The Beta Series: The Redeemed Beta

Chapter 11

~Dominic~

She’s been back there for a while now. I have no idea what’s going on, and I’m slightly freaking out. I’ve been pacing back and forth, and my mind is a mess.

She’s my mate; my fated mate. I know that I’ve been wanting this, but I didn’t, honestly, think it would happen any time soon. As badly as I wanted this, I’m not ready. I’m terrified. She doesn’t know who I am or who I was. She has no idea the horrible things I’ve done. How do I keep her once she finds out?

The messed-up thing about this is that I HAVE to tell her the truth. No part of this process would allow me to lie to her about anything. I’ve seen firsthand how things like that end up, and I refuse to go down that path.

A hand clamps on my shoulder, making me practically jump out of my skin. I turn to find Aston looking at me. “What happened?” I quickly fill him in, though I’m sure he’s already gotten the short version before he got here.

“I had a few warriors go past the border to see if they could get any information. I’m sure they will be back soon. She’s been in with the doctors for a while now.” I sit in the plastic chair in the waiting room, but I don’t settle long before getting to my feet again. I start moving back and forth, not really knowing what to do with myself.

“You’re anxious. Well, it looks like you are, anyway.” I don’t respond, but I keep my feet moving. “Want to talk about it?” I turn to Aston, seeing that he’s settled in a chair. His eyes are on me, and patience is oozing out of his pores. I probably shouldn’t say anything, but how can I navigate this if I don’t get some kind of help?

I sigh and close my eyes. “Gideon claimed her. She’s my fated mate.” I watch Aston for any type of response. He gives me nothing, and it undoes something in me.

“Don’t keep me in suspense. I know there’s more to it than that.” I shouldn’t be surprised that Aston can see right through me. He’s always been like that. I walk over to the chair next to him and let my body fall into it.

“I look at you and Katarina, and my heart hurts. The love you two have is so real, so obvious. Now you two have Skye, and it’s overwhelming to look at. Besides that, it hurts deeply because I don’t have that. I’ve wanted my mate for a long time now.”

“And she’s here.”

“I’m f*****g terrified. I’ve done some shitty things in my past, and I have no idea if she’ll accept me once she knows about everything.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. “I mean, it isn’t like I can keep it from her. Well, I could, but that would only blow up in my face later.” I sit back and let my head fall backward. I close my eyes. “I’ve waited for the moment when I would find my fated mate, and now I’m terrified that it will leave me alone and broken-hearted.” I close my mouth and let those words drift through the air. That’s everything that I’ve held in my heart, and it feels a little good to get it off my chest. It doesn’t help ease my anxiety, though.

“We all make mistakes in life, Dom. We would be perfect if we didn’t, and no one is perfect. That being said, you have to trust that the woman the Goddess sent to you is someone who could see past those mistakes and really get to know who you are deep down. You have to have faith that she will see you and realize that you two fit together.” Aston pats my thigh, and I hear him get up and walk away.

Aston is right, of course, but that doesn’t make it easy to deal with. He’s right, and the right woman for me will be able to look past my mistakes and see the man that I am. That doesn’t mean that she will be able to do that. It doesn’t mean that it won’t break me if she decides to walk away.

I sit up and stretch my back. It doesn’t take me long to laugh out loud and shake my head. I’m putting myself through a lot of back and forth; a lot of emotions. “I don’t even know her name.”

~Brackston~

I had a few rogues take her to the edge of the Blackpaw pack. There was no way she’d make it on her own after what we had to do to her. Khan didn’t want her to be out of our sight, but this has to happen.

I want her, and Khan wants her more. Once we have the child, she will be ours. I will make sure to keep her brother alive and close to me. She’ll have no choice but to fall in line unless she wants her brother to be hurt.

I stand at the edge of the camp, waiting for word. I really need to get back to my pack, but I want confirmation first. I need to make sure that she made it onto packlands and no one was able to trace where she came from.

The breaking of bones alerts me to the presence of others. This should be the update that I’ve been waiting for, so I can get to my other business. “She was taken into the pack.” I slightly nod, but say nothing. “They sent some scouts past the border, but we made sure to cover our tracks.”

“There’s nothing to lead them to this camp?”

“No, sir. We gave clues that led them in a different direction. We stuck around to double-check.” I nod firmly and turn on my heel.

“That’s fine. I need to handle a few things. Keep track of things here, and I’ll be back.” I turn again and start to walk with the camp at my back. She made, and now she’s on packlands. The wedding is in three months. She should have the child ready by then, and once I get the child, I will be unstoppable. Three months is going to crawl by, but I know it will have a big payout.