The Beta's Justice

Chapter 31

Leon's POV

I quickly sat and waited anxiously for Dr. Richard to continue his sentence. "I see you spent the night," he started and then stabbed his fork into a sausage a bit too aggressively for my liking.

"Yes, sir, but it's not what you thi..." I attempted to explain, but he raised his hand to stop me.

He took a sip of coffee, just making the seconds drag on. "It doesn't matter what you did or didn't do. The fact of the matter is, you spent the night in bed with our daughter. You are mates and so we do not disapprove. However, we would prefer you two not to sneak around," he finished and then took a bite of a piece of toast.

"We weren't... I mean... I wasn't... I mean we let our wolves take over last night and that's how we woke up. We were both just as confused as you. I promise," I attempted to explain and try not to sound like a bumbling fool, which I am sure failed.

He nodded and then a grin crossed his lips. "Ben leave the boy alone," June jumped in and swatted at him.

He took the hit from her but it only broadened his smile. "It's nice," he mused, more to himself than to anyone in particular.

"What is it, Love?" Asked June curiously.

"I've always wanted to give my daughter's boyfriend a hard time. And as the years passed, I never thought I would have the chance," he smiled at his wife. "We may have missed so many firsts for Nova, but I am happy to know there are still some we can enjoy." She didn't respond. I think if she had, she would have cried. Tears were already at the edge of her eyes.

"You've been giving me a hard time since I started hanging around Nova," I grumbled, trying to sound playful, but there was a hint of hurt. Ben may not be a wolf of rank, but he also wasn't small.

"And you had been terrible to her since I can remember and so I figured it only fair," he huffed at me.

His words cut deep and I was hit with a wave of guilt. "It wasn't his fault," Nova jumped into the conversation. "Ryker did something to him that changed him," she declared.

We all stopped and stared at her. She had told me that before... before she went into the coma. How could she remember that now, unless...

Darren's POV

had thought my father would have made his move over the weekend. Especially, since he had called fishing for information. But as far as I know, he hasn't made his move, yet. Rolling over, I blinked a few times trying to clear the sleep from my gaze. I'm late! I shot out of bed, dressed, and raced downstairs. Breakfast was laid out on the table, so I grabbed some toast and continued my mad dash to try and get to school before the bell rang.

I had just stepped into the school hallway when the loud warning bell rang. Grabbing my books from my locker, I raced to class. Opening the door, I was met by a not-so-pleased teacher. "Mr. Jones, you are late," she declared in a condescending tone. Then she handed me a slip of paper. Ms. Smith was the only teacher who would reprimand me after knowing I had helped put on the festival this past weekend. She was a stickler for the rules no matter what.

I took the paper from her hand. "You'll be expected in detention as soon as the final bell rings," she informed me. She was far too pleased with herself.

"Yes, Ms. Smith," I responded as respectfully as I could muster.

"Oh, and Mr. Jones, don't be late." She turned back to the board and continued teacher.

I slumped down into a chair at the back of the classroom. The rest of the class went on without incident. She called on me a few times, but I always knew the answer to the questions, which appeared to only add to her dislike of me. Finally, the bell sounded and I was out of the room and into the hallway in the blink of an eye.

I was on my way to my next class when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. "Where were you this morning?" I heard Audrey's sweet voice question.

"Woke up late," I responded, trying to repress the yawn that wanted to come out.

"This weekend was far busier than I had thought it would be," she said with a yawn which caused me to yawn along with her.

"It was a big hit though." I smiled. By the end of the weekend, all the pack members were intermingling. They laughed, talked, ate, and played together. It was truly a sight that warmed my heart.

"It was! I also just got a message from Luna Lily saying that it was such a hit that the elders and higher-up pack members have decided to enroll all special wolves back into school starting next week," she squealed happily. She stood before me practically jumping with joy.

"That's amazing," I tried to match her excitement, but it was impossible.

"Lila is going to be so happy." She beamed. "We should go tell her right after school," she said decidedly.

"You go first, I'll meet you there," I told her, trying not to sour her mood.

"Do you have something after school?" she asked, confused.

"Sort of," I responded vaguely.

"What? Maybe I can help you finish up quickly so we can tell her together," she offered.

"That's very sweet, but you aren't going to want to," I continued to try and explain without explaining.

"What are you doing then?" She asked suspiciously.

"I got detention for being late," I finally told her with a sigh.

"What teacher in their right mind would give you detention after the festival?" She questioned, angrily.

"Our favorite teacher," I said sarcastically.

"I'm going to go talk to Ms. Smith," she snapped, and started to head to her classroom.

I grabbed her arm gently, stopping her. "Don't worry about it. I was late after all."

"Still," she muttered, agitated.

"Come on, let's get to the second period before we're both late," I chuckled as I turned her around.

"If that happens, I could join you for detention," she joked.

"Yes, and I would have one for today and another for tomorrow... I think I'll just keep the one." I laughed as we split to head off to our separate classes.

