True Beta

Return of her wolf

James’ POV

I jolted awake, the sun had gone down, and the cottage was damn near freezing. I tried finding wood, but with Lacy down on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy, Kara enjoying her newly found morning sickness, and both my Beta and Gamma concentrating on their mates, no one had thought of making sure the cottages had chopped wood. It was something Brea insisted on each cottage having.

I found enough wood to last me a couple of days, getting the fire started and making a cup of hot cocoa. I was once again reminded of the night Brea came into my life. I went to sit on the porch, trying to block out the painful memories, when I felt someone cross onto my land. I used Gray's senses to try to track them. They were headed straight towards me! I jumped from the porch, shifting mid-air. Even if Gray was hurting, he wouldn’t let anything happen to his pack.

I took a deep inhale, catching all the scents around us when I smelled her. Brea. I was frozen in my spot as she stepped through the tree line. She had on a large puffy black coat, a hat, and mittens. Her cute little nose was tinged pink from the cold. She was holding hands with a little boy. He looked to be about 4. He stepped behind her, Brea stiffening as she looked at me.

“I need to speak with Alpha James.” Her voice was melodic.

I stood up taller, nodding my head to her.

“I wish to seek refuge here. I was told that you take in runaways.” She looked me up and down as though she was trying to seize me up.

I tilted my head to her, runaway? She was home. Why was she acting like-

She doesn’t remember us. I told Gray.

I can’t speak with Lei. Gray whimpered.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of s**t you’ve got going on, but it’s cold and we haven’t eaten in hours.” She spoke.

I huffed at her. This wasn’t my soft-spoken Brea. This was… different. Yet her tone felt familiar. She said exactly what she wanted and took nothing less. She was full-on no bullshit. Just like Lei.

I yipped at her by pushing her with my muzzle. It was Lei. Somehow. I would worry about that later. I pushed her towards the cottage before running back through the forest to find clothes. I shifted and high-tailed it back to them. Brea had wrapped the little boy in a blanket and set him in front of the fire. I quickly made more hot cocoa and some sandwiches. At least someone had stocked the fridge. The boy ate small bites before looking up at Brea, who nodded. He quickly finished it and passed out on Brea's lap.

“There's a bed in the back. He can sleep there.” I said.

Brea raised her eyebrow but went to lay him down. I looked down at her plate. Just like the first time, she didn’t eat or drink the hot cocoa. I chuckled. My Brea.

“What's your name?” I asked as she sat down in front of the fire.

“Lei.”

I tried to keep the smile on my face, “Where are you coming from?”

“Don’t know.” She picked at her sandwich before taking a sip of the lukewarm hot cocoa. She made a face, “You suck at making hot cocoa. This is terrible.”

I laughed, throwing my head back before remembering the sleeping boy. “I’m sorry. Would you like something else?”

She shook her head no. “You never answered my question.”

“What question?” I raised my eyebrow. I knew exactly what she was talking about, but she had demanded it. The way Lei always did. The way Gray loved her too.

“If we can stay.” She deadpanned.

“I don’t remember you asking,” I smirked back at her.

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile played on her perfect lips. The lips I had spent hours kissing. The lips I had craved since the first kiss.

“May we stay, Alpha?” She sneered.

“I have a few questions first,” I said, trying to keep my face serious.

She rolled her eyes again. She motioned for me to ask away. Even though she couldn’t feel it, our bond was growing stronger again. I could almost hear her thoughts. Gray was telling me there was a presence in her mind, he just couldn’t reach it. It was like the more he pushed, the further away it got.

Brea, or Lei, had found the little boy wandering through the forest alone. She said she tried taking him back to his pack, but his pack was gone. This close to my own pack, he must have been from Blackwood. I had gotten a few strays from them. She had been wandering for days before she made it to Cold River.

“What happened?” I asked. I wanted to see if she could remember anything of me, our pack.

“I woke up in a field covered in blood. I felt something pulling me here. So I followed it. Found the little boy and here we are.” She was so blunt. Lei never liked beating around the bush. She was all business.

“Before that?”

She shrugged. She picked at her sandwich, pulling off the tomatoes and onions. I should have known better. She hated vegetables mixed in with her food. When she finished, she went to the bathroom to freshen up. I offered her some of my clothes for her to sleep in. When I closed the door, I pulled out my phone and called Axel.

