Page 25 of The Beta's Heart

She looked down at our hands, her fingers curling around mine, and a small smile tugged at my lips. The moment stretched between us until Charlie squeezed my hand gently and stood, carefully cradling Honor in her arms.

“I’ll think about it,” she murmured. “Maybe itistime.”

“Here, let me carry her.”

Without waiting to hear any protests, I went over and scooped Honor in my arms, then headed upstairs to the little girl’s unicorn-themed bedroom. I watched from the doorway as Charlie tucked her baby in and felt a sense of peace settle over me, the last of the nightmare finally fading away.

Good. Now you don’t have to go for a run, River,I told my wolf.

Awww!he pouted.Me like run! But it otay. Siddy too busy to play wif me.

Oh? Are the alphas back from Green River?I asked curiously.I thought they were coming home tomorrow.

Dey back, and Siddy say dey has secret-secret! Datwhy Siddy too busy to play.

I frowned at that. If Sid was keeping a secret from River, it was either something super silly or Alpha Ash had silenced him from talking about it.

Shrugging, I headed back to my room, hoping the rest of the night would be nightmare-free, but froze mid-step when the alphas opened the beta link and summoned all of us to the pack’s training center—and I couldn’t help but wonder if it had to do with Sid’s secret.

Thinking about all the reasons why we’d be called out in the middle of the night, I hustled into my room, put on my cross trainers,and left the O as quietly as I could so I didn’t wake the kids. Then I took off, running full out through the humid night with my heart in my throat the whole time. This was our first real emergency, and I prayed I’d prove myself worthy with whatever the alphas tasked us to do.

Halfway there, I realized I should have shifted and let River do the running, but I had to admit that my brain didn’t work so well for a while after a nightmare. I couldn’t shift now, either, because I didn’t have any clothes with me to change into once we got there.

Should take O car,Riv pointed out.Charlie not mind.

Yeah, I should have,I agreed,but it’s too late now.

Nearly thirty minutes had gone by before I threw open the front door of the training center and found the other betas and four of the five alphas waiting for me.

“Sorry,” I apologized, one hand pressed to my heaving chest. “Ran as fast as I could.”

“No, I’m sorry, Ty,” Alpha Mase apologized. “So much has happened, I forgot you didn’t have a ride.”

“No worries. Running’s good exercise,” I waved him off with a grin. “And I could have asked to borrow the O’s minivan if I’d taken a second to think about it.”

Despite it being my own dumb fault, I could tell that it bothered him to see me drenched in sweat and panting like a dog.

“Well, now that we’reallhere,” Matthew gave me a snide side-eye as I bent over with my hands braced on my knees to try and catch my breath, “what did you need, alphas?”

“We have some important and amazing news to share,” Alpha Jayden spoke up. “We found our luna while we were at Green River.”

A murmur of surprise and curiosity rippled through the room, and my heart skipped a beat.

A luna! No,ourluna! It’s what we—and the alphas, of course—had been waiting for!

Why didn’t they tell us right away?I thought, quickly followed by,I wonder what she’s like.

Wanna meet luna!River whined, echoing my own impatience.

“This is life-changing for us as well as you five.” Alpha Cole looked at us. “As betas, your roles will expand. You’ll act as her personal guards and confidants. You’ll be her support, her strength, and her protectors.”

As the weight of his words sank in, I felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, there was a sense of pride and honor. On the other hand, there was a sense of responsibility that felt almost overwhelming. Our lives would now be dedicated to our luna. No matter what she was like, her safety and happiness would become our top concern.

They already were, to be honest. Now that the alphas had officially announced it, each of us could feel the gentle tendrils of a bond forming with a girl we hadn’t even met yet.

“Wait! You left her at the alpha housealone?Without guards?” Emerson demanded with a scowl. “I’m going over there!”

“Me, too!” I piped up, already heading toward the door with Tristan right beside me.

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