Hiding from the Beta

Chapter Eighteen

Nathaniel’s pov

I sighed as I watched Beta Seamus shift and run from the pack house. He knew his mission, that’s his only focus right now. “The normal, sir?”

I turned and looked at my Gamma and nodded my head. “Yes, you will take over his physical duties and I will take over his paperwork and meetings.”

He nodded his head and walked away, he stopped and turned back to face me. “Is he really worth it?” He asked.

I sighed, “he didn’t used to be, but he murdered one of his own packmembers. He broke his oath to protect the pack alongside his alpha.”

I could see the indifference in his face. “Oh, okay.”

“What’s wrong Jason?”

“I just have a bad feeling about this one. Something doesn’t feel right, and I really don’t like it.”

I sighed, “I know, for now let’s just focus on keeping up with everything. Can you make sure we add some extra guards? I will add them into the schedule, I just need you to see who would be willing to take the extra hours.”

“Yeah, I can do that. He should be back in three days?” He asked.

“That’s absolutely correct.”

I walked back into the pack house and could feel exactly what Jason was talking about. Something wasn’t right. I sighed and headed into the kitchen, I yanked the fridge open and started to search for the leftover cherry cheesecake that Marrissa made last night.

“What’s wrong alpha?” I heard her voice.

I stood up and looked at her, “Oh, Marrissa, why would you ask that?”

She smiled and shook her head, “I have been watching over you since you were a little pup. I know when something is up with you.” She looked at the fridge, “I take it you are looking for the cheesecake?”

I smiled, “you know me too well.”

She walked over to the second stainless steel fridge and pulled out a cherry cheesecake. “I put it in this fridge, I knew it would be left alone if it was in this one. I will get you a plate.”

I shook my head, “no need. I will take it just like that.” I told her as I reached for the last half of the cheesecake.

She raised her eyebrows at me and laughed, “okay, something is really wrong. You know you can talk to me, right?”

I knew I could trust her, she is one of the few I knew that I could. She practically raised me. I looked into her green sparkly eyes and sighed. “I do, it’s just this is sensitive. I can’t be talking about it anywhere.” I told her.

She smiled, “well then, I will grab a couple forks and I will meet you in your office?” She asked.

I nodded my head, “okay, I guess we can do that. For old times sake.” I chuckled.

She and I used to share a dessert all the time when I was upset or frustrated. We would talk about what was bothering me and it was like it would magically be better. I opened my office door and instantly groaned. “You know you’re not allowed in here.” I growled.

“But alpha, I have something important to talk to you about.” The young woman said.

“Liza, I don’t care what you have to talk to me about. You have been told over a dozen times to stay out of my office unless otherwise told.”

She stood up, her size b cup breasts pushed up to make them look bigger against her muscled body. The dress she had on was bright red and had a low v neck and a shorter bottom that didn’t leave much of anything to the imagination. Her short brown hair stopped just above her chin and was pin straight.

“But alpha? I thought you liked my company.” She leaned forward and put her hand on my chest.

I growled warningly at her, “I do not appreciate your behavior. I will wait until I find my Luna.”

She glared at me momentarily, “I really don’t think that will happen. I mean, it’s been how long-”

I quickly cut her off, “out of my office, immediatly. Otherwise you can go pack your things and we will transfer you to a different pack.”

She looked like she wanted to say something when there was a knock on the door. Marrissa opened the door and stood frozen when she saw us. “Sorry alpha, I can come back.”

“No, Marrissa, please stay. Liza was just leaving.” I growled.

Liza looked at the cheesecake in Marrissa’s hands and smiled, “Yes, I was just leaving.” She walked over to the door and slid her finger across the top of the cheesecake. She put her finger in her mouth, attempting to be provocative, and said. “Mmm, cherry, my favorite.” Before she walked out of the room.

Marrissa shook her head and sighed, “what are you gonna do with that one?”

“I really want to transfer her out of the pack, but I don’t like giving up on pack members.” I told her.

She set the cheesecake down on my desk, “do you still want this?” She asked.

“Yes, we can just pull off the part she touched.” I sat down in my chair and picked up a fork as Marrissa tried to pull off the part that Liza contaminated.

“Okay, you need to start talking.” She said as she sat down.

I put my finger up and pushed a button on the underside of my desk. The fire in the fireplace lit, and a protective magical barrier erupted from it.

“Ooo, fancy.” Marrissa said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes at her, “we had a client from the casino promise me his daughter as a mate. However there were some conditions for that to happen. She didn’t find her mate by the time she was nineteen, I didn’t find my second chance mate. Things that would be decently significant.”

She nodded her head, “it would be nice to have a luna again.” Marrissa said after she swallowed a piece of cheesecake.

“It would be, I agree. However we had set the date for the wedding to be the second weekend in august. He did not tell me a few major details. For one, he is not her father biologically and two, she had found her mate.”

She looked up at me, fork still in her mouth. “Wait, what?” She asked muffled.

“She had found her mate when all those of age returned home from their specialized training, from the academy at the other pack.”

