Beta's Forbidden Love

Chapter 3

~Torrin~

The rest of the week goes by fast. I almost forgot all about Cal talking to me. Almost.

I don't know why I can't stop myself from looking at him. He's just so beautiful. It makes me want to cry sometimes. I seriously don't know how he doesn't have a girlfriend. He has girls falling all over him all the time, just like Dom and Owen. But he never shows them any interest. He might be waiting for his mate, but that's rare now. No one waits anymore. I mean, other than Lela and I guess me, but that's not by choice.

It's Saturday morning. The alpha dinner tonight. My mom is going for appearances. She works at the pack clinic. She's one of the best doctors this pack has. Good thing for me. Sometimes I get pretty beat up when I spar with some of the actual head warriors. She always fixes me up.

"Honey, are you sure you don't want to come tonight? I'm just worried it might look bad on you for not going." Mom says to me as I eat breakfast. I look up at her.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You want to be a head warrior but you can't be bothered to show up at the alpha's dinner he is throwing? I know it's optional and you don't mean any harm by it, but he might not see it that way."

I think about it for a minute. "I didn't even see it that way. Maybe I should go."

"I think it would be wise if you did. Plus, maybe you'll be able to see Cal." Mom says. My face goes red and my eyes fly up to meet hers.

"Mom! What the hell?!" I've never told her about my crush on Cal. Only Lela knows.

My mom just laughs at me. "Oh, come on. I've been waiting for years for you to tell me all about your crush. Lela is over all the time and these walls are thin. I can hear you gossiping about him all the time."

I just shrug it off. "What's even the point? It's not like it will be anything other than a crush. He's straight and Alpha Dorian would banish us both if something were to ever happen."

"I'm aware. But you will be getting your mate soon. You'll forget all about Cal when you get your mate. And she will be beautiful." My mom says. I roll my eyes.

"I could never love a girl, mom. I wouldn't be attracted to her. I'm going to end up a lonely bachelor and be the fun Uncle Torrin to Lela's future kids."

"You're right about the uncle part, but you won't be lonely. There is someone out there for you. The moon goddess gives everyone a mate. And if yours happens to be a boy, we will figure something out." Mom says. I smile at her.

"Thanks, mom." I say. She stands up from where she was sitting and gives me a hug.

"Your welcome sweetheart. Now, I'll go get your suit together. You better tell Lela you're going tonight." She says as she walks towards the bedrooms. I nod and pull out my phone.

T: Decided to go to the dinner tonite. Come with?

L: Why? What happened to movie night?!

T: Mom said it might look bad if I don't cause of me trying to be a head warrior.

L: That's a good point. I guess I'll come with you then. Be there at 5.

I shut my phone off after texting Lela and finish eating my breakfast. Because of the dinner, all training was canceled. The alpha was all the head warriors and other warriors helping set up for tonight. So I really don't have much to do today. I glance at the clock on the wall. 9:20 am. What am I going to do all day? Maybe I'll go for a run in town.

I get up to clear my dishes and head to my room to change. It's June, so shorts and a tank should work fine. I grab my water out of the fridge and yell to mom that I'll be back later. I get into my car and drive into town. I park by the coffee shop and decide on where I'm going to run. I get out of my car and put on my running pack. It holds my car key and my iPod. I leave my phone in my car, since if anyone actually needs me, they can just mind-link me. I put my earphones in and I start jogging.

After about an hour and a half, I'm sweating so badly, I decide to take off my shirt. I'm by the high school now. No one is here since it's the weekend. I jog up to the front and stand under the shade of the awning. It's really hot today. It's definitely summer now.

Just then, I hear the door to the school open and I move to see who's there. I go to round the corner and I collide with what might as well be a brick wall. I stumble backward, but the person I bumped into catches me. My skin feels hot where they're holding me. I look at who it is and I nearly choke.

"B-beta Callahan! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." I stutter out. I take a breath and steady myself. Cal lets me go and steps back quickly. His eyes move to my bare chest. He looks away so fast, I swear I almost missed it. Cal scratches the back of his head, keeping his eyes away from me.

"Uh, it's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going." Cal says, looking me in the eyes. Goddess, I just want to look at him like this all the time. Face to face with no distractions. His blue eyes remind me of steel. His black hair is combed back in a 'just rolled out of bed' look. His black shirt is stretched tightly across his body.

