Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 16

Slade

Ori was apparently out of control and actually dressing ‘like a girl’, and her attitude was completely different. He saw her in the photo he’d just gotten from her father, via a text message. It was followed by a text that read ‘I need your help.’ Had been the only line under the picture of Ori.

In the photo she was all dressed up, she had her hair out and all curled at the ends and was wearing make-up, she was also wearing a green figure-hugging dress that only went to her high thigh area. Slade had actually smiled at the photo when he’d seen it, she looked hot, and he was willing to bet she knew it. Dressing like that on purpose, to tick her own father off, he imagined.

The girl was always in control and now, she had just let loose for the first time ever. She was all smiles in that photo too, dancing on the dance floor in their pack’s nightclub. There was even a timestamp, 0053.

‘My Beta is finally having some fun, I see. Lol.’ He’d sent back after a moment; Slade honestly didn’t see a problem with it.

‘She’s out of control Slade, dressing differently, talking back, and she left the pack without telling anyone… came back, like that’ Was the response from Anders.

‘It’s fine, she’s just letting her hair down. Leave her alone, Anders.’ He replied and smiled at the picture again, clicked it open and really looked at it. She looked really happy in that picture.

Though he didn’t like the way that wolf behind her had his hands on her hips, she looked amazing, and he didn’t blame the man. Ori’s hands, however, were up in her hair and she was clearly dancing away, actually laughing in the photo, just drinking and dancing, having a good time.

He saved that photo on his phone and looked at the wolf behind her, then frowned a little as he realised it was his own bloody cousin Sam, who was two years older than he and Ori were. Slade didn’t like that she was out there dancing with their future War General, and that man had his hands all over Ori, from what he could see.

He had to let it go. She’d not found her mate, so his cousin Sam was not likely to push it. She was the future Beta and would be off limits. She didn’t date; Sam would know that. Though the picture of her dancing with Sam did remind him of what the council had said, “Alphas would like her, and her bloodline would attract them as much as her looks would.”

He ignored the next text from Anders and flicked a message to his cousin Sam “keep your hands off my Beta…” Then he blinked as he realised it kind of sounded possessive, he quickly sent another, “Anders is unhappy about it.” He just sat there and stared at those texts he’d sent and sighed a little, he’d not even thought about it, just needed to send it, was he being possessive? He pushed it aside; bloody Alpha Gretta had gotten into his head with that comment that she could be his Mate.

He flicked back to the awaiting text from Beta Anders, Ori’s own father, and wondered how things would change in two weeks’ time, or would it? A part of him knew he was never going to reject his Beta if the moon set, and he scented her out as his Mate. Another part of him didn’t exactly know how she would react to it. Their relationship had never been like that, and she’d kneed him in the balls the last time she’d seen him, bloody hard at that, had been filthy mad at him.

He pushed that thought aside. She was his Beta, not his bed buddy. He looked at the current blonde she-wolf next to him, Audrey. She’d only arrived this morning and had latched right onto him, and by lunchtime they were in his bed, and she was all over him.

She was sleeping now, exhausted, it seemed, and easily sated by him. It had been a fun afternoon. She was a pretty girl too; she had long blonde hair, dark blue eyes, was as tall as he was and strong as well, she was always smiling, perpetually happy even while having sex, smiled all the time.

Even now, in her sleep, there was a slight smile on her face. He got out of bed and pulled his pants on, sat at his study desk and texted Anders back ‘What do you expect when Hayden is now training in her place?’ He’d sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. How did her father not see that was going to be an issue?

‘It’s irresponsible.’ He got right back ‘call her and pull her into line, she’ll listen to you.’

He wanted to say no to that but didn’t. ‘She’s angry and lashing out Anders, you had to know she would.’ He sent back.

Slade didn’t think that him calling Ori would work, he barely got a response from her at all himself nowadays, just short simple answers. He knew she was mad at him, and now it appeared she was mad at everyone.

‘Slade, help me… please. It’s my little girl, she is… I don’t know.’

He sighed heavily ‘not your little girl anymore.’ He sent back ‘she’s 18, and a fully realised pure Beta-blooded she-wolf, who’s angry at you, likely, really angry at you; for the first time ever, I imagine.’

‘I don’t like it, Slade.’

‘Not much I can do about it. I’d suggest you stop Hayden training with Palmer and Yuri, and put her back in. That would likely solve the issue…’ He knew it would, but he also knew they would not do that. He knew what they wanted, even the Alpha Council was in agreement with his bloody father.

‘I can’t.’ He got back.

It had taken an hour to get a response from Ori and all it was, was to tell him to shut-up, she was trying to study. He sent plenty of emojis for her to see and retaliate with her usual sarcasm about his being a drunk, he half expected to get a ‘you poor baby’. She didn’t even respond to it, only wanted to know how they knew what time she’d gotten in last night. Then just nothing, clearly either turned her phone off or was just ignoring it.

It couldn’t be good if she wouldn’t give it back to him, she did like annoying him. They all did enjoy that, thought it was fun teasing each other all the time. Her father was right, he supposed. She was not her normal self at all.

He got a separate text from Palmer and Yuri for a group chat with just the three of them without Ori ‘something’s off man.’

‘She doesn’t even hang out with us, at all anymore.’ Yuri text ‘went bloody dancing on her own. without us.’

‘Shopping on her own. Slade, she was gone 12 bloody hours, by herself down into Phoenix.’

‘She’s angry you’re training her little brother to take over her position.’ he replied.

‘That’s not going to happen, right? You still want Ori as your Beta?’

‘Yes.’ He answered but didn’t tell them of the current Alpha and his Unit’s thoughts, hell, their position on the matter, couldn’t. It was a private conversation. He should have bloody insisted on staying home for the full moon, he thought, not that he wanted to skip Alpha College or have it be delayed. He just wanted to know if she was or wasn’t his Mate. He might very well not be, pushed it aside. She was likely going to be one pissed off she-wolf when picking him up in two weeks’ time. And who the hell was ever mated to their own bloody Beta?

He let it go, needed to get Gretta’s words out of his bloody head. But at the same time, it wasn’t like he’d not thought about it, or her in that way. Hell, a part of him still thought they had hooked up the night before he’d come here, and she had just blipped over it. Embarrassed about it, was the realisation he’d come to.

He knew she wouldn’t want anyone to know about it either, nor would he. Her father would bloody kill him, and trying to remove her from the ascension line? The right way, or having her removed because of them sleeping together, something her father would consider irresponsible of her: would be two very different things to Ori.

Likely she’d respond in two very different ways to how it was done, even.