Page 142 of The Beta's Blind Date

“It’s okay, Buddy,” he says, and a sob threatens to leave my chest again. “I’ll be okay. Go. Go be with your family.”

I inhale and blow out a long breath, nodding as I do. Then I turn and leave the room, not looking back.

Taryn shuts the door, and I place my palms against the opposite wall, my chin dropping to my chest. I count to ten, focusing on the press of Taryn’s body on my back, her arms around my waist. Her warmth and light pulse through me, comforting me and easing my burden, taking some of the weight from me so we bear it together.

Above the golden warmth wrapping around me, there is also a sparkling, glittering aura, twisting with the healing light and adding another layer of peace and love over me. I open my eyes, and Haven stands next to us in Wesley’s old gray Stanford T-shirt and a large off-white cardigan, her dark blue eyes an ocean of sadness and understanding.

Of all the ranked members in our pack, she’s the only one who has an inkling of understanding of what I’m going through. What I’ve gone through. Our losses and trauma may be different, but the result is a deeper understanding of each other, a unique connection between us, distinct from the connection she has with Nolan or Sebastian.

“Luna,” I say, my voice a quiet rasp.

She gives me a soft, sad smile. Her hands twitch at her sides, and her eyes glance at Taryn before returning to me. I huff out a chuckle and step out of Taryn’s grasp, wrapping Haven in a hug.

“I don’t think I’ve seen Wesley wear that shirt at all in the last three years,” I tell her, squeezing her but being mindful of her tiny, human body.

“He’s really worried about you,” she says, squeezing me back, ignoring my deflection.

“Where is he?” I ask, stepping back and looking down at her.

“In the packhouse gym. He scared everyone away with his growling and his aura. He said ‘I’m fine,’ but we all know that’s a lie.”

I give her an actual laugh at that, my head tilting to the ceiling. “Truer words have never been spoken.”

“That man carries the blame for everything.” She sighs, her fingers scratching at the scarring on her neck. “I wish he’d cut himself some slack sometimes.”

“I’ll go see him,” I tell her, patting her shoulder and walking past her and down the hall.

Through the windows and the glass doors, the sun peeks out from behind the dispersing gray clouds, reflecting off the thick layer of snow covering the pack grounds. The automatic doors slide open, bringing the frigid air into the hospital, still lingering even though the storm is clearing.

“How’d you get your scars?” Taryn asks Haven, and I peek behind myself as I step outside to see them walking in my shadow, arms linked together.

“My ex went crazy because I wasn’t his mate,” Haven says, the icy wind blowing her wild red curls around and tinting her ivory skin with pink.

Taryn’s eyes widen. “What?”

“He pulled me into the alley behind the club and shifted into his lycan and attacked me. I was lucky Sebastian and Nolan were there spying on me and were able to get me here in time, with the help of some nomadic werewolves. My healing was sped up because of the mate bond, but my human genes meant I had some scarring.”

“And Wesley blames himself for the whole thing,” I finish as we reach the packhouse door.

“That’s very ‘alpha’ of him,” Taryn says, walking by me with Haven as I hold the door open for them. “Too bad not all alphas care that much about those close to them.”

Haven nods and squeezes Taryn’s hand, and I suppress a growl as I remember what that dickhead alpha tried to do to my girl. What he would have done if the rogues hadn’t attacked when they did. A true blessing in disguise if there ever was one.

We walk the rest of the way to the basement gym in silence, me now behind the two girls whose arms are still linked. Wesley’s aura bears down on me as we walk down the hallway. It’s not enough to force us into submission—not that it would work on Haven, anyway—but it’s enough to have my skin prickling and my wolf dropping his ears and tucking his tail between his legs a little. Taryn tenses and rolls her shoulders, a small shiver running down her spine.

They step aside for me, and I push the door open, stopping right inside the large workout space in the packhouse’s basement. Wesley’s positioned himself in front of a punching bag, in only gym shorts, no gloves or wraps on his fists. They’re already bruised and cracked, but other than that, there’s no obvious sign he’s punishing himself, no outward display of guilt or anguish.

Taryn and Haven move to the side of the room, settling on the floor and talking in hushed voices. Taryn smiles as she listens to Haven and laughs with her, a peace settling over her as Haven welcomes her into our ranks as if she’s always been part of our group. The same peace settles within me as I see how Haven accepts her, how they’ve already formed their own little friendship, their own bond as luna and beta female.

Taryn catches my eye and mouths, “I love you,” to me from across the gym.

“I love you too,”I mindlink her with a wink before turning my focus to Wesley.

He hasn’t paid us any attention since we entered the room, hasn’t broken his steady pace of punches. He didn’t pause to say hello or acknowledge us in any way. Not even Haven, which is saying a lot. I’m surprised he let her walk all the way to the hospital without him or Nolan. Then again, I’m not sure he realized she left the room with how focused on destroying the punching bag he is.

I walk to a treadmill and pull my shirt off, draping it over the handle while I start up the machine and put in my preferred settings. Wesley’s eyes are on me now, watching me as I stretch my muscles before the treadmill moves. The machine starts slow and so do I, picking up my pace until I’ve reached the speed I set it at.

Wesley storms to the machine next to mine, firing it up and setting the speed at a pace much higher than mine, and I bite back a smirk. Of fucking course he did. Alpha Wesley can’t have anyone showing him up.

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