Page 81 of Chosen Beta

I wouldn’t call myself an Alpha-hole, but some would.

Honestly, they could be right. I’m not always super nice to anyone who’s not connected to me in a permanent bond. I love my mates, but the rest of the world might as well not exist.

If watching Shadow’s true crime shows have taught me anything, it’s that there’s a lot of evil shit out there in the big wide world, and that’s the stuff I’m here to protect my mates from.

Nothing else matters.

I open the book, and I fill out the same details Shadow and Pete filled out earlier today.

“I’m taking over from Pete,” I tell Lana as I hand her back the book.

She frowns as she takes it. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll be standing guard for the night, to keep you safe. Clearly, Pete needs to rest.”

I look at Ezra, and he nods slowly, giving me his silent agreement.

I doubt he even thought about how close Pete was getting to her.

It’s a good thing I’m here.

Lana looks like she wants to protest, but she doesn’t say a word.

She’s putting the guest book away when Pete steps into the room.

“Okay,” she says, clearly addressing all of us. “I have work to get back to, and you don’t all need to be here.”

Ezra gets to his feet. “Of course. We’ll get out of your hair.”

She smiles as Shadow mirrors Ezra’s movements.

Then she turns her gaze to me, and her expression goes from warm to cold.

“I got the camera,” Pete tells me.

“You should set it up outside Lana’s room. Keep the lights off when you go up there.”

He nods slowly, his stare fixed on her.

“Go,” I tell him. “Get it done quickly. Once it’s set up you can monitor the feed. Make sure the lights stay out in that hallway. Then you can help guide Ezra and Shadow to our room.”

He doesn’t look pleased, but he doesn’t question my orders.

When he leaves, I turn back to Ezra. “Give him a few minutes to get that done and wait near the hallway for him to come lead you in the dark.”

Ezra nods. “And you’ll be with Lana?”

“I’ll be with Lana,” I confirm.

She looks even less impressed than Pete did as she says, “He can keep watch from outside the room.”

I clear my throat. “No, I’ll be keeping you where I can see you.”

I hate to burst her bubble, but I’m not letting her out of my sight when I haven’t had a chance to get to know the building yet, or what her habits are.

There are too many variables. I can’t take that risk.

She’s not pleased. There’s nothing I can do about that.

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