Page 16 of The Beta: Part Three
“Three,” she says and rolls off me. She starts to walk away, but I grab her ankle and jerk it out from under her. Why the fuck didn't I think to do that sooner?
Talia lands on the mat and glares back at me. “Feel better, cheater?”
She stands up but I keep hold of her ankle. “Why won't you let me apologize?”
“I don't want you to apologize, Devon,” she sighs, like she's tired of hearing about it.
“But I need to. You need to know that I'm sorry for everything.”
She sighs again and lays her head on the mat, “I don't want you to be sorry. Let go of my ankle.” She doesn't try to pull free, she just waits for me to let go. When I do, she slowly stands and leaves the basement.
“Do you remember all the hoops I made you jump through before I let you mark me?” Jasper says. He crawls over and lays next to me.
“You didn't make me jump through hoops.”
“Exactly,” he says. “You didn't have to because I knew from the first time I saw you that you were my alpha. Remember all those hoops I had to jump through to get Talia to be mine?”
“There were no hoops. She was yours from day one. What's your point, angel?”
“Sometimes you have to earn your omega. Show that omega that you're worthy of them. You have to work for it.”
I glance over at him, “I don't mind working to earn Talia. I'll jump through every fiery hoop she puts in front of me.”
“That's the thing,” Jasper smiles, “Talia doesn't want you to jump through hoops.”
“I don't understand, baby. How do I earn her if there are no hoops? How can I prove myself? What did Corso do? Even Kaleb has been deemed worthy. What can I do?”
Jasper sighs, fairly dramatically, like I'm exhausting. Maybe I am. “Did you know that Corso saved Talia from Seth?”
“No, I didn't. Nobody told me.”
“He did. Corso, Alex, and Reid went to Seth's place after those motherfuckers raped her and got her out. Corso pulled her out of a fucking holding cell and carried her out of that fucking place in his arms. He saved her. All three of them saved her. They're the only ones who have saved her from anything. Other than them, the only person who ever saved Talia is Talia.”
Shit.
“And Kaleb jumped off a cliff.”
“He did what?” This is the first I've heard of it.
“After the fight at the rogue compound, we went to a place Talia loves so we could regroup and get cleaned up before we came to see you at the hospital. It’s a lake, but to get to it you have to jump off a cliff into it. I mean, there's a little path, but jumping off the cliff is actually safer than walking down it.”
“I'm sorry.Kalebjumped off a cliff into a lake? Why?” Kaleb isn't afraid of much, but the biggest thing he's afraid of is heights, and the second or third biggest is large bodies of water he can't see through. The idea of him jumping off a cliff into a dark lake is...this is a big deal.
“He did. He didn't know what she was doing, and he wasn't letting her jump into an unknown alone. So he jumped over the cliff right behind her. Then he marked her. I only got to see the aftermath.”
“So, Corso's pack saved her and Kaleb jumped off a cliff to get to her. How did Trent and Nathan earn their places, since you know everything?” I tug on one of his curls.
“They treated her like she mattered.”
Oh.
I definitely didn't do that. I did the exact opposite of that for entirely too long. I drove her away, and when she came back I still made it perfectly clear what her place was. Then, after we brought her home from the hospital, I treated her like I'd treat any omega who needed help. That's not treating her like someone who matters. Even now I mostly treat her the way you're supposed to treat an omega, not how you should treat Talia the individual. Fuck me. I've dug myself a hole I'll never get out of. How could she possibly ever think I'm worthy of her?
“It's subconscious to a certain degree. Almost instinctual.”
“What is?” I don't understand what that means. I had the same omega courses as every other alpha when I was in school, and then in training, but I don't know what he's talking about.
“Think about it. I instinctively knew you were mine. Kaleb, Trent, and Nathan, too. I felt it from the start that every one of you was worthy and good. It makes me sound arrogant, but I don't know how else to put it. I knew you were mine and that I was yours with complete certainty. It was instinctual. You didn't have to work to gain my acceptance and submission because I already knew I'd give it to you.”
