Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 151

Zara

Londyn barely had time to slam the breaks on as they saw Slade shoot out in front of their Jeep; Londyn cursed out loud and Zara shrieked and snapped her hands out instinctively, and she heard Ocean gasp from the back seat as the tyre’s screeched on the icy road.

They felt the impact of connecting with him and then their car was sliding across the road a little. A part of her nearly panicked at seeing him shoot out in front of them, and for a moment she thought he was going to get up and try and snatch Ocean from the vehicle.

But the man didn’t even look at them, just snarled after he came to a halt from rolling across the ground, and just got up and ran off down the street. She could feel anger and pain pouring out of him as he got up, as Londyn had wound her window down in order to yell at the man she’d hit.

But then she didn’t yell because Ocean’s small voice came from the back seat. “W… Was that my D… Dad?”

They both turned and looked at Ocean, and Londyn reined in her string of curse words that had been going to be unleashed, as she caught the scent of Alpha blood now.

“Yes it was.” Londyn answered, “I didn’t mean to hit him, Ocean, he just came out of nowhere.”

Zara was already opening the door to get out as she looked about for his unit, and saw they were nowhere to be seen. “Zara?” Londyn questioned her.

“He’s injured and… I’ll explain later, take Ocean home.” She told Londyn, then looked at Ocean, who was now looking worriedly down the street, her father had just run down. “I’ll go and check on him, Ocean. He’s tougher than most, likely just a minor injury.” And she closed the door and was gone off down the street after him, she could smell blood but didn’t think he was too injured, if he was he wouldn’t have gotten up and ran off like that.

Zara ran after him, but he was moving fast, uncaring right at this minute of any humans that might be out there on the street and could see him. But she could feel his pain, all her Gamma instincts had kicked in, back there in the car because she knew that pain, somehow, wasn’t related to the impact with their car.

He’d not even registered them in the car, hadn’t turned to look at the car, was consumed, she knew, by his own inner thoughts. They were all still wearing their necklaces, so all he would have picked up on was human, so he’d not bothered to look.

She was never going to catch him, he was Alpha-blooded and she was only a Gamma, but she was in full Gamma mode and could track the pain that was flooding out of him. She could help him if he came to a standstill that was, and allowed her to catch up to him.

She could, she knew, ease his pain, whatever it was, because she was a damned good Gamma. Jetta’s hearing picked up him shifting and both she and her wolf huffed. Whatever this was, it had sent him out into the woods to run it off, away from everyone.

This was the very reason why female Gammas should be in all Alpha Units, to help Alphas calm down and stay in control, but no, their stupid world had pushed female Gammas aside centuries ago. Zara knew it was because male Gammas could be all big and buffed up like the rest of the unit, seen to be strong.

Whereas the females of their species had been discarded back in the day, by a very male-dominated world, that focused on brawn more than brain. They thought the physical strength of a male Gamma was superior to that of the females, who likely could be seen as bringing a weakness to their own Alpha, because they didn’t bulk up.

Zara also wondered if it had been seen as a weakness because it meant a female Gamma could control an Alpha Male, some Alphas wouldn’t like that at all. It could be seen as a female Gamma could charm her Alpha into anything, including making her the Luna to a pack.

This was actually what she thought had probably happened, those female Gammas back in the day used their charm to climb the ranks of a pack or one tried to charm an Alpha into her bed somewhere along the way, and he or his unit didn’t take kindly to it. Replaced her with a male Gamma that couldn’t affect their Alpha’s decision, or be swayed into giving her what she wanted. From that, all female Gammas had been relegated to nothing.

Zara stripped in the woods and shifted to Jetta herself. Her beast would be faster and able to track better.

They raced after him using all they had, Jetta could also see his tracks in the night better than Zara could, and her sense of smell was keener in wolfen form.

It was Ana that could relay information on most things if one of them had a question.

Ana’s concerns about Maddie were not actually aligned with Maddie’s own right at this very minute either, because although Maddie’s thoughts were along the same line. She, however, did not want to abandon Ana for a Mate she knew nothing about. A Mate Ana herself had stated that betrayed her for her own brother.

Maddie did not want to be claimed by anyone that came from a pack that was full of lies and deceit, it was what she had escaped from herself. Zara didn’t think Maddie would leave Ana out here alone, that she was likely to reject Palmer if Ana told her too.

Ana was doing her very best, Zara thought, in trying not to put her own bias against those men, onto her sisters, where their Mates were concerned. Just like she was not trying to influence Ocean either. She was actually a good person, and wanted them all to make their own decisions, and to just be happy.

That, to Ana, meant if they wanted to accept their Mate’s and move back to the place she’d come from, she wouldn’t interfere or stop them, would allow them to do so. Likely hug them all and bid them farewell, wish them luck even. Zara already knew Ana was prepping herself for that very thing, she had moments

where it couldn’t be hidden from Zara. Pain was something that rarely got past her and her Gamma instincts.

Ana just knew how to not let it show, something Zara had now realised she was very good at doing. Though Zara was only now just coming to understand that about her sister Ana and that it likely stemmed from the way she had grown up. Ana never talked about anyone back there. Whereas she, Maddie and Londyn could talk about their parents.

Ana did not, not ever, had simply stated once, “I don’t have any.” And with those very words Zara had understood she had emotional pain where ‘those people that birthed her’ was how Ana thought of them.

Ana would never, not support her sisters, loved them unconditionally and wanted all of them to be happy, even if it meant them all leaving her. She already understood Zara could never leave Londyn. They were sisters long before they’d met Maddie and Ana, and that blood bonding had given them an even deeper connection to each other as well.