“Get your ass here, now!”

Brea's POV

Darkness. Empty. Cold. But something did smell nice. What was that? It was calling me. I wanted to follow but I couldn’t move.

I sighed. This was my eternity. Alone. Cold. Sad. What is that? Light? Light?!

It was there! I saw it. It was light. I tried to break free from the emptiness, but it was too heavy. I wasn’t strong enough. The light was shining brighter, the scent causing a burning in my chest. I was missing something.. but what was it?

The pain burned through my body as I tried to think. I wasn’t supposed to think. Only be here in the darkness. It was so cold and it made myy chest hurt. Did I even really have a chest? I was dead. How could something hurt if I was dead?

Dead. I wasn’t supposed to die for a long time. Had it been a long time since I had died? Time was meaningless in the darkness. Why couldn’t I die for a long time? I broke my promise. My promise to who?

A picture of the man with sandy brown hair and warm brown eyes flashed through the darkness. He was handsome. He had such a nice smile. I wished he would smile more. He always smiles at the little boy with black hair and green eyes. They were so happy. I bet they were warm too. I missed the warmth. How long had it been?

There was a tingling sensation through my body as it warmed up a little bit. The darkness grew angry, colder. Taking me in deeper. The light faded slightly. I wanted to touch it. It was calling to me. The light, the warmth. The man with a nice smile. I wanted them, but I only had a cold and empty. It wanted me. And I was going to let it. The man with a nice smile didn’t know me and I didn’t know him. His warmth was not mine. I would find my own warmth.

A large man with dark brown hair and a huge grin rubbing a very pregnant belly. He was warm too. He looked like a bear. But I was a werewolf. Did I know any were-bears? Was that belly full of his pups? Since he was a bear were they cubs? He looked happy. Happy and warm. I missed the warmth.

Another tingling sensation waved over my body; the light grew closer. What is that?

A boy about 17, he had long arms and muscles lining each of them he had brown hair that was touching just below his ears. He had the same smile as the first man. He was warm. I wanted warmth. I was so tired of the cold. I was tired.

Fight, Brea. A voice! Oh, a voice! Who was that!? Where did it come from?

Come back, please?! Please don’t leave me!?

Never. He answered. His voice was deep and gravelly, but it soothed me. Fight, little one. Come back to me.

I wanted to show the voice I was strong. I would go to him. I don’t know why I trusted him, but I did. I could feel him giving me strength. My body was warming up. The cold darkness was angry. But I wouldn’t give up. I would go to my warmth.

Come back to James.

James. My James. My beautiful James. He was the love of my life. My mate. My mate? Oh my God!

JAMES! I cried out.

I pushed myself up towards the light. The darkness kept its hold on me. The pain shot down from my forehead to the tips of my toes. It was agony, but I had to get back to him. James.

Reese.

Reese! My baby boy. He wouldn’t understand. I was gone. I had to get my son. He needed me. I needed him.

I screamed out as the pain became almost crippling. I reached further out, my fingertips just barely missing the light.

Cold River.

My pack! My home. My home with James and Reese. Axel and Lacy. Lacy was pregnant, with twins. Ky and Kara. Kara was pregnant too! The future of my pack! My family.

With all that I had, I shoved out of the darkness the light enveloping me. The cold was gone! I was free! The memories of my life came flooding in. The pain, the suffering, the joy that shone brighter than any star. My mind was mine.

Thank you for protecting us, Lei.

Anytime. She wandered off to the back of my subconscious and fell asleep. She was exhausted.

I opened my eyes. I was resting in a bed, with a small boy. His name was Dalton. I had found him wandering through the forest trying to find Cold River. He was lost.

I gently got up from the bed, immediately scenting my mate. I opened the door and stood face to face with the warmest green eyes I had ever seen.

“Hi, husband.”

James stared down at me. He looked at me up down, tilting his head to the side.

“Brea?” He whispered.

I nodded. I slowly moved towards him, standing in front of him I put my hands on his chest running them up to wind around his neck. I grasped his hair in my fingers, his hair was as soft as ever. Even though Lei was exhausted, I could hear her purring. She had missed James. Gray and our bond brought her home even if she didn’t know why.

