A Mate for the Beta:

by E A Price

  “I know. I love your couch... and your coffee table... and your shower.” She closed her eyes and exhaled.

  He frowned, “our couch, our coffee table, our shower, this is our home now. Unless you don’t like it... I could build another house. We can move anywhere you want. Even if it meant leaving the pack.”

  Her eyes snapped open and she turned to look at him. “You built this house yourself?” He nodded. “I love it, it’s perfect. A big kitchen, lots of land for a garden and lots of bedrooms to fill up with kids - it’s just what I always wanted.” She tensed; she’d mentioned kids before she could stop herself. Did he even want kids? Best to find out now... “Do you want kids?” She asked cautiously.

  He looked at her guiltily, red staining his cheeks. “What’s wrong?” She asked.

  He cleared his throat. “I, umm, do want kids with you angel, definitely – a whole bunch of them.... which is good because you’re already pregnant.”

  She gulped. “I am?”

  He nodded holding his breath awaiting her response. He felt disbelief, fear, happiness and shock all flit through her. She spoke slowly and thoughtfully. “I know shifters don’t usually use birth control because they can’t carry diseases, but I thought you could scent when a woman is fertile.”

  He looked embarrassed. She narrowed her eyes, “Alec?”

  “We can it’s just that I, err, didn’t the first time we made love.” She raised her eyebrows. “I wanted you so badly I didn’t even think to check.”

  He reached through the towel and placed his hand on the slight swell of her stomach. “Every other time after I did scent you but...”

  “By then I was already pregnant?”

  “Yes.”

  She leaned her head back against the pillow and chewed the inside of her mouth, thinking.

  He tentatively reached out through her bond but her feelings were too jumbled. “Are you... are you mad angel?”

  “When did you realise I was pregnant?”

  He cleared his throat again. He was doing that a lot. “I didn’t, I mean I would have eventually, but it was actually my pack mate Don who realised when he dropped by. In my defence he is the best tracker we have, no one can scent things better than him.”

  She knitted her brows together. “So he told you I was pregnant before we bonded?”

  Oh, shit. “Yes.”

  “You didn’t think to tell me first?” She demanded looking at him, eyes flashing. Had he only bonded with her because of the baby?

  “I wanted to bond with you but I didn’t want you to feel like you had to because of the baby, it had to be your choice.”

  He eyes softened. “Oh Alec...” Then she slapped him round the head.

  He howled. “What the hell was that for?”

  “For doubting that I love you, for being stupid, for not trusting me to make the right decision – take your pick!”

  She tried to move off the bed but his hands clasped her and pulled her back. She struggled and squirmed against him, his growing thickness brushed against her over and over. She felt her arousal blossom. Treacherous body.

  Finally he had her trapped beneath him. He pushed the wet strands of hair off her forehead and kissed her soundly. “Are you pleased? About the baby?”

  “Of course you dope! Are you?”

  He pushed his erection against her mound. “Can’t you feel how pleased I am?”

  She chuckled, “my sweet, it doesn’t exactly take much to please that part of you!”

  He reared up and whipped both of their towels off before settling back between her legs and pushing inside of her. “True, I guess I better prove to you how pleased I am, over and over again...”

  Chapter Eleven

  Liv sat crossed legged on their bed naked except for the pillow she was hugging, watching Alec as he dressed for work.

  “Emily? Or Marie maybe? For a girl.” Liv bit her lip thoughtfully. “How about Aaron or Ethan for a boy?”

  “Or Alec junior?” Suggested Alec buttoning his pants.

  “Nah, I don’t like it when parents name kids after themselves, I think it’s kind of... egotistical.”

  Alec raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think we need to worry about the name just yet angel.”

  “You’re right, we have a few months at least before we have to start fretting about anything baby related.” Liv threw away the pillow and went over to the closet, pawing through her clothes.

  Alec stood still admiring the perfect globes of her breasts, they were flush and erect from their lovemaking. His penis stirred at the thought.

  He walked over to her and gently held her waist whilst nuzzling into the bonding mark on her neck. “What are you doing?” He murmured then swept his tongue over the mark.

