Page 45 of The Beta: Part Three
“The COTs are on the road, waiting to follow the assholes. My people were instructed to remain on the property until Missus Graves gives the order to stand down.”
“So, you've all been, what? Standing around waiting for those assholes to do something before notifying us that there was a threat?” Trent is working up to a rage. I can smell his anger on the air between us, sharp, like bitter cocoa.
“No, Alpha Lancaster. We we're waiting for them to get a safe distance from the manor before we acted. We've already gotten into their communications. Alphas Graves and Johnson have the information. We were to take them out as soon as they were far enough away. Missus Graves ordered us not to contact anyone inside the manor unless we needed to get you out.”
“How many of you are still on the property?” I ask her. She isn't lying. She's not afraid of our questioning. She's as calm as any good beta would be. She is here to do a job, nothing more. I wave Trent and the others back.
“Twenty-six.”
Twenty-six. Twenty-six of Elizabet's people in combination to however many COTs Devon's father sent. I was expecting a much lower number, maybe eight or twelve, and one COT. Why so many? That isn't a question for this beta, however.
Then Talia stalks out of the back door and marches across the lawn with her eyes trained on the beta in front of us. Devon is close behind her, still in just his boxers, looking every bit as angry as Talia feels through the bond.
“Why is there a,” she sniffs the air behind the female, “beta on her knees in our driveway?” She turns her head slightly as Jasper and Reid step around the corner of the house coming from the front porch.
“She is one of your mother's people, bella.” I don't think Talia would take out her anger and fear on the beta, but she's only just come out of heat and she is very newly pregnant, which is a very intense combination of hormones raging inside her.
“You look like me.” Of all the things Talia could be upset about, that isn't one that I'd expect her to address first.
“Yes, omega. That was why I was sent. The plan was for me to be a distraction if we needed to get you out.”
“Are you shitting me?!” Trent yells. “Is that what Elizabet does? Teaches females to run around serving themselves up as decoys?”
“Yes.” Talia, Jasper, and the beta answer at the same time.
“That's horse shit,” Trent rails. “It's irresponsible and unethical. That's why you did it, isn't it? Why you didn't give running through those fucking woods a second thought? Because you were trained how to do it. Get her on the fucking phone. This can't go on.”
“Trent,” Talia's tone changes completely from cagey and accusatory to utterly soothing, “I would have gone into the woods anyway to save Jasper. I just had the stamina and balls to do it right because of my training. All female betas get that training, and all omegas are taught to deal with it.”
“It is bullshit. We hate it. We don't want betas sacrificing themselves for us, but training is training,” Jasper adds. “I agree with Trent, though. It needs to change.” He reaches down to offer his hand to the beta to pull her to her feet, but Talia slaps it down and pulls the beta up herself.
“I don't want to be a dick to you. You haven't done anything wrong. Everything you've done has been the right thing. But I am only a day out of my heat,” Talia takes a long breath, “so please put some distance between you and my pack. I will be more relaxed if you back away.”
The beta backs up several feet as other members of her squad start gathering around us. She holds up a hand and barks an order. “Fifteen feet. No closer.”
No one encroaches on the fifteen foot boundary, but not all the gathered men and women are betas. There are several alphas in the mix, and I'm not the only one of us to notice their nostrils flaring as they scent the air. I put my body in front of Talia and catch Jasper's eye. “Take her inside. Don't let her come back out. There are too many alphas.”
He nods and scoops her up into his arms, despite the exhaustion he must be feeling, and carries her back inside through the back door. I watch the door close behind them before I turn back around to address the people scattered across my lawn.
“I came out here earlier to thank you all for standing guard. Now I am doubly grateful. What can we do to assist you?”
The beta shakes her head, still not meeting my eyes. “Nothing, Alpha Zaphir. We've got it covered. We'll get everything cleaned up and be gone before sunrise.”
“That's good enough for me. Thank you again. I will be contacting Elizabet about your good work.”
We don't go inside immediately. We're all a little too keyed up. So we sit on the porch for a while watching the vehicles and bodies get cleared from the driveway. When we do go inside and head back to the kitchen, we are greeted with a truly lovely sight.
There is a large cast iron pot in the center of the table alongside a basket of biscuits, with each of our place settings laid out. Jasper is seated in his usual seat with Talia cradled on his lap and feeding her spoonfuls of stew from his bowl. He barely takes his eyes off of her as he feeds her. I've never heard the sound he's making. It's a cross between a purr and a growl that makes warmth curl in my belly.
We all sit around the table and Devon takes it upon himself to fill everyone's bowl. He flicks occasional glances at Jasper and Talia, as we all are doing. It's almost like they are completely unaware of our presence. None of us speak at all for several minutes. We all seem to be under the same spell.
The quiet is destroyed in a very dramatic way whenTrent jumps up from his place at the table, his chair chattering to the floor behind him, and he points at Talia and shouts with his mouth full, “it worked! Jasper did it! Fuck yeah!” Then he loses most of his color and starts rubbing his chest. “Holy fuck. We did it. She did it. It's happening,” he almost whispers.
Every one of us slowly turn our eyes from Trent's panic to our omegas. Jasper puts another spoonful into Talia's mouth and smiles. “I told you,” he tells us without stopping the sound reverberating from his chest. He feels so much larger than his physical presence all of a sudden. He feels like the most dominant person in the room. I'm half tempted to offer him my neck, and I find myself wondering if the others are feeling the same things I am.
Alex flicks his wide eyes at me and I raise my brows.
“Does he feel different? Am I being stupid? Are you alright, Jasper?” Devon asks in a hushed voice.
