True Beta

A she-wolf marked

Alexander’s POV

I was pacing the floor of my office, yet again. My mate was, as usual, useless. We had been trying for months to produce an heir. The doctor claimed she was barren. A barren Luna. It was good that I never marked her. She would be cast out as all rejected women were. My father had given me a good idea.

We had heard that the rogue Alpha had only marked the b***h that held my son but hadn’t mated her. If I killed him, I would get her and my son. She would only be good until she couldn’t breed anymore, then I would kill her.

“They have killed Gamma Langston of Blackwood, ally with them and get your son and your b***h. You bred her first. You are entitled to her. She does not have to become Luna.” Father repeated.

I nodded. It was a good plan. Almost foolproof, but I would have to ensure the True Alpha was distracted. She would be able to easily stop me from doing anything to harm the newly Cold River. I called Alpha Raymond and told him of my plan. It would take days to get everything in position, but I would get my son back. When I did, I would make James watch as I bred his mate again before I ripped his heart from his chest.

Brea's POV

I woke up with a jolt. James thought it was hilarious when I woke up. He was feeding Reese, a burp rag thrown over his shoulder. I smiled. He was adorable and no one would ever call this bear of a man adorable. Except me. He was slowly rocking Reese around our room, humming a lullaby. He told me it was the same one his mom sang to him when he was a boy. He told me to shower while I could and I dashed for the bathroom.

James made sure I could have at least an hour a day to myself. From the last time he had worked through dinner, he set an alarm. He ate dinner quickly so that I could eat without having to hold Reese. He was up at 4:30 every morning to train Lukas and then trained with the rest of the pack at 10. The only people he trusted with Reese were Lacy and Axel. Though he had gotten closer to Ky and his mate Kara and he knew they wouldn’t do anything to hurt our son, he didn’t know them as well as he did Axel.

James told me Ky's wolf, Maverick, was temperamental and Ky didn’t quite have a handle on him. Maverick was more instinctual and preferred to rely on that. Anything that went against his gut was wrong. It was why he had such a hard time accepting me as Luna in the beginning. An unmated, unmarked, pregnant she-wolf wasn’t natural. Especially not a she-wolf who was pregnant with an Alpha male. Alphas are more territorial of their mates than any other wolf.

I finished my shower, walked out of the bathroom with a towel around my chest. James had put Reese down in his crib and was sitting on the bed leaning up against the headboard. He didn’t say anything as his eyes trailed down my body. I could feel him watching me as I walked into the closet. I got dressed in a light purple sweater and dark washed jeans. Pulling the towel out of my hair, I smelled James' scent in the doorway. His eyes were black as he looked at me. His breathing was deep and slow, Gray had come forward.

“Mate,” Gray growled at me. Lei purred, rolling on her back as they communicated. He stalked towards me pinning me to the wall, his knee between my legs so I couldn’t move. He softly brushed his fingers over my cheeks. “Beautiful, Brea.”

I blushed as he kissed me softly, “Thank you, Gray.”

“Lei wishes to be claimed fully. Do you accept this?”

“Lei is a horny she-wolf. It’s all she thinks about.” I blushed deeper.

He growled softly, “It is getting harder for James and me to deny her, Mate. I will do nothing to hurt you.” Gray's eyes glazed over. “I must go. Boston and Maverick need me.”

I nodded and he kissed me softly again. Even though he was an Alpha wolf, and Beta to the True Alpha, he very rarely showed acts of violence. James said he saw enough while living in the lab. There was always another way. It’s why he took rogues into his pack. He didn’t believe in killing senselessly. It took a lot for him to get to the point of wanting to kill someone.

I pulled my hair into a ponytail and put Reese in his stroller. Walking past James’ office, I could hear someone yelling, a deep growl made the walls shake. Reese didn’t cry, but his sleepy eyes fluttered open. He could always tell when he was around James, and he never slept. I had seconds before he threw a fit and Gray went ballistic looking for his pup. I sighed and opened the door. James was sitting at his desk while Ky was pacing the floor, his knuckles white. Lukas was cowering in fear on the couch, Kara trying to comfort him. Axel leaned against the wall; his ankles crossed and a smirk playing on his lips.

“Luna.” He addressed me.

I nodded back, “What is going on?”

No one answered. Axel tried to cover his laugh with a cough but stopped when I glared at him. I looked at Ky who was still pacing the floor. Lukas was almost shaking in fear as he watched Ky flex his hands in and out of his fists.

“What is going on?” I repeated with more authority in my voice.

“Lukas, you’re dismissed. Kara, take your mate and let him cool off. We can pick this up later.” James sighed, running his hands through his hair.

Ky snatched Kara's hand and dragged her out of the room as Lukas dragged his feet. He looked back at Axel, who nodded. He closed the door behind him. Axel moved to the couch as James grabbed Reese from his stroller.

“So? Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to go talk to a moping 17-year-old?” I grumbled.

“Blackstone is very…traditional. They believe that before a she-wolf is marked and mated, the male must ask permission from her closest living male relative.”

Okay, and? I nodded my head before it hit me. Lukas was Kara's closest living relative. Ky would have to ask Lukas for permission to mate his sister. Maverick, as an Alpha, didn’t feel like he had to ask permission for anyone to claim his mate. Ky wouldn’t do anything to hurt Kara or go against her wishes.

