Page 12 of The Beta: Part One

He nods in agreement and turns to walk away, but pauses and looks to Devon, “She absolutely will rip Mitchell’s eye right out of its socket, Devon, don’t think she won’t. She’s done worse than that for less, and I have to work with his father. I’d keep him away from Jasper and make yourselves as unappealing as possible.” Then he goes off to schmooze with the other high-ups gathered around his table.

Devon throws himself into his seat on the other side of Jasper and drags Jasper’s chair closer to his, “What actually happened? Did Mitchell say something to upset you?”

I answer instead of Jasper. “He was eye fucking Trent.”

“He’s done that before. Why didn’t you tell him to fuck off?” he asks Trent. Trent shrugs, “Didn’t have to. Beta beat me to it.”

“What did she say? Before she stabbed him in the leg.”

“Nothing,” I say with a grin, “She stuck the fork in him and said if he looked at any of us again she’d take out his eye. Then she dismissed him like the piece of shit he is, and fed Jasper until he was happy again.”

“So we’re expected to believe that she did it because she didn’t like that Jasper was upset?”

Jasper shoots a haughty look over his shoulder at Devon, “Why wouldn’t she?” he asks in that soft, angry voice that says Devon’s hurt him.

“Oh, baby, no,” he says softly, “Of course she wouldn’t like you being upset, and I’m glad she sent Mitchell packing. I’m just trying to figure out her angle.”

Nobody says anything for a few moments. I don’t think any of us know what she’s hoping to accomplish with Jasper. She can’t mean to try to try to take him from us, and it’s obvious we’re not her end goal, but her behavior isn’t typical of any beta any of us has ever experienced.

Then Jasper asks quietly, “What if she doesn’t have one? An angle? What if this is it, she just wants a place to be, and she likes it here with me?”

And that is a loaded question.

What if she just wants a place so she’s not on her own anymore? What if she’s already as smitten and in love with Jasper as we all are? What if she really did mean it when she declared herself his beta rather than ours? What will we do then? Because I’m not blind or stupid, Jasper likes her. Now that she’s protected him from one of the things that upsets him the most he’ll like her even more. And then we’ll have to keep her whether we want to or not because we would do almost anything for his happiness.

Devon must have the same line of thinking. “You like her, don’t you, baby?” he asks, nuzzling Jasper’s neck.

Jasper blushes and nods, “I think so. Is that a problem? I know we don’t need her around, I just...”

Trent leans over and runs his finger up Jasper’s thigh, “Anything you want is okay, baby. Anything. We’ll make it work if you want it. So long as she doesn’t do anything stupid she can stay as long as you want her.”

Jasper takes a deep, shuddering breath and brings Trent’s hand to his face, “Okay. Thank you.”

Then I see Talia picking her way through the crowd with a sour look pulling at her mouth. She really is very pretty, but she does make some off-putting faces. She irons it out into a warm smile for Jasper by the time she gets back to the table, though.

She holds her hand out to him and asks if he’s ready. He takes it but Devon keeps him held against him, “She gets the first dance?” he growls into his ear.

Jasper shudders, but keeps hold of Talia’s hand, “Yes. She earned it. She stabbed a man with a fork.”

Devon gives her a firm look, “So she did. No more of that, please.”

She smiles sweetly at him and says, “Try to look less gorgeous and available, then, because I’ll blow up the whole goddamned room if anyone makes Jasper feel like he’s not enough for the lot of you.”

Jasper lets out a little surprised laugh and pulls away from Devon. He takes a few steps away, still holding onto Talia’s fingers, but quickly dashes back and bends down to give Devon a slow kiss, then he’s off to the dance floor.

I watch them have a brief discussion at the edge of the floor. Jasper rolls his eyes at something and grabs her waist roughly and swings her into a dance. I think she even laughed. I know Jasper’s laughing, I can hear him from here. They do look perfect, almost like a cake topper. They sort of don’t look real, like they’re too perfect to exist together, both so delicate and shining. How is this girl a beta?

I think for the millionth time. She looks so much like the best example of a female omega that could ever possibly exist. Jasper leans into us to support and protect him, but his body language is unmistakably protective of her while he leads her around the other dancing couples. He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it. It’s a bit startling to see him positioning and curling around her the same way we all curl around him. And I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t enjoy seeing him be the biggest body in the coupling.

The more my mind replays her stabbing Mitchell, the more I enjoy it. She looks like this dainty little fairy doll and she’s so vicious underneath. What did Jasper whisper when she was trying to figure out where to put her guns?

Battle pixie, yes, that’s exactly what she is.

A little battle pixie with blades strapped to her thighs under that fluffy dress who will rip people’s eyes out and wrap them in a bow for her omega; hers because she claimed him for all of us to hear without a care about whether anyone would object. I think Devon’s father is right, she was placed with the right pack.

Devon, Trent, and I are watching our omega swirl his beta around the floor when Nathan returns to the table. “She didn’t really stab Mitchell, did she? It was actually you, wasn’t it?” he asks me.

I nod my head, “She did. Then she offered to take out his eye. And then she threatened to blow up the whole goddamned room.”

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