I stood on my tiptoes reaching up to brush my lips over his mark. I placed soft open-mouth kisses from one side of his neck to the other. He grabbed my waist pulling me closer to him, crashing his lips to mine. His kiss was rough, full of longing and pain. Even though I had been here for almost a full day, he hadn’t touched me. He craved my touch almost as much as I craved his. His grip dug into my waist there would be a bruise, but I didn’t care.

Axel cleared his throat. James growled as he pulled away from me. He looked down at me, his beautiful smile on his face. I put my head on his chest, his heart thumping wildly. It was music to my ears.

“Luna. It’s so great to see you again.” Axel said.

“It’s great to see you too, Beta.” I rolled my eyes. I hated when he called me Luna, but Boston would never let him disrespect me by calling me anything but my title.

“I’m just gonna leave now. We can talk about everything later, Alpha.” Axel turned to the door, “Lacy will be so excited to see you, Luna.”

I smiled. “I promise I’ll stop by soon.”

James playfully growled, “Not too soon.”

With that Axel left. I was still in James’ arms. He had wrapped me tightly in his embrace, swaying slowly. He kissed the top of my head, resting his cheek against it. “I missed you.”

I nodded I had missed him too. So much. Even when I could only see his face, I missed him. I had lost everything about myself, but the love he had shown me since the first time I stepped on his porch stayed. I never wanted to leave this warmth again. It was everything I could ever need. He was all I wanted.

James swayed me around the living room when we heard soft padding coming from the bedroom. Dalton stood in the doorway, slightly hiding behind the door. “Lei?”

“It’s okay Dalton, you’re safe now.” I reached my hand out to him. “Now how about you tell Alpha James about your mother, and we will see if we can find her.”

He went on to tell us everything he could about her. Sadly, she hadn’t come through our territory. We didn’t give up hope. There were other packs. We would call Delilah and Leon. Red River, Delilah’s original pack wasn’t that far from us, just on the other side of Blue Harvest. If she was alive, we would find her.

I made them some dinner. There wasn’t much in the cottage but sandwich fixings and cocoa. Lei scoffed at it before turning her tail and going back to sleep. James laughed as he saw her reaction. Could he really see her? It was such a rare thing for mates to double mark.

By double mark, it wasn’t like marking them to complete the mate bond. It was its mark on a different part of the neck. It was supposed to be like our bodies and minds became one. James nodded. He looked pointedly at the little boy sitting at the table across from us. We would talk about it later.

Night fell and Dalton was curled up on the large bed, making him smaller than he already was. I closed the door. Finding James in the shower. I stripped down and joined him. Taking his body wash, I ran my fingers over every inch of his warm skin. I sank to my knees, grasping his manhood. He was much too big for me to wrap my hand all the way around, I slowly began tugging. Slowly stroking him. I kissed the tip of his engorged head, his precum seeping down to my lips. I relished in his salty-sweet taste. He gripped my hair in a ponytail, guiding him down my throat. I took as much of him as I could, wrapping my hand around the rest. He thrust his tip touching the back of my throat, tears streaming down my face. I wanted to taste all of him, I reached below my legs, finding my own pleasure. I never knew I could be so wet just from giving him a blowjob, but I was dripping, aching to be filled by his rock-hard c**k. I circled my c**t, slowly building my orgasm.

“That’s so hot. Watching you play with your tight little p***y as you suck my d**k. I wanna see you f**k yourself and make yourself cum.” James pulled away from me, grabbing my hand. He grabbed a towel drying me off before throwing me over his shoulder. He swatted my ass as he walked into the second bedroom of the cottage. Tossing me on the bed, he pulled my legs apart staring at my wet slit. He sat on his knees, fisting his erection. “Do it.” He growled.

I ran my hands slowly down my body, stopping to softly pinch my hardened n*****s, sliding down to the top of my swollen c**t. I pinched my n****e just as I inserted one finger inside my own juices. This was a level of intimacy I had never gotten. Even though James and I had made love many times, seeing him watching me while we pleasured ourselves make my skin spark. I hooked my finger so each pump would brush over my c**t. I was so wet; the sounds of my juices filled the room. It wasn’t long before James growled out, slapping my hand away and buried his face between my legs. He sucked my c**t into his mouth, biting gently as he thrust two fingers deep inside me. I moved my hips in rhythm with his tongue. He would lick me softly before lashing his tongue out. It was a sweet torture and the ball deep inside my lower abdomen would explode soon.

