Page 7 of The Beta: Part Two
We collect all our clothes from yesterday in the basket, I even add one of the thinner fleece blankets from the bed. It’s what I’d want if I was in her situation. I’d want all the things I could get that smelled like my pack surrounding me.
The lights in the hospital are harsh, bouncing off the cold white walls and floors. The nurse who is leading us has a mixture of disgust and sympathy fighting it out on her face.
I agree.
I feel like I’m being led to a funeral.
I’m carrying the basket of dirty clothes in front of me and I’m not ashamed to admit the scent is comforting me, even though I don’t deserve it.
We stop in front of a large oak door and the nurse turns to us, “ready?” she asks, like she’s afraid for us.
No, I’m not ready, this is hell; but I nod anyway.
She knocks gently and then pushes open the door and I can’t move for a moment.
Talia is tucked into a ball on the edge of the bed, her hands clutching the metal security rail. I can’t breathe for a second, and then her eyes open and I start moving toward them.
Chapter four
Kaleb
I didn’t know there was anything that could make Talia seem even smaller than she already is, but seeing her sitting in the center of a hospital bed with her legs tucked to her chest, her huge blue eyes peering at us over her knees, does exactly that.
Jasper moved toward her first and she sat up with a wince, but hasn’t said anything yet. He’s the only one close to the bed, the rest of us are standing off to the side. I don’t know what the others are feeling, but I want nothing more than to get on that bed with her and surround her with myself until that horrible, haunted, lost look is gone from her eyes.
“We brought you...I thought…here,” Jasper says softly and places the basket of our clothes near her feet.
She doesn’t immediately reach for them. When she finally looks from him down to the basket, she looks at it for a long time before tears flood her eyes.
I think she’s going to start pulling things out and scenting them, but she doesn’t. She toes the basket off the bed, scattering clothes onto the floor, and I feel it in my gut. It feels like she’s rejecting us, like she’s rejecting me.
Jasper makes a choking sound and takes off his shirt, then climbs onto the bed with her. He ignores the way she’s scooting away from him and shoves his shirt into her arms.
She looks at it for a long moment, then buries her face in it, sobbing into the material. He climbs behind her and pulls her into his lap and starts purring, it isn’t the same as an alpha’s purr but it will help.
I don’t know what I should do. I want to be on the bed with them, holding them, comforting them, but I’m afraid to get too near.
“It’s alright, Talia. We’re taking you home. It’s alright,” he shushes, but she only cries harder and starts shaking her head.
The first words she whispers is, “I can’t. You can’t. I don’t want…” but she can’t continue.
Jasper begins to rock her, “yes, we can. You can. I’m taking you home. I’ll take care of you.”
We’ll take care of her, I think to myself. We should have bonded her into the pack well before now as a beta, but now that we know she’s an omega there’s no way we’re letting her go. Some packs have two omegas. It’s usually two females, occasionally a male and a female. We’ll be like one of the rare and lucky packs with one of each.
If she’ll have us, that is. Considering everything, I won’t be surprised if she doesn’t want to stay with us. She is allowing Jasper to comfort her now, though, so that’s at least something.
He’s still whispering into her hair when Nathan takes a small step closer to the bed.
“Talia?” Nathan starts gently, and she burrows deeper into Jasper’s chest, “Talia, we didn’t know. We really didn’t. Please, honey, let us take you home. We’ll take care of you. We’ll make everything okay.”
She pins him with a look and he lowers his eyes, “I’ll make sure you’re safe. You can have my room. Anything you want, honey. We’ll take care of you.”
He’s inching closer, when his thighs touch the edge of the bed Jasper reaches a hand toward him to pull him onto the bed. His weight dents the mattress when he climbs on, bringing a whimper from Talia, and the sound hurts me.
The only reason I’m not already on the bed with them is because I don’t want to make anything worse by forcing too much on her at one time. Nathan sits in front of her, spreading his legs around both her and Jasper and pulls Jasper toward him, holding Talia between them.
I keep holding my breath, waiting for her to scream or come flying off the bed, but she doesn’t. She’s stiff between them, still clutching Jasper’s shirt, but she lets them hold her.
