Page 39 of The Beta: Part One

Chapter 17

Kaleb

It’s too early for a phone call and I’m too tired to deal with anything serious, but Danny and I have been friends for too long to ignore his call. I just hope it isn’t bad news about his mate.

“Hey Danny, everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I was just calling to make sure your little omega got home in one piece.” I jerk the phone away from my ear when the obnoxiously loud sound of something being dropped, and Danny’s resulting curses, assaults me.

“What are you talking about? Jasper was home all night.”

“Not him, the little female. She came in around eight and created a huge tornado. She left before I could send Tony out to watch her get to her car. You assholes really shouldn’t let her wander around alone like that.” I hear the unmistakable sound of popping grease, then more cursing. He must be attempting to make a decent breakfast for Laura.

“What are you talking about, Danny? We don’t have a female omega...wait, are you talking about Talia? I’ll make sure we take care of any damages she caused if she showed her ass.”

“No, there weren’t any damages. It’s the opposite, actually. She came in and every man here was tripping all over themselves to buy her drinks and food, trying to get her to go home with them. She saw Laura’s jar and made a big deal about throwing money into it every time someone tried to order something for her and it turned into a sort of competition. Kaleb, I have enough for Laura’s treatment because of it, and then some. She danced a few dances but the last time I had eyes on her she was being followed out the door by a few guys and she was gone by the time Tony got out there. I didn’t see those guys anywhere and she told me she was at your place and I just wanted to make sure she got home safe.” The relief in his voice is palpable. Laura’s treatments are many, and expensive. His jar on the counter is a last ditch effort to raise any kind of funds that could help. I’ve offered to foot a portion of the bill, but Danny’s pride won’t allow him to accept that much help.

“She’s not an omega. You’re sure there’s no damage? I know she’s got a temper…”

“No, man. No damages. You sure she’s not an omega? She looks like one, and she really was swarmed by guys, mostly alphas. Just tell me if she got home alright.” I hear Laura’s raspy voice start fussing about the state of her kitchen and I smile. She isn’t a woman to let a little thing like major illness stop her from giving orders.

“As far as I know she’s fine. I haven’t been up long enough to put eyes on her, but I’m sure she’s fine. I’ll shoot you a text later and let you know for sure. I’m glad about Laura. Hug her for me?”

“You got it. And send that girl here anytime, she’s great for business.”

I end the call in a state of irritated confusion, then anger starts to build at the thought of Talia bringing a bunch of strange males here to fuck. I throw the blankets off me and yank on a pair of jeans and stalk out of my room and down the hall, intent on going down to her room and losing my shit.

I don’t have to, though, because she’s in the kitchen, dressed in shorts and a tank top, peeling potatoes. There are no marks on her neck, no marks on her legs, and I don’t smell sex on her so I don’t think she brought anyone here.

“There’s coffee,” she says, keeping her eyes on her work. I pour both of us a cup and put hers on the counter near her pile of peels.

“Danny called me this morning, making sure you got back last night. Said you created quite a situation at his bar while you were there.”

She humphs, “He has amazing loaded cheese fries.”

She’s not wrong, I’ve eaten my weight in them. “He said you were getting plenty of attention.”

She rolls her eyes. “Nobody worth going home with?”

She snorts at me, “None of those assholes were worth talking to, much less fucking.”

For some reason I’m glad she didn’t go home with any of them. “I’m glad you didn’t bring anybody home with you, but I am sorry that you didn’t get what you were looking for.”

She looks up at me then, and I can tell that I’ve offended her, “I would never bring a strange male here. This is Jasper’s home. His nest is here. I would never allow it to be disrespected like that.”

I believe her. Still… “I do appreciate you taking care of those needs away from the house. And I’m grateful you helped out Danny like you did.”

She shrugs and goes back to the potatoes.

I watch her for a minute and then ask another question that’s been nagging at me, “Talia, are you sure you’re not an omega?”

“Do I smell like a fucking omega?”

She doesn’t. I’ve never caught a whiff of anything even close to an omega’s pheromones coming off of her. But I can’t imagine that many males making that big of a deal over her based on her appearance alone. It isn’t that she isn’t attractive, she absolutely is, but based on what Danny told me about the night something else must have been going on.

“Fair point, but how did you end up with that much attention from that many alphas? We don’t typically fall over ourselves the way Danny said they were last night for anything but an unclaimed omega.”

She doesn’t say anything for so long that I think she might not answer me at all. “Maybe they could smell Jasper on me,” she finally says quietly.

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