The Beta's Decision

-Benjamin It has been three days since I last saw her. It feels like the earth swallowed her. I have been looking all over for her but I can not find her. I asked Asher yesterday about her, trying not to reveal much about my feelings for her, but he already knows. "Benjamin, darling. We are leaving in ten minutes. Why are you not ready?" My mother asked behind the door to my room. "I am ready, mom." "If you were ready, you would already have brought your stuff to the car. Hurry up now. Your aunt is taking us to a nice restaurant for dinner." "Ugh." I hate this. Every two weeks, my mother makes us visit my aunt, her sister, Elaine. She lives about an hour away from here. I never liked going there. The neighbourhood girls stalk me every time I am there as if I were a lollipop they can suck on. (She is back. She is passing by your house.) Asher mind-linked me and I didn't even bother to thank him but ran outside as fast as I could. "Oi, lunatic. Don't run inside the house." "Sorry, mom." I get out of the house and look around for her. "Help me with the bags, will ya?" Father asks me, but that is not what matters to me right now. My only concern is to find her and ask her out. I finally decided to pluck up the courage and be done with it. As I kept looking around, I got a whiff of her perfume. I look by the trees and that's where she is. She is coming my way and she is wearing a most beautiful smile. My heart is racing, ready to cross the rib cage. She is only a few feet away from me now. It is now or never. I step in front of her and she gasps when she sees me. "Hi, Benjamin. You scared me." "I am sorry. Didn't mean to. How have you been? Haven't seen you around for days now." "Oh . . ." her cheeks turn the colour of her hair. I would so like to touch her. "I have been away." Oh, I know that. I have been waiting for you for three days. "Been to see your brother?" "No. No. I was uhm . . . " "It doesn't matter. Listen. I want to ask you something." She straightens up and smiles. "Ask away." I take a deep breath and a laugh escapes from me. This feels silly. "Well, er . . . Would you like to . . . er . . . you know . . . go out on a date? With me?" She frowns and that's when I knew she would never say yes to me. "Oh, Benjamin. I am sorry. That would have been possible a few days ago, but while I was away, I found my mate. I really am sorry." Air evaporated from my lungs. How could this happen? The one time I decide to ask her out and she finds her mate? Fuck this. "No!" I yell as I wake up from the same nightmare I have been having the past week. "Nightmare again?" Skye asks calmly and sits up on the bed, kissing my shoulder. "It has been a week, babe. What is going on?" She doesn't know about my nightmare. She has no idea it is about Genesis and I will never tell her. "Nothing. Never mind. Go back to sleep. I am going to take a shower." "Okay." I get out of bed and walk out of the door, heading for the bathroom. A noise coming from downstairs distracts me. "Who's there?" I ask but there is no response. I take a deep breath, trying to catch a scent, but all I smell is a vanilla scent. "Oh shit." There is only one person I know who uses those to disguise the scents. I run downstairs and knock on her door. "I know you are in there," I say and wait for her to open the door. "Sabrina, open the damn door!" The door opens and I see her and two other men on the bed, under the covers. "What do you want big brother?" She fakes a smile and I have the urge to vomit. "What the f**k is this? What are they doing here?" "I invited them. What is the big deal?" "The big deal is you're under fathers roof and should show some respect." "I'll make sure to pay my respects to father in the morning. Until then, leave me alone." She slams the door shut and I groan angrily. "What is going on?" Skye asks from upstairs. "Sabrina is here." "Oh, that is wonderful. I haven't seen her in months." "Let's hope she will stay only until the wedding and then vanishes again." "Don't say that, Ben. That is your sister." "That is the problem," I say as I walk up the stairs. "She betrayed us." "How did she betray you? By giving up on her duties?" "She was supposed to become one of us, Skye. Instead, she ran off to w***e around." "That was her decision. She was not ready to become part of the pack. There is nothing wrong with that. And she is not w*****g around. She is enjoying life. She is young and hungry. Just like we were when we went out in the beginning." "That was different." "Different how?" "We knew what we were doing," I say before getting in the bathroom and closing the door. At least I knew what I was doing. My mind drifts off to Genesis again and I flinch at the memory of her. I haven't been able to confront her for a whole week. Since that day at the hospital when she woke up and saw me there, holding her hand. It has been painful to not see her every day. This is the burden of having her as a mate. Pain. Anger. Nightmares. And yet, she is the one I crave.