Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 175

Slade

It was a long, almost agonising wait all afternoon for night to fall, even having dinner downstairs in the restaurant seemed to take forever. He knew it wasn’t in reality, but for him, time felt as though it was running very slow.

Yuri smiled at him during dinner after his phone chimed “We’ll all be travelling together in a convoy tomorrow. Londyn suggested we all drive out to the airstrip together.”

“That is good.” He’d nodded. Maybe some progress had been made, and he just wasn’t yet aware of it.

He’d sent the boys off into town to do whatever they wanted, he just needed them not to be here. Ana wanted this meeting to be just the two of them, so that was what was going to happen. She’d reached out to him, and he would do whatever it took to get her to see him.

Though he still didn’t know what it was about, she’d not stated the reason why, and he had no idea what to expect from her or from this meeting. He didn’t know if the meeting would have a good or bad outcome, or even if it would just stay the same.

He stepped outside and walked away down the stairs into the snow-covered grassed area, and strolled a little away from the building, and into the darkness of the night. Her wolfen sight would allow her to see him and her sense of smell would allow her to know he was out there even before she saw him.

All he’d done was walk far enough away that no one in the restaurant or staying here would be able to look out the windows and see them was all. The boys he knew had taken one of the cars. They could have walked but likely wanted to make sure that Ana knew they weren’t close by. She’d still smell them but understand that they weren’t right here.

Slade and his wolf Hail smelled her several minutes before she arrived. She’d, it seemed, taken her necklace off for this meeting, and he heard her slow measured steps as she made her way across the snow-covered ground towards him.

Was, he realised pulling on her bloodline to walk over here to talk to him, and he wondered just how bad it was going to be. Nothing good came from one having to pull on their bloodline just for a conversation.

He didn’t turn and look at her, or watch her approach him. He waited until she was almost right there, and only then did he turn and look at her. Her eyes weren’t on him, but out on the darkness of the frozen lake, and he heard her take in a shallow, but he knew steadying breath.

This was difficult for her to do; be here alone with him. He could understand that, it was even hard for him. He’d wanted it for so long, and she likely never wanted it. It took her almost 15 seconds before her eyes finally moved to him.

It was a clear night, but there was no moon out, only the bare beginnings of a waxing crescent moon hung in the sky. Her eyes, however he could see clearly with his wolfen-enhanced sight. “Hi.” He stated softly, a gentle smile on his face. A proper greeting, his first actual one with just the two of them.

He’d missed her a lot over the years and really just wanted to pull her into his arms and hug her to him, just stand here and hug the woman, tell her he was sorry for the pain he’d caused her that day. But steadfastly kept his hands in his jacket’s pockets so that he wouldn’t.

He highly doubted that she would let him do that, even though once upon a time, long ago, he would have been able to. He saw her jaw tighten at just that one softly spoken word and wondered just how much she still hated him?

Only to see her lower lip quiver a moment later, and then she pressed her lips together and looked away from him; it wasn’t anger or hatred, it was pain he realised as he watched her blink rapidly, several times, and then she just closed her eyes and breathed steadying breaths once more.

This was more than difficult for her, he reached out to touch her gently and her eyes moved right to his. They were still glassy and one tear managed to escape her control. “I’m sorry,” she told him, her voice trembling with emotion. “I… I didn’t know that you knew.” Kind of rushed out of her.

“It’s alright, Ana.” He told her softly.

“No. Don’t do that, try and blip over what I did to you!” she shook her head, and more tears fell. “Seven and a half years.” She half whispered and wiped her own tears away as they fell.

“Ori, you were hurting yourself. I’m sorry for what happened that day.” He told her “I don’t blame you,” He stated, “Not for a single moment.” He shook his own head now.

“You should,” she stated right back.

“No, I shouldn’t, you and I.” he sighed, how did he tell her what he’d found out today himself. “Nothing could have stopped it. the Alpha and Luna, I think the Beta and his Mate. They all did this to us on purpose. Even if you’d stayed, they’d have found a way…” he closed his own eyes for a moment “to get rid of you. I wasn’t their target that day. I believe you were, and their goal was to make you leave, before the full moon came.”

“W… What?” she frowned up at him.

“I don’t really have all the details, but apparently I was to be mated off always. That watch I got for the getting of Hail. It was imbued with dark magic to stop me from scenting out my Mate. Regardless of who she is, you, or someone else, so I could be mated off by the Alpha and Luna.”

He’d stated the word ‘You’ because he did want to scent her out when the full moon came, wanted to see her reaction to it. She was just frowning up at him, and he reached out to wipe away the tears from her cheeks, and she stepped back from him and shook her head slightly ‘no’

“Please don’t,” she murmured “It’s hard enough having to stand here before you, with the knowledge I now have, that… I separated you from Ocean.”

“Ana, it’s not your fault,” He stated, and he didn’t believe it was, too much went on around them for it to be her fault.

“It is, I didn’t tell you,” she murmured.

Bring me these things, considering what you must have felt about me all these years.”

Her eyes fell away from him, and she shook her head. “Ocean, will come around, just be patient, she’s scared is all. Her life is being turned upside down, she just needs a moment to catch up. To realise on her own, that you’re not going to separate her from me and her aunts is all.”

“I would never do that,” he told her.

“I know, I’ve told her this as well… she’s just a little girl though, Zara also told her she believes you wouldn’t. That you spoke the truth.”

He blinked at those words but felt a warmth spread through him to know she herself would tell Ocean that. It took him a moment to realise it was happiness, that he was happy. To know she trusted in him, in his words that he wouldn’t take Ocean away from her. Trusted him enough to relay it herself to their daughter.

It was a warm fuzzy feeling inside his chest that spread throughout him. He’d forgotten what it felt like to be happy, he realised, and now he could feel it radiating through him. She, Ana, had made him happy.

“I should go, you should look at that, though I’d like it back,” she commented.

“Of course.” He nodded. “Thank you, Ana.”

She sighed a little on the heavy side, then nodded and turned and walked away from him. He watched her go, and sighed to himself after he heard her get in her car and drive away. She’d read that file he’d given to her, and now she had guilt for leaving the way she did.

It was likely from what he’d learned already today, that her leaving was probably for the best. She gotten out and taken his child away from that pack, kept her safe from those people and hadn’t even known it was actually needed.

He was now certain that the Luna and Alpha would have caused her actual harm, if they’d known she was pregnant. Found a way to rid Oriana of the child, or rid Oriana herself from the world. Cruel, heartless people that they were. What she had done by leaving was to protect his child.

As much as he’d been in pain by losing her that day, having her hate him, he could now see that it was for the best. He wouldn’t have been there to protect her, and he had no idea if he even could have from those horrid people.

His eyes moved to the book in his hand, and he smiled just a little. He’d missed a lot and Ana, he knew, had documented every milestone in Ocean’s life, he was going to get to see them all.