  She shivered pleasurably. “Getting dressed to come to the station with you, to cover the desk again.”

  He stilled against her. She felt uneasiness and uncertainty seep through their bond, replacing the lust she had felt only a moment ago. Turning in his arms she faced him. “What’s wrong?”

  He hesitated. “Yesterday was nice, having you there but...”

  He didn’t want her at his work. Why not? Did he not want to be around her all day? Had he given Carrie her job back? Was that leggy bitch going to try and steal her man?

  Alec was taken aback to feel the mixture of doubt, panic and also a drop of jealousy shoot through the bond. He soothed her the easiest way he knew how, by kissing her deeply.

  Breaking apart he said, “it’s not that I don’t want you there I just don’t know how I feel about you working... especially while you’re pregnant.”

  Liv looked at him for a few seconds then arched an eyebrow, an impish look on her face. “Aww Alec that’s so caveman of you.”

  Alec looked at her sourly and huffed. “Is it so wrong to want to provide for you?”

  “Well no, I think it’s sweet, really, but I can’t sit round here all day. The only way you’re chaining me to the house is with an actual chain.”

  Alec leered at her. A chain doesn’t sound all bad...

  Liv slapped his arm lightly. “Enough of that. I want to help out, please?” She pouted at him prettily.

  Alec groaned. There was no way he could refuse that face. “Alright, I guess I would actually prefer to have you near to me all day than free to roam wherever you choose.”

  She frowned. “When you put it like that...”

  She was interrupted by the shrill ringing of Alec’s phone. “That’s Adam’s ringtone, I better get it.”

  Liv nodded her understanding and began to dress as Alec took the call.

  “Yes... Shit... where?... On my way.” He ended the call his body rigid. “I have to go, Don managed to track a rogue wolf from the scents he got off Iris. They have him cornered.”

  “Oh Alec!”

  He stalked over and kissed her hard and passionately. “Stay here until I get back, no argument.”

  She nodded. “I will, be careful my sweet. I love you.”

  “I will angel. I love you too.”

  *

  The unknown wolf snapped its jaws wildly and jerkily whipped its head round to look at each of the pack members in turn.

  Surrounding the wolf was Adam, Alec, Don, Acksel, Jake and Gabe. The rogue didn’t stand a chance. Through perseverance Don had managed to track the wolf right back to half a mile from the boarding house.

  The rogue had been good, Don was the first to admit it. Going through water, doubling back and crossing over their tracks. No wonder they had remained uncaptured for so long. That was about to change.

  The pack preferred to capture the animal and then refer them to the Alexandria chapter of the CoS – Council of Supernaturals. However if the animal died in the attempted capture they wouldn’t sleep any less easy.

  Most of the pack were still in human form but Acksel and Jake had both shifted. All pack members held back waiting for orders from their Alpha.

  Adam edged closer to the beast. His wolf gr
owling lowly ready for attack.

  He was shocked at how small and thin the wolf was, and the fact that it was a female. She had a long white stripe from her head to her tail, and was even smaller than an average female. There was something odd about this rogue.

  Ordinarily rogues are filled with hatred and are quick to violence, even if they know they can’t win a fight it does not deter them. However waves of fear rolled off this wolf. She snapped at them in anguish, not because she actually wished them harm.

  Adam knelt in front of her. “Shift.” He commanded.

  The other wolf whined but shimmered through the shift until a small woman crouched before him, trying to cover her slim bruised frame. Her dark blonde hair fell over her face and she eyed him warily.

  Adam slowly shucked his jacket off and handed it to her. The other wolves around him shifted from foot to foot anxiously.

  “Why bother? If you’re just going to kill me anyway.” Her voice was croaky, but despite her trembling body it was firm and fierce.

  Adam took in her appearance carefully. She was skinny, too skinny. She had bruises and dirt all over, she clearly had spent the majority of the last few days as a wolf. Adam hated to see a she-wolf in this state but he couldn’t forget that she might have killed Iris.

