Page 126 of The Beta's Blind Date

“Birth control isn’t one hundred percent effective,” she says. “My sister—Tiffany, Stella’s mom—she got an IUD after Stella was born, but she still got pregnant again with it in, and now I have another niece or nephew arriving in a few months. It’s rare, but it happens.”

“Maybe Tiffany and I should buy lottery tickets,” I say with a laugh.

“That’s what my dad said to her!”

“So, is Tiffany the daughter of the people who adopted you?” I ask, trying to work out the logistics of her family in my mind.

“No,” she says, shaking her head and switching to a new stretch. “Jack and Shirley wanted to adopt me, but shit happened and they were unable to. But they’ve been more like parents to me than any of my ‘real’ parents.”

“Have you met… your mom?” I ask, my voice soft.

“I have,” she replies.

Her body stiffens and her nostrils flare, and I refrain from asking more about Selene, her body language warning me off the subject. Her eyes close and she takes several deep breaths, letting her body relax into the stretch. The same glittery aura I felt during my pack initiation trickles out and floats around the room, perking up my wolf and dancing around her as she plays with it.

Nolan glances up from his work, uncovering an ear. “Luna?” he asks.

“I’m fine,” she says, shrugging off his concern. “Wes already mindlinked me.”

He stares at her for a moment, then covers his ear up and goes back to his computer, and Haven switches her position again, sitting in a butterfly stretch, and I again mimic her.

“Do you have any other powers?” I ask.

“I don’t have any powers. I can do two things. I can mindlink our pack members, and I have that… aura, I think is what you werewolves call it? I’m not really sure what it does.”

“It lets us know you’re someone important.”

“What does it feel like? To you?” she asks.

“Like starlight and like no other aura I’ve felt before. Alpha auras are commanding and protective, and sometimes possessive and suffocating. Yours is… comforting and magical. Powerful, but in a different way than an alpha or other ranked wolf aura.”

She nods as she listens to my description. “That’s similar to how others have described it,” she says. “We discovered it after my luna ceremony. I keep it under wraps as much as possible except for during pack ceremonies, as it raises a lot of questions, and we decided to keep my identity a secret. Although sometimes it slips out like it did right now. I can’t do anything else, though. At least, I don’t think I can. My mother wasn’t supposed to give me more than one gift, but it seems she did, anyway. So, who’s to say she won’t give me something else later on?”

“Do you want her to?”

“No. I don’t need powers. The mindlinking was my request because I wanted to be able to communicate with not just Wesley but all my friends. The pack. My family.”

My hand covers my belly at her words, at her mention of family. This pack, and Reid, already feel so much like a family to me, even though it hasn’t been a full two days since I became a member. And soon, I’ll have my own, smaller, family unit. Me, my pup, and—I hope—Reid.

“Have you told him yet?” she asks, her eyes on my hand, her voice soft.

“Not yet.”

“You should,” she says, covering my other hand with hers. “I… I think he will surprise you. He’s grown so much since meeting you. You’ve healed him when he didn’t know he needed it.”

“I’m going to. Today. After everything he did for me yesterday, and seeing how playful he can be and how he wants to start traditions for our family already…” I trail off and look into her caring, deep blue eyes. “Thank you, by the way. For the Christmas tree and the decorations. Reid told me you helped get it all into my guest room while we were outside.”

She waves me off. “It’s no problem. The packhouse is usually already decorated by this time of year, but with the wedding I kept putting it off. The hospitality team will set everything up this week, though. I think it will be a pleasant distraction for everyone from everything going on.”

“That would be nice,” I agree. “People need some hope, something to look forward to.”

“They do. And Christmas is a great way to do it. I’ve always loved Christmas.”

“Me too. It was my mom’s favorite holiday, and spending that time yesterday with Reid, decorating the tree with him… it brought back a lot of memories.” My throat tightens and I swallow, blinking against the burning in my eyes. I scratch at my nose, hiding my quivering lip from Haven. “I wish she was here still. I wish she could guide me through all this. When I pictured my life with a mate and a family, she was always part of that picture. Her and my dad.”

Haven moves closer to me and wraps her arm around my upper body, and I lean my head on her shoulder, a tear falling and sinking into the sleeve of her leotard.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “But I hope you realize your baby will have so much love. We’re all here to support you and care for both of you. You won’t be doing this alone.”

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