deeper that made my breath catch. I couldn't look away even though my vision was blurred with tears.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," he replied, and the way he was looking at me made heat spread through my chest and down into my stomach. He kissed my forehead softly and I felt the warmth of his lips linger even after he pulled back.

Someone cleared their throat behind us and I reluctantly tore my gaze away from Tristan to see Derek holding a small wrapped box.

"I got you something else too," he said, holding it out. "It's not as flashy as a motorcycle or a car but I thought you might find it useful."

I took the box and unwrapped it carefully. Inside was a small silver bracelet with a single charm attached. The charm had a symbol engraved on it that I didn't recognize at first, but when I looked closer I realized it was a simplified version of the healing symbol from the ancient texts he'd been studying.

"It's a reminder," Derek explained, his voice uncertain. "Of what you're capable of now, of the good you can do."

I put the bracelet on immediately and held up my wrist to look at it. The silver caught the light and the charm sparkled.

"It's perfect," I told him. "Thank you, Derek."

He nodded with a small smile and stepped back into the crowd.

That's when I noticed more people had arrived. Leah was there with some of the other women from the training grounds, all of them smiling and waving at me. Kiara stood near the back with her arms crossed but her expression was warm.

"We wanted to come," Leah said, walking over to hug me. "We heard what happened and we wanted to make sure you knew how proud we are of you."

I knew Tristan and Orion had probably told them what they felt they should know without revealing everything that actually happened.

"You fought," one of the other women said. "You faced something terrifying and you won."

"Thank you," I said with a smile, wondering exactly what they'd been told.

"We could all learn from that," another added.

I hugged each of them in turn, overwhelmed by their support. These were women I'd only known for a short time, women I'd trained with and laughed with, but they'd shown up for me anyway.

Kiara approached last, her expression more reserved but genuine. "I brought cookies," she said, holding up a container. "I figured if we're celebrating we should have good food."

"Thank you," I said, smiling at her. "That's really thoughtful."

"Don't mention it," she said, but she was smiling too.

Everyone moved inside to eat and celebrate and the apartment filled with voices and laughter.

I sat on the couch with Tristan beside me and every time I looked at him I found him already looking at me.

His hand rested on my thigh, warm and possessive and comforting all at once. I couldn't focus on anything else when he was this close, couldn't think about anything except the way his thumb traced small circles on my leg through the fabric of my dress.

I watched Derek and Kiara end up near each other by the food table and I couldn't help but notice the way they immediately started arguing about something.

"Those cookies are too sweet," Derek said, looking at one critically.

"They're perfect," Kiara shot back. "Just because you have no taste buds doesn't mean the rest of us don't appreciate good baking."

"I have excellent taste buds," Derek argued. "Which is why I can tell you used too much sugar."

"I used the exact right amount of sugar," Kiara said, her voice getting louder. "Maybe if you actually knew how to bake instead of just criticizing other people's work you'd understand that."

Derek opened his mouth to respond but Kiara just raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to continue. He closed his mouth and looked away and I realized with amazement that she'd actually won the argument.

I'd never seen anyone make Derek back down before. It was fascinating.

After an hour, Derek announced he needed to go check on something at the racing center. He was halfway to the door when Leah got an idea.

"Where exactly are you heading to?" Leah asked.

"North Crest, why?" Derek responded with a questioning look.

"Kiara," Leah called out to her friend. "Aren't you heading that direction too?"

I nearly choked on my food. Tristan's hand tightened on my thigh and when I looked at him he was giving me a knowing look that made me smile.

Kiara was looking at Leah with suspicion. "Maybe, why?"

"Derek could give you a ride," Leah suggested innocently, though we both knew there was nothing innocent about it. "Save you the walk."

"I don't need a ride," Kiara said quickly. "I'm fine walking."

"I don't have time to chauffeur people around," Derek said at the same time.

But Leah smiled at both of them. "Come on Derek, it's on your way and Kiara it's like three miles, that's a long walk."

"I like walking," Kiara insisted.