The rest of the day was pleasant and enjoyable. Everyone was talking about the festival and the performances the special wolves had put on. Some had gone multiple times. There were some saying that they liked having the special wolves around and looked forward to seeing them at school. It lifted my spirits to know the plan had worked. In all honesty, it has worked better than I could have imagined.

Then the dreaded hour came. I made my way to the classroom designated for detention today. I took up residence in a chair near the back, trying to be invisible. Ms. Smith had made sure to note that I needed to remain for exactly one hour. I was not to be let out a second before. Always such a kind and understanding teacher.

"Mr. Jones," the teacher called as she scanned the room. I raised my hand and she put a check next to my name on the clipboard she was holding. She continued to go down the rather short list.

"I see we have been blessed by the Moon Goddess today with such a small crowd and among us is also Mr. Jones. I simply could not have asked for me," she said with thick sarcasm as she peered around the room.

She picked up the papers on her desk and looked each one over carefully. "Mr. Jones, you must have pushed the wrong button of the wrong teacher to have received an hour for being tardy," she spoke, trying hard to stop the smile that continued to creep across her lips.

"Ms. Smith," I responded simply, even though I knew she wasn't actually curious.

She smirked up at me for a moment before she went back to the papers on her desk. The classroom fell silent with only the ticking clock to break it. I knew better than to stare at the clock since it would only make time appear to be moving at a snail's pace, but I couldn't help it. There was nowhere else to look. "Mr. Jones," suddenly spoke the teacher.

"Yes, Ma'am?"

"Would you mind taking down the clock on the wall?" she requested with a glint of joy in her gaze.

"Ma'am?"

"I'm sorry, let me repeat myself. Take down the clock," her voice hardened as she spoke.

"Is there a reason?" I inquired as I stood and went toward the clock.

"Yes," she answered flatly.

I shrugged and took the clock off the wall and placed it on her desk. "Next time, it would be better to do as asked without questioning. That's what your kind prefers," she hissed at me, keeping her tone low.

"My kind?" I gritted out.

"Yes, you at Silvertooth pack." Her gaze darkened.

"I am not from there... anymore," I whispered. I was still their future Alpha, but the pack it was now was not what it would be when I took over.

"Once a Silvertooth, always a Silvertooth."

"Why do you care?" I snapped. I didn't like her disrespect and neither did my wolf.

"Your pack killed my mate without cause," she growled at me. "Alpha James decided that my mate had gone onto his territory uninvited and so he had him killed and, since Silvertooth is a tad larger and had a better military force than us, our Alpha did nothing. Fearing war." Her gaze was hard.

"That wasn't me," I declared. "You can't hold me responsible for the actions of someone else."

She didn't respond. Instead, she shooed me away. I took a few deep breaths and tried hard to remember that she was deeply hurt by my father. Moon Goddess protect me if she ever found out I was the son of the Alpha of Silvertooth. I went back to my chair and waited for detention to be over while avoiding eye contact with her.

Finally, it was time. She rose from her chair and cleared her throat. "Everyone may leave now. I hope to never see you here again," she said as she waved us away. I stood and headed for the door. "Except for Mr. Jones," she spoke firmly.

"It's been an hour," I responded, trying hard to keep my tone even.

"That may be, however, I believe you need more time to think over your mistakes," she emphasized the 's' on the word mistake.

I drew in a sharp breath, trying harder to keep my temper under control. I was not my father's keeper. I was not the pack leader. I did not make the order. I will not be punished for something I did not do. I opened my mouth to respond to her when, suddenly, Audrey popped into the room. "Darren, are you ready?" she happily asked as she took my hand.

"Not quite," I told her straight.

"What do you mean? You said it was only an hour," she said as she looked from me to the teacher.

"According to her, I'm not done," I informed her as I shot the teacher a glare which wasn't going to help my case.

"What are you talking about?" She then turned to the teacher. "What is he talking about?"

"He has some other issues he needs to work on," she explained vaguely.

"Like what?" she huffed at her as she placed her hands on her hips, trying to appear like a ranked member of the pack.

The teacher appeared taken aback for a moment but quickly pulled herself together. "It is none of your concern."

"It does if it has something to do with my mate," she declared.

There was no response to Audrey. The teacher instead appeared uncomfortable and didn't want to express why she wanted to keep me later. Why she wanted to punish me more. "Leave." She gave in.

"No, you are going to explain to me why," she demanded, her voice unwavering.

Finally, she explained in loose detail. "I'm sorry about your mate, but my mate had no hand in it," she responded after hearing the story.

The teacher wanted to lash out at her, but she held her tongue. "Understood," she gritted out.

"Glad we understand each other. However, if I hear of you trying to punish my mate again for something that he didn't nor could not have any hand in, then I will punish you personally. Am I understood?" Her gaze narrowed threateningly.

The teacher nodded and then went back into the classroom. "You may want to be careful with how you treat the teachers while you are still a student," I said as I took her hand and led her to her locker.

"I could, but they can't do anything to me. Besides, you know I wouldn't do anything unless necessary," she told me, as though it were absolutely normal for her to pull rank over a teacher. "Now come on, let's go talk to Lila. She will be so excited about coming to school starting next week." She was now pulling me down the hallways to the parking lot.