True Beta

Finding his mother

Alexander’s POV

DAMN IT! Somehow, that mutt had gotten Golden Sun involved. I did a lot of things, but I wasn’t stupid. No one messed with Golden Sun. It is said that their ranks were blessed by the Moon Goddess herself.

Raymond and I ran as soon as we heard them coming. Cowardly, but I was going to kill that mutt and his b***h. They had my son, now they had given my pack to my weak Beta.

“What are we going to do?” Raymond asked for the second time.

“I DON’T KNOW!” I was furious.

They would turn my pack into the weaklings they were. My pack members all had ranked blood. They were all stronger than most packs. That was why I used breeder she-wolves. Raymond had bought a few from me once he realized how strong my warriors were. The only issue we seemed to face was the fact that they were all unmated. An unmated ranked wolf was no match for a mated one. They did well against rogues, but Golden Sun's Gamma had taken out ten by herself.

They had also taken my mate. She was unmarked, so her death wouldn’t kill me, but she knew too much. She would have to die before she told anyone of my secrets. I just had no way of getting to her. She was locked safely away at Golden Sun and I wasn’t going to march onto their territory and be slaughtered.

“We need to get to Brenda. If they make that b***h talk, they will know not only my secrets but yours as well.” I suggested.

“How will we get to her?”

An idea came to me. She was barren and had not conceived my heir, but she was fond of the other pups at Blackstone. She was fiercely protective of them. She had done whatever I asked so long as no harm came to the pups. There was one pup she was fond of.

I wouldn’t have to go to Golden Sun. I would make her come to me.

Brea's POV

After making love countless times during the night, I was sore when I woke up. It was a delicious kind of sore. The kind I had missed the weeks away from my mate. My husband. I smiled at that. I was no longer Brea Langston. I was Luna Brea McKenzie.

I looked up at James, who was still sleeping peacefully. I kissed his jaw up to his lips. He moaned as I climbed on top of him.

“Good morning, wife.” He finally opened his eyes.

“Good morning, husband.” I brushed my lips against his.

He pulled me closer to him, kissing me deeply. He impaled me on his length, taking me on my favorite ride.

I was taking a shower when I heard the door open. James stepped inside, taking my loofah from my hands. He washed my back. The marks had faded. I rinsed him off and let him clean himself. I got dressed in jeans and a light grey sweater, pulling my hair into a ponytail. I quickly made some breakfast and coffee. I was setting the plates down as James padded through the kitchen in only dark washed jeans. He had a towel wrapped around his neck and was shaking it through his hair. His muscles flexed as I licked my lips. Memories of last night were playing through my mind. James laughed as he read my thoughts.

“We have the rest of our lives for that, Brea. We don’t have to get it all out right now.”

I pouted. He kissed me softly. Before sitting down and digging into his breakfast.

We spent most of the day lounging around the cottage. I was curled up on the couch with James' head in my lap. I was running my fingers through his soft hair.

“Brea, do you want more pups? I know Reese took a lot out of you...”

I looked down at him. I hadn’t thought about having more pups. Of course, I knew he would want them. Most Alphas breed as much and as often as possible. I just hadn’t put much thought into it.

Reese did take a lot out of me, but that was because I was force mated by an Alpha who wasn’t my mate. Lei had been badly hurt during it and I was barely strong enough to do it on my own. Carrying a pup from James wouldn’t be like that. He loved me. I was his and he was mine. We were made for each other. I leaned down and kissed him.

“Do you want a pup?” I asked him.

He sat up, “I want whatever you will give me, Love. If you say no more pups, then I am okay with that. If you want an entire litter, then I am okay with that too. We already have a beautiful son who is more than anything I could have asked for.”

I smiled, “I wouldn’t mind a few more.”

James kissed me deeply, pulling me to his lap. “During your next heat can we try?”

I nodded. It was insane, I know, but this was the man I would spend the rest of my life with. He would be with me no matter what.

He nodded his agreement and pulled me into another passionate kiss. I broke away needing to breathe. I laid my head on his shoulder and relaxed onto him. We napped just like that.

We made it to dinner. Lacy was talking to Kara, who was sporting a fresh mark on her neck. Ky was grinning from ear to ear as he showed his mark to Axel. I kissed Reese's head as he played with his dinner.

“Luna. Alpha.” Axel greeted us.

“Axel, reports?” James said, digging into his spaghetti.

“Nothing so far. I don’t think they’re going to make a move this soon.”

