Page 38 of The Beta: Part Three
“Nathan, you're amazing. We wouldn't have gotten this close without you. Don't worry about the Dennison pack. And don't worry about being out of commission next week. I'll keep you updated. Let me know if you find anything else. There are bound to be more than just the omegas that were at the compound,” Marcus says and ends the call. I'm going to hold a phone etiquette class one day. Nobody answers with hello anymore, and the only person who actually says any form of goodbye at the end of a call is Reid. Bunch of rude asses.
I can't wait to tell the others. I run down the stairs and into the main room where my pack is spread out over a couple couches and the floor watching whatever horrible thing Jasper picked out. “I found them!”
Everyone jumps up. “Where?” Talia asks, already heading for the door.
“No, no,” Corso catches her by the elbow, “even if they were a mile away you wouldn't be going after them, bella. It would be dangerous and irresponsible.”
She jerks her arm away and snarls. “I'll argue with you about that later,” then she asks me, “where are they?”
“Two hundred miles northwest.”
“Shit,” Alex rakes his fingers through his hair, “did you call anyone yet?”
“I called Marcus and Elizabet. They're sending teams. He said he'd keep me informed.”
Trent almost knocks me over when he hugs me, lifting me off the ground, “you did it! You found them! The teams will get there and get them home. You did it, Nathan.” I think I might cry, I'm so overwhelmed now. I wasn't when I was talking to Marcus, but now that my pack is around me, telling me how proud they are of me and so happy that I got a solid location on the omegas my eyes are starting to sting. I think I need to sit down.
“Put him down,Trent,” Jasper orders, then grabs my wrist to lead me to sit on the couch. He climbs into my lap and presses his forehead against mine. Talia comes to sit beside us and begins to purr the way my mom always used to purr for us when we were upset or hurt. Even though I am emotionally overwhelmed and about to cry my eyes out, I know how big of a deal that is, how amazing it is that she's making that sound for me.
“I'm sorry,” I whisper, “I'm alright. I'm just overwhelmed. I'm so glad I got a location on them. I don't know why I'm upset.”
“You don't need to explain anything,” Reid's deep voice rolls over me as he sits on my other side, “you're relieved, Nathan. Incredibly relieved. You've been worrying about those omegas since the compound, and you've just found them.”
“Sorry I got so excited, I just know how big this is. I'm so happy and proud of you,” Trent says.
Kaleb sits back in the chair he was in when I came running down the stairs. “This is amazing, Nathan. We knew you'd find them. Did Marcus happen to say when teams would be deployed, or who they might send?”
I shake my head. “No, I'm sure they'll get it worked out. But Elizabet was pretty insistent that you call her Talia.”
“Why? There are several things I'd rather do tonight that do not involve a phone call to my mother.”
“I don't know. She got really quiet after I told her you and Jasper are supposed to go into heat next week, then she asked me to have you call her.”
“I'll text her later,” Talia grumbles, and pulls my arm around her shoulders so she can lean against me.
“Are you feeling more settled?” Corso asks, touching my forehead and cheek with the back of his hand. Corso is always checking on one of us, always using touch to try to help ground us or to just try to give comfort.
“Yeah, I'm good now. They help a lot,” I nod at Jasper and Talia.
“They certainly do,” Corso says, he runs his fingers through Talia's hair and squeezes Jasper's shoulder.
Jasper leans forward to brush his lips against mine then he asks, “are you still working, or are you going to hang out with us for a while?
“Will you be upset with me if I keep working? I don't know how many days I'll actually have before you and our cupcake are going to need all my attention.”
“Of course not. Go do what you need to do,” he kisses me again. I even get a kiss on my cheek from Talia.
I've gone back to every logged stop and the blonde with the purple streaks has deliberately faced every security camera she notices. She's a smart, brave girl. And she'll be home soon. Marcus sent me a text a bit ago. They've already got COTs on the ground headed that way. I think it's heavily ironic that a couple of them are driving pet transport vans. I don't want to set myself up for disappointment, but I'm so hopeful that we're so much closer to getting those omegas safe.
Chapter fifteen
Alex
I don't know what Elizabet wanted to talk to Talia about, but my girl has been pissed off about it for two days. She says she isn't angry with her mother. She claims that she's not angry at all. But she is very definitely pissed off about whatever it was. Jasper is in a bit of a funk, too. The two of them being pissy and pouty isn't stopping either of them from having heat spikes, and a lot of them.
Talia is spending every moment that she's not sleeping or fucking in the kitchen trying to put together foods that we'll be able to dish out without much effort. Corso and I feel fairly confident that between the two of us, Devon, and Kaleb we'll keep everyone fed. Talia is mostly coherent for at least the first day of her heat, and they say Jasper is in and out for the entirety of his, so hopefully between all of us we won't starve to death. We're putting several cases of water near each of their nests for easy and quick access, as well as a bunch of easy to eat snacks.
I think they're going to build a nest together. Reid and Kaleb think so, too. Corso thinks they'll be more comfortable in separate nests. Trent thinks they're going to start out separate and end up together. Devon says Talia might abandon her nest for Jasper's, and he didn't sound happy about it. He would rather they be in the same nest from the start because he thinks they'll be happier together throughout everything. Nathan is just happy to be anywhere they are.
