Page 34 of The Beta's Heart

Tyler

Alpha Wyatt informed us that it was finally time to meet our new luna, although it came with a catch.

Y’all are escorting her and Peri and some other girls as they go shopping,he linked us just before bed.

My jaw dropped, and I wasn’t the only one.

Shopping!Matthew whined, and Tris let out a little groan.

Get to meet her,River chirped, looking on the bright side.Get to be wif luna alllll day!

Yeah, I agreed.That’ll make up for it being a shopping trip.

The next morning, I caught a ride with Emerson to the alpha house, the two of us both quiet with nerves to meet our luna, and he pulled into the parking lot with a heavy exhale.

“Let’s pray this goes well.” Putting the SUV into park, he turned to look at me.

“We’llmakeit go well.”

“You haven’t seen what some lunas can be like, kid, or what they can force you to do,” he muttered. “What if she’s a horror show?”

“She can’t help what Alpha Briggs did to her. No matter how scarred she is, she’s still our luna and—”

“No, Ty, I meant her personality,” he cut me off, his dark brown eyes wide. “I don’t care what she looks like. I’m more worried about what she’llactlike.”

“It won’t matter,” I said stubbornly. “She’s our luna and we’re her betas. Besides, like I said before, the Goddess wouldn’t have given our alphas the wrong kind of girl.”

“I hope you’re right, kid.”

By then, the other betas had arrived, so Em and I joined them. Together, we walked toward the alpha house, where we could see a crowd gathered on the front porch. Of course, our five alphas were a crowd all by themselves, but my eyes went past them and right to the small girl huddling in their midst.

She was a tiny little thing, as pretty as a peach with her dark brown hair up in fancy braids. What stood out the most to me, though, was the fear in her sapphire eyes. It wasn’t the kind of fear you get from a scary movie or a sudden surprise. It was deeper, more ingrained, like she’d seen too much of the wrong side of life—and my heart squeezed with a fierce determination to make everything better and safer for her.

Alpha Ash took her hand and led her down the steps, then straight to me, and I quickly squared up my shoulders and lifted my chin, desperate to make a good first impression.

“Posy, meet Tyler James. His wolf is named River,” Alpha Ash told her. “Ty, meet our mate and your luna, Posy Briggs. Her wolf is named Lark.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, luna,” I said, feeling my cheeks and the tops of my ears burn. I managed to meet her gaze, though, and held out my hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Beta Tyler.”

Her voice was soft and quiet, and I could sense her shyness since it matched my own.

“Just Tyler or Ty is fine, luna. I’m honored to be your guard. I’ll work really hard. I won’t let you down,” I promised her.

“Thank you, Tyler. I can tell you’re going to be a great beta, and I know we’re going to become good friends.”

I didn’t know if she was just being polite or meant it, but she smiled at me, which made that hated blush get even hotter, although I was pleased as punch to have earned a smile from her already.

Then Meanie Boy had to go and ruin the moment, laughing in a rude way as he muttered, “What a baby!”

I heard him, of course. So did everyone standing there. Biting my bottom lip, I shoved my hands in my pockets and stared hard at the ground, feeling some kind of way. Embarrassed? Angry? Maybe a mix of both.

“Matthew,” Alpha Mase’s voice was hard and cold as ice, and Meanie Boy’s blue eyes fogged up for a second before he walked over to us and held out his hand to me.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

I saw no regret in his face, but reluctantly took my hand out of my pocket and shook his hand. I didn’t say anything to him, though.

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