Page 45 of The Beta: Part One

He nods, “Okay.”

And that’s that. I’ll just decide to be okay with it and then it will be okay. I can’t refuse him again, and it won’t kill me to let him have her when he needs her because he will still need me, too.

Jasper has decided to dress us all in shades of black and gray for the auction. He says it will be dramatic since everyone will be expecting something bright like the last time they saw us.

I don’t care, I’ll wear a clown suit if he tells me to. I hope he never would, but I’d wear it with a smile if he picked it out. I will admit to hearing warning bells when he asked Talia if she was opposed to showing some skin, though; and that was unexpected. I think seeing her every day and then seeing her in Jasper’s clothes after his episode makes her feel like something I need to protect. I hope that’s all it is, because I’m not ready to consider the possibility that alarm bells went off because I don’t want anyone but our pack seeing much of her skin.

I’m also not ready to admit that the reason I was waiting up on her the other night is because it didn’t sit well with me that she was going out to get laid. I kept imaging guys hitting on her and her crawling into the back seat with some local yokel fuck and I couldn’t relax.

I didn’t tell Jasper where she’d gone until the next morning, which is what triggered him to go after her the way he did. I never expected him to react so violently, but I can only imagine how badly he would have taken it if he found out on his own.

A few nights later Jasper calls everyone into the kitchen for a group discussion about when and how he and Talia are going to have sex. I can tell from the set of his jaw that he isn't thrilled with how it's going to go and when I find out why it only solidifies my opinion that Talia really isn't here to take or destroy anything. Apparently, like when they had their first little session, she is requiring one of us to be there for it.

Right in the middle of the discussion Jasper loses his temper, “I don't want to share this with anyone. I might fantasize about one of you with her, but I don't want that the first time.”

She walks over to where he's sitting at the table with his nightly cup of fancy omega tea and tugs on his earlobe, “You're not sharing with anyone, princess. Nobody but you is allowed to touch me. There will be plenty of opportunities for us alone after this.”

He still looks pissy, but he nods. “Which one would you like to have watch?” he asks, I can tell from his tone how much he doesn't like it.

“Any of them. All of them. I don't care. You're the only one that matters to me,” she tells him and it does help.

I watch some of the tension leave his shoulders and his jaw relaxes just a bit, “Okay, I want to think about it, though. Not to be crude, or anything, but it might be unfair for Trent to be there, since he got to watch last time.”

He's not wrong, but I'm not sure I'm the right one to be there, either. Knowing he wants her as badly as he does makes me feel like I'm losing him, regardless of how much I know that isn't the case. I'm afraid of the uncanny connection he has with her, and I don't want my anxiety to ruin something for him that should be wonderful.

I can't help that in the back of my mind I'm worried that he'll enjoy her body more than mine, that he'll start to prefer her to me. It isn't fair for me to claim as much of him as I have, and I've apologized to the others about it in as many ways as I'm able to, but I'm afraid of sharing my place in his heart with anyone; especially a delicate looking little female beta that shouldn't have ever been here in the first place.

If I had only refused my father, said no to this favor, she wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be feeling such turbulence. I don't say any of that, though, I just tell him that whatever he decides will be fine with us.

“I actually have something to talk about, since we're all here anyway,” Nathan says, “I got the footage from the Bennett Building cleaned up, The only person on there I think I recognize might be Mitchell.”

Fucking Mitchell. We should have handled his slimy ass a long time ago, but his father is on the council with mine and it would have been too big of a mess to clean up.

“I know he's going to be at the auction with his father, I want to talk to him, maybe put a tracker on his car. Even if we prove that he wasn't at Bennett's, you know that son of a bitch is up to something he shouldn't be, and I'd like to see his balls nailed to the wall,” Nathan says and looks around at us, and we all agree.

“Wasn't he that asshole who went out of his way to make Jasper uncomfortable at that dinner?” Talia asks, and I nod.

“Yes. His father is on the council and works with mine. He's been a thorn in our sides for years.” I supply.

“What a whiny little douche,” she says, “He really went and tattled on me to his daddy when he was the one doing something inappropriate.”

Kaleb smirks. He has enjoyed Talia's way with words almost from day one, and he had an absolute boner for her after she stabbed Mitchell with that fork.

“Okay, so we'll put eyes and ears on the whiny douche. Anybody else we need to focus on?” Nathan asks.

Who else should we focus on?

“I think the better question is who shouldn't we focus on,” I reply and any other time it would be mostly a rhetorical question, but this time it isn't.

After a few moments Kaleb speaks, “Your father, Alpha Graves and Elizabet, Alpha Smith, Trent's father will be there, Jasper's parents, too. Everyone else there can be considered a possible threat. The alphas, the council members, the betas, and anyone who has ever tried to find an in with us are all open season.”

I nod grimly. He's right, and I hate that I have to look at people we've known our whole lives like they're suspects.

Another thing I have to feel guilty about is withholding information from Jasper. He doesn't know that Talia's parents are Alpha Marcus Graves and Elizabet Graves.

If he knew that the youngest daughter of the highest ranking and most powerful omega in recent history was living with us as a beta he would probably have a panic attack. I was going to tell him, but then Talia never mentioned it whenever their names came up in conversation, and she didn't tell him herself, so I haven't said anything, either.

I know for a fact that Talia is the apple of Marcus' eye. All of his children are prodigies on some front, his oldest two sons are strong alphas and are likely to follow in their father's footsteps and join the council when they're older, the rest of his sons and daughters are some of the most beautiful and talented omegas in the country, and then there's Talia. She is the only beta in their line, the only beta offspring in any of her parents' lines for generations.

Marcus Graves is violently proud of her and the only reason he doesn't shout about her from the rooftops is because he promised her he wouldn't. I don't know what her reasoning is, but she doesn't use his surname socially; she doesn't seem to want a societal or political tie to her extremely powerful family.

Our unofficial pack meeting adjourns with Trent making us take a vote on whether Talia should make waffles or omelets for breakfast, which was a pretty ridiculous; but totally a Trent way to end a meeting about our omega having sex with a female who isn't an official pack member, and which of our closest friends and allies were actually trustworthy.

Everyone retreats to their own rooms except for me, I go to Jasper's room. I know I've been greedy with his attention, but the others seem to understand that I need it, so it isn't a problem. I crawl into the warm blankets that smell like him and pull him into me, burying my nose in his soft, dark hair. I think I can stand to share my parts of him, so long as I still have this to cling to.

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