Page 119 of The Beta's Heart

“You know me too well, Sunshine,” I chuckled.

“I’ll be happy to introduce you, Peri.” Angelo pointed to where Kon was talking to Landry and Reuben. “Come on. Maybe you can even convince him to shift. I know the fairies are eager to meet Chime Karma, but one is too shy to speak and the other won’t stop tormenting Matthew.”

“He deserved it,” Em and I said together, then laughed.

Meanie Boy wouldn’t stop teasing the fairies about their pointed ears—Goddess knows why—so Georgie slapped a spell on him that turned his to donkey ears and tacked a tail on his behind for good measure.

“Go ahead,” Em told his mate. “I’ll talk to Ty for a minute, then we’ll join you.”

Nodding his head, Angelo motioned for Peri to walk in front of him, and my girl happily went on her way to meet a dragon.

“Did you need something, Em?” I asked as I watched her heart-shaped backside wiggle away from me with real regret that we weren’t home alone right now.

“How’s the treatment for your scars going?” he asked.

“Good!” I rolled my shoulder to demonstrate. “I’ve got a full range of motion again in my arm and chest, and we’re going to start working on my back soon.”

“That’s great to hear! I’m happy for you, man.” A genuine smile spread across his face. “Now, what about your family? You dig anything up yet?”

“Dr. Myers is pretty sure Seymour James wasn’t my biological father.”

“That’s a lot to take in.” Em’s brows knitted together in concern. “If he wasn’t your dad, then what about your mom?”

“I don’t know.” I let out a sigh, the familiar frustration bubbling up. “If my mom was really my mom, why didn’t she tell me they were chosen mates? And if she wasn’t, then who was she? And who was my real dad? What happened to him?”

The weight of these questions had been pressing down on me ever since my last visit with Dr. Myers, confusion and anger swirling inside me, and it was hard to not dwell on it.

“Maybe you should try to find your family’s house,” he suggested. “There might be some answers inside. Some documents or letters. Maybe even a few home videos survived.”

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I plan to go once I have an idea of where exactly it might be.”

“I was over in Dark Woods the day Reau arrived here. The houses that are left standing are in bad shape, so be careful. I don’t recommend going alone, but you deserve to know the truth, Ty.”

Then he pulled me into a hug, and I held on tight, trying not to tear up.

“Thanks, Em,” I sniffed.

“Just remember, little brother.” He pulled back and met my eyes. “No matter what you find, you’ve got a family right here, and you always will.”

26. Flight or Fight

Tyler

Once again, I’m running through the woods, the moon above casting a cold, silvery light that barely cuts through the oppressive darkness. The trees loom overhead, their gnarled branches clawing at the air as I sprint past them. My breath comes in ragged, panicked gasps, each exhale a plume of mist. Dead leaves crunch underfoot like an approaching army, relentless and unforgiving.

No matter how fast I run, though, I can’t escape the feeling that I’m being dragged back to that moment, where time stretches and distorts into an endless loop of terror. The pain I’m in mingles with the fear of the unknown, a brutal cocktail that makes me stumble and fall.

Suddenly, the scene shifts, warping into a new horror that I never experienced before. I’m no longer running from my father, but from an undefined terror, a shadow that stinks like oil burning in a pan. Its presence is suffocating, a dark cloud squeezing the breath from my lungs. I flail blindly through the forest, my limbs heavy and uncoordinated as my heart hammers in my chest.

The terror closes in, its jagged edges scraping against my skin, sending shivers of ice through my veins. I can feel its hunger, its need to devour me. In a final, frantic burst of energy, I lash out blindly, my arm striking something soft. The world tilts violently as I struggle, then the sudden, sharp jolt of ice-cold water snaps my eyes open—

I gasped and sat up, disoriented and trembling. Peri stood next me, her eyes wide with worry and her hands on my shoulders.

Reality slowly filtered back in, and I realized I was in our bed, not the forest. The terror was gone, but its echoes lingered in my mind. My face was all wet, and a familiar glass lay in my lap.

“Peri?”

“It’s okay.” Her voice was shaking as much as my whole body. “You’re safe now. It was just a nightmare.”

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