Beta

by Edugardo Gilbert X

  I did exactly as Adrian said for a good ten minutes and it seemed to be working. Just then, I remembered an anatomy class I took. I ran my tongue over the length of the ridge on the side of him. His groans let me know exactly how much he enjoyed it so I did it again. When I went for a third time he forcefully pulled me up and quickly brought my hips directly to his. He held my body closer than I ever imagined possible as he moved inside me with clear determination. The passion he showed me was enough to last a lifetime and I knew we would forever be this in love, this attracted, this passionate. He would never tire of me and I would certainly never tire of him.

  Without warning, he forced me to stand for a moment. He bent me over, hands on the bench, and slid into me again. I would never admit how much I loved it when he was this dominate because it would just go to his head but I think he knew exactly how I felt about it.

  As he slowed his hips to go deeper, I couldn't help but moan. Titus really was the perfect lover. He always made sure I was beyond satisfied. Always.

  He ran his hands over my body, firmly but loving at the same time. I never could figure out how he could make me feel loved and cared for but dominated in the same touches.

  I felt his hands over my stomach for only a second when he pulled out and gripped my thighs to brace me on the wall. I wrapped my arms around his neck to support myself a little even though he needed absolutely no help to keep my petite frame against the wall. The faster he went, the closer I was to release. He thrusted into me relentlessly, finally setting me over the edge and following me shortly after. He didn't immediately release me; instead, he held me in place, breathing deeply. His lips met mine in a kiss that was possessive and passionate.

  "I love you so much, Elizabeth," breathed.

  I smiled lightly, "I love you too. So I did well?"

  He laughed, breathy, "What brought this on?"

  I shrugged a little, "I wanted to do something nice for you."

  He didn't say anything. He simply kissed me again and slowly set me back on the ground.

  *******

  Titus and I sat on the couch waiting for Christian to come home. He laid his arm around my shoulders; I snuggled closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. I loved when we had time together but I also loved time with both of the males in my life.

  "Do you know how amazing you are?" He asked.

  "Ummm, I think you should tell me."

  He laughed lightly, "So amazing that if I hadn't been destined to be with you, I would want to be anyway."

  "You think so?"

  "I know so. Remember, when I first saw you, I had no idea you were my mate."

  That was true. When he saw me, he was intrigued and that was why he went inside the coffee shop. I wondered what life would be like if he hadn't happened to be walking by or if I had decided to study instead I going for a run.

  I heard Derek pull into the driveway and within seconds, Christian threw the front door open. He ran full force and jumped into Titus; it was a good thing Titus had lightening quick reflexes or Christian could have been hurt.

  "That movie was awesome!" Christian exclaimed.

  "What'd you see?" Titus asked.

  "Thor!"

  I laughed lightly and half waved at Derek. He looked a lot like Titus just a few years younger and slightly smaller since he wasn't in line for the Beta title.

  He sat on one of the arm chairs silently. Something was slightly off about his demeanor but I didn't want to bring it up in front of Christian.

  "Why don't you go upstairs and get ready for bed," Titus said.

  Christian kissed my cheek and ran upstairs. I watched as his small figure retreated up the steps and around the corner.

  "Did you load him up with sugar?" Titus asked Derek.

  "Na. He's just excited," he said offhandedly, "Look, there's something you should know... I saw Claire."

  Titus instantly stiffened at the mention of this Claire person. I was on guard because he seemed affected by the name of this woman. Who was she and why did he have such a reaction to her name.

  "Where?"

  "At the restaurant. She came up and said hi to Matt and Dylan then she said hi to Christian. He didn't recognize her or anything and Becca just told him that she used to belong to the pack."

  "Why did you even let her get that close," Titus demanded clearly angry with his younger brother.

  "I didn't know. She came out of left field and was at the table before anyone even knew she was in the restaurant. What did you want me to do? Scare the hell out of Christian by demanding she leave?"

  Titus rubbed his face in frustration, "Fine. Find her and get rid of her."

  "What's going on?" I asked in confusion.

  Titus sighed but Derek answered for him, "She's Christian's mother."

  "No she is not," Titus defended, "What is she doing here?"

  Titus had never told me her name and I never cared to know or ask. She wasn't supposed to be a part of our lives. Titus had assured me she would never come back but that was out the window now.

  "I don't know. She said she was going to be in town for awhile."

  "No she's not." Titus said with finality, "Bring her to my office tomorrow."

  My attention shot to Titus. I did not want her alone with him in his office. Call me crazy, but she had a reason for coming here. Whether it was for Christian or Titus, I didn't care. She wouldn't get near either of them while I was alive.

  "I'll try to find her. What time?"

  "As soon as you track her down, bring her to me."

  I sat in silence as Derek left. Titus stood and absently walked around the living room. He was clearly angry but worried. I wasn't sure what would happen with Claire but I was sure I didn't want her alone with my husband or son.

  "I never thought she would come back," he said.

