The Beta's Mate

by Tanya Gilford

  “Don’t ever put me in any category with that witch. She abandoned her only baby to go live with a human!” Fred snarled.

  “Sir, I don’t mean to interrupt, but Debbie is the first elf I have ever met and she’s been very pleasant. Anna was really depressed lately and we didn’t know how to help her, but when Debbie arrived, Anna cheered right up. I assure you I am honest, and don’t like how some people treat others. I hope that you can look past the fact that I am indeed a werewolf and look at me as a person.” I offered. “With Anna being my mate, and Debbie is Anna’s best friend, I hope I will be seeing more of Debbie and her family in the future.” Yes, I don’t think it would be wise to point out that Debbie is Steve’s mate.

  “She’s your mate? That doesn’t happen often.” Fred muttered.

  “No, it does not. I honestly thought she was a human until she began to sprout her wings. Carol and I had a long talk and I got to see Pam’s true colors. Carol should have been Anna’s mom at this rate, she cares for her more and was able to instruct me how to care for Anna until she arrived.” I explained. “When Carol told me about fairies I was baffled. My Alpha told me that fairies and elves are very similar and that wolves don’t usually mix well with them, but like Anna said we’re an exception.”

  “I wish you both the best, since that is going to be tough at times. Though I guess if you remain open and honest with each other it’ll work out like any other relationship.” Fred commented. “I’m sorry young man. The girls are right, I need to not judge you by your species.”

  “Thank you, sir.” I responded.

  “If you're dating Anne, you better call me either Fred or Mister Allister. She’s called me that since she was a little kid, but you can call me Fred.” He smiled at me in the rearview mirror. By the time Carol was dropped off, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. “Charlie, why don’t you come sit up front with me and let the two girls talk.”

  “Try to hurt him, and Anne will get you dad. She’s got some serious powers.” Debbie warned as I got in the front seat.

  “She does? How would you know?” Fred shot his daughter a questioning look. Clearly, she didn’t mention Henry’s attack.

  “She was helping me figure out how to use my powers. Carol suggested it since our powers are similar.” Anna quickly replied. “Minus the wings, but Carol has been teaching me about those.”

  “I see. I’m glad you had someone to help you with that. I take it, electricity is your ability?” Fred replied with a smile.

  “And wind.” I injected.

  “HMM. Maybe Mabel can help you learn to control your wind power.” Fred mentioned. “She can harness the wind pretty well.”

  “That’d be great.” Anna smiled happily. When we pulled up to Ray’s house, we all sat in silence for a few minutes. “This is going to feel so strange.” Anna muttered.

  “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” Debbie whispered to her. “We’re all here for you Anne.”

  Anna nodded and climbed out of the van. I went around back to grab our luggage and stood next to Anna. I took her hand in mine, lacing our fingers together and gently squeezing them for support. She took a deep breath and walked up the front step onto the wooden porch. She pulled out her key, unlocked the door, turned the knob and pushed the door open. She stood frozen on the porch just looking into the house.

  I stood looking at her concerned, until she finally took a step inside. Once she was in, I grabbed our suitcases and followed her in. I quickly closed the door as some snow flurries began to fall. I hope Fred and Debbie make it home before too much snow falls and the roads get bad. “What is this room?” I wondered as I watched Anna hang up her coat and remove her sneakers only to slip on a pair of slippers.

  “The mudroom.” She commented. “You can borrow dad’s slippers.” She bent over and picked up a pair of black slide-on slippers. “I need to get the fire burning in the wood stove. Otherwise we’ll be burning a ton of gas through the night.”

  “I’ll help. Just show me where everything is.” I insisted as I pulled off my boots and slipped on the slippers. They were warm and cozy. I followed her as she opened another door and entered the kitchen.

  “The wood stove is in the basement.” She explained as she turned left and opened that door, before going down the stairs. “I know it’s not as big or fancy as you're used to, but it’s my childhood home. I’ll give you a tour once we get the fire burning.” She explained.

