Beauty and the Were~Beast

A Human in the Pack House

Lewis watched the Alphas retreating back. His mate Felice, being the more submissive type, would never challenge the Alpha. He, on the other hand, had always been a bit reckless. He supposed it was because he was NOT a genius, so he made up for it with boldness. He was on his patrol when he recognized the Alpha Wolf. He decided then to divert the rest of the patrol, telling them to avoid that part of the border because their moody Alpha was lurking around and he would take over it. It was an order no wolf argued with. The Alpha was not exactly their favorite person right now. He was glad he gave that order or he would have missed out on what he saw.

Yes, seeing the Alpha with the Betas pups was surprising, but nowhere near as surprising as watching him take them to see their mother. Their human mother. Then the shocking twist to the whole ordeal. Watching the Alphas Shock and Panic when he saw the human woman with the Beta female and realized it was his mate. He was so blindsided by it, that he had said 'MATE' loud enough for all but humans to hear him. He really thought he was alone or was so shocked that he didn't know he had spoken out loud. This was something Lewis could work with. He thought to himself.

He was fortunate enough to have a wolf as a mate, but many of the people he cared about were not so lucky. Truly, fate had a plan to fix this by pairing the Alpha with a human. If wolves could laugh, Lewis would be in stitches right now.

'What are you thinking about?' Felice mind linked him. 'You look like a fool with your tongue hanging out like that...'

Lewis paused as he realized he had a very wolfie, ear to ear grin on his face. To his mate, he supposed he did look ridiculous.

'Nothing in particular.' It was not necessarily a lie. He had not exactly formed a plan yet, but the ideas were floating around in his head. Felice looked as if she was going to say something, then decided against it. Her expression clearly said, she rather not know. She was right. It would have been better if she had not known.

'I will meet you back home.' Without further explanation, he left his mate behind and headed back to the border. It was safe to assume that the Alpha would not be back so soon after leaving. So he had time. As he neared the house he slowed to a trot, trying to decide what to do next. The Beta would not be surprised to see him naked, but he doubted the Alpha would appreciate him flashing his mate, human or otherwise. He paced back and forth trying to see if he could spot someone.

The smell of cooked food coming from the house told him he might have to wait. Then he saw two human males from his pack, so he stepped out from the woods and sat just on the edge of the clearing so they would see him. They had just walked out of the barn towards the house, freshly showered and shoving each other playfully. They seemed to be in good spirits. Then one of them looked up and noticed him. He tapped his brother on the shoulder with the back of his hand and nodded his head in my direction. They conferred with each other briefly before one went towards the house and the other walked towards him.

"Gamma..." Jackson stated with a matter of fact tone. If he had spoken with anymore disinterest, he would have sounded disrespectful. Sighing, I started to shift. If there was pain, I was used to it by now.

"Jackson. How would you like to come home?" One eyebrow shot up in question but he maintained his position in silence. "What if I told you there was a way to make that happen? Not just in theory?"

"Was it you that brought the Betas boys here earlier?" I was confused for a moment before I reminded myself that they were just humans and could not tell the difference between wolf smells.

"No. But that will take some explaining." The sound of a screen door slamming made us both look in the direction of the house. Beta Esther stood in the doorway holding a pair of pants.

"I suppose that Esther wants to talk with you as well. Come on." Jackson turned and I followed closely behind him. Once I was on the porch, Esther handed me the pants and turned around while I put them on.

"All dressed." I said.

Esther turned around and looked at me a moment before speaking. "I should thank you for bringing my boys to see me today."

I looked over her shoulder at Jackson, wishing he was a little more wolf and a little less human. If he were, he would get the hint and leave.

"Jackson, please go inside while I talk to the Gamma." He sighed deeply and went inside at the Betas' request. Presumedly to eat, judging by the sounds of silverware scraping together and glasses thumping down on the table.

"I did not bring your boys to see you. I just happened to be in the right place to see who did though."

"And who might that be? Will you give them my thanks?"

"That may be a little difficult to do, and awkward. Considering it was our Alpha." Her mouth fell open at that revelation.

"The Alpha?"

"No idea how that came about. I was on patrol and happened to see him with your boys. So I followed him."

"Are you sure it was the Alpha? A lot of you wolves look the same from a distance." It was my turn to be shocked. She did not just say that.

"Me, the Gamma, mistake another wolf as the Alpha? The largest wolf in the pack? You're joking, right?"

"I'm sorry, but you have to see it from my perspective. The Alpha, who literally just banned humans from the pack, barring contact, would suddenly just waltz up here with my kids in tow for a visit?"

"Yes, but that is not even the most shocking part! You may need to sit down for this one."

"Gamma, I am not in the mood. Just say whatever it is that you came here to say."