James grunted. Desperate people do very dumb things. I joined in the conversation with Lacy and Kara. They were talking about colors for the little Beta's room. I was giving Lacy ideas on what we needed to buy. By the end of dinner, we had made a plan to go shopping. The guys compromised from sending 100 warriors with us to 20. Lukas was adamant about being one of the warriors. He had grown taller and his muscles fuller. He looked almost like a miniature James if it were possible.

James looked up at him. He furrowed his brow. Gray wasn’t happy that I was looking at another male, but he wasn’t jealous. It was strange. Most Alpha’s would be increasingly jealous if his Luna looked at another male. Especially an unmated one. He would go ballistic if he thought his Luna was comparing them. Gray was protective of Kara and Lukas. Not just as pack members.

I could feel the recognition of Lukas' wolf through the bond. He saw his little brother. He looked at Kara, remembering the feeling he first saw them. Gray felt a sense of recognition from Kara, but he couldn’t place it. He was sensing Lukas’ wolf on her. Gray had never tried talking to Lukas’ wolf, since Lukas relied on his wolf’s instincts. They were pretty much the same person.

James stood and ran from the room. I smiled at everyone as I chased after him. I found him in his office, pacing the floor. He was arguing with Gray. They were both growling and snarling at each other. How could they not have recognized their own brother? How could he possibly have a brother? James was almost ten years older than Lukas and his parents had died during a rogue attack when he was six. It was impossible.

I sat at the desk waiting for the anger to fade. James stopped dead in his tracks, staring out the window. He knew I was there, but he didn’t know what to say. He missed his own brother. If Lukas was his brother, then he had more half- siblings.

Axel came into the room, followed by Lukas and Kara. Axel raised his eyebrow but left. Kara was nervously playing with her hands as we sat in silence. James turned and stared at Lukas. The longer we looked at him, the more I could see James. Lukas had the same eye shape and cheekbones. He had the same broad shoulders and long arms that rippled with muscles. His mother had always told him that he looked exactly like her father.

“Can anyone explain?” James asked.

Kara sighed, “My mother was force bred as most women are in Blackstone. She gave birth to Alexander, me, and my sister, Rose. She died when she was a pup. My mother was weak from the force mating and losing her pup was too much. Her wolf had receded, and she got sick, and she died.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “A few years after my mother passed, our father found another breeder. She gave birth to 12 pups.”

“Where did he find her?” I asked. Not many packs believed in buying or selling she-wolves.

“We don’t know. I was young,” Kara said.

“Is she still alive?” James whispered.

Lukas nodded. “Our youngest sibling was almost two when we left.”

James looked at me, “It can’t be possible.”

I shrugged, “Only one way to find out, my love.”

He agreed. We called the investigator that was at Blackstone. He hadn’t said his mother’s name in 18 years. He choked on his words. I held his hand as the investigator said he would see if he could find her. There was still no word about Alexander and Raymond.

Lukas and Kara left, leaving James and me in the office. He was running his hands through his hair. He was confused. He thought he had been alone for all these years. He had given up on finding his family years ago. He was an only child when his pack was killed. He had adopted the other Alpha’s from the lab as family, but Axel was the closest he had to a sibling.

I sat on his lap and placed soft kisses on his cheeks and throat.

“Is it possible?” He asked me. He sounded like a little boy.

“We won’t know until they find them,” I said. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He settled his head on my chest. His hot tears were soaking through my shirt. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist. I just let him cry.

James’ POV

My phone rang, waking me up. I groaned and looked at the time. It was 3 in the morning. Brea mumbled before rolling over, going back to sleep.

“Mmm’lo?” I answered.

“Alpha James?” A man spoke.

“Yes.” I sat up.

“I am Elder Copeland. You inquired about a she-wolf by the name of Jennifer?”

My heart started to pound.

“She is here. We found her and several pups.”

I couldn’t breathe, they found her. She was alive. My mother was alive. I hadn’t seen her in 20 years. I rushed out of bed, thanking the investigator. He was sending them into my pack. They would be here in an hour. I called Mya and woke up Axel and Ky, telling them to start preparing rooms. The hospital only had a few rooms since it was mostly used for she-wolfs during heat and labor, but I didn’t know what we were getting.

I woke up Brea. I wanted her to meet my mother. I couldn’t get dressed because I was so shaky. Brea laughed at me when I realized I had put my jeans on backwards. She helped me put my shirt on, still laughing. We made our way to my office. Axel and Ky were sitting on the couch. Ky had already fallen asleep.

“Is it really her?” Axel asked. I told him stories of my pack when we were in the lab.

