by Regan Ure
"I'd like to discuss the beta role with you," I began as he held my gaze. The smug smile he wore irritated me. Soon that smug smile would be gone.
"I want you to stand down as beta," I said quickly before he could detect the fear I felt in my voice.
As I'd predicated, the smile evaporated from his face as he stood up. He was much bigger than me but I refused to back down. I was weaker than him. It wasn't just the fact that he was a male, it was because he could shift and I couldn't. I had to come to terms with the fact that I’d damaged anything I could have had with Blake beyond repair and that meant I would never be able to shift.
"You think that just because you're the alpha, you know what you’re doing,” he hissed at me as he took a menacing step forward. "I've been the beta of this pack for longer than you've been alive."
I'd expected him to be angry but he looked like he was so angry that I felt a pang of real fear.
"You're too weak to be an alpha of this pack and, without my help, you’ll fail," he warned when he took another step closer. I was really beginning to regret the fact that I'd come into this meeting alone. He was a member of my pack and he had to obey commands from the alpha. He also wouldn't dare attack me.
“I’ve made my decision," I stated, trying to keep calm despite my increasing fear that I’d put myself into a bad situation.
He glared at me and took another step toward me, putting him so close that I had to look up to keep eye contact.
"Then I'm no longer a member of this pack," he stated in a deadly tone. And it was as simple as that; he was out of my pack and no longer under my rule.
It was too late for me to comprehend the horror of the mistake that I had just made. His hands wrapped around my neck and he lifted me off my feet. I struggled against him as he slammed me against the wall.
Pain shot through my back as my hands struggled to pry his from my neck. He smiled as he began to squeeze my throat, restricting the air. I pulled and scratched at his vice-like grip, trying to get him to release me, but he was too strong.
In the haze of my panic, I could feel my body starting to weaken with the lack of oxygen and there was nothing I could do. He was too strong to fight off. I was going to die.
CHAPTER SIX
Keri
"Let her go!" a voice commanded from somewhere far away.
The hand around my neck released me and I slumped to the floor. I breathed in hard and my lungs ached as they filled with air. I rolled onto my back as my hands touched my bruised throat while I gasped for air. Kyle slammed Richard against the wall so hard, small pieces of the wall broke and fell to the floor.
"If you ever lay a hand on her again I'll kill you," Kyle promised with such ferocity he scared me. He looked back to me lying on the floor before his gaze swung back to Richard. Even though Richard was slightly broader than Kyle, it meant nothing. Kyle was stronger.
With one last look of disgust, Kyle released him, pushing him away from him. Richard, breathing hard, rubbed his neck.
"Get your ass out of here," Kyle spat at him, "and I don't ever want to see your face around here again."
Richard’s eyes found me. He gave me a look that told me that this wasn't over and he would be back.
"Don't look at her," Kyle warned, taking a step toward him. Richard put his hands up and backed out of the door.
As soon as he was gone Kyle bent down beside me and helped me sit up.
"Why didn't you mind-link for help?" he asked as he scanned my features.
"I'm sorry, I was too busy suffocating and trying to fight him off," I retorted. I should have been able to but I’d lost my head in the panic of being unable to breathe.
Being an alpha was more than getting handed a title. It was about keeping the members of your pack safe and about being able to keep a cool head in a stressful situation. I hadn’t been able to keep myself in control to call for help. If Kyle hadn’t rescued me, I was sure I would have died.
Even though I’d survived this attack it was only a matter of time before someone tried to take me out, because I was weak. The reality of the situation was that I needed Blake and I hated it because there was no way I could ask him for help. He'd rejected me once and who said he wouldn't again. Besides, why would he help me when all I had done was lie and deceive him?
"That'll teach you to leave me out of the loop," he said while he checked my neck gently with his fingers.
"I'm so happy to hear your amusement at my near-death experience," I cut back, pushing away his hands. I got to my feet and felt myself sway a little. It was like my mind was issuing the order but my body had trouble following them. Kyle sighed and lifted me into his arms. I struggled against him, trying to get him to put me down.
"Just stop," he ordered. "Let me help you."
Something in his voice made me stop and I allowed him to carry me into the medical center.
"It's not necessary, I feel fine," I assured him and he put me down gently on an empty bed nearest to the entrance. A nurse walked up to us.
"Get Curtis," Kyle told the nurse and turned to face me when the nurse hurried off to find him.
Great! I could hear the lecture already.
"Why did you go without me?" he asked. I let my gaze fix on the floor in front of me.
"I didn't want to appear weak in front of him," I revealed truthfully. I didn't want Kyle to think I was an idiot.
"What were you talking to him about?" he asked.
"He was the current beta of the pack and I demoted him," I explained as my eyes lifted to his. "He’s too much like my father."
"Yeah, I saw that," he replied softly.
"What happened?" Curtis asked with a worried look as he walked toward us quickly.
I felt guilty for causing such a fuss. It was my fault it had happened in the first place. If I hadn't been on my own, Richard wouldn't have tried anything. I knew he wasn't going to be happy about it but I didn't think that he would try and attack me. The truth was if Kyle hadn't shown up, Richard would have killed me.
