Page 33 of Star-crossed Betas

Those eyes of his—always so open and expressive—are telling me everything I need to know. Regret. He knows this wolf. This is a wolf from his pack.

He looks guilty. Why does he look guilty? Has he told someone about us? Did he know he was being followed? None of this makes sense.

We’ve kept this secret for two years; why now? Before I even consciously make the decision, I’ve shifted to my wolf form in the water. I can scent better like this; the stranger is female. I’m much larger than she is, but she makes no signs of submission, so I bare my teeth at her and growl defensively.

“Cee, listen to me. It’s okay, I promise it’s okay,” Fee tells me, tugging at the fur around my neck. “Cee, please shift back so we can talk. You’re safe. I wouldn’t lie to you.” He looks at me pleadingly, but I shake my head and keep my eyes trained on the other wolf.

I won’t shift back until she does.

“Shit,” he mutters under his breath. He moves to walk out of the water towards her, but I whip my tail out, forcing him behind me. I don’t know what’s happening here, but he’s stillmine.He lets out a sigh of frustration. “Alice, next to the big rock over there is my bag, there’s a t-shirt in there. Shift back, please, so we can talk,” he says to the other wolf.

Alice? His best friend, Alice? Why is she here, and why does she know about us? How did she find us here if she’s from the Lake District pack? She pauses for a second and then lets out a huffing sound before making her way over towards Fee’s bag. When she returns from behind the large rock, she’s shifted.

Alice is small, maybe five foot one or five foot two. She’s wearing Fee’s t-shirt, which resembles a dress on her, cutting off around her mid-thigh. Her hair is a silvery blonde, long and pin straight, falling almost to her waist. She’s beautiful, and the sight of her in my boyfriend’s t-shirt causes an involuntary growl to rumble from my chest.

This time, when Fee tries to walk out of the water, I don’t stop him, but I do follow closely behind. Alice holds out a pair of shorts for him, and he pulls them on quickly.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“I could ask you the same thing, what the fuck, Nix? Who is that?” she replies, pointing a finger at me.

Nix? It must be what his friends and family call him, and the thought makes me suddenly feel like an outsider.

“Did you follow me here?” They both seem to be answering questions with questions.

“Yes, I followed you here. I thought you were hooking up with some human I could rib you about, but that’s definitely not a human,” she answers, raising her voice. I snarl at the insinuation I’m just some guy Fee is fucking.

“Enough, Alice. I know I owe you some answers, but you won’t get them if you talk about him that way,” he says firmly. With a voice like that, you’d almost believe he could be an Alpha one day. “You’re alone?” he asks, and she nods.

Fee turns towards me, lifting his hands to cup my face; he tugs gently on one of my ears to make me face him. “Cee, I didn’t know I was being followed. You have to believe me, okay? Please shift back so we can all talk. I promise you’re safe.” His usual playful eyes are serious now.

I pad towards the small cave where I left my bag earlier and shift. After I’ve put on some athletic shorts, I return to where Fee and Alice are standing in suffocating silence. My neck tingles, warning me I’m unprotected around wolves from an enemypack, reminding me I’m outnumbered. Fee meets me partway, pressing a brief kiss to my lips and holding my hand tightly as if I’ll bolt if he doesn’t.

“Alice, you have to promise me, you can’t tell anyone, please?” he implores her. She stares at where our fingers are interlaced.

“Tell me that isn’t who I think it is,” she says to him as though I’m not standing right there.

“Alice, this is Connor, myboyfriend.Connor, this is my best friend Alice…right?” He phrases it like he’s not sure he’ll still be able to call her that after this particular revelation, and my heart pangs in empathy for him.

“How long?” she asks. He swallows loudly.

“Just over two years.” She gasps at his admission, and her eyes fill with emotion.

“You lied to me,” she says welling up. “Last winter, I asked you so many times who you were meeting in secret, and you fobbed me off, telling me it was a meaningless hookup.” Her words stab me in the chest.

A meaningless hookup? I try to drop Fee’s hand, but he holds on tight, his knuckles turning white.

“I did, I lied. I’m sorry you found out this way, but it was safer for you not to know. Because now I have to beg you to keep this secret for me, keep this secret from the pack and from your Alpha, and I never wanted to put you in that position.” He reaches towards her with his other hand and rubs a thumb gently across her delicate wrist.

“I won’t tell anyone,” she whispers and the breath I’d been holding whooshes out of me.

“Thank you,” I manage to croak out, speaking finally.

“Two years, Nix? What exactly is this?” she asks Fee but gestures between the two of us. Fee looks at me, silently asking my permission to tell the truth, and I nod. At this point, honesty seems to be our best bet for keeping this between the three of us.

“We’re together, Alice. He’s my boyfriend and I love him. I had to lie to keep us safe, so please don't hold it against me because all this secrecy is eating me alive as it is, and I can’t lose you.” A tear has sprung free from his eye and runs down his cheek. I give his hand a squeeze in support. They both turn my way as I clear my throat.

“He’s tellin' the truth; if he wasn’t Phoenix Campbell and I wasn’t Connor Kelly, we’d be mated by now,” I tell Alice sincerely.

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