Page 71 of The Beta's Heart

“Peri, you are adorable.” He lowered his hand and caught my other one to lace our fingers together. “And to answer your question, butterscotch.”

I had to take a deep breath to inflate my lungs, which had seemed to collapse at his compliments. I couldn’t believe this was happening, that we were together and would be for the rest of our lives.

“Ty, I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and this will all have been a dream.”

“Me, too, but maybe this will make it seem more real for both of us.”

Then he leaned down and kissed me—a sweet, innocent brush of his lips against mine—and I suddenly couldn’t tell the difference between this boy and my own heart.

“Oh, my,” I breathed when he lifted his head.

“Yeah.” His lungs stuttered a bit as his blue eyes locked on me. “Listen, Peri, I don’t have a big bank account, and I’m still dealing with some issues from my childhood, but I have a good-paying job and I swear I will work hard to provide you with the life you deserve.”

Oh.My eyes teared up.Oh, Ty!

“I don’t even have a bank account or a job, but I know we’re going to be fine. You know how I know that? Because we’ll be together. So long as we’re together, we can face anything, right?”

“Right. And we’ll be together forever, Sunshine, because I ain’t letting you go any sooner than that.”

As a grin curled up the corners of his mouth, I tugged my hands free from his and hugged him, squeezing hard enough to make the breath huff out of him, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders to hold me just as tightly. Feeling brave and safe and knowing the time was right, I said something I’d only ever said to my family before.

“I love you,” I whispered into his t-shirt.

“I love you, too, so much. My beautiful mate. My sunshine. My Peri.”

17. Heaven and Hell

Peri

After our walk, we rejoined the others for hamburgers and hot dogs, cake and ice cream, and I gently reminded Ty that it was River’s birthday, too, when my mate complained that his wolf was making him look like a pig.

Then it was time for his present, which we’d all contributed to as we could afford, and my oldest brothers made up the difference. He was not expecting any gift, that much was clear, and I thought he might pass out when he saw we got him a brand-new car.

While my dad and brothers were motorheads, I didn’t care a lick about vehicles, but they had made a fine choice with a four-door SUV with lots of room inside. It was a car for a man with a mate, although I half-suspected Wyatt had argued for a speedster like his precious Jaguar.

When Ty had raised his trembling hands to cover his face, I hurried to wrap him up in another tight hug, and he held me close, burying his face in my hair.

“While we’re overwhelming you, we might as well tell you about your new living arrangements,” Mase said, and I bit back a grin, guessing what was coming and excited beyond belief.

As part of a beta’s pay, Ty got to choose a house from a list of available properties in pack territory once he found his mate—ie,me—and the boys knew that there was one house in particular I had always dreamed of living in. I loved it so much, I used to ask Dad to drive by it whenever we went somewhere so I could drool over it.

Sure enough, that was the house they were giving Ty. Well,us. My mate tried to refuse it, saying it was far too valuable, but my brothers gave him no choice, and I was the happiest person in the world when he gave in.

I had my mate and I had my dream house. What more could a girl ask for? I knew we were young, and it would take hard work and patience to build our new life, but I also knew we could do it. Like I’d told him, so long as we were together, we were going to be just fine.

#

Tyler

I dropped my head in my hands and pulled at my hair. The pressure in my chest was unbearable, and I didn’t know what to do.

“What’s up, pup?” Emerson plunked down on the lounger next to me, his presence both a comfort and an irritation, and even without looking, I knew the other betas had wandered over, too.

“Ty? Did something happen?” Tristan asked, concern lacing his voice.

“You didn’t have a fight with Peri already, did you?” Matthew snickered, and I could hear the smirk in his voice without even looking.

Clenching my jaw, I sat up and narrowed my eyes at him.

---