Page 3 of The Beta's Heart

“Dodged a bullet there, Ty,” Gamma Lan laughed.

Despite my exasperation with River, I was glad to see my buddy happy again. While I often worried I’d never be blessed with a mate,hehad been, and she’d rejected him immediately.

On his birthday.

In front of half the school in the cafeteria, no less.

Nia Hashimoto had added another layer of humiliation by opening the pack link so everyone would hear her do it, demeaning my friend in the worst way she could while inflicting the most agonizing wound a shifter could suffer.

I didn’t share his lunch period, but alphas Ash and Wyatt did and told me all about it. Not only did she say way more than she should have with human ears listening, she knew that opening the pack link was strictly forbidden unless we were under attack or there was a threatof some kind. She never could stay out of trouble and was still on probation for a stunt she pulled with me two years ago.

The dumb bitch had hidden in my room at the O and gave me a heart attack when I opened my door and found her lying naked on my bed. I’d been so freaked out and worried I’d be accused of something, I’d shifted and let River run to the Busted Knuckle, not knowing where else to go in my panic. The next morning, when Mr. Barlow came into work and found River curled up asleep in the back seat of a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, he’d forced the story out of me.

The second I was done talking, he’d stormed out of the garage and hunted Nia down, then dragged her by the hair all the way to the alpha offices for punishment with the warning that if Alpha Mase didn’t “yank her baldheaded,” he’d do it himself.

Needless to say, I’d steered clear of her after that.

The day after she rejected Gamma Lan, Nia disappeared, the school given some story about her going to live with a distant relative, but everyone in the pack knew Alpha Jay had banished her and Sid had gone on a rogue hunt that night.

Alpha Ash’s wolf was a lot like River. Shy, quiet, innocent, and easily frightened babies who couldn’t even talk right, but once they lost their tempers, they’d cancel anyone’s birth certificaterealquick. The only difference was that River’s trigger tripped all the time while Sid had to be pushed to that level of rage.

“You and Alpha Ash might need to give Riv and Sid a new set of rules,” Gamma Lan laughed again.

“I reckon so,” I agreed with a sigh, then grunted out a little chuckle. It was either laugh or cry with Riv, and most days I chose to laugh.

Goddess knew, if I ever started crying, I just might not stop.

2. Mother of a Morning

Peri Barlow

“Dammit.”

I sighed, staring at the red spot on my underwear. Even though it was as regular as clockwork, I’d hoped my period wouldn’t start today. Not only did I have to give a presentation in my least favorite class, protect my besties from their bullies during gym, and retake my test in English, I had to do it all while checking the back of my pants every five minutes!

“What a great Monday,” I grumbled as I searched my bathroom cupboard for pads, then folded toilet paper into a thick wad when I couldn’t find any. “I know I bought some yesterday! What the hell could have happened to them?!”

With my makeshift pad in place, I headed to Mom and Dad’s room, hoping she had extras and that I wouldn’t bleed through before I got there.

I was almost twelve when my real mom, Kelly, died. About nine months later, Dad and Alpha Shawn Black’s widow, Genevieve, decided the best way to keep their kids, their packs, and their sanity intact was to take each other as chosen mates.

It was a rough transition. The Great Rocks and River Rapids packs combining was hard enough, but merging the Black and Barlow households was even tougher. Lots of arguing and crying marked the first few weeks, but everything slowly settled into place. The boys sorted out their pecking order and room arrangements, and thankfully, I didn’t have to share a room with any of them.

Perks of being the only girl.

As for Dad and Evie, they treated each other like roommates until one day—seemingly out of the blue—they realized they were in love. I didn’t know what took them so long.Iknew there was something up with Dad the day Evie’s monthly cycle restarted, causing the last of her mate mark to fade. There was just something in his face as he held her while she sobbed. As for Evie, I’d caught her staring at Dad one day with this look in her silvery blue eyes and I could tell her heart was gone.

Why all of my knucklehead brothers were surprised when Mom and Dad announced they were expecting a pup, I didn’t know. While the boys rubbed their heads, I danced around, happy for them and excited to have a baby in the family.

In hindsight, if I had known what William—and later Winston—would be like, I would have run away. They were asmischievous as a pair of leprechauns, point proven when I found them in the hallway, plastering my new pads all over Wesley’s bedroom door.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, planting my fists on my hips.

“Put pane stickahs up fo’ Wes,” Winnie said, smiling at me.

“Because he likes airplanes so much,” William added, also smiling.

“Those are not airplane stickers!” I hissed, marching over to see if there was anything worth salvaging. “How many times have I told you two not to go into my room without permission?”

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