  "Well, she did," I replied bitterly, "Obviously she has been here because she knows what Christian looks like."

  Titus didn't respond. He only looked at the floor in concentration.

  "You're really going to meet with her?" I asked. I really tried to keep my jealousy under control because I had no reason to be jealous. I knew he loved me but the thought of another woman having residual feelings for Titus had my blood boiling.

  "Yes. Why?"

  I shrugged.

  "You have got to be kidding. Are you seriously jealous?"

  I didn't really respond. I didn't have to; he knew the answer to that question without me having to verbalize.

  "This is ridiculous. You have no damn reason to be jealous, Elizabeth."

  Something about the way he was instantly defensive made me mad. I almost never got mad especially not with Titus but this was different. Why couldn't he just ban her from the territory? Why would he want to meet with her privately?

  "Why wouldn't you just ban her?" I asked evenly.

  "And turn her rogue? That's cruel."

  "If she is going to be an issue and try to be a part of Christian's life, she deserves it."

  "I am going to talk to her tomorrow. Maybe she hasn't realized you are in his life."

  I scoffed, "Don't be so naive, Titus. If she knows what he looks like, that probably means she has seen me with him. She knows and she doesn't care."

  "She's not like that," he said, brushing me off.

  "Oh, really? And you're still an expert on her personality?" I asked.

  "Stop it," he said in that authoritative tone that had the wolf in me cowering but my human side was furious.

  I shot up and started storming upstairs before I turned back to him.

  "Don't ever use that tone on me again," I warned.

  "Don't accuse me of having feelings for her," he shot back.

  "I didn't accuse you of anything! You are defending her!"

  "I'm not defending her! I'm trying to make you think straight but god forbid you do that when it's necessary!"

  That certainly caught me off guard. We never fought so this was all new to me and I hated it
. I didn't want to be mad at him and I knew I was being irrational but I wasn't backing down at this point.

  "All I ever do is think straight just like I am now! You would be furious if I met privately with my ex fiancé!"

  "That's different," he said.

  "No it's not. Put yourself in my position for once, Titus! You were going to marry her and you had a son with her. What do you think it looks like when you want to meet up with her?"

  "It looks like I'm being a Beta and a father. You're being ridiculous, Elizabeth."

  "Momma?" Christian asked from the top of the stairs.

  My eyes shot to his confused expression. He had never heard us fight because we never did so this was probably scaring him. I instantly felt bad but not in regards to Titus.

  "Come on, Christian. I'll tuck you in," I said as I met him at the landing.

  I left the fight but I knew it wasn't over. Nothing was resolved and I hated to go to bed mad especially after the night we just had but I wasn't going to apologize. I had no reason to.

  *******

  I laid in bed unable to sleep because Titus wasn't in bed with me. I never slept well without him but now that he was mad at me, it was even worse. Guilt gnawed at me until at least four in the morning. I shouldn't have flipped out on him; I knew I was being stupid and immature about this. I knew this day would come and I had tried to prepare myself but nothing could prepare me for how territorial I would be. There was no reason for me to act in such a jealous manor. I should support him through this frustrating time and I was turning my back; I was being selfish and childish and that wasn't me.

  I threw the comforter off and slipped into my floor length robe. I didn't hear Titus leave so he was either asleep or watching TV.

  As I came down the stairs, I saw Titus sitting up on the couch with his head tilted back, clearly asleep. I crossed the hardwood as quietly as possible and kneeled in front of him, placing my hands on his knees. He instantly woke up and rubbed his face before his attention settled on me with a light frown.

  "What," he asked through his sleep coated voice.

  "I'm sorry," I whispered.

  He simply examined me for a moment so I purposely made my eyes just a little bigger so they would water just slightly. He sighed in frustration.

  "Dammit, Lizzy. Stop that," he said. I knew I had won him over in that moment.

  "Can you forgive me?"

  He shook his head absently and leaned forward to kiss the top of my head.

  "Yes," he grumbled.

  "Come to bed," I prompted as I stood and pulled his hand.

  He needed little incentive to sleep in a bed. He was clearly uncomfortable on the couch or at least I hoped he was uncomfortable. I didn't want him to feel comfortable on the couch when I was upstairs, unable to sleep.

  "I'm sorry I commanded you," he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

  I rested my hand on his chest as we entered our room and kissed his neck quickly.

  "I know."

  We laid in bed, his arm wrapped around my waist. I finally felt sleep creep up on me, thankfully. I couldn't function for an entire day without some sleep. Titus was already out cold so I snuggled closer and let sleep take over.

  •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

  I sat in my office, anxiously awaiting a call from Titus to tell me how everything went but I hadn't heard from him all day. I had a few minutes before I had to get Christian so I cracked open one of the many textbooks I promised Macy I would read. I didn't necessarily find genetics interesting but I told her I would help her and I had every intention of keeping that promise. Macy didn't deserve to lose her husband over this but on the other hand, could I really blame him for not wanting to be with her if she couldn't have children? Werewolves were big on big families and women that couldn't produce children were viewed as worthless. Macy was too good of a person to have that happen to her.

