Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 148

Ana

She’d not wanted to hide from Slade, because she’d come to the realisation that she’d done nothing wrong, and she didn’t need to run away from him or his unit. Maddie, however, wanted to test that man’s patience, and Ana didn’t know how it was going to go.

He’d never really been the mean, nasty, selfish type when they’d grown up together, though it had been a long time since then, so he could be now. She had no idea. “Do you have to antagonise him?” Ana asked as she came out of the office.

“I do, you’re not the only one that needs to know what he’s like.” Maddie nodded. “But answer me something.”

“About.” She asked as she walked Ocean over to sit at a table and set it up for all of them to have an early lunch before the next rush started. Knew it was being cooked, she’d heard Londyn request it just a few

minutes before Slade had come in. Despite her and Ocean being tired and needing a nap, neither of them had gotten one, but they’d lain down on that couch in there and tried.

“How was he the last time you actually saw him?” Maddie asked.

Ana frowned and turned to look at her. She had to actually think about that herself. She didn’t actually recall much of that night after screaming at them all. She’d been a ball of pain and anger and it kind of just obliterated everything to do with her memories. Mostly she just had the knowledge of how badly she had felt over being betrayed. China didn’t have any at all.

“I honestly don’t know, I don’t really have any past that one moment…after I got out of the car and was demoted to nothing.” She had to choose her words carefully, Ocean was right there, and she knew her little girl would be listening.

She sighed and tried to focus on it. China was of no help at all. There was nothing from her wolf, their own anger overlaid everything that night, but she forced herself to really focus on it and got a glimpse of something she’d not recalled before. “I have a vague memory of getting into a fight with him, yelling at him to leave me alone and go away. It’s hazy at best, and I couldn’t tell you if that was the last time I saw him or not. I guess Maddie, you should ask him that yourself.” She shrugged.

“I felt wronged by all of them, enough to leave that place and make a new life for myself.” She did know that one could black out and have no memories when there was trauma. She supposed that was what she had done, from the moment of seeing that look on Slade’s face and getting out of the car to seeing

Hayden’s smug look, that was actually her very last vivid memory of that day.

Her recognising Slade’s guilt and Hayden’s gloating face, everything after that was shrouded in darkness. All she recalled after that was anger, sadness, pain and betrayal. Then just utter fury had rolled through her and her beast. Then there was nothing until she got to Lindal’s place. It was likely that she had been so emotionally traumatised by the event that her own brain had blipped it from their memory for self-preservation, or she just didn’t want to recall it in detail.

She could well have been lost to bloodlust for all she knew. She did know and recall she’d had feelings of wanting to kill them all. She understood that she hadn’t done so because she was pregnant. It was the only thing that had saved them, from her fury being unleashed.

“There’s nothing, Maddie.” She shook her head. “Likely I blacked out or…”

” get it.” Maddie nodded as Zara strolled into the café with their missing order. She smiled at everyone and announced they’d be getting a 20% discount on the next four orders.

They all sat and ate their lunch after Maddie paired Londyn up with Slade in that word chain game. She leaned over and took the table from Ocean, to make her eat something, stating “that game can wait until after you eat.”

Ocean just nodded, her girl likely also understood she was pitted up against her father. His name was there at the top as her opponent and she’d heard his name now. She’d seen Ocean frown in the office at the mention of his name by Maddie, and then she’d pulled her tablet out and looked right at that opponent’s name. It was an unusual name she would put it together.

After they ate, she watched Ocean sit with Londyn and watch her play that word chain game. She was curious, it seemed, and Ana didn’t stop her or attempt to distract her in any way. Not even when she opted to hang out at the art gallery with Londyn for the rest of the day. Ana just let her go.

She’d never been worried about Ocean when she wanted to go off with her aunts, they all loved her and would take good care of her. The gallery was only open till three today, and like most Saturdays, Londyn spent the afternoons there herself.

It was lunchtime when Vance and Palmer walked into the café, and she heard Maddie huff in annoyance.

Ana put her hand on her to halt her and stepped up to the counter. “I can serve them.” She stated simply.

Palmer smiled right at her, “Ana it’s good to see you, it’s been a very long time.”

“Are you eating in, or getting takeaway?” she asked simply and saw his smile falter.

“I’ve really missed you,” he stated.

It was Maddie that called out their order and Palmer who stepped up to collect it. She watched Maddie pull her hands away before he could touch her and step back and away from him. But she was also watching Palmer. He was curious about Maddie himself, so yes, he had picked up on her instant reaction to the use of his charm.

The man frowned at Maddie’s reaction and handed the lattes to Vance as he picked up the to-go bags,” Please, why don’t we all have dinner together. I’ll book a table for the nine of us at the Edge restaurant and let you know the day and time. We’d all like that, to sit down with all of you,” he stated, and then just turned and walked away from the counter before any of them could decline it.

He was trying to make her have dinner with him. She sighed to herself, and knew that Palmer was also going to be looking to try and see if Maddie was his Mate at that dinner. Ana also knew that a dinner with Yuri would be good for Londyn. She was starting to look tired, because she knew what he was, but he did not. It was starting to affect Londyn and her sister was starting to struggle with getting any sleep.

Likely, everything about all of those men, who they were, was going to be affecting everything that was going to happen with her sisters. It wasn’t fair on them for her to constantly say no. It likely wasn’t fair to Palmer or Yuri either.

She went about her day as normal and when the lunch rush was over, she looked at both Maddie and Zara. “Londyn needs to have dinner with Yuri. Maddie, you likely need to interact more with Palmer as well.”

“You and Ocean also need to sit down and talk with Slade as well,” Zara stated.

“It is likely.” Ana nodded. “I will, however, want you right there, Zara, to see if he lies to me about anything.

Lies to Ocean as well.”

“So we’re accepting the dinner then?” Zara asked her.

” guess we are.” Ana nodded. “I did nothing wrong. I don’t and shouldn’t have to hide from him, from them. It was he and that place that betrayed me, not the other way around. As for Ocean, I’ll not be handing her over to him.

“But she’s seen him now and, he, her… so there is no avoiding them getting to know each other, though that will be up to Ocean and not him. It’s not my choice or his, as far as I’m concerned. We’ve raised Ocean to make her own decisions. I’ll, of course, have to talk to her and see what she wants.”

Ocean had gone off with Londyn, knowing that Londyn was pitted up against Slade today. “She’s curious, will likely also want to understand what happened, why I left.” Ana was curious herself, as to how Slade was going to explain that to Ocean.