The Beta’s Alpha Mate

Eight

Julien’s POV

When I woke up, I felt better. I was determined to spend today thinking about my actual responsibilities, not my mate situation. I took a nice, long shower and definitely did not spend any time imagining things Grayson and I could do together in the shower, or how good those particular things might feel. Nope, not at all. This was a work day.

After towel-drying my hair and combing it with my fingers, I dressed in black joggers and a grey t-shirt, ready to head out.

Someone knocked on the door. “Yo, Juls!”

“Hey, Kade, what’s up?” I asked as I stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind me.

“Nothing, just wanted to see if you needed me for anything today.”

He looked hopeful, probably imagining a day off in bed with Brea, but I was about to deliver some bad new to him.

“Actually, we’ve got a full day’s worth of work!” I said brightly. His face fell.

“To start with, I want you to question the Omega brother of Sierra Fowler,” I ordered. “Find out what he can tell you.”

“Can’t Grayson do it? They are already buddies, in more ways than one,” Kade wiggled his eyebrows at me. Provoking me, without realizing it.

“Just do it!” I snapped. “Grayson will f**k anything that moves, I’m sure no matter who I ask him to interview, they’ll end up together at some point.”

“Wow.” An annoyed voice came from down the hall. “Thanks, Alpha, really glad to have you back here at the pack so you can talk s**t about me. And for the record, I only f**k men, which I think I’ve always been pretty up front about, but clearly you need a reminder.”

My mate was standing there in a navy blue hoodie with cutoff sleeves and a pair of grey basketball shorts, looking sexy AF. Or at least he would be, if his expression didn’t make it seem like he wanted to kill me where I stood.

Also, I had a feeling he did not mean what my body hoped he meant when he said I needed a reminder about his affinity for males.

“So, I’m sensing you have some things to discuss, and I don’t want to be here with your overbearing auras, so I’m going to go,” Kade awkwardly chuckled and took off at high speed, zooming down the stairs two at a time.

I yanked open my door. “We need to talk,” I said. “Come here.”

“No,” Grayson said. “I’m not talking to you. Besides, if you move, I have no self-control, so I might suddenly jump you and take you right here, or haven’t you heard?” His sarcasm was off the charts.

Logically I knew he was just pissed off, but my body seemed to forget that. I felt myself heating up again at his words. Juno didn’t help, flashing images of what it would be like for Grayson to follow through on his threat.

“Grays, I didn’t-“ I was cut off when he suddenly grabbed me by the throat and shoved me into my room, slamming the door closed before pushing me up against it. I knew I should shove him away, tell him I was the Alpha of this pack and he needed to respect that. His right hand was still at my throat, holding me against the door as his bright green eyes burned straight through me with anger and - oh god somehow I was getting turned on by this. What was wrong with me?

“Was that what last night was about?” He demanded, his face inches from mine.

“What?” I asked, confused, as I tried to ignore the throbbing sensation between my legs.

“You. Asking me those questions about dating guys. Kissing. Was it to prove something? Was it a test of some sort?” He looked absolutely livid, but also maybe - hurt? Maybe that was wishful thinking on my part.

“No!” My answer was quick, but then I realize I don’t know what else to say. I wracked my brain, desperate for the right words, but apparently all of the blood I usually use for thinking had channeled itself down below my waist. Also, since when did I like being shoved around like this? Stupid, stupid body. Always betraying me.

Grayson relaxed his hold and let go of me, but he seemed unhappy still. I looked intently at him, but he refused to meet my eyes.

“Whatever, man. I don’t care. We gotta get to work anyway,” he snarled. He stomped out of my room and I quickly grabbed a notepad from my desk to hide the bulge in my pants before trailing behind him like a lost puppy, trying to gather my thoughts before we reached my dad’s office.

“Morning, Juls. Grayson,” my dad nodded in greeting. We took our seats, me next to Dad, and Grayson on the other side of the desk next to Kade. Kade already had a half-page of notes written down in the little book he always carried, meaning my dad was going to be mad that we were late.

“Try to get here on time going forward,” my dad glared at me. “And Grayson, you were never late before, so don’t make a habit of it now that Julien is back.”

“Yes, sir, Alpha,” he said frustratedly. Grayson shot me dirty look.

“So we were talking about the Omega and rogue issues. We were able to capture two of the rogues who attacked Grayson at the Clear Lake ball, and we think the two problems may be related based on what one of the men said during interrogation,” my dad explained. My heart raced guiltily at the thought of Grayson’s attack, but I hoped no one was paying attention.