  "Doctor Collins," my receptionist's voice fell over the speaker phone, "Your husband is on line two."

  I pressed the responding button, "Thank you, Allison."

  I picked up the phone and clicked on the line. I wouldn't admit how my heart raced in anticipation but I really wanted to know what happened.

  "Hey," I said.

  "Hey, Lizzy. How's work?"

  "Just reading a few textbooks other than that, I'm about to pick up Christian. What are you doing?"

  "Uh, not much. Claire just left."

  "And?"

  "I told her I'm married and that you adopted Christian so she has no business here," he said calmly. Too calmly for my likings.

  "How did she take that?"

  He hesitated, "Not well. I guess her mate died and that's why she came back. She wants Christian back."

  I felt my stomach drop at her demand. Fear and rage coursed through me equally. I couldn't decide if I was more angry or if I feared there could be a technicality that would allow her to take Christian from me. I mean, when I adopted him, everything was air tight; I made sure of that but what if there was something we missed? Everything was handled by lawyers, very high paid lawyers, and now I was doubting everything.

  "So what did you tell her?"

  "I told her it didn't matter that she wants him back. She claimed she is going to take us to court."

  "Council court?"

  "No, she meant human court."

  She really was playing dirty. She knew the only way she would stand a chance would be in a human court but even then, we would win custody of Christian any day. She abandoned him the day he was born and didn't deserve to be in his life. I hated that she would even demand such a thing. I couldn't believe she would have the gall to even suggest that she deserved to be known by my son!

  "So what are we going to do?"

  "Drop Christian off with Sarah and meet me at my office. Don will be here in an hour to meet with us and just triple check our paperwork."

  "Okay. I'll see you in a bit."

  "Bye, love."

  "Bye."

  I rested my cheek on my palm, trying to stay in control of myself. When I was younger, I had been in total control of myself but ever since I met Titus, I found myself losing the firm grip on my emotions. It was so gradual, I hadn't even realized it was happening until now. I felt out of control and that was not okay with me.

  I grabbed my belongings and made my way out of my office, saying goodbye to the receptionists as I exited the building. I knew this would be a difficult time for me and Titus but I was more concerned with how Christian would handle this. Would it be better to shield him from Claire or to tell him what was happening? He was emotionally mature for his age but I just didn't know if this was something he could handle. If his reaction to finding out I wasn't his birth mother was any sort of indication, I think we might have to spare him the details and just let him know the basics. He deserved to know what was happening but I didn't want him to think of Claire as anything. I also didn't want him to feel like she abandoned him because I knew he would carry that for the rest of his life. God, she really fucked things up by coming here. How selfish did she have to be to demand time with Christian! She needed to understand that Christian doesn't know who she is and she should cut ties. It would be the best thing for Christian so he wasn't confused. He had been through enough and I didn't want to subject him to a legal battle with his birth mother.

  I drove the couple of blocks to Christian's school, just hoping nothing more had happened. I had half a mind to talk to that little girl's parents myself so Titus didn't come down too harshly on them.

  Again, waiting outside the class was the mom I had met yesterday. I thought now was as good a time as any to confront her about what her daughter said. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it but I was going to make it very clear I didn't appreciate her talking about my family situation with her five year old daughter. I took a breath just to make sure I was in full control before
approaching the woman.

  "Hi, Brittany's mom, right?" I asked.

  She nodded, "I am. How are you?"

  "I'm well," I said with a polite smile, "Look, I don't know if their teacher told you what happened yesterday but your daughter told my son that I'm not his real mother and that I couldn't love him because of it."

  She simply nodded her head which was odd but I continued on regardless.

  "I would appreciate it if you spoke to her about it and let her know that my son was very upset by what she said."

  "But you're not his mother," she said boldly.

  It took me a second to process what she had just said. Most people feared and respected Titus enough to never comment on our situation and those that did comment were not being malicious, they were curious. This woman though, clearly she held a grudge against me.

  "Maybe I didn't give birth to him but I raised him and legally, he is my son and that is not your concern. I am trying to be civil about this."

  "Elizabeth, adopting your mate's child doesn't make that child yours. Though I commend you for stepping up to the plate, it's time you take the backseat and give me my family back."

  My jaw just about hit the ground. So this was Claire. This was how she knew what Christian looked like. She had been stalking the school looking for him. I was damn near speechless. How was I supposed to handle this? I couldn't attack her, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't.

  "Titus is my mate and Christian is my son. You would do well to remember that. If I ever see you here again, rest assured this will be a very different conversation."

  "Titus and I have a child together. Do you honestly think he wouldn't put that above everything else? I'm sure you know exactly where he stands in regards to our son. He would do anything for Christian, including getting back together with his mother."