Page 25 of Beta and the Beast
Sam and I have been working on getting the Alpha Center labeled as alternative housing for displaced alphas, which will allow us to house the ones under eighteen. The process is lengthy. In the meantime, I'm applying to be a foster parent, and that's just as difficult as a single male alpha.
"Is everything okay?" Sarah asks.
"It will be," I tell her, lifting my hand and placing it on her hip before I can stop myself. "I just won't be next door, but if you need anything, text or call, and I'll be there."
"I can take care of myself, alpha," she says, her lips pulling up in a teasing way. It's no surprise to her or me when Romulus comes to the forefront of our mind, taking control of our body.
"If that were true, you wouldn't spend your nights trying to muffle your cries as you come thinking about me."
Too far!
Not far enough if you ask me.
"Don't be crass," Sarah admonishes Romulus, who just chuckles before giving me back control of our body. She might think he's being crass, but her arousal has bloomed around us. I won't comment on it. Romulus is doing enough of that in our mind. "Tell Lucas I'll be in touch."
I give her an exasperated look and a shake of my head. "Goodbye, Sarah."
I slide into the car, ignoring Lucas's shit-eating grin as he pulls away from the house. It isn't until we're down the street that he says something.
"Whipped by a fucking beta."
I huff out a small laugh. "Yeah, I'm whipped by a fucking beta."
11
Sarah
The shower spray is not doing anything to keep my mind off the hot alpha who's ruining my life. Okay, maybe it was stupid to think I could get in the shower and turn the warm water on and not think about Henry and his stupidly soft-looking sweaters and how his glasses are always a little crooked. His dark hair all pulled back into his messy little bun. He isn't what I expected when I first met him, and he's continued to surprise me since.
He's still an alpha. That much is abundantly clear in the possessive way he looks at me sometimes, in the mannerisms that slip out before he can stop himself, in the way his smell continues to coat the inside of my apartment and make me feel safer than I ever have before.
Alphas behaving poorly is something I'm used to. One listening to me, trying to ensure he doesn't invade my workspace or make me uncomfortable? I'm not used to that at all, and I don't know what to do with the flicker of attraction I feel toward him that has turned into a full-blown raging inferno of need.
I've been ignoring it, well, as much as I can, considering his sweet pepperminty smell has a straight line to my clit. I've pavloved myself. That has to be it. Anytime I smell him, I think about the many, many orgasms I've had trying to sate my desire for him. It's become a problem.
Even at dinner, I had to keep myself from rubbing my legs together because of how much his scent surrounded me. I've never smelled an alpha so distinctly in my life, and the fact that it's Henry of all alphas makes me wonder if there's something more going on.
Oh, who am I kidding? It doesn't mean anything. It can't. He's working with Sam, and nothing good comes from mixing a relationship with my brother's business partner, even if it's purely physical. Oh, and there's the fact that he's an alpha with a beast who probably has an omega out there. He'll fall in love with them, knot them, and live happily ever after.
I close my eyes and duck my head under the spray. I'm not thinking about his knot or how sometimes I can see the outline of his massive erection in his khakis. Definitely not thinking about how he smells like peppermints and happiness and home. And one hundred percent not reading anything into how I don't mind his smell or his erection or the idea of him having a knot as much as I should.
I let the spray hit me right in the face and remind myself how many customers I had this morning. Zero. That helps to quell the lust simmering up inside me and instead fills me with dread.
I swallow down the lump in my throat and try to stop the burning behind my eyes. Okay, maybe fantasizing about Henry is the preferable choice to this.
I don't want to think about how my livelihood is about to disappear. The bakery isn't even open yet, and I've lost all my customers. I'm going to have to pivot, and that means taking Lucas up on his offer of figuring out safety measures for nondynamic-specific spaces. It's just a coffee shop, so no one should be causing issues, but with alphas, it doesn't take much for them to get upset.
I turn the water off so I can stop sulking. I didn't have a single customer all day when I closed the store earlier. I stay open for regular hours, even though no one is coming in. I don't want anyone to think I won't be reliable in my times just because things are hard. I might make myself cry, but I don't give up. And I won't. Not until I'm certain this is all over.
"Okay, no more sad thoughts," I tell myself as I look in the mirror at my reflection. "No more crying. We're going to text Lucas and come up with a game plan. And no more thinking about Henry, you traitorous beta."
I snort out a huff of laughter at my dramatics. When my smile stays on my lips for a second longer, I wonder how screwed I am if I'm falling for an alpha.
***
I don't know what surprises me more: the fact that Henry and Lucas's apartment is only a couple of blocks away from the coffee shop or that Henry has pretty much abandoned living in such a great apartment to camp out in the one across the hall from me.
Hazel whistles when we walk into the lobby. It's gorgeous and extravagant, and so out of my price range that it makes my heartfreak out a bit. I knew Henry and Lucas came from money, but I didn't realize how much.
