The Beta’s Alpha Mate

Thirteen

Daniel’s POV

“It’s fine, Julien, please stop apologizing,” Keely said, for the fifteenth time.

We had all arrived safely at Moonstone and were getting ready to head downstairs for dinner. My sister Sierra had been busy all day, but we were finally on our way to meet with her. I was so excited to see her that I hardly registered the Alpha siblings bickering behind me.

“I need to stop letting you take care of me every time I have a bad day,” Alpha Julien insisted. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Keely sighed. “I’m not. I know what I’m doing. Stop treating me like a child.”

We entered the dining room together, following Grayson, Kade, and Brea.

The Moonstone dining area was like ours, which was intended to serve the whole pack. It had a rustic feel, lots of wood and natural color tones. Alpha Helix, who had greeted us when we arrived earlier in the day, was waiting for us just inside the doors of the dining room. He immediately threw his arm around Grayson’s shoulder.

“Did you ever find out anymore about that shitty mate of yours?” Alpha Helix had a big, jovial laugh, and his personality was infectious.

Grayson laughed right back at Helix. “Nothing I didn’t already know. Maybe Fang intimidated him.”

Julien frowned. He was so possessive over his Beta sometimes. We headed to the Alpha’s table and were about to take our seats when I felt arms wrap around me from behind.

“DANNY!” I grinned and whirled around at Sierra’s screech.

“Hey, little sis!” I crushed her to me in a hug. I missed her so much the last few months. She would never know how hard of a decision it was to leave her, but I had to protect her above all else.

“We have so much to catch up on! But first, please, meet my mate, Gamma Marcos.”

A huge man with long blonde hair smiled at me. “Hi, Danny, I’ve heard a lot about you. Just Marcos, please, we’re family.”

His blue eyes sparkled whenever he glanced at my baby sister, and it made my heart happy for them. “Nice to meet you, Marcos. I heard you’re taking excellent care of Sierra.”

Marcos wrapped an arm around her waist protectively and pulled her close to him. His nose was buried in her chestnut-brown hair as she smiled up at him. I was glad to see Sierra with someone who cared about her so much. I had seen Kade look at Brea with that same expression many times since they came back from the mate ball, and they were obscenely happy together.

We took our seats with the others. Helix and his Luna, Olivia sat at the head of the table. Julien, Grayson, Kade, and Brea filled out one side of the table, while the four seats on the other side were filled with Moonstone’s Beta couple, Cory and Kari, as well as Marcos and my sister. Keely and I sat at the far end of the table - not that we minded.

“Gamma Sierra, it’s so nice to finally meet you in person. I’m Keely Craft, one of Daniel’s friends. He talks about you non-stop,” said Keely. Keely and I had gotten very close the last week or so when I’d been assigned to help her with reorganizing the library. I really liked her.

Sierra giggled. “I’m sure I could tell you lots of embarrassing stories about him.”

“And this friendship between you two is officially over,” I cut in. “Marcos, please talk to me about literally anything else, I beg you.”

Everyone laughed. The rest of dinner went by smoothly, with everyone catching up and chatting about superficial things. I noticed Grayson and Julien were still not really speaking, but at least they weren’t shooting daggers at each other at the moment. Julien had involved himself in a conversation with Helix and Olivia, while Grayson was talking with Kade, Kari, and Cory about a new training technique. It still felt a little odd to be here, included in these conversations. I needed to ask Sierra how she adjusted to being a ranked member so quickly after having been an Omega for so many years.

After dinner, we all headed back to our rooms, with promises to get together tomorrow. Sierra and I were going to hang out all day, along with Kari and Olivia and Keely. Brea preferred to be included in the meetings, so she was doing that instead. I wouldn’t have minded being included, since I knew they technically concerned me - but I had no right to ask. Plus, I was here to see Sierra, after all.

“Night, little sis.” I gave her a hug and a quick kiss on top of her head before handing her over to Marcos, who happily took her hand to lead her to bed.

Grayson’s POV

I tossed and turned restlessly all night, dreaming of Julien. The way his lips felt when we had kissed. How surprisingly soft and smooth his skin was when I had traced the muscles of his chest and abs under his shirt. Goddess, I wanted to lick those muscles.

Frustrated, I gave up on sleep and tiptoed to the bathroom. A shower might relax me. I stepped in and leaned against the cool tile wall, letting the warm water run down me. Today would be the day I talked to Julien. I couldn’t hold back any longer. Plus, if I didn’t tell him I knew, I would be just as guilty of withholding the truth as he was.

After my shower, I towel-dried my hair and combed it with my fingers before dressing in jeans and a black t-shirt. Julien’s room was across the hall from mine. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. He answered, looking like he’d just gotten out of the shower as well. His dark brown hair was damp, and he had on grey jeans and a navy t-shirt.

“Morning, Julien, can I come in?” I greeted him. He nodded and ushered me into his room, locking the door behind me. We both sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, our legs kicked out in front of us. I turned to him and he was staring at me curiously.

“So, what exactly was your plan?” I asked.

“What?” He looked at me quizzically.

“How long did you intend to keep telling everyone you hadn’t found your mate?”

Julien gasped, his dark blue eyes wide. “How-“

“That’s not important,” I interrupted. “Explain yourself, please. Tell me why’ve you’ve lied so much, why you couldn’t bear the idea of being with me.”