We stare at each other like this for longer than I expected, saying nothing. Suddenly, Cal's phone rings. We look away from each other as he answers his phone. What the hell is going on?

-------------------------------------------------------

~Callahan~

I forgot my phone at school last night. Not sure how, but I realized last night when I went to go charge it and it wasn't in my pocket. I went this morning to go get it. It was in my locker. I don't even know why I have one. We can all mind-link each other. I feel like this thing is a waste. But whatever.

As I'm leaving the school, I go to turn the corner and I run into someone. They fall back, so I reach out and grab them. My hand is suddenly hot. When they turn to look at me, I realize it's Torrin.

"B-beta Callahan! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." Torrin says to me. He steadies himself and I step back away from him. He's all sweaty. Has he been running? I notice he's shirtless. f**k.

I glance down at his bare chest and my d**k jumps at the thought of being able to touch him. I look away quickly. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Uh, it's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going." I say, trying to keep my eyes on his face. That doesn't help either. He's pretty, for a guy. His light brown hair falls in his face in a sweaty mess. His wide green eyes looking straight into mine.

We stand like that for what feels like hours before we're interrupted by my phone ringing. We look away from each other and I swear under my breath. I read the name on my phone screen. f*****g Owen.

"What do you want?" I growl when I answer the phone.

"Grouchy this morning, aren't we? Was just wondering if you found your phone." Owen says from the other end of the phone.

"Obviously. I'm hanging up now." I say before clicking the end button. I turn back to Torrin and he's looking down at an iPod. He has wireless earphones in his other hand. He was obviously running or working out. I clear my throat and he looks up at me.

"What are you doing at the school?" I ask him.

"I was just on a jog. I stopped for the shade." Torrin says.

"You ran here from your house?" I ask, raising my eyebrows. Torrins laughs. He looks cute when he smiles. Ugh, stop it!

"No, I drove to town and parked by the coffee shop." He tells me.

"Do you want a ride back?" I ask him.

"Oh, uh-" Torrin looks around for a second.

"Unless you're still jogging." I say.

"It's like an hour and a half run back. I'll take a ride." Torrin says, shrugging. I nod and point towards my truck parked on the side of the school. Torrin slides on his shirt, which is just a cut off tank, so it doesn't really cover much. We walk over and I unlock the truck and hop in. I start it up and the a/c starts blowing.

"Oh, that feels good." Torrin says, closing his eyes. When he's not looking, I glance over his body. Why am I being like this? What is wrong with me?

"Are you gay?" I blurt out before I can stop myself. Torrin looks over at me, giving me a look like he's been caught doing something wrong. "Sorry, I just heard that you were."

"Um, yeah. I am. I just keep it to myself. I know that's frowned upon, but I can't help who I like." Torrin replies.

"And who exactly do you like?" I ask, gripping the steering wheel. I don't think I want to know.

"Oh. I mean I've had a tiny crush on someone for, like, ever. But that doesn't matter."

"Who?"

"No one important."

I nod my head and put the truck in gear. We drive back to town in silence.

When we get to the coffee shop, Torrin points out his car and I park beside it. He opens the door and climbs out. Before shutting the door, he looks at me.

"I'm going inside to get a coffee. Would you like one? As a thank you for driving me." Torrin says.

"Sure." I turn off the car and climb out too. We head inside and I can feel everyone's eyes on me. That's how it always is. Once you have a title in a pack, everyone knows who you are.

Torrin walks to the front and orders. Once he pays, we wait off to the side for our drinks. Torrin looks around the shop at all the people.

"You sure do draw a lot of attention." Torrin mutters. I glance around too. Almost everyone is sneaking a look at us. I turn away.

"People stare at the ranked members a lot. It happens." I say and Torrin nods. Our coffee is placed in front of us. We take them and exit the shop. Tottin opens a small bag attached to his hip and pulls out a car key. He unlocks his car and stands in front of it.

"Uh, so, thanks for the drive. Saved me a two hour run back. I don't usually go that far. I guess I was just in my head today." Torrin says, shifting on his feet.

"Yeah, no problem. Thanks for the coffee." I hold up the cup. Torrin smiles and walks around his car and gets in. As he drives away, I feel weird. Why am I feeling all this stuff towards him? It's almost as if I like him? No, that can't be, I don't even know him. And I want to know why my body got so hot when I grabbed him. What the hell was that? And why is it bothering me that he has a crush on someone?! Ugh! I need to go home. I can't be stressing about this right now. I have a dinner to get through.