Second Chance Mates [Full Collection]

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

STERLING

If I hold onto Maddy any tighter, I’ll crush her little hand.

This was not how things were supposed to turn out. A widower in my early thirties, with a child and two businesses now depending on me. I need to stay strong, I can’t show any signs of breaking down, not now, not now all eyes are on me.

Everything in these last few days has been so overwhelming. After they heard about the accident, Logan’s parents swooped in and took control over everything. The only thing I was allowed to do was to not cry in front of them and to follow their every demand. They chose every detail of the funeral, down to the dress that Maddy has to wear today.

This isn’t us. This isn’t me. This isn’t Logan. But I have no way to control what’s going on.

I’m only an Omega. I’m lucky that they even care enough about me to not push me to the back. Instead, they parade me around, the perfect image of the grieving widower, when they need me to.

Losing Logan without having produced an Alpha heir, they’re panicking. Logan was their only Alpha child. And now, now they have no one to take over the company. I’d feel sorry for them, if Logan hadn’t hated his family’s plans as much as I do.

I know that they’re frustrated, that they don’t know what to do now that they lost such an important part of their future plans. But why do they have to involve me in all of this? I don’t want it. I don’t want their family. I just want to return home, I want to grief for my mate in my own way. I want for people to stop looking at Maddy and me with that look in their eyes… Pity. Not just the sadness of losing a loved one, but pity. Pity that I didn’t give Logan’s family an Alpha heir.

“Daddy…” Maddy’s quiet voice reaches me and I look down at her. Her bottom lip wobbles and I let go of her hand, scared I hurt her, but she raises both her arms, she wants to be held, even though she’s getting way too big for that.

I reach down and lift her up anyway, hiding my face against her, letting a few tears slide that just won’t stay in.

“Daddy, I miss Dad.” Her soft words are for my ears only.

“Me too, baby. Me too.” I pull her tighter, hiding from the whole event a little, hiding with our little girl, the only part of Logan I’ve got left.

Sarah’s voice startles me. “Pull yourself together, Sterling, just a little longer. We’re nearly at the end. A little longer and they won’t be bothering you for a couple of days at least.” Then she carefully pries Maddy from my arms. “Hey, little girl, let’s go and leave the adults alone for a while. Yeah?”

I quickly dry my eyes and try to put on my most neutral face as I see people start to move, the whole ceremony just went straight by me as I was too focused on myself instead of the things around me. Logan’s dad steps next to me, his eyes stern, blue eyes, like ice, so cold that I feel like I’m freezing every time I look into them. How did Logan, the sweetest and kindest man that I know, come from parents like these?

People start filing by as they leave, mumbling words I’m in no state to understand as they shake my hand or put their hand on my shoulder, like any of this is going to help. It only helps them to feel good about themselves. I just want to return home and get back to daily life, get back to some resemblance of normalcy. It will never be the same, but at least it’ll be on my own terms. At least I won’t be surrounded by people who have no idea how to act towards me.

As the last people have gone, Logan’s parents turn to me. His father speaks up first. “Well, we’ll be dropping by the house this weekend, see if you’re doing well. I assume that Sarah will be dropping you off at home.”

I nod, suddenly very aware that being alone at home also means being alone at home, nobody but me, Maddy and the daily chores.

Logan’s father inclines his head towards me, his mother, also an Omega like me, does the same, and with that, they’re off. I can’t believe it. They swooped in and took over my life, and just as quickly, they’re gone again, leaving me to rebuild from the ruins. They’ll only put up with me as long as they have to, and not a second longer. It’s always been like that, but I guess, since I won’t be giving them an Alpha heir, it doesn’t matter anyway, they’ll lose interest in me soon enough.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see someone leaning against a tree, when I look up, I realise that it’s the same man as I saw earlier. I don’t know why, but I kept looking for him during the ceremony and the lowering of the coffin, but he wasn’t anywhere. I guess he felt out of place in this strictly organised thing. But there he is again.

“Daddy!” Maddy wraps her little arms around my legs. “I wanna go home.”

I reach out to her, putting my hand on her beautiful curls. “We will, soon. I just need…” I just need some quiet time here, saying goodbye. This is the first time since the accident that I’m relatively alone with Logan, the first time his family isn’t glaring at me for having emotions at all. My breath gets cut off and I stumble for a moment.

Arms surround me and I hold on for dear life. “Shh. Shh.” Sarah’s voice is calm, but I can also hear the pain in it.

It hurts, it hurts so much. To lose Logan like this, there was no reason to, there was no f*****g reason for him to be gone. How will I keep going? How will I keep living?

I don’t know how, but I know that I will have to, I have to do it for Maddy, for our girl, because there isn’t anything else in the world anymore.

