The Beta and the Lost

Chapter 5

“This place seems pretty secluded, what is it? A commune?” I blurted out as he led me to what I assumed was the guesthouse.

He laughed, “not quite, just a close community. I will send someone to get you some clothes and necessities.”

As we walked into the guesthouse, I saw a young woman in the kitchen. She was gorgeous with dirty blonde hair and appeared to be about my age. She looked up and smiled at us. “Finally, some company,” she said with a squeal, “it has been too quiet around here.”

“Lexi, this is Hannah,” Michael said with a smirk. “She also stays in the guesthouse. There are empty rooms upstairs, take whichever you like. I will leave you with Hannah, she will help you get settled.” With another smirk, Michael turned and walked away, leaving me with a still smiling Hannah.

Hannah grabs my hand and starts to lead me through the house, pointing out the various rooms as we go. There are the obvious; living room, dining room, bathrooms and there were a few uncommon rooms that wouldn’t expect; a cellar, a home theater, a home gym and even a bowling alley. It was a wonder people ever left. I couldn’t believe how much space there was in this place, it definitely didn’t look this big from the outside. We finally came to the bedroom wing of the house and Hannah says, “this is my room,” pointing to the first door on the right. “Th first couple of rooms on the right are taken, but there are plenty to choose from.” I continue to walk down the hallway and look at the rooms that appear to be vacant. All of them are beautifully decorated with various artwork and matching furniture. No two rooms were the same and I chose the room that was decorated with various shades of blues and greens. I have always found blue to be soothing and I feel like it will come in handy in the near future. I put m y bag down on the chair that was next to the window and glanced out to see the neighboring forest. I took a moment to think about my current circumstances and suddenly, a long list of questions runs through my mind. Who are these people? Why are they helping me? Why does this place seem like a commune? Am I safe here? The last question was the one that was the most pressing.

Michael

My mind was racing after talking to Lexi and the feeling I get in my stomach when I am near her is not helping. If she is really my mate, how do I approach the subject without scaring her, or worse, her thinking I am crazy? Even though I told her that she is safe with us, I am not entirely sure that she believes me. She has had a look in her eyes that makes me think she is looking for the quickest escape route. I have been told that being rejected by your mate is like having your heart ripped out of your chest. If she is my mate and chooses to reject me, I don’t know how I would survive that.

I went back to Chris’s office to find Jessie standing next too him, talking quietly.I gently knocked on the door, and she stands and looks at me with a smile that is impossible to fake. “Hey Michael! Long time, no see!” She exclaims as she walks over to me and gives me a hug.

“Hey Jessie, good to see you,” I say hugging her. Back. It’s not normal for males and females to hug one another, especially when they are not mated, but since Jessie and Chris found each other, she has become like a sister, and I welcomed it. She must have seen something in my face because she looked at me with a concerned expression on her face saying, “Mike, what’s wrong?”

I looked at Chris for confirmation that he has filled her in on the current happenings within the pack and permission to speak freely, and he gave me a quick nod. I looked back at her and told her everything from my perspective. Telling her about Lexi, I feel my cheeks start to get warm. Unable to hide it, I saw her smiling warmly at me. She placed a hand on my shoulder saying, “you really should go talk to her. You aren’t going to be able to learn anything about her by staying away.”

“I know you’re right. But what is she is my mate, and she rejects me because she doesn’t understand what it means or worse, she doesn’t want me? I am not sure I could survive that.”

Chris looks at me, and without saying anything, walks around his desk and stands next to Jessie. He put his arm around her and looks me right in the eye saying, “it may be hard to put yourself out there like that, but take my word for it, it’s 100% worth it.” With that, he looks over at Jessie and gives her a gentle kiss on the temple. She closed her eyes, leaned into him and sighed. Right then, I felt like I was intruding on a special moment. Without another word, I turned to leave. Before I reached the door, Chris grabbed my arm and I turn to look at him. He had a look on his face I don’t know that I have seen before. He says, “go talk to her, just be gentle.” I nodded and walked away.