Page 89 of The Beta's Bargain

“You understand him. Why haven’t you told him yet?” I ask.

Silas covers my hand with his. “Because I see you, too. You think you have nothing to offer, that people forget you, that you can fade away and no one will miss you, but the truth is that you change lives just by being you. You’re a broken bird, too, Nyx. I would give you forever as well.”

His words knock the air from my lungs and leave me feeling like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff. One stiff breeze and I might fall, but where would it lead me?

“Okay, Alpha Hastings, you can express your gratitude and take me on a date.”

He smiles wider, and it almost ends me. He leads me to the dining room and speaks to the waiter.

“What are we doing?”

“Lunch,” Silas says with a grin and pulls out a chair. He sits next to me. I realise we’re in the corner of the room, away from the prying eyes of the guests. It’s intimate and confusing. He’s staring at me like I’m something special.

But I’m not. I am exactly what he said, just another broken bird.

twenty-five

Dylan

Watching her has become an obsession. Wherever she is, I’m not far behind, and my alphas have figured it out. My weakness is on display, and they are using it against me. To draw me in to trap me. It took me a while to figure it out, but now that I can see it. I’m disgusted with myself. Their trap was too sweet for me to resist.

And I’ve trapped her.

Grayson runs his hand down my arm, but I draw away from him. Silas just watches me with those sad, deep eyes of his. Falcon doesn’t even bother. He keeps his eyes on the beta. On my beta.

I lift my lips in a snarl, fully directed at the alpha in question. He turns with a half smile and raises a glass to me.

They brought her on a date. We talked about it; they asked me; I okayed it, but then I saw the bigger picture.

She panicked and backed away from us. And with those few backwards steps, the veil lifted. They want me, but do they really want her or is this just a game?

The glass house on the roof is lit up with candle light. The red roses are fresh from Gray’s garden, the food is exquisite and looks like art arranged on delicate black plates. There is soft, melodic music playing in the background. Each of my alphas are wearing dark suits. Silas has a pinstripe, Falcon is wearing solid black, while Gray has lost his jacket and has his shirt undone to the third button, revealing that tiny bit of collarbone I love. But Nyx is in a sleek, crimson slip that is vibrant and full of life and so her, and she doesn’t even realise it. When I look at her, I feel so much of everything that I want to shout, scream, cry, fall to my knees, it’s overwhelming. It’s the perfect place for romance. Including the night sky full of more stars than you can ever count.

So, why is my skin crawling? Why am I feeling so unhappy in myself? I can’t take my eyes off her. The soft smiles, the glances she darts towards us. There is a beast in my chest trying to rip his way out. I don’t trust them with her. I don’t trust them not to hurt me.

I close my eyes as the realisation crashes down on me. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The longer they talk, the more they touch, the hotter my anger burns. If they are toying with her, I won’t forgive them. If this is just a game to get me back, I will never, ever forgive them.

I narrow in on her wrist. So thin, so breakable. Silas’s fingers graze the inside, and her breath hitches.

No. No. NO.

A moment later, I’m dragging her into the lift. I press the button for the penthouse and step off, watching the doors close with her inside. She’s safely out of their reach for the moment. And I turn, my chest heaving, as I try to control the panic inside me.

My back is tight. All my muscles are rigid with tension. I can feel them staring at me.

“What are you doing?” I snarl once the lift is gone. I turn with a feral growl. “What are you doing with that woman?”

Falcon glides to the stool and sits facing me like he has nothing better to do, and maybe he hasn’t.

“We aren’t giving up on you.” Silas says.

“Leave her alone,” I say the words, but I know it’s gone far too far.

“We can’t do that,” Gray murmurs and gives me a sad smile.

“WHY?” I shout at them. “Why can’t you leave her alone? She is pure and the kind of person you don’t find anywhere. Why are you doing this? I won’t let you ruin her.”

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