True Beta

Lukas and Kara

James’ POV

A screaming baby woke me from yet another power nap. I looked at Brea, who had been sleeping even less than I, as she drooled on her pillow. Her soft snores warmed my heart but were almost drowned out by Reese’s wails. I got up to grab him and he settled down immediately. Warming up a bottle, I set him in his bouncer chair and looked at him. He had grown so much in just a few weeks he had been alive, and every day he started to look more and more like his mother. Alexander had petitioned the council for him, but because of the fact he hadn’t acknowledged the law before Reese was born, he was denied. I had quickly petitioned to adopt him, and he would be Alpha of Cold River.

Blackwood had been eerily quiet since Ky had killed Leo, but we knew they were watching. Raymond had gone to Delilah to command me to release Ky from him. She laughed in his face. We still had no idea who had come into the house to get Reese and hand him over to Leo, and Delilah had sent warriors to help patrol.

Alpha, there are rogues seeking refuge. Should I allow them in? A warrior mind linked me.

Have Beta Axel escort them to my office. I will be there as soon as I can.

I stared down at Reese. I hated having to take him to meet them if they were violent or just not a good fit for the pack. I didn’t want anyone catching his scent. I also needed Brea to sleep. Between her Luna duties, she was also helping new families get settled into houses and still had a newborn son to take care of. We had sent Mya home a few days ago. She missed working in the hospital, but she promised she would come anytime we called. I sighed and bundled up the little Alpha in an old shirt that would cover his scent with mine. I put him in the stroller, grabbed his bottle, and we made our way downstairs to my office.

Axel stood stoned face leaning against my desk while Lacy sat gracefully in the chair next to two rogues. They had been rogue for at least a year, their scent almost made me gag. Since rogues were basically thrown out as trash, their scent mimicked the sentiment. I nodded towards Lacy, who quickly moved to take Reese to feed him. She left the office for the office she shared with Brea. Close enough so I could hear him, but far enough away that the new rogues wouldn’t be able to scent him.

I stood behind my desk, letting my Alpha aura overflow into the room around me. The rogues hadn’t looked up, but when their eyes met mine, they broke into tears. The male had on tattered clothes, he looked to be 15 or 16, not old enough to even have his wolf. He had his neck bared to me, as tears rolled down his face. The female was around 19, she was clutching a blanket around her body, and had an oversized jacket, hat, and mittens. She didn’t smell like a wolf.

I held my hand up to stop them, “I am Alpha James, why are you on my territory?”

The male spoke, “Alpha, we came because we heard you take nonviolent rogues.”

“We do. Why were you cast out?”

“I wasn’t. But I would not allow my older sister to be alone.” The young man pointed to the female that clung to his arm.

“Why was she cast out, then?” Axel growled. I rolled my eyes at his impatience.

“She’s wolf-less. Our Alpha said the only thing she was good for was breeding. She told him no and she was cast out.”

“She could live with humans then,” I said calmly.

“She could, but she has lived with wolves her entire life. We were homeschooled, she has no knowledge of humans.”

I looked at Axel, raising my eyebrow. What do you think, Beta?

If he’s taken care of them for this long, he’s strong enough to be a decent warrior. He would have shifted the second he turned rogue. I’m concerned about the girl though. If she is wolf-less, then she might not ever find her mate. She will be alone.

Maybe she’s just a late shifter? You know sometimes finding a mate will bring forth a wolf.

He nodded, “We will allow you to stay. We do require training. We are a small pack but are getting larger with each new member, and we want our pack members to be stronger as well.”

“What are your names?” I asked.

“I am Lukas.” The young wolf said, holding his head proudly. Axel was right. He was strong.

“Kara. Kara Blake.” She had finally spoken and looked up at me. Her eyes were silvery blue, she had a pointed nose and dark circles under her eyes. Her cheeks looked like she hadn’t had a decent meal in a long time. She pulled her hat off and her hair was so blonde it looked white.

I nodded, “If you would like to stay, we need to bind you to the pack. If you wish to leave, let us get you food and more supplies.”