“They’re looking for an Omega, who is believed to be blessed with special blood. Their blood can heal curses and hexes, get past magic, and more. Basically, they are immune to magic, and by sharing that blood with others, they share their immunity.”

“So how do they know about this Omega?” Kade asked.

“Apparently there’s a specific bloodline that carries this ability. The family who possesses it always tries to hide it, but is usually identified through tracking down older relatives and tracing the family lines,” my dad said.

I frowned. “So rogues are kidnapping and testing the blood of random Omegas, then killing or torturing them?”

“Basically,” my dad sighed. “My guess is there is someone wealthy behind the rogues, pulling the strings. I don’t see how a bunch of rogue wolves would know of a rare ability like that, or how they’d organize who gets to keep the Omega wolf. I would bet they’re more like mercenaries.”

I leaned back in my chair, trying to put the pieces together. Magic wasn’t really a big concern for us wolves most days; it’s not as though we walk around waging war with witches on routine basis. In fact, the last big witch battle had been the interspecies war where the mate bond had been-

“Dad? Do you think it could be someone trying to lift the curse of the mate bond?” I asked.

He tilted his head, thinking. “That’s not a bad suggestion. So maybe someone either unmated or scorned under the current system.”

Grayson interrupted. “Who do you think the Omega is, Alpha?”

“Probably someone you’d least expect, honestly,” my dad hypothesized. “I mean, look at your healing gift. No one would suspect one of our biggest and best warriors to also be our strongest healer. My tiny little Keely is an unlikely healer, too. And yet, the Goddess blessed the two of you with her gifts. I think she chooses to camouflage them.”

“So the person we’re looking for, to protect, they’re likely not related to a witch or another magical creature,” Grayson reasoned. “Probably not anyone who has an impressive lineage. Probably just a normal Omega?”

“We will keep looking into it and find out,” my dad promised. “What we don’t know is whether this individual will even have any knowledge of their gift or not, so they may not realize they need protection.”

“Kade is going to interview the former Clear Lake Omega who joined our pack a few months ago, and see if he can add anything to what his sister shared with us while we were there. She’s the Gamma female at Moonstone now, so she’s easy to reach,” I told my father. He nodded approvingly.

“What if we test the Omegas ourselves?” Grayson asked suddenly. “Get a witch to create a small spell and see who it affects. Start with our allied packs and spread out.”

My dad raised an eyebrow. “And risk exposing such a special Omega to a witch? No, that’s too dangerous. And too many untrustworthy pack leaders would get involved, unless the wolf is hiding right under our noses. We’ve had several meetings with our allies and no one believes the wolf to be in our own packs.”

I felt frustrated at this point. I was supposed to take over as Alpha in two weeks, and my dad was still running things without me, talking to my friends as though I wasn’t there, having meetings and making decisions without me. He and Grayson and Kade had grown close while I was away, the two of them replacing his old Beta and Gamma after turning 18. Meanwhile, I was gone for three years, learning what I thought were important lessons, but maybe not as important as being here, meeting my mate sooner, leading the pack better, bonding with my Beta and Gamma more.

“Dad, can we talk?” I asked, as the other two filed out of the room after the meeting. Grayson made sure to glare at me as he left, which I tried hard to ignore.

“Sure, son, what’s up?”

I swallowed hard, willing the words to come out. I wanted to confront him about not letting me control the meeting. I looked at him, taking in his greying hair and his concerned gaze, and I knew what he would think. A true Alpha would have taken control of the meeting, not waited to privately ask why they weren’t given control. I chided myself for my failure to be the leader they were expecting. No wonder my dad still felt like he had to do everything for the pack.

“I-…I just want wanted to thank you for all you’ve done while I was away at school. I’m excited to take over in a couple weeks, and I feel like Grayson and Kade are so prepared because of their work with you, so thank you.” I walked out before he could say anything, not wanting to hear his response.

For the rest of the day, I put one foot in front of the other to do my duties. I reviewed the patrol reports, signed off on the budgets, typed up my notes on the Clear Lake trip, and put in a repair order for the “mysterious” hole in the wall on the Beta floor.

Just as I was about to drag myself back to my room and wallow in self-pity one of our patrollers alerted through the mindlink.

“Rogues! Northern border, ten, maybe twenty of them.”