I didn’t intend to say that last part, but it slipped out. I guess the self-doubt over being rejected was stronger than I thought.

Julien frowned. “That’s not how it is, Grays. I want to be with you. I swear I do.”

My heart fluttered a tiny bit, but I tried to ground myself to reality by thinking about all of his other actions leading up to this moment. “You have a funny way of showing it,” I laughed bitterly.

Julien took a deep breath. “Can I start from the beginning? Just tell you everything?”

I nodded, my eyes darting around the room. They were starting to burn and I wasn’t going to cry in front of him over this.

“I didn’t see the rogues, first of all, let me just say that. When we shifted, I was so surprised. Not in a bad way, just in a surprised way. I couldn’t believe we’d both had wolves for over three years and never, ever shifted together on a full moon; even though it’s totally logical because of training school. I needed a minute to get my thoughts straight before I talked to you. Being best friends, I should’ve known we could’ve just talked it out together, but I was in panic mode.

Then we took off, and you followed, and Juno wouldn’t shut up about going back to mark you, so I blocked him out completely because he was driving me crazy. My senses weren’t as good without Juno. I never registered the scent or sound of the rogues. I was shocked to hear you all mention it the next morning. Grayson, you know I wouldn’t ever abandon a pack member, mate or not,” he said, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper. He definitely seemed to be feeling the guilt over it.

“I believe you, Juls,“ I finally told him. “But why didn’t you tell me the mystery wolf was you?”

“I wanted to tell you. But everyone was so upset, so sure your mate was the worst wolf alive. And what kind of Alpha runs from rogues and leaves their pack member behind? And doesn’t realize their own mate is fighting for their life? I felt like I wasn’t fit to lead the pack anymore.”

Julien flinched as he said the words, and so did I, although I tried to hide it. I hadn’t realized he was questioning himself this much. He always seemed so confident. He was a good Alpha, and a great leader. One mistake didn’t change that.

I shook my head and gently reached out my hand to brush his hair with my fingertips, hoping to give him some comfort. “You’re such an i***t sometimes. I would’ve punched you, maybe Kade or Helix would’ve, too, and we would’ve moved on. Being scared of something unknown or needing a second to process information doesn’t make you a bad leader. But lying isn’t okay.

“You hurt me when you rejected me and turned your back on me, and then lied about it, and I got injured by rogues twice because of it. It’s hard not to want to hurt you back in return,” I added, wanting to confess.

He looked upset at my words and quietly muttered, “I mean, trust me, I felt plenty of hurt every time you were with Daniel. Or Bennett.”

Oh f**k. I forgot about the mate bond pain when your mate isn’t loyal. I even joked about it with Julien, I think, saying my mate deserved it.

“Oh no. Oh s**t. I didn’t even think about that. Was it… was it as bad as everyone says?” I reached out to touch his face with my fingertips, wishing I could go back in time and not cause him pain. It turns out, wanting to hurt someone who has hurt you and actually doing it are two different things.

“Worse,” His voice was almost inaudible. “So much worse. Keely only knows we’re mates because she found me one of the times you were hooking up with Daniel. She would heal me as best she could afterwards. It got worse every time.”

The look in his eyes was terrible. Like he was imagining being tortured. I did that to him? Goddess, I was the shitty mate all along. I held back my tears, realizing he would just comfort me if I cried.

“Juls, I’m so, so sorry. I wouldn’t have hooked up with anyone if I had known. Once I knew you were mine, I didn’t do it again.”

Fang growled at me. You made mate hurt.

I realize that, Fang, I snapped.

He snarled. You’re the one who thought being a manwhore was a good plan. I’ve never liked it.

Julien, as predicted, interrupted my pity party to comfort me. “It’s okay, I deserved it, for not fully embracing you right away. I just… panicked. Everything I thought I wanted shifted. But now I just want you.”

I smiled, pulling him close to me and pressing my lips to his for our first official kiss as mates. “That’s okay, because I want you, too, Juls.”

Taking a deep breath, I said the sentence my heart and soul were urging me to say. “I, Beta Grayson Blackstone, accept you, Alpha Julien Craft, as my mate.”

Julien’s dark blue eyes lit up with excitement. “I, Alpha Julien Craft, accept you, future Alpha Grayson Blackstone, as my mate,” he proclaimed. He grinned.

Before Julien had time to react, I had him flat on his back on the bed. I knelt between his legs, pinning his wrists together above his head, trailing kisses up his jaw. He shivered.

“Babe, you’re so cute,” I teased. My lips met his. I prodded his mouth with my tongue, taking advantage when he gave me access. My hands roamed his body, finally landing on the hem of his shirt. I tugged it upwards and he took the hint, pulling it the rest of the way off.

“Pants, too,” I commanded. His eyes darkened as he tugged off his jeans and tossed them on the floor, leaving him with just his boxers.

My lips brushed against his ear as I whispered. “Juls. I just want to be clear about something. You might be the pack’s Alpha wolf, but here, with just us two, you’re not going to be the only one giving orders, understand?”

I waited, expecting him to argue, but he only blushed and nodded.

“Good,” I praised him. I nipped at his ear and he moaned loudly, making me smirk. He was so eager. It was obvious he’d been waiting for this to happen.