  A rumble like thunder rose through his chest. The she-wolf flinched. “We aren’t planning on killing you, unless you give us no choice. It is our intention to take you to the CoS for trial.”

  “What?!” She squawked, eyes blazing. “Since when is it illegal to be a rogue? It’s not compulsory to run with a pack.”

  Adam and his wolf snarled at her, forcing her to back down. She turned her head in submission to the powerful Alpha. Satisfied Adam continued. “No, but it is illegal to kill a witch.”

  A look of surprise and a little guilt flashed over her face. “I have never killed anyone.”

  “We found your scent over a local witch’s body.” Adam explained patiently. “You never informed the pack of your presence in the town and you’ve purposefully been covering your scent so we couldn’t follow you.”

  “That wasn’t because of you!” She burst out.

  Adam narrowed his eyes. “Then who?”

  She gulped and bit her lip. “How do I know I can trust you?”

  Adam stood, his massive bulk towering over her, eyes burning dark amber. “You don’t have any choice.”

  Gingerly she took the proffered jacket and slipped it on, standing to face him. She looked round at the male wolves all watching her intently. Adam held out his hands to them, telling them to relax. Acksel and Jake shifted to their human forms. Gabe gave her a half smile to encourage her.

  She blew out a long breath. “I was following a witch. She murdered my boyfriend.”

  “Who?” Asked Jake sharply.

  She bristled at his tone. “I don’t know her name, we’re not exactly on speaking terms.” She sneered.

  Gabe moved forward slowly putting his body between Jake and the she-wolf. “What’s your name?” He asked calmly.

  “Kira.”

  “Why don’t you tell us what happened Kira?”

  She looked at him uncertainly for a moment before nodding. “It was two years ago, my boyfriend his name was Airis,” a tear rolled down her cheek, “he was a witch, he ran an occult bookstore in South Virginia in a town called Charming. One night he disappeared from the store. There was no sign of him, nothing, it’s like he just got up and walked out of there, leaving the store unlocked and his wallet, his phone right in there. There were no scents, no signs that he’s been attacked...”

  Adam looked at Alec uneasily. They knew where this was going.

  “Then a few days later I found his body in the bookstore, it looked like... it looked like... he’d been tortured!” A sob escaped her and Gabe moved to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She tensed under the touch, but when he didn’t remove it she relaxed again.

  “I managed to get the tiniest scent of a witch as well as wolfsbane, nobody in the town used wolfsbane, it was a pack town it was considered too dangerous. So I set out to find where it had come from. After searching high and low eventually I found someone who could supply it. He said he sold it to a witch, the same scent I found on Airis lingered in this guy’s store slightly but it wasn’t enough to track. He gave me a description but it wasn’t much to go on, although he did say she mentioned she lived in Viriginia. So I’ve been searching all over the state ever since. There was another victim in a town to the East too, same circumstances, I got the same scent there too. So when I heard about this Iris Bennett woman going missing I knew I had to come here.”

  “How did your scent get on her body?” Asked Acksel.

  “I found the body in the greenhouse, when I heard you guys coming I ran off.” She looked a little guilty at this. “I couldn’t be sure I could trust you, for all I knew you would be harbouring the killer... for all I know you still might be.” She muttered the last part.

  Adam growled at her and she looked suitable contrite before continuing. “I didn’t find the killer’s scent on the body but I found it outside the house, so I followed it...”

  “Where to?” Demanded Alec.

  “That boarding house full of witches, that’s where I was going before you ambushed me.”

  The male wolves looked at each other tightly. “Which one of them is it?” Growled Adam.

  Kira huffed in annoyance. “I still don’t know her name. But she’s tall with short blonde hair, looks as friendly as an icicle.”

  “Emerald.” Said Jake immediately.

  “You’re certain of this?” Asked Adam.

  “It’s her scent...” Spat Kira in disbelief.

  Gabe shot to Kira’s defence. “Unless Emerald has an excellent reason for leaving her scent at the scene of two dead bodies it has to be her, too much for a coincidence.”

