Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 176

Slade

He was sitting in his room reading Oceans baby book. He’d touched all of her photos in there one by one as he flipped the pages slowly and got to see her go from a newborn baby to a small happy toddler. There was a short, handwritten story with every picture. A few words that went with the moment captured.

He had read about the day she was born, something he’d always been curious about, what that had been like when it had happened. Now he knew: Ana had gone into labour in the ocean and just a few minutes later she had been delivered right there on the beach, by Maddie.

He’d been right, she’d settled here in Maine and met Maddie before Ocean had been born. His daughter had been named after where she had been born. There was even a nice family piece cut out of a newspaper about his daughter’s birth for him to read.

He’d smiled when reading Ocean’s middle name, River; Ocean River Forester. It was very pretty to him, and he wouldn’t be asking her to take his name. He liked the Forester sisters. They’d all raised Ocean and loved her. He wanted her to keep that.

His unit finally came into his room, after a full five minutes of standing out there in the hallway. Likely trying to decide if it was safe to come in here, he was quiet and that could be good or bad from their perspective. They’d been back for ten minutes but only hovering by his door for five.

It amused him to leave them out there debating about who was going to push open his door and incur his wrath if he was ticked off. He smiled a little to himself, and continued to flip through that book once more.

One of them would bite the bullet when it got the better of them.

It wasn’t just Ana’s handwriting in this book, Maddie’s was there as well, and she wrote Aunt Maddie in some of the entries. But one, the day Ocean had gotten out the words Mad Maddie, It had been signed ‘your loving aunt mad Maddie, the genius.’

There was another entry after that in Ana’s handwriting ‘Today I got you Ocean to say Mad Mad Maddie lol. She, he could see, had been happy here, and even in that baby book he could see the bond between Maddie and Ana. A fun, cheeky relationship is what he saw.

The last entry in that book was Ocean at two years old and there was a picture of Ocean with a silver bead in her hair, woven into a plait. She was happy and smiling at the camera, and there was a story there of how she’d gotten that bead. She’d ripped it out of Alpha Austin’s hair, when he’d gone into the café to get coffee. He even chuckled at reading the story. It was quite well written and took up the whole back page. Conveyed the amusement both Ana and Maddie had felt.

He had noticed that Ocean now had several beads braided into her hair at dinner the other night. He could only guess Alpha Austin gave her the beads, and he didn’t actually think they were silver, likely to be white gold or platinum, expensive gives to give a young girl.

His unit finally opened the door, and all of them looked at him, but none stepped into the room. “You can come in, you bloody cowards.” He told them, “Been here ten minutes and five minutes out there at my door.”

“Was it good or bad?” Vance asked as he was nudged through the door by both Palmer and Yuri.

He raised an eyebrow as Vance kind of tried not to be shoved into the room. He understood why it was that way, Vance was the only one that could bring him down. “Good,” He stated, and they were all suddenly in the room “Though.” He murmured and watched them all come to a halt. And he shook his head. He was in the mood to have fun and play with them right now, it seemed, something he’d not done in years.

“Ana is upset,” he sighed, and couldn’t help that escape him. “She now has guilt, after reading everything; about separating Ocean and I.”

They were all on the move once more, and he saw Vance look right at him and then smile and shake his head. “You bastard, you were toying with us.”

“Hmm, it was fun.” He admitted, and all of them were staring at him now, as they sat themselves down.

“What’s that you’ve got?” Palmer asked.

“It’s Ocean’s baby book, from newborn to the age of two. It’s lovely, Ana gave it to me to read and Ocean,” he smiled. “Sent me a picture of herself for me to keep.” He reached out and picked it up and showed it to them.

“You’re happy,” Yuri stated almost disbelievingly.

He nodded “Yes, it kind of feels weird to be honest.” And he knew it did. He still felt warm inside his chest and the more he looked at her baby book, the more he felt a bit warm and fuzzy. He couldn’t really explain why fuzzy, but that was the only word he could put to him.

Ana had given him things to show his daughter growing up, and there was still more to come. She was organising all the videos they’d taken over the years for him to watch.

“This is good,” Vance stated.

“Yes, I think so.” Slade agreed. “It’s what she wanted to see me for.”

“It’ll be good for Palmer too. Maddie will be more comfortable if she scents him out, come the full moon,” Yuri stated.

Slade leaned back in his chair and watched them all sit and flip through the book. When he offered it to them, they smiled and chuckled at the stories in there as much as he’d done.

“Mad mad Maddie, huh?” Vance had grinned “I like it.”

“Mm, I get the feeling so do they.” Slade nodded, his eyes moved to the picture of Ocean again, and he smiled at it, picked his phone up and took a picture of it, then sent it to Dariah and Lindal. Texted ‘My daughter, Ocean River Forester.’

It was still early back there, only just after 5pm and Dariah could use a little happy today. He knew her seeing that picture would brighten her world just a little. Though it was Lindal that responded first ‘OMG she’s so beautiful and look at those eyes.

He smiled at her response, ‘Just like her mother’s. He sent right back.

‘When are you coming home?’ Lindal texted him a moment later.

Sleep was going to elude him, and he knew it, but he had pictures to look at to keep him occupied, and he had to pack. “Shit, we got to pack, we’re leaving at 0630. I’ll go down and let reception know where checking out in the morning.

He got little sleep but also didn’t have to drive. They were up at 0530 and showered and dressed, the cars all packed up and checked out by a quarter past six. Were standing outside in the car park waiting for the girls to roll past.

Londyn drove herself right into the car park, smiled at them, but didn’t stop, and they got in their own cars and drove out after her. There was a car on the road up a head of them. He could only presume it was Maddie, Ana and Ocean because Zara had been in the car with Londyn.

They all stopped at the café and Maddie and Zara got out. “Coffee stop.” Zara smiled at them, letting them know why they were stopping.

“Sweet,” Vance stated, he was driving. “I didn’t get coffee this morning when checking out because someone rushed me out the door, made me stand outside and freeze for 15 solid minutes without coffee.

Slade raised an eyebrow at his Beta “Boohoo.” he stated, and Vance burst out laughing. Slade chuckled himself “I had a feeling they’d stop and get coffee for the long drive.”

“Oh, and you didn’t think to impart this wisdom to your coffee-addicted Beta.” Vance stared at him.

“Mm, I guess not. And you’re not addicted to the coffee, just the redhead who brings you your coffee,” Slade snorted.

“That I am, my friend.”

It was Zara that brought them coffee. Slade put his window down to accept it, and she smiled right at Vance. “Did you miss me?” she teased him playfully.

“Goddess, you have no idea,” Fell out of Vance’s mouth before he could stop himself.

Zara stared at him nearly dumbfounded, Slade thought, and then she just shook her head. “You know your obsession with me is unhealthy, right.” And she walked away to give coffee to Palmer and Yuri.

“Idiot.” He heard Vance mutter to himself, but the man was watching her as she moved about. If the Goddess didn’t gift her to Vance, he was going to pitch a fit about it, Slade thought.

It was not a quiet trip. Vance chatted the entire way non-stop about anything that popped into his mind, mostly Zara-related things and the fact that they were all getting to meet a Kitsune. He’d never come across one before in all his or their travels. They were a rarity, Vance thought, or predominantly lived in either the otherworldly realm or some other country here in the human realm.

They pulled up at the airstrip and there waiting for them was a large black plane with white tail fins, and a willow tree with a fox sitting under it was the logo on that tail fin. Curious it was to him, that it was not a Wolfen Council plane. He knew they were blue, like all their cars.