“Yes, I know what you’re talking about, how is he not her father?” She asked.

“Her mother had fallen in love with someone who wasn’t her mate and she fell pregnant. After her mother was already pregnant she found her mate, who then turned around and killed the father. Anyways, he murdered her mate.”

Her eyes grew wide, “he murdered his stepdaughters mate? Just so that you would mate with her and forgive his loan?” She asked.

I nodded my head as I savored the cheesecake. “How could someone do that?” She asked.

“I don’t know, I would never understand how something like that could happen. However what I am most worried about right now is Seamus.”

“What’s going on with our beloved Beta?” She asked.

“He has been scouting out for the location of his whereabouts, we had been given information that he had taken off to be with the alpha of the rogues.”

Her eyes grew wide, “you mean?”

I nodded my head, “yes, Vincent.”

She shivered and set her fork down, “our beta is currently running around looking for him? The craziest of all wolves?”

“Yeah, and he found them. I told him to come back no matter what last night. But when he left a little bit ago, something just didn’t feel right. He is supposed to scout for three days.”

“I hope nothing happens to him. That pack of rogues may not be very big but they are dangerous. After alpha Raylan took out the small group they had a few weeks ago things have been uneasy.”

I tilted my head at her in confusion. “What do you mean?” I asked her.

She bit her lip, “as the head of the omega’s you know that I leave the pack for certain supplies regularly.” I nodded but kept quiet. “Well one of the people I go see is a rogue, he works at the farmers market I get all our produce from. He isn’t like the other rogues. He is kind and works hard.” She had a dreamy look on her face.

“Is he your mate?” I asked.

She looked at me in surprise. “Um, I can’t, I don’t know.” She said softly, “but that’s not the point. The point is, he hears things. He told me that the rogues aren’t thrilled with what happened. They took some of their best warriors and the man that was training them. They’re saying that Vincent is trying to build a large army. He said that he is beginning to fear for his life. He said that they will kill any rogue that doesn’t fall in line with Vincent.”

I could see that she was worried about his man, “I need to know if he is your mate?”

“I feel a connection with him, but I don’t know for sure because his wolf is lost. He can still feel his wolf but he has no access to him.”

“I would like to meet him. When do you go next?”

“Tomorrow morning is the next run. He may be afraid of you.” She said soflty.

“I will worry about that. What time do I need to meet you downstairs?”

“Six in the morning. The market opens at six thirty and the earlier we get there the better the produce options.”

I looked at my watch and it was nearly ten at night, “you head off to bed. I will see you at six.

She reached for the empty plate of cheesecake, “don’t worry, I will take care of this.”

She smiled and nodded, “thank you alpha, these can go right into the dishwasher and all you have to do is hit start. The soap is already in it.” I hit the button and the barrier disappeared and the fire slowly died in the fireplace.

I nodded my head as she slowly walked out of the room. I grabbed the file off the desk that was sitting next to my computer. I opened it up and looked at Tahlia’s picture. There was something else about her, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

I read through my emails for another hour before I put the dishes in the dishwasher and started it. Then I went up to my bed and fell asleep.

It was early in the morning when a link came through from one of my guards on patrol. “Alpha, we need you at the Eastern border immediately. Beta Seamus is back.”

I jumped out of my bed and grabbed a pair of shorts from my drawer. I opened my balcony door and I shifted as I jumped. I landed smoothly on the ground and bolted with the shorts still in my mouth.

I was excited for news, but something in my gut told me there was something really wrong, he had only left last night. I doubt he had gotten enough information.

Once I reached the border I quickly shifted and threw on the shorts. There was a slight chill in the air as I walked towards the group. I looked down and was shocked by what I saw.

Seamus was laying in the dirt, a doctor hovered over him. A few yards away was one of my guards unconscious on the ground. “What the hell happened?” I asked.

“Not completely sure, sir. I asked Rocky for an update and when he didn’t answer I came looking for him. I found him unconscious but Beta Seamus was laying here nearly dead.” Jacque said.

I rubbed my face in frustration. “Were there any other scents?” I asked.

“None, they used a scent blocker. I didn’t even smell Seamus at first.” He motioned towards the doctor and Seamus.

“Doc, how is he?”

“Not good, he has at least a dozen broken ribs. I can tell you right now his nose, cheekbone, I think his maxilla is fractured. Plus he has dozens of contusions and cuts. We need to get him back to the hospital. He may have internal bleeding, whoever did this is extremely dangerous.”

I nodded my head, I had an idea of who it was. The doc started to roll him on his side and Seamus screamed in pain. It was the first time he had made any noise. “Oh my goddess!” The doc shouted.

“What’s wrong?” I ran over to them.

“They whipped his back. His entire back is like strips of flesh.” He brought his hand up to his nose that had Seamus’ blood on it. “Silver and wolfsbane. We need to move. Grab me that back board.” He yelled.

Four of them put him on the back board and strapped him down on his stomach. They lifted it and started to run out of sight. I sighed and looked at the guard that was still unconscious on the ground.

