The Beta Series: The Redeemed Beta

Chapter 14

~Dominic~

The moment her eyes met mine, I swear I lost every rational thought I’ve ever had in my life. She is easily the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. I know that she’s my fated mate, and it makes sense for me to feel that way, but I have to believe that I’d feel the same regardless.

Her hair is in a haphazard ponytail, and if I guess correctly, I bet it’s a bit past her shoulders. Her hair is black at first glance, but has a red tint to it. She has toffee colored skin that looks a bit pale at the moment. I guess that makes sense given the circumstances.

I ignore the cuts, scrapes, and bruises that she has visible. I really don’t want to dwell on them or how she may have gotten them. The last thing I need is for my anger to take over. I want to be focused on her and not get distracted.

Her big brown eyes burn a hole into me, veiled by her long lashes. She has high cheekbones and thick, pouty lips. Everything about this woman speaks to me, and I want to respond back. I want to get into bed with her and show her how important she is to my life. I know I can’t do any of that, and it’s killing me.

Our previous conversation pops into my mind, and I clear my throat. I guess I need to respond to her, though her beauty knocked everything out of my mind. “Uh, since you are a stranger here, you won’t need to go to the cells. I mean, if you have ill intentions, that’s one thing, but I’m going to guess that you don’t.” She says nothing, but she looks away. Her response stirs a question in my mind, but I push it down. “Daniela… Danny.” She doesn’t move, doesn’t look at me. I don’t like the way her name sits on my tongue. It almost feels like ash, and I don’t get that.

Why are you worried about something so stupid? Does it matter how her name tastes? Who the hell tastes a name anyway? I almost chuckle because Gideon is making sense. I’m sure, at this point, I'm trying to self-sabotage.

I reach over and gently run a finger down her arm. The sparks are out of this world, and I watch her flinch at the feeling. I pull my finger back, not wanting to make this awkward. “Tell me about you, mate.” Her body tenses at the title, and my heart hurts.

“There’s nothing to tell. I’m almost 22.” I sit back and wait for her to finish. She keeps her face away from mine, her eyes elsewhere. There has to be more, right? There has to be more to her story.

Maybe she’s scared. Perhaps she’s running from something or someone. We need to protect her.

We need to be careful. She’s our mate, but she could be a danger to our pack. I can’t do that to pack members. I can’t be the problem again like I was before.

You weren’t the problem, King was. Nothing that happened was your idea.

My idea or not, I went along with it. I didn’t do enough to fight the command. I didn’t do enough to fight King and his family.

“Uh, are you okay?” Her sweet voice breaks me out of my conversation with Gideon. It’s something that we will have to revisit at a later date. I clear my throat again and lean forward in the chair.

“I’m fine. I won’t push you to talk to me. Hopefully, you can grow to trust me one day. But…”

“But I’m a danger to this pack, right?” I sigh.

“I don’t know what you are because you aren’t telling me anything. I don’t know what to do. You’re my mate, but I have a duty to my pack.” She nods and looks away.

“You can place me in the cells, it’s fine. I understand the difficult situation you’re in, it’s okay.” I can’t put her in the cells, I just can’t do that. I also can’t act like there isn’t something strange that’s tied to her. She won’t tell me anything, and that’s a problem. I close my eyes so I can communicate with Aston.

Alpha, can we talk?

Alpha? That doesn’t sound good. I say nothing in response. I’ll be in the office all day. I slowly open my eyes to find my mate looking at me.

“I have to take care of something. I will leave you here. It won’t take me long, and hopefully, we can talk more when I get back.” Danny nods her head, and I slowly stand to my feet. My journey to the door is slow and awkward. I think I’m hoping that she will stop me and pull me back to her.

My imagination isn't great because she says nothing. I open the door without a word from my mate, and I close it quietly behind myself. Here I was worried about how she’d receive me, and now I need to worry about whether she’s a danger to this pack.

~Aston~

I sit back in my chair, anxiety starting to gnaw at me. I don’t like how Dominic sounded. I have a feeling this is going to be something that’s not going to be good for this pack. “What’s going on, Dreamboat?” I look up, having forgotten that my mate was in the room.

I look to the side to see our precious angel in the playpen, asleep. Sometimes I sit back and marvel at my life. I lost four years, and I never thought I’d get any of it back. Hell, I didn’t even know what it was that I lost.

When I remembered, it gutted me to watch Katarina with someone else. I knew she was meant to be mine, and I didn’t want anything else. Katarina taking over and marking me was one of the highlights of my life. “Dreamboat?” I shake my head and look at my beautiful mate.

“I’m sorry, babe. Dominic mindlinked me, and he doesn’t sound right.” She pushes my chair back and places herself on my lap. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her in closer.

“He seemed frazzled when I saw him at the clinic. Maybe the talk with his mate didn’t go well.” I shrug, not really knowing what to say to that.

I understand Dominic’s dilemma more than he knows. I didn’t know that I really had a chance with Katarina after I remembered who I was. There was no guarantee that she felt anything for me or would ever see me as anything more than the mate she used to have. “I don’t know, but I’m a little worried.” Katarina wraps her arms around my neck and leans in close. Her lips graze the side of my face, and my body reacts.

The scent of her arousal reaches my nose, and I’m itching to bury myself inside of her. Before I can even try to do anything to my mate, my office door opens. “Oh, uh, sorry. I can come back later.” I smile and shake my head. Katarina pulls back and winks at me before turning to face the door.

“It’s okay, Dominic. Come in and have a seat.” Katarina turns back toward me.

Want me to leave?

Nah, I don’t think it’s that private. Stay right here. Besides, you woke me up, and I need you as a shield. Katarina chuckles and shakes her head, resettling on my lap.

I watch Dominic sit in front of me and shift on the chair. “So, what’s up, Dominic? You didn’t sound good.” He clears his throat and shifts again.

“It’s about my mate… it’s about Danny. I’m not sure that she’s safe for the pack.”