True Beta

Golden Sun

Brea’s POV

It was excruciating. No one wanted to breed me, but they did enjoy whipping me. They would whip me until they got bored. They hated that I would never scream. I was given a bowl of water and a washcloth to help heal my back. The woman from the first night had helped me bandage the wounds. Lei was trying to heal me, but she was so weak from being so far away from her mate. It had been almost two weeks.

Alexander had forced me to start breastfeeding more often, claiming his son was too small. He was pissed off when my breasts grew, and he had to buy me all-new outfits. He whipped me for him having to spend more money on me. At night I was whipped when I couldn’t get Reese to settle down. I was whipped for not being sexy enough, for being “too tempting”. Alexander’s father, Julius, whipped me for Reese only being four months old. But I never shed a tear. I promised my son I would be strong, and I was. Lei was doing her absolute best to keep my back from scarring, but it was getting harder for her.

“Get up.” Alexander burst through the door. He grabbed my hair, pulling me out of the room. He half dragged me into his office. Delilah stood with her arms crossed. Her eyes were a bright purple as she looked over me.

She didn’t say a word as she looked over my body. My back had fresh whip marks and my hair had turned black from the matted blood. I looked down at the ground. I was ashamed she saw me like that.

“Where is the pup? I said I wanted to see them both,” Delilah growled.

Alexander's mate stepped forward holding a wailing Reese. I snatched her from him, Alexander hated his screams, and I knew James's scent was fading. It wouldn’t be much longer until I couldn’t calm him down and I wasn’t sure how Alexander would react. Reese whimpered as he buried his little face in my neck, exhausted from his constant tears.

“As you can see, they are alive. Is there anything else?” Alexander sneered.

Delilah growled lowly. She winked at me before waving us off. Alexander’s Beta helped me to my room. He gave me my usual plain oatmeal and water. Reese woke up when he smelled the food, he was growing so fast and was eating it with me. I made sure he was full before I scraped the bowl clean and drank the water. I let Reese fall asleep on my breast before rolling over and going to sleep myself.

I woke up to hear shouting. There was a loud banging coming from the barred window. I swept Reese into my arms, rushing us to the safety of the closet. I held my son close when the door swung open. A slender tall female standing at about 5’10 was standing in the doorway. She had jet black hair and brown eyes with high cheekbones and mocha-colored skin. She was wearing a skintight black bodysuit and she held out her hand to me. Lei nudged me forward. If my wolf trusted her, then I would too. She led me out of the room, keeping us out of sight. Amid the chaos, everyone was running around. There were screams from the other breeders. They had basically been brainwashed to believe that this is where they belonged. I found myself looking for Alexander's mate. She was kind to me. When I saw her cowering in the corner, I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her behind me. The strange lady led us outside into an SUV. There was an infant’s car seat in the back. The lady waited until I had Reese completely strapped in before speeding out of Blackstone territory.

I noticed that instead of heading back towards Cold River, we were going north. Into Canada.

“Where are you taking us?” I asked her timidly.

“Golden Sun,” she replied, as I should know that. She looked at me through the rear-view mirror. “Alpha Leon sent for you.”

I should have known who it was, but my mind was blank. All the tears I had held back came pouring to the surface. I kept my sobs silent, but I knew they knew I was crying. I was going to yet another Alpha, but not my own. I missed James and I had done my absolute best not to think about him or I would have broken. Now that yet another Alpha wanted me, I thought I would never be able to see my mate again. I felt cold and empty and only he could fill the void that had been growing in my heart. I felt my back heal before Lei fell to her belly panting from the effort. I silently thanked her and allowed her to rest. Maybe this pack wouldn’t be as bad as Blackstone. Or Blackwood.

James' POV

I paced the floor of Leon's office. He had complained I would wear a hole in his floor, but I couldn’t sit still. His Gamma, Kiara, was mind-linked and said she was less than an hour away. It had been weeks since I had seen my beautiful mate. I think about her each day. I could feel her pain through our bond and Gray was getting weaker. The last set of whippings made me pass out. I woke up and there were whip marks on my back.

“She’s going as fast as she can, brother. Please sit down. You’re making Kane nervous.” Leon motioned to the couch in front of him. I could hear his wolf whimpering; Gray was snarling, annoyed at the sound.

I sat down, but my legs immediately started jumping up and down. I played with the edge of my shirt before I tore it. Leon sighed. He hadn’t tried to make conversation with me since his Gamma left Blackstone. He let me be anxious. After 30 minutes more of anxiety-filled silence, he let me know that they were pulling into his driveway. I used Gray’s speed as I threw myself out of the front doors and down the steps. The sun was just starting to rise as I inhaled deeply her intoxicating scent. I tore the door clean off, throwing it behind me as I saw my Luna. Her eyes went wide as she looked at me. I pulled her from the car, wrapping my arms tightly around her. She had gotten even smaller, her hair smelled like blood, and she was wearing a black silk nightgown. She hadn’t even put shoes on. I buried my face into her neck, licking and kissing her mark.

