Page 88 of Chosen Beta

I should shut up. He doesn’t really care.

I walk the rest of the way to the staircase without saying another word.

He doesn’t try to fill the silence, but when we get to the bottom of the stairs, he touches my arm.

I stop and turn to him. “What?”

“The lights are out up there. I’m pretty good at walking around in the dark, but you need to tell me where we’re going.”

Damn it.I forgot about the lights.

“Pete fixed them …” I start, trailing off when I remember this plan is dependent on them being off.

“Yeah, and he undid that mistake when I sent him back up here earlier. So, let me know where we’re going when we reach the landing and stay quiet while I walk you to your room.”

I frown at him. “Once we get there, you’re staying outside.”

He gazes back at me without a word.

“I’m not letting a stranger into my bedroom.”

“I’m not a stranger. I’m part of your security team.”

Clearly, he’s not going to bend on this.

I let out a sigh. “We need to turn right at the top of the stairs, and it’s the last room on the right.”

He nods. “No more talking.”

I blink at him. “Why?”

“We want to catch this threat, not scare it away.” He smirks.

Oh my fucking God! The nerve of this guy.

I’m too angry to say another word, so I just march up the stairs ahead of him, fully intent on dashing to my room and locking him out before he realizes what I’ve done.

It’s the pitch-black of those last few stairs that puts me off that idea.

My stomach churns as I stop a couple of steps before it goes so damn dark.

He’s at my side a second later, offering his arm.

I stare at him for a second in the darkness, before I take my keys out of my pocket, keeping them in my right hand while I link my left arm with his.

If I’d been alone, I would have used my phone to light my path.

That’s probably exactly what would have made me vulnerable if someone was actually waiting in the dark for me. I’m still not convinced that someone in the building wants to hurt me, but, honestly, I don’t like the thought of being alone tonight.

Owen might be an Alpha-hole, but he has mates I trust. If Ezra and Pete love this guy, there must be a decent human being hidden somewhere under the stereotype. It doesn’t make me like him any better, but I can feel a grudging kind of trust starting to build toward him.

He nods and starts to move, slowly.

I let him lead me forward into the darkness.

Chapter Thirty-One

Owen

---