Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 126

Ana

She sighed when she got Peirce’s text. She didn’t really want to see his name pop up on her phone either, but she’d not been in the right frame of mind to delete his contact either. Zara had hunted down her phone and handbag out there after she’d heard all that had happened, China ripping out of her, all her clothes and belongings just left on the ground somewhere out near Peirce’s place.

Now here she was staring at his name as it blipped onto the screen of her phone, but it was the words ”

Oriana Vale?” that had her attention. No one here knew that name bar Maddie and her sisters. She’d not even given it up to Alpha Austin. She didn’t see a need to, she had a new life; was now Ana Forester.

But those two words told her that one of those four men had just strolled into the sheriff’s station and asked about her, likely shown a picture of her, and clearly stated her name for them to hear. Unfortunately, she knew everyone in that station. She could only hope that no one told him, they knew her or where she lived and worked; what her new name was.

They were actively looking for her right this minute. Why? She didn’t really know, though it could simply be that she had assaulted his Delta and knocked the man unconscious. That was also what Austin had said, ‘don’t go ticking Alphas off’ or was it because Yuri had recognised her and been surprised to see her; thought she was human, but then her punching him with China, she was not so human.

Likely, her human scent had confused him and maybe that was what they were doing here now. They were simply curious about how she could smell human, but still be wolfed at the same time. Why they were in Maine in the first place, she had no idea. They should all be back in Arizona learning the family business.

She was going to have to risk that run tonight, she now realised, and not wait until Friday when there was going to be an influx of holidaymakers, for the long weekend here to ski at the resort, and get away from their normal lives for a few days. Giving her more chance of going unnoticed by that unit here in town. She was waiting for Maddie to come home to discuss that plan they’d made, but she’d headed right for the café.

Those four men were all in the café. She sighed it was getting too close to home, and so she was going to have to up her plans. She put a call into Maddie and murmured “how about if they’re not there you come home early. We have to move the schedule up. They just checked in at the police station.”

Maddie had organised for more staff to come in and for Josh to lock up tonight, and they came home about an hour later, “Not followed, and I scented both Slade and Vance still near the police station, likely staking it out. Might have gotten a lead there.” Maddie stated.

“Peirce text me my real name, in full.” Ana sighed “He knows the truth and if they picked up on that, that’ll be why they’re staking him out, waiting for him to come here to me or put a call in, to get my new name.”

“So what are we doing then?” Zara asked.

“Maddie and I have devised a plan for me to take a run in the woods, without my necklace on, so I’ll scent of rogue to them, and run them out east of the town, up to the portal and then backtrack a bit, put a necklace on. Maddie’s already got one out there, I believe,”

“No, I was going to do that tomorrow. Our plan was for Friday. I could run it out now, I suppose.” She nodded.

She watched as Londyn dismissed several text messages, as they continued to discuss the plan to get rid of those four from town, “What’s wrong Londyn.” She asked her after the sixth dismissal.

“Nothing.” Came the simple answer. “I’m just not interested in hanging out with my boyfriend, I think we have bigger issues going on right now. Therefore, I will keep working at the café and my gallery is all. He’s unhappy with me… Do you really think it’ll work? That they’ll scent you running away and go off after you, through that portal and never come back?”

“I don’t know,” Ana answered honestly. “I guess that depends on the original reason they were here in Maine. I doubt very much that it was me, likely seeing me may have just side tracked them, curiosity I suppose. Yuri had not been expecting to see me. He was completely shocked. But now they’ve gone to Peirce and with my real identity. So I don’t know.”

“They all seem nice enough to me,” Londyn murmured.

Ana looked at her now. She knew Londyn had never been inside a pack, never seen the actual mentality of an Alpha and his unit, and was getting to see that now. The social aspect of it, seeing as the four of them had been in the café this morning. Though they themselves weren’t much different to what she would see with those men. Apart from the fact that their Alpha was in full control, Londyn didn’t want to be in control and thought it should be Ana. Their hierarchy was off, they were more like equals than having one person tell them all what to do and when to do it.

It was clear those four boys intrigued her, “Honestly Londyn, growing up with them was nice. I just got screwed over in the end. They are probably still the same, Palmer and Yuri, I never had a problem with.”

“I’m not interested.” Maddie stated. “Who knows what will happen? We could all end up, split up, and any of us could get a brute for a Mate, or be moved into an unhealthy pack, war could come, and we’d all be screwed over once more.”

She watched Zara shudder, “I’m not going to be forced to mate off to someone, that’s why I left in the first place, Fated or nothing.” She stated flatly.

Ana agreed with that, it was why they were all out here living in the human world, away from the world of wolves. It gave them the freedom to do as they pleased all the time, no Alpha telling them what to do, when to do it or how they were to live their lives.

“I’ll set the plan off in the morning. Get up early. Most of them will be up around 5am. If I leave, at say 4:30, that will give me a half an hour head start, and I should be able to keep my lead and get back here without being found out.”

“I’ll go out tonight and put that necklace out there for you around midnight.”

Ana could hear Londyn prowling around in her room, she was restless in there, and so Ana made her a cup of tea. She mind-linked to Londyn about the tea and the girl came out of her room, she had showered for the afternoon and was dressed in her pajamas and a fluffy dressing gown already.

Ana registered that she actually looked tired for the first time since meeting her. Londyn took the tea offered to her and then just tilted her head and frowned ‘Your room now.’ she shot down the mind-link wolves outside.’

Ana sighed and walked to her room, closed the door and heard Londyn actually step outside the house and onto the back veranda that overlooked the lake. Heard her state “May I help you?” a few minutes later.

“Good evening, It’s Londyn, right?” a man stated, and Ana sighed. She knew that voice; it was Yuri.