THE ALPHA PROMISE-BETA

Beta's POV

I stood there, my chest heaving, my body trembling. The golden light in my eyes dimmed, but I could still feel the pulse of power running through me.

Franco wiped the blood from his nose, eyes wide with fear now. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

The room was still, and I was left standing there, shaking, my mind reeling with what had just happened.

I hadn’t meant to do that. But now, I wasn’t so sure I could control it.

I stood there, looking down at Franco, who was on the ground, gasping for air. His eyes were wide with fear, and I could still feel the golden light in my eyes fading.

"Please, man, let me go!"

Franco gasped, his voice shaking. "I didn’t mean it! I’m sorry! Please!"

I bent down and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the floor easily. His hands gripped my wrist, trying to break free.

"You want me to let you go?" I asked, my voice cold. "You’ve bullied enough people to think you can do whatever you want. But I’m not like them."

Franco’s eyes filled with tears. "Please, Beta! I swear, I won’t bother you again! Let me go! Please!"

I tightened my grip for a moment, and he gasped. But then something inside me snapped. I released him, and he fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.

He scrambled to his feet, eyes wide with terror. "You... you don’t want to mess with me," he stammered before bolting for the door.

I watched him run, my hands still shaking. What just happened? I couldn’t understand it. It felt like something had taken control of me, something I couldn’t fight.

I turned and walked back home. My mind was still spinning from the encounter. I opened the door, and there, sitting on the couch, was my mother. She looked at me with something strange in her eyes.

She smiled at me. It was slow, almost hesitant, but real.

"Beta," she said softly. "You’re home late. How was your day?"

I stood frozen. She had never smiled at me like that before. "It was fine," I said, my voice shaky. I... I fought someone at the restaurant."

Her smile didn’t fade. "A fight? With who?"

"Some guys from the neighborhood," I replied, unsure of where this was going. "I didn’t want it to happen."

Her eyes seemed to darken slightly, but she smiled wider. "I see. I’m glad you stood your ground."

I blinked. "You’re... glad?"

Her smile didn’t falter. "But how did you afford all that?" she asked suddenly, her voice casual but sharp. "The money. The food. You never have that much."

I froze. How did she know? The cash was still in my bag. I didn’t know where it came from.

"I... I don’t know," I said quietly. "I found it, Mom. In my bag. It wasn’t mine."

She looked at me, her expression unreadable. After a moment, she nodded slowly. "Interesting."

I felt like I didn’t understand anything. What was happening?

"I’m going to bed," I said quickly, trying to get away from her gaze. But just as I reached the door, she spoke again.

"There’s somewhere I need to take you tonight. Get ready."

I froze. My heart raced. What? Where?

I turned slowly, but she was already sitting back on the couch, her eyes locked on me, studying me carefully. She didn’t say a word, just continued to watch me, and I could feel the weight of her gaze pressing into me.

A chill crawled up my spine. What did she mean by that? What was she hiding?

I tried to push the strange conversation from my mind, but it lingered, gnawing at me. My mother’s cryptic words wouldn’t let go, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. I was about to head to my room when I heard a knock at the door.

I opened it to find a delivery man standing there with a large bag of takeout food.

“Delivery for the Winters’ house,” he said, handing the bag over to me.

I took it, giving him a suspicious glance. “Thanks.”

“Have a good night,” he said with a smile before walking away.

I closed the door behind him, still uncertain. I placed the food on the counter, my eyes darting to my mother. She hadn’t moved from the couch. Her eyes were distant, as if she hadn’t noticed either me or the food.

She was so different now, so distant. The request to go somewhere tonight, her strange behavior, it all felt wrong.

I sat down on the couch, staring at the takeout, but I wasn’t really seeing it. My mind was too tangled up with everything that had happened today. I was lost in my thoughts when my mother suddenly stood up and walked over to me, her eyes once again sharp and intense. The smile was gone; there was a coldness in the air now, a tension that I couldn’t ignore.

“Beta,” she said softly, but the words carried an edge. “Do you want to know the truth?”

My heart skipped. “What truth?”

She paused, eyes flickering for just a second before she answered. “The truth about your father. About what really happened that night.”

My blood ran cold. The night my father died. The wolves. The betrayal. All these years, I’d tried to make sense of it. But now, it seemed my mother was about to tear the last of my memories apart.