Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 143

Ana

She saw Ocean on the move and the very angry look on her face, but only after Zara rushed right past her, drawing her attention, ‘Ocean is angry.’ She shot down the mind-link, at not only her but Maddie and Londyn as well.

Her eyes tracked her daughter and she herself had come to a halt at the sight of all them standing outside; Slade and his unit. She’d only seen Yuri before now, but did know they were all here in town. She’d actively avoided seeing them until now, and hadn’t wanted to see them.

Now here it was, that moment she didn’t really want to have, to have. To lay eyes on him. They all looked older and were more muscled up. No real surprise there; it had been seven and a half years since they’d become fully realised to their bloodlines.

They were all adults like she now was. He looked different from the 18-year-old boy she had once known.

His hair was longer than before; he’d let it grow out a few inches, and that had given it a slight wavy appearance, and his jawline was more defined, as were his cheek bones.

He’d aged well, gotten even nicer looking, she thought, and nearly turned away from him, wanted nothing more than to walk away from him, but her daughter was marching herself out there, likely to confront him.

Zara was right. Her daughter’s anger was rolling off of her, so much so that she saw several of the humans inside the café, just step out of Ocean’s way. She might not be very old and nowhere close to being realised, but they felt the anger.

It was likely pure instinct on their part that told them to step back. They probably didn’t even know why or what was happening, and none of them looked afraid or worried, just took a step back for seemingly no reason and continued on in their conversations, without realising they’d done it.

The minute the door opened, she could smell all four of them, and the old familiar pack scent of desert sage, and then she saw him standing looking down, at what she could only imagine, was her very angry daughter. She’d been happy just five minutes ago.

She’d excused herself from the customer she’d been serving, and headed outside to get Ocean herself. Only to hear a very angry “leave” come from Ocean, as she made her way through the customers, and she could hear Zara trying to calm her down.

Using her,Gamma Charm; outing herself as being a Gamma to that entire unit, in order to calm little Ocean, and her southern drawl was quite well pronounced as well. She must have felt like she needed to put some real effort into it.

‘He needs to leave, I’m not going with him. Those words from Ocean said it all. She thought he was here to take her away. She also heard Slade’s words and saw him get down on Ocean’s level to tell her that wasn’t what he wanted.

She cut him off. Her daughter knew exactly who he was, their kin bond had just kicked in. He’d been going to tell her who he was, introduce himself properly and she knew it.

She took her daughter inside and ignored him, couldn’t and didn’t want to deal with him, needed a minute right this second as old emotions flooded her. She walked Ocean right into Maddie’s office at the back of the café and sat down to look at her, she was just staring angrily at the floor.

“It’s alright Ocean.” She murmured softly.

“I don’t…”

“I know, just try and take a minute. It’s hard, I know…to see him, is for me too.” she sighed and tilted Ocean’s face up to look at her “I’m not going to just hand you over to him… It’s not who I am, I’m also not a member of his pack anymore. He can’t tell me what to do, can’t even tell you what to do, not really.”

“We can go away, somewhere else,” Ocean stated. “All of us, we can just leave.”

Ana sighed now, as she understood now this was about Ocean’s fear of losing everyone around her, not actually meeting her father. Ana understood that all too well. “We can’t, sweetie. Londyn’s attached to one of them, remember.”

“Which one was he?” she muttered.

“The man with brown hair, you know, the one we saw earlier, him.” Ana answered honestly.

“Then send the others away.” Ocean stated, “Only he needs to be here.”

“I would love to, but I can’t. I have no power over them, am just a rogue sweetie. My words will mean nothing to any of them, regardless of my bloodline.”

“We’re a unit.” Ocean muttered.

“Yes, we are,” Ana nodded. “A family too, and that man out there, he’s not going to go away, now that he knows about you,”

Though when she thought about that very thing, there had been no shock on Slade’s face, when he’d been looking at Ocean. He’d not appeared stunned at all to have a kin bond snap into place with her little girl; that was odd.

She’d told no one about being pregnant…though she now realised they’d heard Peirce talking, so it was likely he’d mentioned her, but still her having a daughter to him, should have come as a complete shock to him and his unit. He didn’t even know they’d slept together.

None of them, she now realised, had been shocked. The three with him had all just stood there watching on, hadn’t interfered in that moment, Slade had come face to face with Ocean… They all knew, that could only be the conclusion. Though she didn’t know how long they had known, but they all did, including Slade himself.

She sighed and pulled Ocean into her lap and hugged her, “Everything will be alright, but we’re going to, or I’m going to have to deal with him.”

“I don’t want…” Ocean trailed off.

“It’s likely that he will be, or not far away. You don’t have to talk to him if you don’t want to…just hang out with your friends for now. I’m not sure what he’s going to do. If he has any brains in that head of his…” she paused and waited. That was something Ocean herself said, about other children that annoyed her, and finally she saw a tiny smile on her girl’s face. “He’ll leave it alone, leave you and I alone until the crowd goes away.”

“Not argue in public, you mean,” Ocean muttered.

“Correct.” Ana nodded. “Things need to be handled the right way and…” She sighed. She hoped that he understood that “I will not tolerate him coming and demanding things from me in a public place. If he attempts to take you, like that, publicly, he’ll get China and I all aggression regardless of the humans around us. That is a fight that I will not be contained on. Nothing will separate you from me. I’ll not be letting him take you away from me, Ocean. I promise you that.”

She watched Ocean nod slowly.

They returned to the café, and she walked Ocean back over to her friends. Some of the crowd had dispersed, and she couldn’t see Slade or his unit out there, but that didn’t mean they weren’t simply a little further away and just out of sight.

Maddie looked at her when the crowd finally eased up and, mind-linked to her, connected herself to everyone before asking, ‘Are you and Ocean alright?’

‘As good as we can be for now. This is just going to be the start of it.’

‘He wasn’t at all surprised about Ocean, none of them were.’ Zara stated. ‘They already knew she was his. Happy to see her even. Though Slade was concerned about her reaction to him, and what she has been told, about the things that went on between you and him.’

Ana looked at Zara. ‘You got all of that from what two minutes out there with them, and while trying to calm Ocean?’

‘Mm.’ she nodded. ‘I was in full Gamma mode, could feel all of them, kind of can’t help it, when I’m curious about them, or him and his words.’

‘Alright. Ana nodded.

‘I also don’t think that he lied. When he talked to Ocean or called out to you. There was pain, mixed in with his words as well.

‘He just realised everything he lost, from his actions all those years ago. Ana stated simply with a shrug.

Zara was looking at her and Ana sighed, ‘You don’t need to feel me out Zara, I’m confused and scared’ She admitted openly ‘worried about Ocean.’

Zara nodded and let it go.