"Suit yourself," Derek said, shrugging. Then he paused at the door and looked back at her. "Though I suppose if you're too scared to ride with me that's understandable, some people are intimidated by fast cars."

Kiara's eyes narrowed. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Then prove it," Derek said and there was a challenge in his voice. "Unless you're too chicken to handle a little speed."

"Fine," Kiara snapped, grabbing her bag. "But only because I don't want to walk, not because you challenged me."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself," Derek said, smirking.

They left together still bickering and I couldn't stop smiling. There was definitely something there even if neither of them wanted to admit it.

The party continued for another hour with people eating and talking and celebrating. Tristan's hand never left my body, moving from my thigh to my waist to my shoulder, like he needed to keep touching me to make sure I was real.

Every time his fingers brushed my skin I felt electricity shoot through me and I had to resist the urge to turn and kiss him right there in front of everyone.

Eventually people started to leave. Leah and the other women hugged me goodbye and made me promise to come back to training soon.

Finally it was just me, Tristan, Orion and Sarah in the apartment. Orion and Sarah started cleaning up while Tristan and I stayed on the couch. I wanted to join but Sarah insisted on doing it herself. Lily and Liam had eventually fallen asleep.

"Thank you," I said quietly, leaning into Tristan's side. "For all of this, for everything."

"You don't have to thank me," he said, and his voice was low and rough in a way that made my stomach flip. "You deserve to be celebrated."

"I don't feel like I deserve any of it," I admitted.

His hand moved to cup my face and he turned me to look at him. "That's why we have to remind you until you believe it yourself."

Our eyes locked and I saw the heat there, saw the same want and need that was burning through me reflected back in his gaze.

My lips parted and his eyes dropped to my mouth and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

I wanted to close the distance between us, wanted to taste him and feel him and lose myself in him, but not here, not now, not with Orion and Sarah just a few feet away.

Tristan seemed to read my thoughts because he took a deep breath and pulled back slightly, though his hand stayed on my face.

"Come on," he said, his voice strained. "Let's go test out that bike."

I blinked, trying to clear the fog from my brain. "Now?"

"Yeah now," he said and stood up, putting distance between us like he needed it to think clearly. "Unless you're scared I'll beat you."

The challenge in his voice cut through the haze and I stood up immediately. "You wish."

Tristan laughed and looked over at Orion and Sarah. "We'll be back later."

"Take your time," Sarah said with a knowing smile that made me blush.

We walked outside to where both motorcycles were parked and I ran my hand over the smooth black surface of mine. It was beautiful and powerful and I couldn't believe it was actually mine.

"Race you to the old highway," Tristan said, already putting on his helmet.

"You've been racing for five years," I said. "I've only been at it for a few months, that's hardly fair."

He looked at me and even through the helmet visor I could see his grin. "Then I guess I'll just have to go easy on you."

"Don't you dare," I said, putting on my own helmet. "I want you at your best."

"You sure about that?" he asked and there was something in his voice that made it clear we weren't just talking about racing anymore.

"Positive," I said and my voice came out breathier than I intended.

We both got on our bikes and started the engines. The rumble and vibration felt like coming home after being away too long. I'd missed this, the power beneath me and the promise of speed and freedom.

Tristan looked over at me and revved his engine once. Then he took off down the street.

I followed right behind him, leaning into the bike as we picked up speed.

The wind rushed past us and the world became a blur of colors and sounds. We raced through the empty streets heading towards the outskirts of town where the old highway stretched out for miles with nothing but open road.

My heart was pounding and I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I'd missed this so much, this feeling of flying without leaving the ground, of being completely in control while also letting go of everything.

Tristan was ahead of me and I knew he was holding back, knew he could go faster if he wanted to. Part of me was frustrated that he wasn't giving me his all but another part was grateful because even with him holding back I was struggling to keep up.

We hit the old highway and he opened up the throttle a bit more. I did the same, pushing my bike as hard as I dared.

The speedometer climbed higher and higher and I felt all the emptiness I'd been carrying around disappear.

There was no room for fear or doubt or worry, there was only this moment and this feeling and Tristan ahead of me.