The Beta Series: The Redeemed Beta

Chapter 35

~Danny~

My throat is tight, and my chest feels heavy. I wasn’t going to do this. I wasn’t going to tell this much of anything about myself. I wanted to get in, do this job, and get out. I didn’t want to get attached, and I didn’t want anyone attached to me. It makes leaving a lot easier that way.

Just talking about my brother breaks my heart. I have no idea where he is or how he is. I only know who has him, and that makes me sick. I wish I could fix this problem that I’ve found myself in.

He’s going to expect a call tomorrow. He’s going to expect me to dial my number and make my face visible on the screen. When he doesn’t hear from me, he will probably send her to me. I don’t want that, I don’t want either of them to know where I am.

If he suspects that I’m in the cells, he will assume that I told. If he assumes that I told them everything, what will happen to Khalid? I can’t risk his safety for the sake of feeling sentimental because of some mate bond. I need to keep my brother safe at all costs. I wish I could talk to Mona right now. “Is that is?” His deep voice, soft with concern, breaks me out of my spiraling thoughts. “Whatever is going on with you, it involves your brother, doesn’t it?” I swear my chest feels that much tighter. What can I say to that? What do I do? “Danny, please talk to me.”

I close my eyes and sigh. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the right choice is. I don’t know how to help my brother. If I’m being honest, I know that expecting him to be free after handing over Skye is a dream in itself. I keep hanging on to that, but there’s no guarantee that he will uphold his end of the deal. I’m really wishing, hoping, and praying that he keeps his word. If I’m being honest with myself….

If Mona were able to talk to me right now, I know what he would say. She would say what she’s been saying to me since we got here. She would say to trust our mate and lean on the mate bond. She knows what’s at stake; she loves Khalid as much as I do. She keeps telling me to have faith that things can work out by being honest. “Danny…”

“Jamorea…” I swallow the lump in my throat, feeling my heart beat erratically. My voice is quiet and thin, but I know he heard me. There’s no version of this where he didn’t hear me. He’s a shifter, and he’s a Beta… he heard me.

“Wh… what?” I can’t look at him. I can’t go through this and look at him. If I look at him, I may not make it. I’m not sure how I know that to be true, but I do.

“My name isn’t Danny. My name is Jamorea Stills.” I keep my eyes closed and try to calm my rapid heartbeat. The silence settles over us and gets thicker by the second. I have no idea what he’s thinking, how he’s feeling. Maybe he’s trying to figure out how to end me permanently, and if that’s the case, I really couldn’t blame him.

“That was an incredibly honest statement.” My breathing stalls, and my eyes snap open. I whip my head to the side to find Luna Katarina standing in front of my cells. I didn’t know she was here; I don’t even know when she got here. Dominic looks pretty surprised as well, so at least I know this wasn’t some massive plot against me. “I would say that you gained entry to my pack on a lie, but I saw your body. I saw how broken you were when you got here.” I say nothing, because I have no idea what one says in this situation.

I slowly let out a shuddering breath, fully believing that my life is going to be over without ever seeing my brother again. That thought brings a pain to my chest that I have no name for. It’s a lot deeper than the pain of loss. There’s a pain of failure wrapped in it as well, and I don’t know how to settle that. “I came down here to see if she said anything. If not, I was going to get answers my way.” Dominic's head turns sharply before his eyes gloss over, but I don’t think there’s anything he could say to change the state of things right now.

~Dominic~

I didn’t know that Katarina was going to come down here. I didn’t get a heads-up and wasn’t let in on the plan. I’m over here trying to get past the fact that ‘Danny’ isn’t even my mate’s name, and here she is, popping up on both of us. Luna, please…

Please what? Dominic, really. My job is to keep my pack safe, my daughter safe.

And you think that isn’t my priority, too?1 Let me remind you that it was I who said she needed to have limited movement in this pack because we didn’t know enough about her. Her being fated to me didn’t stop me from questioning her. I can handle this without any interference.

Watch yourself, Dominic. I know we have been on better terms, but I’m still your Luna.

All I’m asking is that you have faith in me as your Beta. I cut the link and look at her. I know that I’m skating on thin ice, but what can I do? She’s just starting to open up to me, and I don’t want to lose that momentum. This is a tough enough situation, and we don’t need to add anything else to it.

Luna Katarina gives me the slightest nod and turns to walk away without another word. Her leaving changes the thickness in the air, but it’s still just as thick as it was before. Jamorea, that’s my mate’s name. I have to say that I was right before. That name just does something to me. I can feel it throughout my body, and I like that feeling.

I shake my head, not wanting to fall too deeply. I need to find out the truth from her rather than let the mate bond take over. I have too much to lose if I’m not careful. “Jamorea. I like that name.” Her intake of breath is sudden and severe. It’s almost like she forgot I was here.

“Th… thank you.” Her voice is still quiet like it was before. I don’t want to comment on that; I just want her to talk to me.

“I know we are still getting to know each other, I understand that. Please, trust me. Trust that I will help you any way that I can. I want to help you and it’s more than the mate bond. Please, tell me why you’re here. Tell me about Khalid. Tell me everything.”