Fierce Nervous Beta

Ice Cream, Fire Breathing Dragons and Peter Pan

Looking in the mirror of my car at my still fresh bruises that my wolf blood hasn't healed yet, I'm dreading going into the house. So instead I link the only person who won't really care.

'Wanna go for a run?' I link Gavin.

'Only if we run to the ice cream shop.' He responds and I can hear the smirk he must have. 'How bad are the bruises?'

'An ice cream shop run and we should be good.'

'I'm coming.'

Gavin strolls into the garage with his cool guy swagger and takes a double take at my bruises.

"Sweet." He pokes and prods at the bruises at my neck to assess the damage. I bat him away. And we walk out t the path into town and pick up a steady pace. He then picks his pace up and smirks at me.

'Race you.' He links and full on spirits towards town.

'Oh you're one!' I pick up my pace and even with my disadvantage I over take him quickly. I stop at the entrance to the ice cream shop, barley out of breath. Gavin stops heaving heavily.

"How do you do that?" He's doubled over gasping for breath. "I swear you could out run my wolf. Which we will be doing on our way home." He stands and walks into the ice cream shop. We order and sit at a table near the window so we can people watch.

"So what's up with Leila?" Gavin breaks the silence. I just shrug at his question.

"Do you like her?" I'm curious about his answer and turn to look at him.

"No." As always Gavin is blunt and to the point. "She doesn't fit. She also doesn't seem capable of being Luna. But between you and me Luna Dawn told Connor she cannot be Luna. Best part is, he agreed." Gavin leans back in his chair looking smug.

"Holy s**t balls. Who's gonna be Luna then?" I'm surprised at this new information.

"Alpha Cohen was saying to Luna Dawn that since your Beta they don't really need a Luna. He said that you already fill the roll of Luna within the pack and cry baby Leila can make herself useful and do the admin stuff." He looks proudly at me.

"Me? I'm the furthest thing from a Luna there possibly is." My chest butterflies flair.

"No you're not. You don't even realise that the whole pack looks up to you the same way they look up to Luna Dawn. You wouldn't officially be Luna, you'd just carry on being you." He says it with such confidence I can't help but believe him.

"You're such a kiss up do you know that." I smile at him and he busts out laughing.

"Right let's go home." He says while standing and offering me his hand. I take it and head outside. He strips and grabs his clothes in his mouth. Gavin has such a stunning wolf, Roger. He is this dusty blond color just like Gavin's hair but he has streaks of gold in his coat that shimmer in the sun, just like Gavin.

'Ready?' He links me and I smirk at him.

"Ready. Set. Go." I shout and start running back towards the pack house. I have to push hard but I keep up with Rodger who is also running hard. We skid to a stop infront of a fuming Alpha Cohen and my dad. They both left out a growl as Roger and I trip over each other while coming to a stop and tumble across the rubble. Lucky for me Rodger wraps himself around me aNd takes the brunt of the force. We were running at such a speed I would have broken bones and had really bad cuts if I'd fallen into the rubble. My ankle does get cought at an awkward angle when we fall. My dad and Alpha Cohen are by quickly next to us. Gamma James, Luna Dawn, Connor, Matt, Oliver and the rest of The Golden Group came running out of the pack house with a few other people. Everyone was crowded around us. I couldn't help but bust out laughing and I could feel Rodger was doing the same around me.

"Clearly you can't be that hurt if you're laughing." Alpha Cohen rolls his eyes with a smirk as he crouches down next to me.

"It must be the adrenaline because this ankles not looking great." My dad looks irritated where he's crouched by my leg. That only make me laugh harder. Roger pulls away from me as he also laughs harder.

'You're supposed to be the serious one.' I link Gavin.

'Your laugh is contagious.' He laughs back.

'You okay?' He looks fine but I wanna check.

'Hell yes! That was so cool. Roger was running his fastest and you were about a foot ahead of us. Imagine when you shift?' He links in disbelief.

'It was fun, wasn't it.' This makes both of us laugh harder.