"Fine. While he was here, he found his mate." The Beta was so still I thought that I must have broken her. I was just about to start waving my hand in front of her, when her face played out a series of emotions that demonstrated quite clearly what it was she was thinking and then finally realizing.

"Impossible. Rose?"

"Is that her name?"

"It is Lilium Rose."

"Luna Lilium Rose. It has a nice ring to it."

"Absolutely not! She is human. He hates humans! I will not put her in that position!" She whisper yelled.

"With all due respect. She is his fated mate. You do not have a say in that Beta."

"You wolves and your fated mates and thinking your laws are the center of the universe. She is human and has a choice. She shouldn't have to run off with the Alpha because he said she is his fated mate."

"You make it sound like a k********g. That is not the case. Being his mate means that she can bring him balance. Which our pack sorely needs right now." I pressured the Beta. I had to keep her talking with her back turned towards the door a little longer. I could smell a female scent approaching. If she could hear one important detail, maybe she would make the choice for me.

"She is not going anywhere near that Pack House or your Alpha. Do I make myself clear?"

"I will not take her against her will or without her knowledge. I can promise you that.' Right now I was extremely grateful that she was a human or her word of command would have put me in a tricky position. I was not about to remind her of her lack of power over me though. 'Just think it through, if she came back with me to the Pack House, there is a chance she could get the Alpha to change his mind about banning humans. He would have to, because she would have that kind of influence over him. You could see your kids again."

"He would kill us for trying."

"Us?"

"Yes us. If she wer3e to ever go there, then I would go with her. There is no way that I would send her into a den of wolves by herself."

"It's a PackHouse, and werewolves have become quite civilized, as you may have noticed."

"Hardly." She muttered.

"You are not the only one who lost your family. There are a lot of children back in the pack who are missing a parent right now." I was leaning really hard on her maternal heartstrings. Not just hers, but the woman on the other side of the door listening to our conversation. The screen door opened and the woman, who must be Lilium Rose, quietly shut the door behind her.

"Is it true? I could help you see your kids again?" If looks could kill, I would be dead by now. The Beta knows a werewolf has far superior hearing and a sense of smell that would put a bloodhound to shame. She knew I was letting our future Luna listen in on us.

"Yes Luna." I used her future title. If she knew anything about how her neighboring pack worked, then she would know what that meant.

"Luna?' She looked from me to Beta Esther, who was avoiding eye contact with her. 'I don't understand."

"You are the Alpha's fated mate, therefore the only one who can help put an end to this madness before it gets to a point of no return." I explained.

"How can I be his fated mate? For one, we have never met, and two... I don't need two reasons. One is enough, we have never met."

"No, but he has seen you. He was close enough to you today to realize you were his mate."

"How? When?" She asked. Before I could tell her, she answered her own question. 'It was him. He brought her boys to see her."

"How do you know that?" I asked her.

"I remember the stories that my mother used to tell me about certain things that stood out to a fated mate. Things that no one else would notice."

"What did you see?" Beta Esther finally acknowledged the Luna.

"I did not see anything, but I felt it. Like an urge to walk straight into the woods. Like I had to. But that went away shortly after your boys left."

"That would be when the Alpha took the boys home." Muttered Beta Esther.

"So, Luna, what do you want to do?"

"Stop calling me Luna, Please. Rose will do."

"Not going to do that. You are my Alpha's fated mate, therefore my Luna." She seemed disgruntled but didn't argue with me.

"How can I help Esther see her boys again, and how can I help with your pack issues?"

"You should come to the Pack House, and stay in a guest suite. Then we would work on the Alpha daily to see that humans are worth having around. Well, some of them anyway." Beta Esther was full on glaring at me now. I chose to ignore her.

"You had humans in your pack, he kicked them all out." The Luna said in a disapproving tone.

"True, but they were not you, Luna." She flinched when I said 'Luna'.

"How am I any different than any other human?"

"For starters, he can't kick you out because you are his mate. Isnt that great?"

"Is that true?" She asked Beta Esther.

"I believe so. From what I have observed, one's mate can not force or command their other half to do anything." The answer was delivered with a tone of resignation.

"And is he able to harm me?"

"No. Harming one's mate goes against everything in a wolf's nature, unless they reject each other."

"Oh." The Luna looked thoughtful for a moment, then she sighed. "I'll go pack a bag."

"What?! No! This is not something to decide so quickly. You9 need to think about this. I mean really think about this."

"Esther, if there is any way I can help you be with your children, then there is nothing to think about. I'm going."

"Your father will have a cow!"

"Then I will leave a note in my room for him to find AFTER I am already gone.' She turned to me.'Gamma...?"

"Lewis. Gamma Lewis, Luna."

"Right. I will throw my bag out the window, if you will fetch it...' She started to blush. 'I'm sorry, I did not mean to imply..."

