Page 30 of The Beta: Part Two
Jasper levels me with a glare powerful and dark enough to make me feel small. “This is the third time she's nearly been taken from me by the selfish stupidity of a foolish alpha. The only reason you're still breathing is because your death would only hurt her. Now, I am going to take my mate, because that is what she is,” he narrows his eyes at me as he says those words, “to our nest so I can try to mend some of this mess you've made of her.”
He turns to leave, scooping Talia up into his arms, but stops to speak again to his pack, “Talia's heat is over, even I can smell the difference. Find a way to fix this, I don't care how. I can't lose her again. I can't, I won't survive it. This is the second time in my life I have hated every molecule of omega DNA in my body.” Then he's gone, and I'm left kneeling on the floor surrounded by the wrath of an extremely dangerous pack.
They can't kill me, even though they probably should, even though I deserve it for taking something from Talia that she didn't offer. Alex, who is for all the world another version of Trent in personality, waltzes down the hall and leans against the door frame, “I felt a slight disturbance on the pack bond. What did you do?”
He's smirking and I hope it doesn't get him killed. They won't kill me, but there's nothing stopping anyone from killing Alex for being obnoxious at the worst possible time.
“Yes, Corso, what did you do?” Kaleb asks, in a tone that sounds like a snake coiling around a rabbit.
There is no good answer, only a true one. “I don't remember doing it, and I didn't mean for it to happen. I bit Talia. Claimed her. I can feel her, there is a bond,” I'm trying to be courageously honest, but I ruin the effect by licking my lips because they still taste like her.
“Fuck me,” Alex winces, “well shit. Now what? She's not leaving here without their omega, so taking her back with us is out. Don't get me wrong, if she lets me live long enough, I love the idea of having her back with us, you know I do. But...” he trails off as the room fills with the seething growls of angry alphas.
“Oh, cut the shit. We're not going to fight this out, it's not the right time for that, and it won't actually solve anything,” he clips, “let's all put on some fucking pants and go to the kitchen and have a few drinks until we figure this out.”
He doesn't wait for anyone to respond or agree, he just disappears back down the hall.
Kaleb and Devon have one of their silent conversations, and then they head down the hall. Trent sneers at me, but he follows them, leaving Nathan and I, both of us staring at the floor. He shakes his head, “come on.”
He grabs a pair of gym shorts from a drawer and I realize this must be his room. I stand, stiff and shaky on my legs, and pull on the jeans I discarded on the floor when I got here. He leads the way through the door, but we pause in the hallway to listen at the door across the hall. I hear a shower but no crying.
A petty, very alpha, part of me is disappointed and sullen that my omega is going to be clean of my scent when she's finished in the shower. That same part of me is already planning how I'll get her covered in it again as soon as possible, but the rational part of me that loves Talia more than I love myself or anything else shoves that desire back down. Now is not the time to stake and demand an alpha claim.
I follow Nathan down the hallway and into the kitchen. It must be the earliest hours of the morning, it's dark outside the windows and the birds haven't yet begun their sunrise orchestra, but there are two bottles of whiskey on the table and a row of shot glasses lined and loaded. Kaleb is pushing the button on the coffee maker.
“Sit,” Devon says, motioning to a chair.
Everyone is sitting around the table or leaning against a counter or wall. My chair is situated between Trent and Reid. Trent is glowering and a low growl is churning from his chest, but he snatches up a shot and downs it, never breaking eye contact with me. I wonder, are the rest of them as angry?
I can feel a sad anxiety from Nathan, resentment from Devon, nothing from Kaleb which isn't surprising, and amused curiosity from both Alex and Reid. The only one openly angry is Trent. The most interesting part of this is even though I know he is seething I don't feel threatened, I don't feel threatened by any of them. Anyone in my position should absolutely feel threatened.
Kaleb takes a seat on a tall stool at the center island and sighs. “This is a very unfortunate situation that you've thrown us into, Corso. I know you would never intentionally sabotage us, and the pull of rut has landed me in trouble on occasion, as well. Before we can begin to hash this out you need to understand what we've been dealing with since Talia arrived here.”
