Page 138 of The Beta's Blind Date

“He’ll be fine,”Haven mindlinks me.“You hit the nail on the head, and Harrison’s words didn’t help, either. He’s been blaming himself ever since leaving your apartment, and he doesn’t want anyone to see him break. He’s the alpha, you know.”She smiles at me over her shoulder and nods her chin towards Dr. Russo.“Focus on your dad. He’s more important than Wesley’s bruised ego.”

My throat bobs, and I nod at her, even as I stand in place and stare at Wesley’s back, desperate to reassure him none of what his dad said is true. I’ve never once felt he wasn’t there for me. He’s always been there for me, even when he didn’t know how much I needed him. All of my best memories from before Taryn came into my life contain one common theme, one constant element—Wesley.

Taryn rubs my arm and I glance down at her, breaking my staring contest with Wesley’s back. She nods towards where Dr. Russo waits for us, and I sigh, walking towards him and the door he stands near instead of towards Wesley. I blow out a breath when we stop in front of him, pulling Taryn into my side and under my arm.

“What’s up, Doc?” I ask, forcing a smile.

His lips twitch into a halfhearted laugh for a moment, humoring my attempt at lightening the mood, before he turns serious again.

“There are some things you should know before you speak with him,” he says.

I nod, my throat tightening and dread pooling in the pit of my stomach from both the anticipation of speaking with my dad and the tone of Dr. Russo’s voice and the look in his eyes.

Dr. Russo continues, his hands in front of him with the clipboard held between them. “His wolf absorbed the brunt of the damage from the continuous abuse of alcohol over the years. While this means his human body is mostly healthy and unharmed, it also means his wolf is on the verge of dying. The partial shift he tried this morning, when he attacked you, likely sped up that process. I estimate his wolf will die by the end of the day today.”

“What does that mean for him?” Taryn asks.

“We can live without our wolves, but losing your wolf can be similar to losing a mate. And he’s already lost one, and now he’ll be without both. Physically, he will be fine—if he can stop drinking—but emotionally…”

“Can I…” She bites her lip and glances at me, then looks at Dr. Russo again. “Is that something I can… help with?”

I wrap myself around her and pull her into me, my face burying into her neck as a choked sound tries to escape me.

Not yet. I can’t crumble yet. I have to see him first. But her offer, her thoughtfulness, her willingness to heal the man who wounded me in more ways than one almost breaks me.

“A broken heart isn’t a real wound,” Dr. Russo says, his voice softening even more. “And his wolf… the damage is severe and has built up over so long. You could maybe push back the death of his wolf for a period of time, but even a healer can’t bring a being back from the brink of death. No matter how strong they are. You’d only be prolonging the inevitable.”

Taryn nods and sniffles, turning her face to find mine, our noses rubbing together and her hands resting on my forearm.“Thank you,”I mindlink her, my eyes closing.“Not everyone would be willing to do what you offered.”

“No matter what he’s done, he’s still your dad. The man he used to be is in there somewhere. We just have to have hope he can pull through and come back to you. To us. To our family.”

I nod and move my hand down to cover her stomach, her fingers entangling with mine, making a circle around our little Sour Patch. She is the bright light breaking through the darkness threatening to pull us down and apart, the tiny puzzle piece I didn’t realize was missing from my heart.

“What will happen to him?” I ask Dr. Russo, pulling my face away from Taryn’s, even though all I want is to drown in the comfort of her warm embrace, her loving eyes, and her healing spirit.

“I’ve recommended he spend some time at a rehab facility for werewolves suffering from addiction. There is only one in North America since addiction isn’t common among our kind. He has agreed to the suggestion. He’ll be leaving once his wolf is gone, and he’s recovered from the initial shock of that as well as the first phases of the withdrawal he’s bound to suffer from being cut off from the bottle. But he requested to speak with you before he leaves.”

“He knows what happened? What he did to me?” I ask, my voice cracking and my tongue thick and heavy, my eyes itchy.

“He does.”

“Does he know he’s going to be a grandpa?” Taryn asks, and I squeeze her fingers, putting more pressure against her stomach with our hands.

“That is up to the two of you if you want to tell him or not. It may give him something to live for, give him some hope. But of course, we will respect your decision if you wish for him to not know yet. He also doesn’t know the two of you are mates,” he adds, glancing at our fresh marks. “He knows he hurt Reid and that you knocked him out and healed Reid.” He looks over his shoulder at the door and then back at the two of us. “You can speak to him whenever you’re ready, and we’ll give you privacy. Take as much time as you need.”

He reaches out and squeezes my shoulder as he walks past, leaving the two of us alone in front of the door. We both look at it, my arms around Taryn, our hands clasped over our pup in her stomach.

“Do you want to tell him about her?” Taryn asks, looking down at our hands and her belly.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, my throat feeling like someone shoved sandpaper inside. “Part of me wants to, and the other part of me thinks he doesn’t deserve to know about her,” I admit, my voice even softer than before. “Does that make me a dickhead?”

She shakes her head and turns towards me, her face resting against my chest. “It doesn’t,” she reassures me.

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You don’t have to. We can leave. We can go back to my room and Netflix and chill like you suggested earlier.” I snort out a laugh and her cheek twitches. “But you’ll have to face him someday. And when you’re ready, I’ll be there with you. At your side and in your arms.”

We take deep breaths, our hold on each other tightening as we draw strength from our bond. I stare at the doorknob, my eyes burning into it as I wrestle with myself and my emotions and indecision.

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