Page 155 of Chosen Beta

Maybe after dinner it’ll feel more real.

I can only hope.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Ezra

Fate works in mysterious ways. I knew there was a reason I wanted Shadow to stick with Pete today, I just didn’t realize what it was. Not until I stepped out of the medical wing at lunch time to find my Beta mate standing at the reception desk with a stranger.

I knew that meant Shadow had gone with Owen.

And if Shadow was with Owen, that meant Lana had spent the morning alone with Pete.

Instinctively, I worked out what must have happened between them.

I didn’t need to see the satisfaction on Pete’s face to figure it out.

Lana and Pete are mated.

He lost grip of his control and told her, and I’d bet my bottom dollar that wouldn’t have happened if Shadow had been with them.

That said, something else wouldn’t have happened if they’d stuck together, either.

Owen wouldn’t have started to deal with his anger, and he wouldn’t have decided to accept that Cressidan City is where we need to be.

It all worked out for the best.

I shrug out of the black shirt and pull a white one out of the walk-in closet.

Owen appears at the bedroom door and whistles.

“Someone’s going all out,” he teases.

He leans against the doorframe as I hang the shirts back up, one by one.

“Big date tonight,” I tell him, giving him a wry smile. “Got to make a good impression.”

“Please. You’ve already smashed it.”

I raise an eyebrow at him as I move over to my dresser. “How exactly have I done that?”

“Well,” he starts, “for one thing, you showed up like a knight in shining armor in her moment of need, taking this random temporary job helping Omegas. For another, I’m willing to bet you’re basically running that medical ward, making everything smooth and easy so Lana doesn’t have any extra problems to deal with. And you already know medical scrubs are the hottest thing you can wear. Anything else is gonna look plain in comparison so you might as well put on a regular T-shirt and wait for one of us to rip it off you later, when she’s warmed up enough to decide to claim all of us.”

“Well, clearly, you’ve already been drinking that wine Shadow found to pair with the steaks.”

He laughs. “I’m not drunk. I don’t know which part you think is exaggerated, but you’ll find out pretty soon that I’m not wrong. Lana’s already into you. She likes all of us.”

I open a drawer and pick out a plain T-shirt.

“She likes Pete,” I correct him. “Enough that she said yes to his mark. That’s all we know so far.”

“And you tell me I’m always in a mood,” he mutters, shaking his head.

“This isn’t a mood. It’s nerves. And you’re not helping.”

He pushes away from the doorframe and comes over to take the shirt out of my hands.

“This thing is worn out,” he says, as he moves over to the closet.

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