“Exactly. She won’t let him mate her until he asks. He just couldn’t get the words out.” James chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Maverick is flipping balls and Ky is trying hard to control him.”

I threw my head back, laughing, “Seriously, that’s what all the growling is about? He can’t sleep with his mate?”

Axel furrowed his brow, “Werewolves are s****l creatures. We mate for life and not being able to claim what was made for us is almost impossible. The fact that-"

“Shut it, Axel,” James growled.

I looked between the two of them, my laughter fading. James' jaw was set. Axel nodded and left the office. I turned to James, who was bouncing Reese on his knee, and looked up at me sheepishly. He didn’t want to talk about whatever Axel was talking about, but I had a feeling I knew.

We need to mate. Lei mind linked me.

Lei, it’s not that simple.

It is. James loves us. He loves our pup and we are marked. Do you know what happens to a marked she-wolf who is not mated?

No.

We need to mate.

James groaned as he heard our conversation. He shook his head but didn’t say anything. He set Reese down and led me to the dining room. No one was saying anything as we ate in silence. After we finished, Lacy and I went up to the office and began to coordinate Reese's introduction to the pack. We would have an informal dinner and James would officially sign the papers adopting Reese. The council had agreed that Alexander had no legal claim to Reese since I wasn’t marked by him. We spent the afternoon planning the dinner for the end of the week. I was about to open the door to James’ office when I heard more hushed talking.

“Alpha, if you do not fully claim her soon, she will go into heat. It could potentially kill her. She already has a pup and you marked her. I can already see how much she is affected by this. It’s slowly killing her and her wolf.”

James sighed. I burst through the door. Axel sat up straighter, his eyes were on the floor. James' eyes were wide as I looked between the two of them.

“Is that true?”

Axel peaked up at James. He ran his hands over his face, heaving a sigh. He motioned for Axel to leave the room. Axel bowed to us and pushed past me into Lacy’s and my office. I moved so I could close the door, leaning against it. I crossed my arms over my chest while I waited for James to start talking.

He looked down at Reese who was sleeping in his stroller. He softly stroked Reese's black hair. He was arguing with Gray. Finally, he muttered “stupid mutt" before his eyes settled on me.

“It’s unusual for a she-wolf to be pregnant by someone who isn’t her mate. Forced mating should have killed you, but it didn’t. Getting pregnant with Reese saved your life somehow. When I marked you, it kind of restarted your heat cycle. If I mate you now, your heat will subside for a few months. Giving you time to heal. Mya isn’t sure if Lei is strong enough to have another heat so close to having an Alpha pup.”

I gasped. I knew that I wouldn’t have heat for at least 6 months after having a pup. In a normal case, she-wolves had heat each month until she got pregnant. It wasn’t a guarantee that she would get pregnant during her heat, it was just more likely. Alphas were most likely to conceive since they needed an heir to continue their bloodline. It just wasn’t usual for a she-wolf to be thrown into a room with an Alpha during her heat. They were locked away in a cottage and all unmated males were kept as far away from her for 3 days until her heat passed.

I was trying to find something to say, anything to get his eyes off me. I just didn’t have anything. I ran out of the office, quickly shifting as soon as I had the front door opened. I ran through the woods. Before stopping in a clearing, I lay down with my muzzle on my paws.

I wasn’t ready to mate with James. I loved him, and he loved me and our son. I just wasn’t ready for that type of intimacy. I hadn’t really had it. All my previous experiences were with a horny wolf whose main goal was to f**k. There was no kissing or cuddling after. They didn’t even care if I was properly ready for them. I learned early on not to scream. Though some liked that. I also never cried. I wouldn’t let them know that they were getting to me. That I felt used up. When I got pregnant with Reese, I felt the first sense of relief that maybe now I would just finally be able to die. No one would want a used-up she-wolf. Or so I thought.

James never talked about the fact that Reese wasn’t his son biologically. He never treated him differently than the other wolves treated their pups. He didn’t treat me any differently than Deacon treated Delilah. He never asked me about what happened at Blackwood, and I didn’t talk about it. He never brought up the fact that I had been marked for almost a month, but we hadn’t mated. I loved him more for it.

I just didn’t know how I would be able to mate him now. It was my life on the line, which would weaken James and leave our son an orphan. I couldn’t leave my son. I loved James and I knew he would take care of me, in every meaning of the word. It wouldn’t be like all those other wolves who didn’t care about me. One even asked if they could put a bag on my head. James was everything I could have asked for and so much more.

Did you know our heat could kill us?

I did.

Why didn’t you tell me?

Would it have changed your mind about being claimed by our mate? Would it change our memories of those that defiled us, or even Alpha Alexander’s rejection of our pup?

No.

That’s why. I didn’t know at first. Gray kept telling me that my scent was getting more potent. You have to decide, Brea and soon. If we do not mate, I’m not sure I’m strong enough to make it through. I have healed you as best I could, but I am still injured from the forced mating.

Lei… I’m sorry.

Allow our mate to claim us and we will be stronger together. She cut the link.

I pulled out my phone and called Delilah. She would know how to help me.