"A member of the pack tried to kill her," Kyle told him before I could say a word.
"Who?" Curtis directed the question to me. When I hesitated, he turned to Kyle for the answer.
"I don't know what his name is and I was too busy pulling him off her and telling him to get lost to ask," he answered with a shrug.
Curtis looked back at me expectantly with anger seeping into his face.
"Richard...it was Richard," I answered. My throat suddenly felt dry.
"I should have fucking known!" he yelled as his temper exploded. "That good-for-nothing asshole."
"Calm down. He won't be back," Kyle revealed.
"You let him live?" Curtis asked in disbelief.
"If I killed him your pack might have not taken very well to that. Do I have to remind you I'm not a member of your pack?" Kyle tried to explain through gritted teeth.
"You need to send some guys after him," Curtis instructed me.
"He's gone and he won't be back," I said, not quite believing the words I was saying. All I wanted to do was see my mom and then get some sleep.
Curtis gave me a look that told me he didn't believe a word of it either.
"Fine," I relented and coughed. My throat was still sore.
"Let me have a look," said Curtis as he began to examine my throat.
Kyle watched silently from the side as Curtis tilted my face. His fingers were gentle.
"I don't think he did any serious damage. I'll give you some painkillers to help with the pain," he told me as he signaled for a nurse.
My eyes met Kyle's as Curtis spoke to the nurse.
As soon as I had the bottle of painkillers firmly in my hand, I made a beeline for my mom's room with Kyle following behind me. It was late already and I knew she'd be sleeping but I just wanted to see her one more time before I went to get some sleep myself.
"I'll be outside," Kyle told me. I hesitated for a moment in front of my mom's room. I gave him a nod before
I opened the door.
For a few minutes I stood beside the bed just watching her sleep, trying to engrave every detail of her face into memory so I would be able to remember her when she was gone. I bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before I left her to sleep.
Kyle walked back with me to our rooms. Just outside mine, I turned to say good bye and he reached for my arm. His hand circled my wrist.
"Why do you want people to believe the worst of you?" he asked softly.
"I don't know what you mean," I said. I pulled my arm from his hand.
"At any point through all of this you could have told everyone about your mother and they would have understood why you did what you did."
"Remember, I'm the enemy. If I'd told them about my mom they would have used her against me like Victor did," I said, telling him my thoughts.
"They wouldn't," he disputed. "I wouldn't have.”
"I don't trust anyone," I said as I crossed my arms across my chest. "Words don't mean anything. It's actions that count."
I'd learned that from an early age.
"You can trust me and I promise I'll prove it to you."
It was hard not to be moved by what he said but, like I said, actions spoke louder than words.
I found it impossible to switch off my thoughts and get some much needed sleep. I was exhausted and running on empty, but I only managed to get a couple of hours of sleep.
It was around four in the morning and I was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. I decided I was wasting my time trying to force myself to sleep so I decided to go the medical center to see my mom again.
The nurse on duty gave me a brief nod as I walked past her on my way to my mom. I opened the door to her room as softly as I could. With the soft moonlight streaming in from her window, I could see she was awake and staring out of the window into the darkness.
"Mom," I said softly as I walked around the bed and sat down on a seat beside her. She reached out to hold my hand.
"Baby girl."
I felt a pain in my chest at the thought I'd only hear her say that a few more times before she was gone and I would never hear her say them to me again.
"How are you feeling?" I asked as I brushed the hair out of her face.
"I'm fine," she lied. She wasn't fine; she was dying. It was just like my mother to lie to make sure I didn't worry.
"Did Curtis talk to you?" I asked softly. The pain in my chest at the reality of what was going to happen nearly brought tears to my eyes, but I kept my outward appearance calm so I didn't upset her.
She studied me more for a few moments and then her hand squeezed mine.
"It's okay, baby girl. It'll be okay," she soothed gently. Moms were special and they had a way of making us feel loved and secure no matter what was going on in our lives. But this time her words didn't make me feel any better. I knew it wasn't possible to be okay without her.
"One day you'll meet your mate. He will love and protect you," she whispered, her eyes looking past me, unseeing into the night.
I hadn't told her I'd already found my mate and that he hated me. There wouldn't be anyone to love me when she was gone. I swallowed hard as my emotions began to build up inside of me.
"I met my mate, but Victor killed him,” she said as her eyes met mine. “No one stood in his way when he wanted something." The sadness in her voice pulled at my protective streak. "But your father is dead now and he won't stop you from finding the one who will be yours."
It was too late. Victor had made me do things that Blake would never be able to forgive me for. Even though he was dead now, the damage had been done already, and there was no fixing it.
"I love you," I whispered to her before I pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"I love you too, my baby girl," she whispered. My eyes settled back on her face. Her eyes closed and after a few minutes her even breathing indicated she had drifted off to sleep.
I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes closed to keep my emotions from bubbling over. After a few minutes I managed to ride the wave of emotion that my mom's words had evoked and I stood up. With one last look at my mom, I left the room.