I take deep breaths, standing up straight, and Maddy is looking at me, her eyes big. I wish I could take this view away from her, her useless father, who can’t keep it together long enough to function properly until they’re back home. Her father, who breaks down while he should be caring for her.

My eyes are drawn up again, and the man is still standing in the same place, like he wants to be here, but doesn’t know if he should be.

Sarah turns her head, realising I’m staring at something. And right then, something interesting happens, the look on her face, the pain, the horror, the deep sadness. “Oh, god, Wilder.” She looks at me, tears filling her eyes, opening her mouth a few times before she shakes her head. “I’ll be right back. I need to speak to him for a bit.” Her voice is hoarse, on the verge of breaking.

My eyes follow her, and as soon as she comes close, he pulls her tight, their arms locked around each other. I don’t know why, but it breaks my heart even harder to see them cling to each other like that. Like they are the only people in the world who understand each other, their only hope.

When they pull apart, Sarah is saying something and the other man, Wilder, is shaking his head. But she doesn’t seem to listen to him and pulls on his arm to bring him over. The way they act with each other, so familiar, it’s odd, in the eight or so years that I’ve known Sarah, I’ve never seen her act like that with anyone, not even Logan.

“Sterling, this is Wilder, he is…” She trails off as she looks at him.

“An old friend of Logan’s. He knows this, we’ve met earlier when your niece ran off during the ceremony.” His voice is gruff and his whole posture is a little awkward.

The look that goes between the two is unmistakable though, Sarah is not convinced and Wilder doesn’t seem willing to explain more, but Sarah seems to overcome it easily enough. “Well, Wilder, then you know that Sterling is Logan’s mate and this is their daughter, Madeline.”

“Maddy.” Wilder kneels next to her, using the name I used earlier, and I don’t know how, but she smiles at him. “I’m glad you were a really good girl today. Your daddy is going to need you to be strong. Can you do that?”

Maddy nods, then she hugs him. “Thank you for talking to Daddy.” Her light voice is heard by all of us, and I feel my face heat up as Sarah looks at me.

Well, yes, we talked for a moment and I’m not exactly sure why that makes me blush. At least he treated me somewhat normally.

Then Sarah’s eyes go serious. “Sterling, do you have any friends or neighbours who can check in on you in the next couple of days? I know this won’t be easy. And getting Maddy to school and everything…” She trails off and swallows hard. “f**k. Sorry. I wish my family wasn’t so messed up.”

“They want you back at work tomorrow?” Wilder asks as he reaches out to her. “You just lost your brother, they’re being totally unreasonable.”

“You know how they are.” She leans against him and he holds her again.

His eyes darken as he looks at Maddy and me, sadness flashing over his face. “I do. I do know what they’re like.” He lets out a sigh. “I’ll do it. I’ve taken the week off anyway, and… I think it would be good for both of us not to be alone right now.”

Both of us? What? A stranger in my house? Now? “I can’t make you do that.”

“Yeah.” Sarah frowns too. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“Lo— Logan was my…” his jaw sets, pushing the next word out, “friend. This is the least I can do for him.”

“Are you sure?” Sarah doesn’t seem convinced. And I get that Wilder and Logan used to be friends, but this is a little extreme, staying over with someone’s mate just because you used to be friends.

“Yeah. If Sterling and Maddy are okay with it. I’m not much of a bother, I can cook, I can clean, I can… I don’t know, change light bulbs? Anything that you need right now.” He looks so sincere, and I guess that the idea of not returning to an empty house is tempting. While being away from all this mess, this charade set up by my family-in-law, feels like the one thing I really need to do, at the same time, being actually alone? Not having anyone around? That scares the hell out of me.

“Okay, I guess. It’s a big enough house and you can have the guest room.” I shrug. I’m done with being out in public for a day, I’m done being a sensible adult, and I’m ready to go home, and the way that Maddy is hanging on me, I suspect she is too. “But I would like to go home now.”

“Daddy… carry me.” Maddy’s voice is hard to resist and I nearly pick her up before Wilder kneels down next to her.

“I think Daddy is tired, is it okay if I carry you?” He looks at her so seriously, like he’s honestly waiting for her answer instead of just doing whatever he wants.

Maddy looks at him for a moment and then nods as she wraps her arms around his neck. He pulls her close and stands up again, holding her at his side.

“I guess we’ll need to fit all four of us in my car?” Sarah starts walking towards the parking lot.

“Yeah, I didn’t think coming by car would be a good idea.” Wilder walks beside me, and I guess it’s this weird Alpha thing that some of them have, but having him at my side, it’s calming me down somewhat. Knowing that there is someone who cares enough to be there for me.

But it doesn’t take away any of the pain, or the regrets about all the things Logan and I still wanted to do.