Page 25 of Star-crossed Betas

When we return to the dining room, everyone immediately stops their conversation as we retake our seats. There’s a faint blush along Fee’s cheekbones, but we both pick up our cutlery and finish our meal as though the interruption never happened.

Dessert is homemade profiteroles, and I hate to admit it, but they’re amazing. I could have eaten ten portions of them.

Once dinner is finally over, we’re invited to stay for another round of drinks, but I’m grateful when Fee makes our excuses.

On the drive back to Fee’s house, my mind wanders to the heated kiss in the bathroom, and I start to harden in my jeans. Subtly, although evidently not subtly enough, I try to cover the evidence with my hand. Fee glances over and snickers at me.

“Fuck off,” I say, without any real bite behind the words.

“Ugh,” I groan. I feel like I've only been asleep for twenty minutes when there's loud knocking on the front door. Since we’ve both been woken up, neither of us can pretend we haven’t spent the night a tangle of limbs, with me using Fee’s chest as a pillow.

Fee lets go of me and tugs on some jogging bottoms before going to see what all the noise is about. Right before I burrow back under the duvet and go back to sleep, I hear Jasper downstairs. Overhearing the mention of Sam and Niamh’s names, I drag myself out of bed.

I pull on Fee’s t-shirt from the floor for no other reason than the fact it’s at least thirty inches closer than mine. It isnotbecause it smells of him. When I trudge down the stairs, Fee silently hands me a mug of hot coffee.

“Thanks.”

“Your brother and sister are on the edge of our land. They’re here to escort the two of you to the Peak District territory. Their presence has a few members of our pack getting twitchy, so it’d be better if you went to meet them sooner rather than later,” Jasper explains. I had no idea we were being escorted; it seems drastic for two fully grown shifters to need escorting across neutral land, but whatever.

Once we’ve each filled a duffel bag with our things, we go outside and shift, scooping up our bags with our mouths and heading to where Jasper told us we’d find my siblings.

I’ve been living with Niamh for the past year, and we rarely spend more than a day apart, so after the weirdness of the last few days, I’m excited to see her. When I spot her and Sam in the distance, I speed up, bounding towards them as fast as possible.

“Niamh?”I try to send the thought down the bond but can’t find it. Where is it? “Niamh?? Niamh?! Sam??”My heartbeat speeds up. Why can’t they hear me? I slow down my approach as my brain tries to catch up. Fee tilts his large head at me with a confused expression.

“What’s wrong?”he asks, and it’s only then I realise why I can’t communicate with them.

They aren’t my pack anymore.

When I’m close enough to see Niamh’s face, I can see the realisation dawn on her. She lets out a low whine, and I drop my bag, unable to fight the pained sound that escapes me in response. Niamh’s been by my side almost every single day of my life; I never thought there’d be a day we weren’t pack anymore, and my chest cracks open at the sudden loss.

“I can’t communicate with them anymore. The bond is gone,”I explain to Fee.

He must be able to sense my distress because he leans close, pressing his head into my neck and nuzzling me.

I might not be able to talk to her through the pack bond any longer, but she’s still my twin and my best friend, so I walk up to her and rub my face into her fiery red fur. I always used to joke that Niamh wasn’t actually a wolf shifter but rather a giant fox shifter instead.

We press our heads together and allow the feelings of sadness at what we’ve lost. Sam comes over and joins us. Fee steps back, collecting my abandoned bag and letting me have this moment with them.

When we eventually make it to Will and Niamh’s house, the place I’ve called home up until now, we don’t even reach the front door before Will comes bounding out with a big grin. Right before he launches his arms around my neck, Phoenix steps in front of me and growls. I roll my eyes, but I can’t deny the bit of satisfaction I get from him being territorial over me. Especiallyafter I basically rubbed my scent all over him in his parents’ guest bathroom during dinner.

Will’s cheeks pinken in embarrassment, we’ve always been very affectionate with each other, and I don’t want him to feel shitty. I nudge Fee out of the way and press my muzzle against Will’s chest. He strokes the fur on my forehead before reaching around to scratch behind my ears, exactly where I like it. Fee growls again when I let out a satisfied sigh, and Will drops his hand. Fee presses up against my side and bumps his shoulder into mine.

“Want to piss on me while you’re at it?”I ask down the bond, repeating his words from last night.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind, actually.”

He pretends to cock his leg like he’s going to pee on me, so I knock into him while he’s off balance. I have him pinned to the ground, and he tilts his head in a surprising act of submission that pleases me more than it should.

“Come on. Let’s shift and act a bit more civilised.”

We all shift back and throw on some clothes before heading inside. The five of us occupy too much room in the small kitchen we’ve gathered in. Sam is taller than I am and much broader; he looks more like Niamh with his auburn hair and the dusting of freckles covering his nose. It’s at odds with his demeanour, which always comes across as severe. He’s a big softy, really, but our da has spent his entire life preparing him to take over as Alpha, and the pressure has meant he’s serious more often than he’s not. I’ve never envied the burden and responsibility that was put on his shoulders at such a young age.

“Sorry. I was rude to you outside,” Fee says, extending his hand out to Will, who shakes it and looks fairly bewildered.

“Um. No problem. I wasn’t trying to... erm… step on your toes or anything. Sorry,” Will stammers out. Sam and Niamh both look faintly amused by the exchange.

“Has my good little house husband prepared dinner for my arrival home?” Niamh says, winking. Will lets out an irritated huff before replying.

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