Page 40 of Star-crossed Betas

“What are you talking about? What have Jasper and Jade got to do with us?” I ask him frantically. He really needs to tell me what’s going on before I implode.

“This isn’t about us, Fee. I didn’t know it would lead to this. If I’d known, I never would have said a word. I need you to believe me!”

“Said a word about what? I need you to take a deep breath, baby. Calm down and tell me what’s going on.” He tries to take some deep breaths, but they keep hitching on a sob. I’ve never seen him like this before. Using the sleeve of my jumper, I wipe some snot from under his nose, waiting for him to calm down enough to explain.

“A few weeks ago, I told Mikey Jade was pregnant. You remember I told you I almost took my thumb off with the bench saw?” I nod, recalling it well because he’d called me out of the blue later that day, saying he needed to see me—he’d seemed so exhausted and, well, sad. “It was that day, and I wasn’t thinkin’ straight. He kept badgering me about Will, and I wanted to change the subject, but I had no idea it would lead to this. I… I had no idea. I didn’t think…” Fresh tears stream down his cheeks, and my lunch sits like lead in my stomach.

“Lead to what?”

“Niamh overheard Mikey and some of his friends talkin’. She said they were plannin’ something to make it look like Jade died in an accident. They think if a new Campbell Alpha is born, we’ll be at a disadvantage. Everyone knows the pack is almost broke, and Sam doesn’t have a mate. My da’s gettin’ older, and people are starting to panic over the pack’s future.”

My mind whirls, trying to process too much information at once. Before I can unpack everything else, I need to make sure my family is kept safe.

“I need to go,” I tell him calmly, uncurling his fingers where they’re digging into my skin.

“Niamh is telling my da, right now. He’ll put a stop to it.” His voice wavers, and I can’t help but think he only hopes that's the case. I certainly can’t risk the safety of my family on his dad,hopefullyputting a stop to this. I need to go and warn them. How do I warn them, and leave Cee out of it? “I’m so sorry,” he tells me again.

“Don’t be. It’s my fault.”

“How could any of this possibly be your fault?” He tries to reach out for me again, but I take a step back, and he looks crushed. His fingers flex as though he doesn’t know what to do with them if he can’t touch me.

“I shouldn’t have told you about the baby. My pack trusted me, and I betrayed them when I told you. It’s my fault, and I need to go.” I can’t stop the cold from leaching into my voice, but I need to leave and warn my family before I can break down.

“What do you mean? I’m your boyfriend, you should be able to tell me things. I fucked up, I know I fucked up, but I’m going to fix this, okay? Let me fix this.” His voice is pleading with me, but I’m angry with him, and I need to leave before I say something I’ll regret. He needs to let me go.

“You’ve done enough. If there’s anything else I need to know, text me. I have to put my pack first for once.”

Why would he have told his cousin? I always assumed everything we talked about stayed between us. As soon as we both came clean about who we were, I honestly didn’t even filter what I said around him, and he didn’t seem to around me. I knew how dire his pack’s financial situation was, but I never would have told anyone, not even Alice.

What else has he told them?

As easily as the snap of a twig, the trust is broken. I feel embarrassed and foolish for trusting him so implicitly. I thought it was an unspoken rule that the things I told him when we were alone were said in confidence. He clearly didn't see it that way.

When I make it back to my car, I call my mum, giving her a brief rundown so she can get Jas and Jade somewhere safe quickly. By the time I’ve pulled my clothes back on, she’s sent me a text with an address. It’s a safe house that’s vaguely familiar. It’s right in the heart of our territory, deep in Whinlatter Forest, up in the mountains near Keswick. My Satnav says it’ll take roughly an hour and a half to get there. It’s only late afternoon, but the sky is a dark grey, and the rain is still heavy. The weather reflects my current situation poignantly.

As I drive up to the chalet-style property, I see Jas’s beat-up Land Rover parked on the driveway. After pulling my Jeep up behind him, I make a quick dash for the front door, trying not to get drenched through for the third time today.

They must have got here considerably faster than I did since Jas already has a fire going and is pacing a hole in the carpet. Jade looks surprisingly unphased; she’s curled up under a blanket, watchingSchitt's Creek. She gives me a soft smile and pauses her show as I toe off my shoes, and Jas raises his eyebrow at me in question.

“Sit, and I’ll explain what I can.” Jade lifts her feet so Jasper can sit on the sofa next to her, and I plonk myself down in the armchair facing them.

The entire drive over here, I debated what exactly to tell them. As hurt and angry as I am with Cee for telling his cousin something I thought I told him in confidence, I know he never in a million years would have seen this as a possible outcome. I know I need to put my pack and my family first, but I also need to find a way to protect him too. I’m not going to throw away almost four years over one horrible mistake.

I can’t lie to myself, though; there is a paranoid part of my brain that has me questioning everything I’ve ever told him. For so long, I’ve assumed everything we talk about stays between the two of us, like some unwritten rule, and suddenly I don’t know for certain if that’s the case.

Have I had the measure of what’s between us all wrong?

I know Connor loves me, but he’s also made it clear his family comes first, and I think I’ve been choosing to ignore that. And now my family is in danger because I always hear what I want to hear rather than the truth.

“I’m trying not to freak out here, Nix, but I really need you to start talking,” Jas says.

“Sorry. My head’s all over the place,” I reply.

Taking a deep breath, I explain as best I can while keeping Cee's identity a secret. I tell them I’ve been seeing a girl from a Scottish pack in secret but that it’s over now. Taking responsibility for my part in this, I admit I told them about the baby and apologise for thinking they would keep it a secret but that I did trust them.

It’s a struggle to contain my anger towards Cee because I should have been able to trust him. After almost four years together, trust and love were all we had. With that broken, what’s left?

Where my tale gets a bit dicey is when I try to explain how they were close with someone from the Kelly pack, overheard the plot against Jade, and warned me as soon as they found out.

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