Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 120

Slade

There was still nothing, they’d gone into that café and sat around and had a late breakfast, there was no real rush on their meal, and not once did Zara state the name Brianah. He was a little annoyed, but didn’t let it show.

He did, however, get up and stroll over to look at that wall of photos. At the other end of the café, there were many pictures of Maddie, Zara and Londyn up there to look at. A couple of just Zara or Sara at some of the places that her photo shoots had been. He recognised the locations from his book of tracking Oriana. They had been to some of the same places. It couldn’t just be a coincidence.

He’d moved out of the way when Londyn busied herself clearing a table over where he was standing, it hadn’t taken her long to come over there, and clear that table once he was standing by the photos, and she kind of stared at him as if to say move, so he did. “You three don’t look much alike, for sisters.” He commented.

“Different mums. Dads…well, a get about.” She stated and then just sighed a little.

“Only three of you, I hear you’ve got a fourth sister, um Ana was it.” He asked, “I don’t see her up there.”

“Who do you think took the photos?” she commented, “You’re awfully nosey for a visitor to this town, who’s leaving when?” Londyn asked him directly.

“Hmm, not sure, we have business here in town.”

“You said visiting.” Zara stated from behind the counter.

“Yes, on business,” he commented. “My father wants a house on the lake. So, we’re real estate hunting for him.” He nodded and looked from one to the other to gauge their reaction to him staying put in town.

There was nothing, neither women’s expression changed at all.

“Why doesn’t he just come and do it himself?” Londyn asked him now.

“I guess, like your dad, he doesn’t have the time to come here,” he stated simply.

“My dad doesn’t even care.” She muttered, and he heard the actual sadness in her tone.

Slade turned to look at her, and he couldn’t help himself but to ask “When was the last time you saw him?”

“Me…” Londyn looked right at him “Never, he left before I was born, like I said, he doesn’t even care.” Then she just walked away from him, with the cups and plates, to go back behind the counter.

He watched Zara hug her a little, when she stepped behind the counter, and murmured softly to her “You don’t really know that.”

“Yes, I do.” Londyn muttered “Knocked up my mum, as you well know, then just up and left, never to be seen again by her or me.”

Slade nearly sighed out loud, he could see she didn’t like talking about it, “Just because he’s not around, doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care.” He murmured himself, as he looked at her, and he felt a little sadness touch him, at hearing those very words. “He could be curious about you, every single day.” He told her simply.

Both women just looked at him now, and both of them had deep frowns on their faces, “It’s just a thought.” he shrugged, then murmured to himself “but it’s likely he wonders if you are a boy or a girl.” The man could well be like Slade, think about it every day like he did.

“He could only wonder if he knew I existed.” Londyn snapped at him all of a sudden.

Though hearing those words, and that tone, he thought Londyn’s case was probably a little different to his, seeing as she knew who the man was, had to because she had three sisters to the same man, and they all had different mums. “You could go and hunt him down, seeing as you know who he is, it’s a two-way street.” He stated.

Slade watched as Zara grabbed onto Londyn, and stay her, as Londyn’s eyes turned on him, and there was now anger in them for all to see. He’d touched a nerve, it seemed. “My apologies, it’s not my business or place.” He commented and walked away, maybe she’d tried, and he was a dead-beat dad.

Slade wondered if that tone he’d heard just now in Londyn when talking about her dad, would be the one that his own child would use one day when talking about him? Because he wasn’t around. It could well be, and a part of him didn’t like it at all. What he was hearing and seeing.

He had no idea if Ori would tell her child who he was or where he was. Would that child come to the pack one day and present themselves to him? Call him all sorts of names, renounce their kin bond to him? Would he or she renounce being his heir? Would Ori train his child to come in and take over? Send them to the pack one day to duel him for the leadership of it, and try to claim it for themselves?

“You’d think with Londyn being the photographer, she’d be the one behind the camera.” Vance offered up.

“I think they’re hiding something.” Yuri commented, “and didn’t their fourth sister just break up with the town’s sheriff? So, if you think Ana is Oriana, and they’re hiding her, showing that man a picture of Oriana and yourself together, is a good idea.”

He stopped walking now and looked at Yuri, that was actually a very good idea. “They just broke up.” he mused, “He was cheating, keeping his ex on the side…might not have wanted to break up with Ana.” Though that thought didn’t sit well with him, who would cheat on Oriana?

“It could see him become jealous, knowing you’re here in town, he will not want you near her if Ana is Oriana, and the last three letters of her name, even Brianah, are Ana, just spelled differently.” Vance nodded.

“A plan we have. Let’s see how that man reacts to a photo of her. If I think he recognises her, I’ll claim she’s my missing wife, that will set off a reaction in him. One that Hail and I can pick up easily.”

“Agreed.” Vance nodded. “Though wife?”

“Hmm, I know where nothing like that, but he doesn’t know that, and if our child looks anything at all like me, hair colour or eyes even, this Peirce person will recognise it, right away. Vance and I will go to the police station, see what we can elicit from this Peirce or even one of his officers.

“Palmer, Yuri, you two wander about and listen for any talk about Ana, a description or does she have a child? Let’s try and lay eyes on the one sister, we’ve conveniently not seen the entire time we’ve been here.

“Alright,” both Palmer and Yuri stated.

They had time until their check-in at the new accommodation, a bed and breakfast, which was not all that far from the café, “If I don’t get what I want, we might just have to stake out one of them sisters.”

“They are human though,” Vance murmured.

“Ori, smelled human to me.” Yuri piped up.