Lukas looked at his sister, his eyes glazing over, probably mind-linking with his sister. It made me question whether she really had a wolf, because they had a familial bond that allowed her to communicate telepathically. After a few seconds, they both nodded, Kara spoke, “We would like to stay if that is okay with you, Alpha.”

“Beta, get our Gamma. We need to bind them to our pack and have a few omegas to set up a room for them both.” I spoke. “Link me when he’s here. I need to check on something.”

He nodded, understanding what I was going to check. I quickly ran upstairs to wake up Brea. I softly stroked her face, brushed her hair out of her face, and wiped her drool. She snorted, jolting awake, and I laughed. I loved how she woke up every morning.

“We have a couple of new pack members, Luna. And little Alpha has been awake and fed. I’m sure he misses his momma as much as I have.” I kissed her forehead.

“Where is our little Alpha?” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“He’s with his Auntie Lacy,” I said.

She got out of bed rushing through her shower and got dressed in a knitted sweater dress that stopped mid-thigh over a pair of black opaque tights. She slipped on black boots and threw her hair in a messy bun. She never wore make-up, and she didn’t need it. She was beautiful just as she was. I held her hand as we walked down the hall to my office. I told her that Lacy had Reese in her office, even though these were our pack members, I would not trust them until they were bound to me. No one was allowed to see our son, except the ranked. My pack understood, especially after we had explained that someone had broken into our cottage and had taken him.

We made it to the office. Kara and Lukas had changed into clean clothes and were eating sandwiches. Ky, like usual, had his feet on my coffee table, his eyes slit as he stared at the rogues in front of us. It was in his DNA to not trust rogues. Alphas were incredibly protective of their pack, and even though he had sworn his loyalty to me, he couldn’t change DNA. We quickly swore them into the back, sealing the bond with blood. Ky stiffened as Kara’s natural scent overcame him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her before pinning her to the wall behind us. He brought his lips incredibly close to hers.

“Mate,” he whispered.

Her eyes were wide, tears threatening to spill over.

“Gamma Ky, I think you’re frightening her.” Brea laughed. She had gotten more outgoing in the months she had been with me.

Ky let out a low growl, a snarl coming from Gray, “Take your mate and be gentle, but do not dare disrespect my Luna, Maverick.”

Ky’s eyes flashed black, his wolf acknowledging his Alpha’s command. He gently grabbed Kara's hand and led her out of the office. Lukas stood staring at the door. I could feel his anxiety about his sister being around strange wolves. Even if he thought he could trust her, he had spent such a long time taking care of her that he didn’t know how to do anything else. Brea must have seen my thoughts as well. She looked at Lukas and gave him a small smile.

“Lukas, how old are you?”

“17, Luna.” He answered, he still stared at the door, “how is it my sister received a mate when she has no wolf?”

“Wolves can be mated to anyone. Even humans. It is less likely, but it has happened.” Axel answered before I could. “It is possible your sister is not wolf-less at all, simply a late shifter. If she has a wolf, being marked and mated could bring her wolf forward.”

Lukas nodded, going back to his sandwich. Brea’s eyebrows furrowed together as she had no real questions for Lukas. I shrugged. Why not ask a few of my own?

“Would you like to train to be a pack warrior?”

His eyes shot to me, “Alpha, I have no previous training. I have spent so long protecting my sister I had no time for anything else. I did not graduate high school. We left our pack when I was but 15.”

“What pack did you come from?” Brea asked.

“Blackstone.”

The color drained from Brea's face as I opened my arms to her. She moved past me and went into her office. I knew she needed to see our son. Even though I could comfort her, she needed to hold him, smell him. Axel's stance grew tense, his own Alpha aura rolling into the room. His eyes were flickering black as Boston tried pushing through. The mere mention of Alexander’s name had everyone on edge. Gray was snarling in my head; he was communicating with Lukas' wolf. He didn’t like what he was hearing and was sharing the information with Boston.

I could hear the first pop of a shift, before I threw a chair through the window with all I had, shattering it. “Boston, go,” I commanded. Axel quickly ran through the window, shifting fully before his paws touched the ground. He released a warning howl. No one except Lacy would be able to calm him down now.

“Did I do something wrong, Alpha?” Lukas asked in a small voice. I looked at him. His eyes were wide and for a split second, he looked like a small boy instead of a man who had spent two years taking care of his sister.