  We started the stove and returned to the kitchen. She noted that we’d need to go shopping since Fred only gave us a small amount of food. Again, hopefully it doesn’t snow too badly. To the right of the kitchen as the living room, and in front of the kitchen was a dining room. The small hallway that connected the living room and dining room together had a nice black iron spiral staircase. We climbed the stairs which opened up into a lovely three-bedroom space. The master bedroom, which was Ray’s sits at the far end of the hallway. Anna’s room is directly next to the stairs, and Ray’s old office is in the middle room. It’s not a pack house, but it’s a cozy little family home. I could see why Ray bought it to raise Anna here. I brought the luggage into her room and noted the bed was only a queen. Not as big as mine, but we’d manage for the two weeks we’ll be here.

  When we went back downstairs, I noticed a bunch of old family pictures hanging in the living room and began to look at each one. So many were of Anna through the years, including the most recent one of her around the time she moved to Kansas. I found a few with a man in them that must have been Ray. I never realized how much Anna looks like Ray. I mean I noticed she looks more like Carol than Pam, but I never thought Carol and Ray would look so much alike. When I found a picture of Ray and Carol together it looked like a birthday party for the two of them. “Are Carol and Ray twins?” I asked out loud.

  “Yes, they are. Fraternal, but identical. It’s rare.” Anna muttered from the kitchen where she was making lunch.

  “I never knew.”

  “How would you? You never met my dad.”

  “I would have liked to.”

  “And like aunt Carol said, he would have loved you.” She smiled as she brought me a plate. “Shall we watch some T.V. together while we have lunch? This is going to be a bit strange for us.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, since I moved in it’s been us and the entire pack. Here, it’s just us.”

  “I kind of like the idea of it being just us.” I replied leaning in for a quick kiss.

  “But it’s not safe for you to live away from your pack.”

  “No, but if we wanted, we could buy a house in Kansas close to the pack house. I have the money to do that for you. I could buy us some land, and you can build and design our house any way you want to make it feel like yours.” I offered. “I’m not saying we have to do it right away, but it’s an option.”

  “I kind of like that idea.”

  “Okay then, we’ll begin to look into it. You begin thinking about what you would like, and I’ll begin looking for land close to the pack house and with woods nearby. I think I saw a parcel of land for sale on the other side of the wetlands next to the pack house. I’ll double check.”

  “No rush. I just like the idea of having you all to myself without having to search high and low for you, only to find you engaged in conversation with someone else and then I feel like I’m disrupting your conversation.” She admitted.

  “You are never disturbing me.” I assured her.

  “How about for Christmas, we mark each other?”

  This suggestion caught me off guard. I thought she may have changed her mind, since I’m still concerned that my mark on her will have a negative effect. “Anna, as much as I want to mark you, I’m having a lot of reservations. I wanted to do it before I learned that you were a fairy, because the worst thing that could happen to a human who is marked is, they turn into a wolf. With fairies and wolves not usually being together never mind mated, I worry that if I mark you so
mething really bad could happen to you. I don’t like that idea, that’s the true reason why I keep putting it off.” I confessed to her.

  “We won’t know unless we try.”

  “If something happens to you, I could never forgive myself. We can get matching tattoos or something as a safe mark. Eventually down the road we could get married. If I remember correctly once a fairy gets married, they are spiritually bonded to their spouse. That’s like when a wolf marks his or her mate.” I offered.

  “Somewhere much further down the road.” She stressed.

  “I’ll buy you one of those promise ring things that everyone does these days. That’ll be your mark. I don’t know, I just know I can’t bring myself to mark you out of fear of something bad happening.”

  “Fine.” She huffed.

  “I love you Anastasia. Don’t be angry with me for wanting to keep you safe from potential danger.” I scolded.

  “I love you too, Charlie. How about we go upstairs and christen my bed?” She replied with a sultry smile. “I’ve never had sex in this house before, so this will be fun and interesting.” She offered my hand, and I gladly took it. Who would turn down sex with this fine woman?