If this is another speech about how terrible it is to host Talia or how dysfunctional she is as a subordinate pack member, I will do the threatening. I've had my fill of them. Talia isn't difficult, she has standards and if they aren't met she won't let it slide.
Devon throws back his own shot and takes over, “when Talia walked through the front door she took the measure of us and didn't give a single fuck about any of us but Jasper. It was fucking rude, but we didn't care because she was supposed to be temporary. We weren't going to let her stay here any longer than we had to, we didn't want a female here and we didn't want a beta. She was here as a favor to my father and her mother. But it became really clear really quick that she and Jasper were special together. It's not like a crush or some shit, it's real. After the auction we started getting vaguely threatening messages and pictures, and I told Talia she had to leave if Jasper was ever in danger because of her past. Whoever sent the messages was obviously from her past, all we know so far is that it's related to Seth Pratchett.”
At the mention of that name a growl rips from my throat and is matched in ferocity by Alex and Reid, “show me. Show me the pictures,” I grit.
Kaleb nods, “after this, we'll show you everything. You have the right to know.”
Devon continues, “one day we got one that directly threatened Jasper and Talia left. It was more important to her to protect Jasper from a potential threat than for her to stay with him. She went to Daniel’s for a few weeks, during that time Jasper nearly died. He wouldn't eat unless we forced him, he wouldn't do anything but hide in bed. Then someone delivered us a box with somebody’s fucking eye inside and Jasper saw it. We had to bring Talia home to him then, he was beyond terrified for her. When I got to Daniel's to drag her back she looked as bad as he did. Daniel told me later that she didn't eat or sleep and she was having heat spikes the entire time she was there. It was a mistake to let her leave, it almost killed both of them.”
He looks down at the table as if it's too hard to meet any of our eyes.
“Then a few weeks later she let those rogues take her so they couldn't get Jasper during his last heat and we really almost lost her. It was my fault, I spent so much time making sure she understood her place and that her only value sat with Jasper. Seeing her in that hospital,“ he takes a shaking breath and a loud swallow.
“About the rogues,” I say, “we have only heard whispers of what happened to her, and what may be happening with the council. I would like a full account of what happened to Talia, preferably from her, as well as any medical records. I know first hand how willful she can be, especially if she is protecting someone she cares for, so I don't fault you for handling it poorly. That part, at least, isn't your fault. She is a force.”
He interrupts, his eyes hard, full of regret, “it was my fault. We brought her home and have been trying to take care of her for the past few weeks the way we should have all along . We thought she was afraid of us because of the rogues, but she wasn't. She just didn't want to do anything that could cause Jasper hurt. Time and time again she's put herself on the line to protect him and nobody was protecting her. Nobody ever protects her. That has to stop. We decided to bond her into our pack as soon as her heat broke, we didn't want pheromones and sex to influence her decision. Whether she accepted us or not, we were going to make her understand that she could always be here with Jasper. Then you came and fucked that all to hell. They're mates, Corso. Real ones. He might be our omega, but he's her mate. Even with that, she puts herself on the line because she totally refuses to place herself between us. You can't take her. It will kill them both, and I won't lose Jasper. Breaking your neck would solve all of my problems, but she might not survive the loss of you because of your brand new alpha-omega bond. So, fuck you for this.”
Then he sits down and he looks so defeated, so weary, that I'd feel bad for him if he hadn't just told me he treated Talia the way almost every other asshole has treated her.
Mates.
He thinks Talia is Jasper's mate.
The concept of mates isn't unheard of, there are lots of mated pairs, even mated groups; but two omegas? They would have to have alphas who understood their connection and supported it, alphas who could care for and protect two omegas. Most packs are hard pressed to successfully manage one omega; the two packs I know of who have two spend a fair amount of time juggling their needs. And those omegas aren't mated to each other. If Talia and Jasper are truly mates Devon and his pack will need to take that into consideration, as well.