“No, Lukas. You've done nothing wrong. Alpha Alexander has done many wrong things. Boston is just very territorial. It’s best you don’t mention your old pack again in front of the Beta.”

“The Luna? Is she okay?”

I shook my head, “Why don’t you get some rest? Your training will begin tomorrow. I will be personally training you. 5 a.m.” I stood from my chair. Lukas bowed to me and left the room. It was a little past 3 ‘o clock and I had a raging migraine. I could feel Brea's fear through our bond, and I had no idea how to soothe her.

It was well known that I took in runaways and rogues, but it doesn’t mean everyone accepted it. Some people believed that those who had been cast out deserved the title of rogue and should die like one. Runaways were usually victims of abuse or those that had been rejected. Blackstone were some of those people. They would cast wolves out and kill them where they stood as soon as they rejected the pack. I shouldn’t have expected much more from an Alpha who rejected his own son.

I decided I would get some pack things done. I worked until I smelled Brea's scent in the doorway of my office. She was holding a plate of dinner and I looked outside. It had gotten dark. I silently cursed myself. I hadn't even spent time with my mate.

“I’m sorry, Love. I got caught up with pack stuff and time just slipped.” I apologized as Brea set the plate on my desk. She leaned against the edge of it, crossing her legs. I opened my arms to her, and she reluctantly came to sit on my lap. “Thank you for dinner.”

“What will happen if Alexander comes?” She whispered. Her eyes were red and puffy. She tried to hide a sniffle on my shoulder.

“I'll kill him myself,” I said, pulling back so I could look at her. “Brea, no one is going to hurt you ever again. No one will touch our son.”

She didn’t say anything. She searched my eyes. I nuzzled my face into her neck, softly kissing her mark. She gasped as the sparks from our mate bond sent shivers down her spine. I loved that I could make her feel this way, but more than that, I loved that I felt everything she felt. Her fear, anxiety, her love for our son. She was even starting to love me more. We hadn’t said the words, but I didn’t need to hear them. That would be enough until she was ready. I inhaled her scent; Gray was purring at the fact we could smell ourselves on her. He was totally in love with her and, even as an Alpha, he felt no need to mate her. It would be pleasurable, but he could live his entire life just like this. He could still communicate with his mate, so he didn’t care.

Not even Brea knew that I could communicate with Lei even though we hadn’t mated. Not many knew I could talk to wolves, period. It was something we had learned while Dylan was experimenting on me. Delilah got the absolute worst of it, but I had been there the longest. Angel, who had become an assistant to Dylan, was never experimented on. She was just made to be collateral. A glorified note taker. Axel knew, and that was how we had become so close. Axel was just four when Dylan got him. He was a scared kid and cried every night. So I would tell him stories my dad had told me. I wasn’t much older at 6, but it helped him calm down. During Dylan’s experiments, we would talk to each other to block out the pain. It went on for years more. I had to beg Dylan to let Axel shift before he had a rogue Alpha wolf. Of course, Dylan took that as another experiment. But Boston took it. When we were bonded to Delilah, I basically became Delilah's Beta and Axel a Gamma.

“Is that why Boston follows you so well? Most Alpha's can’t be commanded. Apart from the command of a True Alpha. You outrank him?” Brea was staring at me wide-eyed.

I blinked back at her. How did she know? We had a mate link, but she had never been able to read my mind before. Gray gave his version of a shrug and received. The stupid mutt. She told her everything I was thinking. I sighed deeply. There was no more hiding this, I guess.

“Essentially. Please don’t tell anyone. Not even Delilah knows. Even though she released me from my bond, her getting hurt would hurt Gray, and vice versa.”

She nodded. She wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her face in my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me. She sighed before her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. I chuckled. I picked her up and went to lay her on our bed. I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and kissed her cheek. I poked my head into the sitting room of our apartment and checked on Reese. He was sleeping peacefully. Closing the door, I went back to my office and ate.

As soon as I climbed into bed, I wrapped my arms around Brea's waist and Reece started to wail. I laughed. Brea snorted herself awake grumbling as she threw the blankets off. This was how our nights went and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.