Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 36

Slade

He was outside with everyone else behind the packhouse where important shifting events. happened, just as he was expected to be two hours prior to his little sister’s shift, he was dressed appropriately for his beast to rip out of him, in jeans and a simple plain short-sleeved dress shirt. No shoes, there was no point.

His father had frowned at his attire though and tried to send him back upstairs to put something formal on. Slade had questioned the man as to why he would do that, when his wolf was only going to rip through it anyway, to run with Dariah’s wolf for the first time.

His head, and thought process, were much clearer today than they had been last night with all the shit, that was going on around him. And he’d realised, that not only had he let his father and Ori’s father get inside his head, so had Alpha Gretta as well, and he’d been partially convinced by them all, into believing Ori was his Mate.

Today, talking to Audrey by text and phone, he’d realised he was happy talking to her, it actually took his mind off what was going on here, and he recalled back there in Alpha College. The girl herself was all consuming for him, and he didn’t much think about anyone

else when he was with her, not even Ori.

That Audrey herself could feel the sparks of their mate bond, and he knew she wasn’t trying to coerce him into anything. That she had in fact gone out of her way to hide it from him, like she was supposed to. Hadn’t told him because she wasn’t allowed to. Stuck to the rules, and only stated it because he’d picked it up himself, and asked her if she could feel it already.

He even told her he couldn’t, and she’d just smiled and said it was a pity, he’d love it then had proceeded to touch him everywhere and then just get all turned on. She was a fun girl and everyone liked her. He didn’t believe she was the type of person to lie and try and trick him.

So, he’d come back down to reality and grounded himself, told his father that Audrey was going to be his Mate, and so he only needed to wear clothes that he didn’t care about Hail ripping out of. His father had not been very happy about his words, and Slade had grated out at him “If anyone is trying to coerce me, it’s you. Just stop it.”

His father had stared at him, and then just sighed and walked off away from him. Now he was at Dariah’s celebration, and he knew that Ori was not here, but out there on border patrol. Ethan had seen fit to mind-link to him about it himself, concerned about her being on the border of the pack, after everything that had gone down yesterday. Though he’d also informed him that she’d given a valid reason for being out there, it was actually logical to not only Ethan, but Slade himself.

So, he’d told the man to just let her be out there, she likely needed the distraction right now, that he did understand she would not want to be here with all of them, at the packhouse and a celebration. Couldn’t blame her, he’d thought to himself.

He’d also stopped her father from going down there and pulling her off that border patrol, had actually laid a hand on him and physically stopped him, told that man “leave her alone, she’s not coming tonight.”

“It’s protocol that she be here.” Anders had told him.

“Not anymore.” He’d grated right back. “Not since you removed her from the future Beta’s position.”

“She is still my daughter, a part of the Beta family, its…”

Slade had snarled at him a full warning “You say that word and I will beat you one, like I warned you last night. Leave Ori alone, she’s hurting right now, and hurt by you, more so than anyone. I also gave permission for her to do border patrol. She doesn’t actually need to be here.”

Anders had glared right at him, but had gone and stalked back over to his own Alpha, he’d watched them have words privately, didn’t bloody care if he got in trouble himself. They couldn’t, it seemed, give the girl a break for even a single day. And she really did just need it. He knew she was throwing herself into working in order to try and cope with everything. That’s what she did. Always did that when upset, extra training or threw herself out on a border to patrol, just to get away from those that had ticked her off. Now was no different to that, only now she needed it more.

He stood an hour later, watching his father make a long speech about Dariah, relaying how proud of his daughter he was, that he couldn’t wait to meet her wolf. Made the crowd laugh, with some funny and embarrassing antidotes from when she was a small child.

Which only made Dariah hiss at him to shut up, making everyone laugh even more, it made their own father laugh. Then their mother got up to talk as well. Though her speech was shorter than his father’s, only about five minutes, whereas his father had gone on for almost ten.

He’d declined it, knew he’d have to connect himself with those on border patrol and Ori would not want that at all. She wasn’t ready to talk to him and he knew it. He simply smiled and stated, “Congrats, I bet she’s beautiful.”

He felt the moon set, as did everyone here with a wolf, at 2103 and was standing there with his father while Dariah was behind the screen with their mother, talking her through it. He felt the whole unit turn and look at him, and sighed to himself, he was right.

Ori was not his Mate.

He looked at the four of them and shook his head and stated simply “Nothing for me.”

His father mind-linked right to him ‘Do you lie to us, boy?’

Slade had looked down at that moonstone band on his wrist, something that would stay there until he left Alpha College, or found his Mate. He was more than annoyed by his father’s question.

He could smell her scent as he hit the border, that chocolaty coconut…and he realised, she still had that caramel scent as well to her. That was odd. Unless that boyfriend of hers was with her. He breathed in, no there was no one else out here, a curiosity to him. He would have to come back to it later.

Hail left the pack and was out hunting in the woods. Her path was clear, she’d walked a straight line, his wolf stopped as he found her phone laying on the ground, and he felt pain touch him, as he understood her intent. She was leaving and making sure there was nothing to track her by.

He could still smell her scent, hadn’t gone rogue here, like they’d all thought she had. Hail was moving once more, tracking her down the road towards the human world, got there and there was just nothing. Left in a car, he realised. Someone had come and picked her up, but when had she actually left? When had she actually turned herself rogue? In that car or at her destination?

His wolf headed back to the pack. He needed a car, stopped and looked at Anders standing naked in the woods, Ori’s phone in his hand dangling at his side, he looked confused, his wolf snarled at the man, it was all his fault that she was gone, his and the Alpha’s fault.

He saw Anders look at him and something else flickered on the man’s face. He didn’t even care that Hail was snarling at him, all Alpha aggression. “Do you smell that?” he asked quietly, and there was a slight tremor in his voice.

‘Smell what?’ he asked via the mind-link.

“She smells different to me.” He murmured, and his eyes moved to the phone in his hand.

‘I know, kind of smells like caramel.’

“She shouldn’t smell different.” His eyes moved back to Slade’s wolf. “There are only two reasons a she-wolf smells different to you. 1, she is your Mate…or…” he watched Anders close his eyes and shake his head, actually saw pain touch his face as he thought about the other.

‘Or?’ Slade prompted.

“They’re pregnant.” He heard the man state in a half-mortified whisper.