Gray needed to feel the bond again. I needed it too. I could feel my canines extending before Gray quickly sank them into Brea's beautiful neck. She moaned deeply as I bit down further into her. I could taste her blood. I groaned when she bit back into me. Gray was back to his usual self, prancing around as Brea kept her little teeth buried in our skin. I knew it was affecting him, but I couldn’t tell how much until now.

I pulled my teeth out of her neck at the same time she did, and I crashed my lips into hers. I forced her mouth open, needing to taste her. She was as sweet as ever despite the blood from her bite. I broke our kiss loving how she sank into me. I had missed her so much; I wasn’t sure if I could have taken it much longer.

When I went to Delilah, I thought about begging her to force Alexander to let Brea go, but it wouldn’t save anyone else. I would have my family, but from what Kara told us, there were at least seven other breeder she-wolves. We went to the council, but they waved us off. We have asked them for a lot in the last few months. Delilah decided she would give Alexander a business deal. He was a greedy son of a b***h and though it was illegal, Kara told us he wasn’t against selling his breeders. Delilah saw them all. It gave us an in and picture of each of their faces. Once Leon heard that Blackstone had my mate, he immediately jumped in to help. No one would suspect a female Gamma was going to save the day, but she was pretty badass. She put Leon on his ass a few times.

Now that we had proof he had my Luna, I could kill him and take control of his pack. I would kill his entire pack, but Kara said his Beta had the potential to make Blackstone a better pack, so once I had Alexander’s head on a stick, his Beta could have the pack. I only prayed Blackwood would get involved. They were close enough to my territory that I could easily take over the pack. Gray was out for blood. He wanted the heads of anyone who had mistreated his mate.

I looked down at my beautiful fiancée, setting her down on her feet. I pulled her engagement ring out of my pocket. I slipped it on her finger, kissing each knuckle, “Don’t you dare take it off again.” I whispered. I could feel the lump in my throat. “I missed you so f*****g much, Brea.” I kissed her deeply before being interrupted by a wail.

I couldn’t help but smile as I grabbed Reese out of his car seat. He reached out his chubby hands and grabbed my cheeks. He had gotten bigger. He was giggling away as I smelled his head and nuzzled his nose. He looked so much like his mother. I finally had my family back.

It took me a while to realize that there was another woman in the car. She hadn’t moved even though the Gamma of Golden Sun, Kiera had gotten out of the SUV. I held Reese tighter and pushed Brea behind me, a low growl coming from my chest. Brea put her hand on my arm to calm me down. I looked down at her, her eyes were soft as she looked at the woman.

“She helped me” Brea explained, “She’s Alexander’s mate.”

Gray lifted his head. He recognized a scent on this she-wolf. He was bristling, trying to communicate with her, but she wouldn’t speak back. He didn’t like that. He brushed it off though when Brea’s hand tightened on our arm. We could deal with that later.

I wrapped my arm tightly around my Luna, leading her into the house. I had already told Leon that I would introduce her after she had gotten cleaned up. When we made it to the bedroom, Reese was fussing. I had made sure to pack the small stuffed bear that Mya had made from my old t-shirt. It smelled like me since I had slept with it every night. He nuzzled the bear, falling quickly asleep while feeding. I laid him down, before helping Brea take off the nightgown. Her back was covered in red oozy lashing marks, the silk was stuck to a few of them. My heart clenched as I looked at her.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” she whispered.

I leaned down and kissed her back softly. I could see the skin pulling back together as it healed. I ran my fingers over the raised skin, and she moaned. I had missed the way just a simple touch set my body on fire. I trailed my fingers down her back to her waist and pulled her close to me. I leaned down, kissing her fresh mark, pride swelling in me as I caught my scent mixed with hers. She was mine.

She was already falling asleep when I helped her in the shower. I let her lean on me as I washed her hair of all the blood. I quickly cleaned her body, being gentle with her back and the backs of her legs. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her before I picked her up and set her down on the bed. She was softly snoring as I slipped one of my shirts over her head. She whimpered and moved her arms around looking for something. Her eyes shot open, and she took me in.

Her tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at me. She moved across the bed and threw her arms around my waist. I held her tightly. Gray had blocked me out of our link, probably talking with Lei. I wouldn’t force Brea to talk about it. I laid down, pulling Brea to my chest. She sobbed until they turned into soft snores. I kissed her head gently.

When we see him again, I will rip his head from his body. And all those who dared hurt my mate.

How bad was it?

Gray didn’t answer. He wasn’t going to. I took that as bad. I had to agree. Alexander of Blackstone had signed his death warrant.