"Imply what Luna?" I knew what she had thought after she had said that, but she was my future Luna and I was not about to kill her by accident. Death by embarrassment. Not an ideal way to go.

"Erm, um, nothing. Nevermind." With that she ran into the house to pack a bag. As soon as she was inside, I got an earful.

"If you think for one moment that this will get you off the hook, it doesn't! Have you even spoken to my husband about this?"

"No, that is your job."

"What do you mean, my job?"

"You said so yourself. The Luna was not going to the PackHouse without you. So you can tell your mate all about it when you get home. Especially since the Alpha ordered me not to say anything to him. It won't count if you tell him." She looked at me aghast.

"You really do have a death wish, don't you?"

"I prefer the term adrenaline junkie." I heard a thump on the side of the house. It must be her bag. That was fast. "I will meet you two in the woods. Also, don't forget to have the Luna invite you to the packhouse. It will be the only way I can help you sneak in."

To Beta Esthers Dismay, I stripped out of the pants right in front of her. You would think living with a large pack of werewolves would have desensitized her to this by now. I rolled my eyes at her, left the pants on the railing, jumped off the porch and I was shifted into my wolf before my feet touched the ground. Trotting around the house, I found the bag that had been thrown out the window. It was only a small duffel. She knew how to travel light. I picked it up and trotted off into the woods. I did not have to wait long before Beta Esther and the Luna arrived. I handed the bag back to the Luna and nodded in the direction we were to walk.

It was clear from the look on her face that the Beta wanted to lecture me. She kept it to herself though. The woods were not the safest place to be at night, especially as a human. Being quiet was the best thing a human could do under the circumstances. As we walked my mind wandered a bit. I had to think of how I was going to sneak them in, but I could not stop wondering why the Beta never turned to his mate. I understand that not everyone wants to be a werewolf, but as a Beta, there are certain responsibilities that Beta Esther was unable to do because she stayed human. Like leading a patrol, combat training, or anything physical in general. What would the Luna decide? Why not give the humans in the pack a final choice? Turn before being banished. Then again, the Alpha would see any wolf that made that decision under those circumstances as weak. Then he would probably banish them too. It was not long before the lights of the PackHouse were visible even to the humans that followed him.

'Beta Callan.' I reached out through the mind link.

'Yes Gamma Lewis?' He sounded tired.

'I was forbidden to tell you something by the Alpha, so you will have to meet me at the edge of the woods to see this for yourself. ' I couldn't say anymore as to the what or why, but added. 'Please be quick.'

I felt the mind link open between us again as if he was going to say something. He must have changed his mind because all I felt was hesitation rather than acceptance before the connection was cut.

By the time we made it the rest of the way, Beta Callans Large Gray Wolf was already waiting for us. From his stiff posture to his straining ears, it was obvious he was using all his self-control. He had smelled his mate long before he heard or even saw her. He never once even looked at me. As soon as she was in his line of sight He shifted and threw his arms around his mate. He inhaled deeply over and over again. The Luna looked stricken with embar4essment as she tried looking anywhere but at the naked man embracing Beta Esther within an arms length of her.

'Beta Callan, is the Alpha still out?' Beta Callan looked up and around as if he was confused.

"He locked himself in his apartment and is not likely to leave it for the rest of the night."

"Good, because we have to sneak these two in before he decides to come back out."

"What?"

'Beta Esthers smell is all over the packhouse as it is, he will never notice she is back. Besides, he will be to distracted by the house guest.'

"What is he saying, dear? You know I cannot read minds like you can."

"He said we have to sneak you both into the pack house, but I do not know how we can do that, or how you made it this far against his orders."

"That would be because of her," Beta Esther said, gesturing towards The Luna. "She is his fated mate and she invited me back to the packhouse. So until he rejects her, she can go against all his orders."

"Hello, Beta Callan. It has been a long time since I have seen you last."

"Rose? ' Rose is the Alphas' fated mate?" He asked his wife.

"Beta Callan, will you please escort us into the packhouse? I would like to get some sleep before I have to confront your Alpha tomorrow." The Beta nodded and shifted back into his wolf. The humans followed us as we dove from shadow to shadow. Typically, the only wolves out now would be the ones on patrol. Still, better safe than sorry. The Beta stayed with the Luna and his mate while I went into the Packhouse to make sure the way was clear. My nerves were on edge, and my adrenaline was crashing through me harder than it would if I was battling Rogues. Which made sense in a way. My Alpha scared me more than any rogue ever has. After a lot of slinking around, we managed to slide into the Betas quarters undetected.

Beta Esther went straight to the kitchen to boil water for tea while Beta Callah and I shifted and put on some pants. It was awkward and silent as the kettle whistled and water was poured into mugs. We each added instant coffee or a teabag. Then finally I could not take it anymore.

"Welcome home, Luna!"