  “Anything for my fairy.” I smiled back, pulling her to me for a passionate kiss.

  Chapter 29

  Anastasia

  Yesterday was great. Charlie and I were able to just hang out and spend the rest of the time together without anyone interrupting us. I found myself feeling more and more calm as he asked me to share stories about various pictures throughout the house. It still feels strange walking around in my dad’s house without him here, but it will always be home in my heart.

  Now, I’m waking up in my childhood bedroom in Charlie’s arms. He looks so peaceful and happy. I carefully slipped out of his arms and padded down the stairs to the kitchen to make us some breakfast. As I set to work cooking the bacon, I heard Charlie moving around upstairs. I couldn’t help but smile. I thought back to what he suggested yesterday about us buying some land and getting a house of our very own, even if it is close to the pack.

  I don’t want to take him away from his pack, but I am enjoying having Charlie all to myself. I began making eggs as Charlie came into the room. He walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I thought I smelt bacon.” He mumbled in my ear as he kissed my neck.

  “I remember you prefer bacon over sausages.”

  “I prefer you over bacon.”

  “Stop that. You can’t possibly be horny after yesterday.” I scolded.

  “Have you seen yourself? Just looking at you gets me excited.”

  “How is it I’m seeing this horny side of you?”

  “Because we’re finally alone. I can have you whenever I want to without worrying about us being interrupted or disturbing the others. I like having you moan as loud as you can.”

  “Well, can we at least eat first?”

  “Fuel up first. I like it.”

  “I would like to start decorating for Christmas today. Since it is less than a week from now.” I stated as I plated our food. “As much as I enjoy having sex with you, I do have things I want and need to get done before Christmas.”

  Charlie took his plate and sat down at the small kitchen table. “Can I be honest?”

  “I would hope you're always honest with me.”

  “I’ve never celebrated Christmas before. We celebrate Yule as a pack and sometimes we attend a Yule ball that another pack throws. I know Christmas for humans is a big deal and human kids get gifts from a weird old guy who breaks into a house, which makes no sense to me. Why would he break into a house and leave children gifts? Then he knows when they are awake or sleeping. Umm, nope I don’t want a witch watching anyone in my family.”

  I started cracking up. “I love you.” I said as I tried not to laugh. “Santa is not a witch!” I proclaimed. “But in the future, we can figure out how to combine our family traditions for when we are ready to start a family of our own.”

  “Woah. You’re not…?” Charlie raised an eyebrow at me.

  “I said when we are ready. I’m still finishing high school, just found out I’m a fucking flying fairy, and just turned 18. I’m sorry but if you were to somehow manage to get me pregnant, we wouldn’t be having a baby yet. I told you when we first got together, I’m on the pill.” I snapped. I think I’m more upset that he thought I’d tell him life changing news like that.

  “I’m just making sure babe. Please don’t be mad.” He pouted looking at me with a puppy dog look. God he’s so damn cute. “I love you Anastasia.”

  “I love you.” I leaned over and kissed his lips. “Can we make a deal? You celebrate the holidays the way I grew up celebrating them this year, and then next year we do your celebrations. Then when we get our own place, we celebrate some of each that we both like?”

  “I could work with that.”

  “I like the decorations, the tree, and presents from Christmas. We also do a lot of parties, so we can do a Yule ball instead of a party some time.”

  “No Santa witch.” He stated firmly.

  I laughed, “No Santa. We could do a Fairy tree topper like my dad had. I understand our Christmas tree topper now. Christmas is supposed to be about magic so I thought for the longest time that the topper was an angel with color changing wand and wings, but when I was 15, I learned that it was a family heirloom. Now, I understand it’s a fairy and it changes colors because we all have different colored wings.”

  “When we get a house, I would like us to come back here and pick some special family items to add to our house. I see so many memories and special moments throughout. I can almost see you running around and playing as a little girl. It’s a lovely family home, I want our house to feel like a home not a pack house.” Charlie stated.

  “I like that, but no kids for a while. I want to go to college and get a job. Since if we build a house, it’ll drain your funds.” I pointed out.