“Rocky, you okay?” I asked as I knelt down next to him.I rolled him over so I could see his face. I looked down to his chest and saw a note underneath him.

I picked it up and opened it. It read:

Heep,

Keep protecting that b***h and I will drop each of your pack members one by one. This is strictly a warning. Keep out of my brother’s and my business, or you’ll be part of my business.

As for your deal with Starwaski, it’s done. He is now under my protection. His daughter will be mine.

Vincent.

I pinched the bridge of my nose once I had finished reading the note. This was not good at all.

I ran back to the pack house and showered. It was five thirty in the morning, according to the clock on the kitchen stove. I pulled out the coffee pot and placed it on the stove. I turned it on and sat at the counter with a slice of banana bread that was made yesterday.

It wasn’t long before I heard the gurgling of the percolator as the water started to perk. I set a timer on my watch for eight minutes and slowly picked at my bread. I wasn’t paying attention when I heard a soft voice. “Oh, you beat me here.”

I looked up to see Marrissa wearing a pair of overalls with a plain white t-shirt, her auburn hair in a messy bun, and her plaid purse in her right hand. “That’s okay, I was woken up unexpectedly. Before we go I need to stop over at the hospital and check in on Seamus.”

My watch started to beep and she walked over to the stove and pulled the coffee off the stove. “What happened?”

I explained everything to her, except the note. “Well let’s hurry. Hopefully everyone is okay.”

We made our way to the hospital and knew instantly the news wasn’t good. “Alpha.” Doctor Simmons said.

“How is Seamus and Rocky?”

“Rocky is good, he woke up a few minutes ago, just really groggy and weak. Seamus is another story.” He said.

“Where is Doctor Charleston?”

“He is in surgery, with Seamus.”

When a wolf has to have surgery you know it’s bad news. “How bad?”

Simmons sighed, “bad, he perforated his spleen, ruptured a kidney, lacerated his liver and has multiple broken and fractured bones. We have also confirmed that they used silver and wolfsbane on him.”

“How long until we know anything?”

“Probably a few hours. They put him on bypass and are trying to flush his system of the poisons as they try to fix him up.”

“What is his survival rate?”

“I don’t feel confident in saying right now. We simply don’t have any idea. If he makes it through today and tonight he will have a much higher chance of survival.

I nodded my head and turned to Marrissa, “keep me in the loop, I have a prior engagement, but as soon as I am done there I will be back here.”

“Yes sir, safe travels.”

I turned and left the ward, soon we were outside getting into an SUV. “It’s not your fault.” Marrissa said from the back seat.

“I know, but it doesn’t keep it from feeling that way.” I turned and looked out the window as everything slowly passed by.

It wasn’t long before we were at the market. We climbed out and walked towards the stand. Instantly I was aware of the presence of many rogues. Quite a few seemed to be on edge. “Are there normally this many wolves?” I asked Marrissa through a mind link.

“Yes, they’re all on edge because alpha’s aren’t normally here. Just don’t get angry and shout and they should all be okay.”

I relaxed a little and tried to reign in my aura. We reached the produce stand and I noticed we were second in line. I could see the wolf from where I was standing. He was a very small man, his greying hair gave away his age as did the slow way he walked. He caught sight of Marrissa and smiled.

I could feel his wolf’s presence. It was very weak, not unusual for a long time rogue. Wolves need a pack, the human part can survive but the wolf slowly goes crazy.

They quickly helped the human in front of us and then it was our turn. “Marrissa, what can I get for you?” He asked with a large smile that showed all of his teeth.

“The usual, maybe throw in a few batches of peaches. Also,” she looked up at me and I nodded. “He needs to talk to you.” She said quietly

He looked at me nervously and nodded his head. “Hey Paul, can you get Marrissa’s usual order ready? I need to help this gentleman real quick. He just has a few questions.”

The tanned skinned man nodded his head and started to bustle around pulling out various fruits and vegetables.

We walked around to the side, “do you know who I am?” I asked quietly.

He nodded his head, “you’re the alpha of Marrissa’s pack.” He responded.

“Do you think you two could be mates?” I asked.

He nodded his head, then looked to the floor. “Then I am offering you a position in my pack. I will only offer it once, you can continue working here if you’d like. I just want to make sure Marrissa is happy.”

He looked up to me, eyes wide and shocked. “What? Why? She is just an omega.”

I smiled and shook my head, “no, she helped raise me, she will never be just an omega. The choice is yours, but if you accept and then betray her or I, you will have severe consequences to pay.”

He nodded his head. I turned on my heel, “I don’t need time to think. I can’t feel my wolf, but when she is around I feel him the most. There is only one reason for that. I will gladly accept your offer.”

I looked back at him and nodded, “then I will let the guards know to expect you after you’ve completed your workday.”

“Thank you, sir. You have no idea what this means to me.”

I turned and walked away from the produce area and headed back to the SUV. Later I would talk to him about what the other rogues are saying.