“James.” I moaned out.

“c*m, Brea.” He commanded me. I was his equal and could not be commanded, but my body listened. It exploded, before I could cry out, James had flipped me over, pulling me up to my knees. He slowly ran his c**k up and down my slit, coating him in my orgasm before he roughly thrust deep inside me. He was thrashing into me, my orgasm still tightening against him.

I buried my face in the bed screaming as he pounded into me. He slapped my ass twice before going completely still, he emptied himself inside of me. He groaned as I tightened my muscles around him, milking him for all he had. I wanted it all.

He flipped me over, pushing a pillow under my ass. I saw Gray’s smirk. He was sure he had gotten me pregnant, and he was proud of himself. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

“You better hope not. You don’t want to miss my heat, do you?” I teased him, pulling the pillow from under me.

James raised his eyebrow, snatching another pillow and sliding it back under me, “Don’t make me tie you to this bed, Brea.”

I giggled as the image of me tied to the bed made Gray roll over to his back. He was such a d**k. James growled, softly biting the n****e closest to him. I arched into him. He chuckled. “We have guests.” He stood from the bed, grabbing a shirt and sweatpants. I heard a knock on the cottage door. Ky was here with a strange she-wolf.

I grabbed another of James’ shirts before grabbing a pair of his boxers to wear as shorts. I threw my hair into a messy bun walking out of the bedroom. James was standing in front of the door, but I heard the she-wolf’s voice.

“Alpha, I heard your mate found a small boy. His name is Dalton.” She whimpered.

James turned to me, hungrily running his eyes over my body. He loved it when I wore his clothes. “Brea.”

I stopped moving as I took the young, she-wolf in. She had dark brown hair, with bright blue eyes. Her face was pale as if she hadn’t seen the sun in years. She was pregnant, heavily so. Her body looked frail. She was familiar.

“You’re Leo’s mate.” I spoke.

She nodded, “His breeder, Luna. One of the many.” She whispered.

“Leo locked you away the day you found each other.” I corrected her. Leo might not have claimed her properly, but he didn’t want anyone else touching her. “What’s your name?”

“Gabrielle, Luna.”

“Dalton is asleep. Let me go get him.”

I tried to wake the exhausted boy, he didn’t flinch as I picked him up and carried him to the living room. Ky had settled himself on the couch, his feet propped on the table. I kicked them off, laughing as Ky startled himself awake. My laughter jostled Dalton he sat up rubbing his eyes. He looked around the room before setting his eyes on Gabrielle.

“Gabby!” He reached out for her. As soon as her arms opened he threw himself into them, squeezing his small body to her. “Gabby! I missed you! I got lost! I can’t find Scarlett.”

She inhaled his scent as a mother would to her own pup. More than likely Dalton was the pup that had been taken from her to be raised by a different breeder. Kara had explained it to us. They took the pups from their mothers so they couldn’t form a bond. It was miserable for the she-wolves because they could never forget their pup. A lot of she-wolves had died from the loss of a pup, it was almost as unbearable as losing a mate. Almost.

“How about we find her together? I think she went to Blue Harvest. Do you want to go there with me?” Gabrielle was running her hands up and down Dalton’s shoulders. She looked him over and smiled when she saw that he was unharmed.

When I found him, Lei had almost killed three Blackstone rogues to protect him. She didn’t know why she was so protective of the pup, but it was her maternal instinct, and she didn’t understand why she had it.

“I will have some warriors take you in the morning. For now, please stay. It is cold and neither of you are in any condition to make the trip.” James said. “I will have a room made up for you at the packhouse.” His eyes glazed over before nodding to Ky.

“Kara will be so upset I saw you first Luna. I’ll have to tell her I caught you at a bad time…” He raised his eyebrow at my clothes. James growled at him; Ky just rolled his eyes. They left, Dalton gave me a big

I sat on the couch as James built us a fire. I curled into him sleep taking me quickly. I was warm again.