The sight of Kyle leaning against the wall outside my mom's room surprised me.
"You weren't in your room so I thought you'd be here," he revealed as he walked up to me.
"I couldn't sleep," I mumbled.
"I'm not surprised," he said, scanning my features. I dropped my gaze to the floor, feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
There is someone at the gate, one of the guards notified me through the mind-link.
That was strange. I wasn't expecting anyone and I glanced down at my watch. It was just after five in the morning.
"There's someone at the gate," I told Kyle as I started to walk out of the medical center. Kyle remained silent while he followed quietly behind me.
Can you identify the driver of the car? I asked the guard.
No, the windows are tinted.
I stood at the bottom of the driveway with some of my guards and Kyle when I gave the command to open the gates. It had to be a werewolf so I made sure I had enough guards to feel safe letting a stranger into the property. It was a black SUV and it reminded me of the type of SUV that Cade owned.
I watched the car enter the property and drive slowly toward us. Kyle stood behind me.
The car stopped and I stood watching as the car door opened. Blake got out of the car and closed the door. It felt like someone had sucker-punched me in the stomach. I stood still, shocked at the sight of him. Of everything I’d been expecting, seeing him hadn’t been one of them.
"Hey," he greeted. Gone was the disdain in his features, and instead there was a slight smile. The last time I'd seen him he'd walked away from me so I couldn't understand why he was here.
"What do you want?" I asked in a clipped tone. There had to be a reason why he was here. He certainly wasn't back because he'd changed his mind and wanted to be my mate.
He greeted Kyle before his gaze settled back on me.
"Can we talk in private?" he asked, his eyes flickering to the guards standing on either side of me.
I studied him for several moments before I gave a brief nod. He was my mate, so the least I could do was hear what he had to say in private before I sent him on his way. I doubted anything he said would change the heartbreak I'd felt when he'd rejected me. I turned to walk to my room with Blake following quietly behind. Kyle remained with the guards.
There was a flutter of nervousness in my stomach when I opened the door to my room and turned to watch Blake follow me inside. I closed the door and turned to face him. With him inside my room it felt so small and it was impossible to stop my nervousness from speeding up my heart. The last time, he'd looked at me with disgust and anger but it was hard to read his expression now.
"What do you want?" I asked, sounding harsh.
He stepped closer and I held still, not allowing myself to back away from him. I didn't want him to know how he could affect me.
"I'm sorry," he said softly as he held my gaze.
Out of every scenario that I thought would play out, I hadn't expected this. He seemed genuine but I didn't trust easily. My eyes narrowed. What had changed his mind? I looked at him suspiciously. There had to be something more to this.
"What's with the change of heart? You made it very clear the last time I saw you that you didn't want anything to do with me."
"I was shocked and angry. I didn't handle it very well," he admitted as he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.
The action outlined the hard stomach underneath and I couldn't help the reaction it pulled from me. I didn't want to be attracted to him, but I was.
"No, you didn't," I added, remembering the way he'd reacted.
He took another step closer.
"Don't," I told him, stepping back so I was out of his reach.
Touching him would connect us and I didn't want that to happen until I trusted that he had
n't come here with an ulterior motive.
"We can't touch," I whispered, feeling more emotional than I wanted to.
"Why?" he asked, his intense gaze holding mine. "You belong to me and I belong to you, it's our fate."
I swallowed hard. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I needed to be able to trust that he wouldn't leave me. It had hurt so much when he'd walked away before, and I didn't know if I could handle it again, especially if we connected as mates.
"I don't trust that you won't walk away again." I told him the hard truth. His expression was hard to read as he took in my words.
"I will make it up to you," he promised. There was a part of me that believed him, but the part that didn't made me hesitant.
"I'm not sure if you can," I replied, shaking my head. He'd hurt me badly and I wasn't sure if he would be able to make me forget the pain.
"I'm sorry," he repeated. For a moment I saw the easy-going Blake that I'd first been taken with.
Like I'd said to Kyle, words were just words. Action was what I needed to make me believe that he was being truthful. My heart wanted to believe him but my mind wouldn't let me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Blake
I dropped my duffel bag beside the small single bed. I let out a sigh and rubbed my hands over my face.
Being deceitful wasn't something I was used to and it was exhausting trying to pretend. I didn’t know how lying came easily to some people. Hiding one's true feelings and saying things that weren't true was hard. Being honest was so much easier. With the lying, I had to remember the lies that I'd told to be convincing. But somehow I'd managed to pull it off.
At one point I thought I'd failed and I thought Keri was going to send me packing, but she'd surprised me by offering me a room to stay in. It wasn't going to be easy to try and convince her that I'd changed my mind but I hadn't expected it to be this tough. She was still suspicious of my intentions, but the fact that she was still prepared to talk to me was a good sign.
I had my work cut out for me. Just words weren’t going to do it; it was going to take more than that. If she knew my true intentions she would be hurt and she'd probably never speak to me again—mate or not.