I nodded. I started to pace, but Brea stopped me by pulling me into my desk chair and sitting on my lap. I felt someone cross into my territory and my heart started to pound. Axel nodded, knowing I wouldn’t be able to see her in front of my pack members. I couldn’t let them see me cry. Brea leaned closer to my chest, letting her scent calm me down. Gray started howling. She was close. He started spinning in circles, panting like a puppy about to play fetch.

Axel brought a woman into my office. She had the same sandy brown hair I remembered. Her eyes were dark brown and slightly sunken into her face. Her cheekbones stuck out more than they should have. She was skinny, very skinny. She was clinging to a small toddler. He clung to her for dear life.

She looked at me and her brows furrowed. She was no longer the strong Luna I remembered her as. Over the years, she had been beaten and broken. Her eyes were cold and distant.

“Why have you brought us here, Alpha?” She no longer had her authoritative quality.

“James. My name is James.”

Her eyes grew wide. Lukas and Kara came into the room sobbing as they wrapped her in a hug. She kept her eyes on me. The little boy in her arms was picked up by Kara. He was named James as well. I held my stance before Brea pushed me towards my mother.

“James?” She breathed, cupping my cheek

“Hi, Mom.” My voice cracked. I hadn’t said those words in 20 years. 20 very long years.

I fell into her embrace. It had been so long, and I never could have imagined I would ever feel this again. My sobs racked my body, shaking her frail one. For the first time in 20 years, I grieved the death of my former pack. I grieved for my father’s death. I allowed everything that Dylan had done to us in the lab to break through to the surface. We sank to the floor as my mom pulled my head into her lap. She started singing the same lullaby I sang to Reese.

I hadn’t noticed that everyone left while I cried. My sobs stopped and I still lay on my mother’s lap. She was running her hands through my hair, just like she used to when I was a boy.

“Mom, what happened? How are you here?” I asked finally.

She shuddered, “Julius is a very jealous man. He wanted to court me before I found I was mated to your father. But I was already in love with Reese. Julius was cold and too traditional for even my standards. When I heard what they were doing at Blackstone, I reported them to the council. It wasn’t always like that. My mother was from Blackstone, they used to be much less savage. Now they sell she-wolves and use them as breeders to make their pack stronger.”

I looked up at her, “How did you survive the fire?”

“That night Julius had sent rogues into our territory. Your father, being the peaceful man he was, offered them asylum. They went into our bedroom and slit his throat. Julius came not long after and grabbed me before setting our land ablaze. I begged him to save you. My only son. I would give him anything as long as you lived.”

“I was found outside of Dr. Dylan Norton's lab.”

She gasped, clutching me tighter. Everyone knew about Dylan. All the packs had been warned by the council that his behavior would not be tolerated.

“I was freed 2 years ago. I went into Alpha training and formed my pack. It’s mostly non-violent rogues and runaways, but we are strong. I found my mate.”

She smiled proudly at me, “I have heard of your mate. She was force-bred like I was. Even with the fact that her wolf receded, she delivered a healthy boy.”

I smiled at her. I mind linked Brea to come inside. I was so excited to have her meet my mom. Brea came into the room holding Reese. He reached out to me, and I nuzzled him. I introduced Brea and told mom our son's name. My mom cried when I placed him in her eyes. Reese grabbed her cheeks and nuzzled her softly. We all shed some tears at that.

Kara and Lukas came back to my office bringing the rest of my siblings. I had 4 more brothers apart from Lukas and 6 sisters. Alexander had sold 2 of my sisters to an unknown pack. The youngest, James, preferred to be called JJ. Brea laughed and said it would make everything easier.

Axel brought Lacy, who had grown a little bump. Even if Axel was my Beta, he was still an Alpha by blood and his pup would grow faster than normal. I introduced him to my mom and told her that he was the closest thing I had to a brother for 20 years. One of my little brothers, Isaiah, bawled when we said he would have to train extra hard to be as big as Axel, but Axel winked at him and said he would start his training in the morning.

Gray was taking in everyone's scent, committing it to memory. No one would harm his family and he would never be alone again. Axel grunted in agreement. My family had quickly adopted him.

They all went downstairs for dinner. Brea pulled me into a deep kiss.

“What was that for?” I asked when she pulled away.

“I love you.” She smiled, a tear sliding down her cheek.

“I love you too, Luna.” I grabbed her waist and pulled her body into mine. I leaned down and kissed her softly. “Thank you.”

“Whatever for?” She laughed.

“Everything.” I kissed her again.

We made our way to dinner. My family was waiting.