Page 96 of The Beta's Heart

“Here, Per.” Gamma Rube reached one closed fist across the table as if to hand me something. “Some brain cells to make up for all the ones you’re wearing out today.”

“You should return them to whoever you stole them from. No, even better!” I held up my index finger. “Keep ’em for yourself so the two you have left don’t die of loneliness.”

“For the love of the moon, beta,” Gamma Nick groaned, “make it stop making noise!”

With a chuckle, my mate reeled me in for a kiss, which turned out to be a very effective way to shut me up.

#

The next day, Ty had an appointment with Dr. Myers, and I tagged along. It was my first time going with him, and I probably asked too many questions as I watched the process. Neither of them grew impatient with me, probably because they understood that I needed to know my mate was going to be fine.

“I hope to have some new information for you soon,” Dr. Myers said as Ty put his shirt back on. “Beta Emerson was over at the old Dark Woods clinic the day his little brother arrived here, and he said it was in stable enough condition to be rehabbed instead of torn down. Since Alpha Ash gave me permission to go, I recruited Crew and Grey and some of Grey’s friends to help me last weekend, and we brought all the filing cabinets back here.”

“I hope you have them sitting outside somewhere, or the rats and mice inside them will invade this place,” Ty snorted.

“I, um, borrowed Squidge and, ah, set him loose the day before,” Dr. Myers said with a faint blush. “Nothing was alive when we went inside.”

“Who’s Squidge?” I tilted my head, my eyes bouncing between the two.

“A cat—”

“Possibly!” Ty interjected.

“Who deigns to live with the air witch, Maria Rose,” Dr. Myers finished.

“He’s also known as Lucipurr, Saddam Hiss-ein, Murder Mittens—”

“Aha!” I jumped in my seat as I cut Ty off. “This is the cat everyone’s always bitching about, isn’t it? The one Arch wanted to kill because it attacked Wayne? And Emerson wants to feed it to Granitebecause it torments Angelo, but Thoreau loves it, so they’re stuck with it?That cat?”

“Yeah, Sunshine, that cat,” Ty chuckled.

“Ooo, I want to meet—”

“No, you don’t,” Dr. Myers and my mate chorused before Dr. Myers added, “Angelo del Vecchio doesn’t call himpiccolo mostrofor no reason.”

“I don’t speak Italian,” I pointed out.

“Little monster,” Ty supplied. “Well, Doc, hopefully you’ll find something in those files about me or my mom or my dad. Until then, I’m going to do my best not to think about it more than I have to.”

“You’ve been seeing Dr. York, right?”

Dr. Alonzo York and his mate, Paul, a math teacher, had moved to the pack shortly after Spring returned. He knew Angelo, who’d asked him to evaluate Reau, and had told my alpha brothers that he had years of work here if they’d permit his transfer from the Royal Pack to Five Fangs. Needless to say, there were many who had already benefited from having a therapist in the pack, my mate among them.

“Yes, and it’s making a big difference,” Ty admitted. “I educated myself to try and improve my mental health and heal the emotional scars, but having a professional to work with is a lot better.”

“Are your nightmares decreasing?”

I bit my bottom lip. I hadn’t seen Ty have a nightmare yet and was a little nervous about when it would happen—and it would. I’d gone with him the last time he saw Dr. York and learned quite a bit about avoiding triggers and practicing mindfulness. I’d also learned that the consequences of Ty’s trauma would linger for a long, long time, maybe even the rest of his life.

And Ty had looked at me with such vulnerability in his pretty blue eyes that tears had pricked mine as I swore to him that it didn’t change anything between us, and shame on him for thinking it would.

That had made him blush as he hugged me, digging his face in my throat as his hard arms clung to me.

“Haven’t had one since I found Peri, but that was only a few days ago,” Ty told Dr. Myers now. “Still, that’s a record for me.”

“I’m sure Dr. York warned you that there will be steps back occasionally, so don’t panic or feel depressed if youdohave one.”

“Just keep fighting the good fight,” Ty agreed with a nod.

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