Page 159 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“What’s a gamma?” I asked as I played with the condensation on my water glass, remembering the word he’d used earlier to describe himself.

He tilted his head to the side and thought for a moment. “The gamma is the luna’s beta,” he said. I raised one brow at him. “Right. Uh, the beta is the second in command to the alpha. Reid will be Wesley’s beta. So the gamma is the same, but for the luna. Basically, I’m whatever you need me to be. Some gammas act as a bodyguard if the luna isn’t a fighter or a warrior. Others just help them do their tasks around the pack. Some do both.”

I nodded, but then I frowned. “I don’t know anything about leading a pack of werewolves.”

“None of us do, really.” He laughed. “But we’ll all be here to help you in whatever way you need.”

“What about my career? My dancing?” I asked.

He pursed his lips in thought. “You’ll have to discuss that in more detail with Wes, but I can’t imagine him forcing you to give that up. He knows how much ballet means to you.”

“Right,” I muttered.

At the mention of his name, I felt Wesley’s absence like a missing limb. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to keep up my little cold shoulder act, not if I felt like there was a hole in my heart without him near me.

“Does it ever get any easier?” I asked Nolan.

“Does what ever get any easier?”

“Being away from your mate? It’s been only a few hours, and I already miss him and want to be next to him or touching him. Does that ever go away?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve heard it’s a little better once you’re marked, but I really don’t know. Most mates spend a lot of time together once they find each other,” he told me with a shrug.

“But, like right now, don’t you miss Rachel and want to be with her or near her? You haven’t seen her since when, yesterday?”

“Rachel isn’t my mate.”

“Oh,” I said, blinking. “I’m sorry. I just assumed—”

“It’s all right,” he said. “She may not be my mate, but I still love her.”

I took another sip of my water, thinking about what Maya had said at the gala. About Nolan’s ex. I looked at him over the rim of my glass, debating whether or not I should ask him about it.

He sighed and set his glass on the table, looking at me the same way I looked at him.

“I can practically hear the wheels in your head spinning,” he said. “Just ask. I’m an open book. Everyone here knows about it anyway,” he added, leaning back in the booth.

“Who was Kimberly?”

“She was my mate.”

“What happened?”

“She rejected me,” he said, pressing his lips together. “She was with someone else already—an alpha—and chose him over me.”

“I’m so sorry, Nolan,” I said.

“It’s fine,” he said, shrugging. “I mean, it wasn’t. I was a right mess for a while afterwards. But it was several years ago. And now I have Rachel. She helped me. We helped each other.”

“Was she rejected too?” I asked.

“No. Her mate passed away.”

“Oh,” I said with a frown.

Silence fell over us again, and the server brought us out our pizza and some plates. I inhaled the scent of the garlic and the various veggies as I pulled two steaming hot slices off the pan, and watched as Nolan did the same, wincing as the sauce hit his fingers.

I giggled, fanning the pizza with my hand. “So, do you think we’ve made him sweat long enough?”

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