Page 57 of Wanted Beta

Damn it. The street wasn’t super busy a second ago.

The guy’s hand rubs my arm, and I shiver, preparing to turn around as I see Jack frown.

I realize he’s not a stranger and bumping into him was no coincidence when I hear his voice.

“Back the fuck up, asshole. My mate isn’t interested in whatever you’re selling.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rourke

The Beta with the red hair frowns at me, but he stops where he’s standing in front of the door.

My threat has made an impact. He knows I’m an Alpha, and he knows my mate is off limits.

My mate. Beth Moore, the girl who stole my heart and ran away with it.

God, it feels so good to have her this close to me.

It’s been too long since I touched her.

I can’t make myself take my hands off her arms.

Now that I’m holding her, I never want to let her go.

It was stupid to think I could just watch her get on with her life without me in it.

I should have known I wouldn’t be able to protect her from a distance forever.

She absolutely deserves better than me, but this idiot standing in front of us is not it.

“Rourke?” she asks, her voice a scratchy whisper.

“You know this guy?” the idiot asks, moving his gaze back to Beth.

She pulls away from me. “No. I don’t know him at all.”

Moving away from us both, she looks back at me and shakes her head.

The pain in her eyes is worse than I imagined it would be if I ever spoke to her again.

She’s welling up with tears and all I want to do is hold her and tell her everything is going to be okay.

“Beth …”

“No,” she says, shaking her head harder and putting her hands up. “Don’t even … No.”

I swallow hard. There’s nothing I can say to make this better.

I can’t tell her everything’s going to be okay.

That’s a lie.

She knows it.

Nothing’s going to be okay ever again.

We can never go back to the way things were.

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