  “Bo still wants me to come back and work on the farm during the summer. He has been checking in on you, and we just avoid discussing your mom and your relationship. I think he’s starting to realize that there is a lot more going on between the two of you than he knows. He genuinely cares about you babe, and I did like working for him and the money was decent.” Charlie explained. “Are you okay if I go back to the farm?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay with that. Maybe you can take care of Buttercup for me.” I smiled.

  “Gladly. So, about those decorations.” He said as he clapped and rubbed his hands together.

  “The tubs of decorations are down in the basement, all labeled. Dad was very meticulous about organization. I swear I get it from him.” I chuckled.

  “I love how organized you are. My room looks so much nicer since you’ve been there. I feel less messy.” Charlie winked as he disappeared down the stairs. I washed the dishes and went to the stairs to help him as he brought a tub up. “This one said Christmas. There is like 2 more down there.”

  “I want all of them, please. I won’t use everything, but I want to look through them.”

  “Me too for some reason. I swear if there is a Santa witch somewhere here, I’m going home to Kansas.” Charlie warned. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Nah, the humans don’t understand. If he can see when someone is being good, bad, asleep, or awake he has spelled items. He’s a witch, I don’t want to have any witch items around me.”

  “Honey, I get it. I will keep the Santa clauses in their tub and return them to the basement.”

  “Can we put them outside?”

  “Why are you so afraid of Santa?”

  “He’s a damn witch. Never trust a witch Anna. You need to always remember that.” Charlie stressed. “They are dangerous, and if you make a deal know every part of the deal before you agree to it. They tend to have hidden agendas.”

  “Okay, Charlie. I get it, witches are bad, but I got my big bad wolf to protect me.” I smirked at him. “You're so cute and lovable.”

 
“Sorry, but you’re on your own if you trifle with a witch, I avoid them at all costs. My parents told me enough as a kid.”

  “I want to hear about your parents. We talk about my childhood, but I know nothing about yours.” I sighed, patting the seat on the couch next to me.

  “What’s there to say?”

  “Are they still alive?”

  “Mom, no. My father, unfortunately. I learned as a teen all about my father. He left my mom when I was three. He met his mate, and left her alone with a kid. She became an outcast in her pack. She met her mate when I was six at a Yule ball. He was nice and from the Evergreen pack. He asked mom if she would be willing to move there with him. He had his own house so it worked. Believe it or not Glen was the Beta. Steve’s parents lived in what is now the pack house, and they had a rather large pack of about twenty people all spread out over twenty miles, that’s how we learned not to have our pack so spread out. There was an attack, and five families were murdered in cold blood before the pack could combine forces. We all moved closer to Steve’s and I met Steve and Sophie then. Steve and I were instant friends and we met Paul a year later.” He explained.

  “Were you and Glen close?”

  “Kind of. He was awesome, but I never called him dad. He loved my mom a lot, and I always found myself wanting a love like theirs.” He sighed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to him.

  “How’d she die?”

  “During the last war we had against an evil werewolf. We lost a lot of people, and those who lived moved away to avoid the pain of the lost. My mom and Glen were both killed. I was badly wounded, I thought I was going to die. Steve’s and Paul’s parents were killed. Steve hid Sophie to keep her safe, but Steve was hurt, Paul was the one who had to help nurse our wounds for a day. We obviously won the battle, but lost everyone. Glen worked with Steve’s dad and Paul’s dad to kill the evil Alpha who initiated the war, but they died from their wounds mixed with the deaths of their mates. All four of us became orphans on the same day and it was a gut punch two times over. We moved into Steve’s to help with Sophie. Steve was 17, Paul and I were 16 all trying to raise a 10-year-old girl. It was interesting, but luckily for her, Steve turned 18 six months later before school realized what was happening. Humans believe anything if you have an article of some sort. “Paul was part of the school newspaper, so he could make things look like authentic newspaper articles. He wrote one up about a random car accident in the mountains out east. It helped keep humans away from us.”