  Adam spoke to his pack in a measured even voice. “We need to tackle this carefully but quickly, we don’t want an all out war starting between wolves and witches. We’ll go to the boarding house and ask to speak to her.”

  “What about me?” Challenged Kira.

  Adam looked at her hard. “We all go, but you hang back with Acksel and Jake. Let’s see what kind of mood Emerald is in first.”

  *

  Melody groaned at the pounding on the door. She yanked it open and ducked as the Alpha’s huge paw almost hit her square in the face.

  “Hey!” She yelled clutching at the phone in her hand.

  “Sorry, where’s Emerald?” Barked Adam.

  The Alpha was madder than she had ever seen. Flanked by Alec, Gabe and Don she felt a chill go through her body. They looked as murderous as he did.

  “Not here...”

  “Where is she?” Growled Don.

  “She said she was going to see Liv, I was just trying to call Liv to warn her...”

  “Fuck!” Shouted Alec, his blood boiled at the thought of his mate in danger. His wolf howled at him.

  “How long ago did she leave?” Demanded Adam.

  “About ten minutes I don’t...”

  “Gabe, Don stay here in case she comes back. Melody keep trying to phone Liv, tell her to get out of the house and stay away from Emerald no matter what. Understand?”

  She nodded weakly at the Alpha’s commands and was roughly pulled back in the house by the two huge wolves.

  Alec and Adam ran to Alec’s SUV, quickly informing the other three wolves they were soon speeding toward Alec and Liv’s house, with Acksel, Jake and Kira following behind.

  Alec tried to feel his mate through their bond but his own emotions were too fraught he couldn’t make sense which were hers. Alec was almost babbling, his skin rippling as the wolf tried desperately to push forward. “She’s pregnant... I can’t lose her... I can’t...”

  “You won’t!” Snarled Adam slamming the accelerator. He hoped.

  Chapter Twelve

  Liv wiped her hands on her shorts. It was a beautiful sunny day,
it had seemed like such a waste to be stuck indoors. Although Alec had not wanted her to leave the house surely that didn’t extend to the garden.

  With a little help of her natural magic the ground was ready for her to start planting seeds. She had already decided that half of her garden would contain wildflowers, that would attract birds and butterflies and the other half would be for vegetables.

  Most witches couldn’t practice during pregnancies but earth witches were still able to attend to their gardens and help things grow. Earth witches always had big healthy babies due to their natural abilities.

  In no time at all they would be enjoying their own tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, anything they wanted really. Liv could make anything grow at any time of year. She hoped Alec was as happy as she was with her efforts. The thought of cooking a meal for her man made with the vegetables she had grown warmed her for some reason.

  She thought of how it would be to teach her own child how to tend the garden, as her own mother had done with her. Now that she knew she was pregnant she had opened her mind and could sense her baby, despite only being a couple of days old. She thought of how Alec would dote on and protect them both. She rubbed her stomach, imagining the life within and marvelling at how much happiness Alec had brought her within the space of a few days.

  She darted up as she heard a twig snap. Turning round she saw her aunt Emerald approaching and her heart sank. If anyone was going to ruin her ‘finding out I’m pregnant’ glow it would be Emerald.

  With some apprehension she walked over to her aunt, Liv frowned at how old she was looking. Normally she looked immaculate but today she had deep bags under her eyes her face seemed sallow. “Emerald, what brings you here?”

  “I came to give you one last chance Livia. I believe I may have acted a little hastily yesterday.”

  Liv rolled her eyes at the understatement but Emerald continued undeterred. “You are after all my only flesh and blood. If you were to promise never to see that,”she paused to spit out the next word, “wolf again I would welcome you back to the Circle.”

  Liv stared at her, and Emerald smiled as warmly as she could. She looked like a frozen crocodile. “I can forgive a youthful indiscretion, wolves are virile creatures, even witches, well some witches,” she sneered, “aren’t immune to their charms, but to actually believe that one night of sex means that you’re in love is ridiculous. Surely you do want to live with your own kind, I mean you wouldn’t just abandon me for him would you?”