"Gavin shift. You two are in big trouble." My dad says while moving closer to me. But the pride on his and Alpha Cohen's face makes me laugh so I can't breath. Oliver pushes through the crowd and sits next to me in my laughing state.

"That ankle doesn't look good. And what are all these bruises?" Oliver talks quickly and I can tell he's stressed. "Let's get her to the infirmary." He stands and starts to pick me up but my dad stops him.

"If she can race wolves I'm sure she can hobble to the infirmary." He says sternly and offers me his hand. Oliver looks like he wants to protest but knows his place so he keeps quiet. "Gavin you too." My dad hauls me up on my good leg and grabs Gavin's arm. He gives Gavin a once over to make sure he's okay then puts my arm is Gavin's hand. "Off you go."

I wrap my arm around Gavin's shoulder and everyone parts so we can make our way to the infirmary. Once we're in the pack house and the elevator to the infirmary we flop onto the floor in a giggle fit.

"Did you see their faces?" I manage to get out. Gavin pulls the face my dad was making and I pull the one Alpha Cohen was making. We then continue laughing.

"You are a terrible influence Katerina." Gavin tries to look serious which makes me laugh harder and he starts laughing again.

"Who's a good Luna now?" I send him a pointed look. The elevator doors open and we stand to make our way into one of the exam rooms. Gavin helps me onto the table and sits in a chair across from the desk. Dr Blossom walks in with a smirk on her face. Her and Kade look almost exactly the same when she does that.

"Hey Doc B." I say and smile from the table.

"What am I to do with you KitKat?" She shakes her head at me, smirk never fading. She comes closer and starts examining my ankle. She then looks up at me with confusion. "You have done a lot of damage here. What were you doing when this happened?"

"I was racing Roger. We had to come to an abrupt stop and kinda tripped over each other." I explain grinning like a little kid.

"But we were like running running Doc. Roger was pushing his hardest." He exclaims.

"And you kept up?" Doctor Blossom questions me in disbelief.

"She was about a foot ahead of me." Gavin answers for me and I just shrug.

"Well then…" she trails of as if caught up in her own thoughts. "This ankle will need to be strapped up and RESTED," she puts emphasis on the last word. "You should be all healed by tomorrow afternoon." She starts strapping my ankle. "What's going on up here darling?" She gestures to my neck.

"I was in a bit of an altercation this morning. I'm not sure why they haven't healed yet." I touch my neck while I explain. Doctor Blossom then stands to examin my neck but recoils when she touches the bruises.

"Whoever did this had some silver on their hands. That's why it's not healing like it should. Your body should recover in the next week or so from the bruises. If they don't, come see me."

"Thanks Doc." She hugs me and Gavin stands to help me off the tables but Doctor Blossom stops him.

"Turn around." She says sternly to him. He's only got basket ball shorts on so she would be able to see any injuries. "You're both good to go." She hugs him too and leaves the room.

'My office now.' Alpha Cohen links me and probably Gavin as well but when I look at Gavin he looks at me with confusion.

"I've been summoned." I say gravelly. Gavin just helps me all the way to the Alphas office and leaves me all alone to face the lions.

~

After what feels like forever Alpha Cohen enters his office and sits behind his big desk. He doesn't say anything, he just looks at me. Eventually he leans back in his chair with a small smile.

"I've whatched you grow up KitKat. I've been with you along your journey as if you were my own child. You have become a remarkable young women." He starts his speech. I don't say anything but with each passing moment of unknown my chest butterflies get quicker. "You've grown to become like Luna Dawn, but you have the same spark you're mother had. I want to give you a chance to turn that spark into a full blown flame. As you know Leila isn't fit to be Luna at this present time and I have made the decision to retire on all fronts. That means Connor will become Alpha and Oliver will take over my businesses. So Kat, I would like you to be Luna." He leans forward to rest his clasped hand on his desk. Everything just stops. The butterflies, my thoughts, my heart. A moment later it all comes crashing down and I can feel the panick attack start to take over. I start to shake my head. 'Think of a wonderful thought. Any merry little thought.'

"You are already a Luna Kat. You just have to accept the title, that's all. And if Leila ever becomes suitable to take over you can step down." He starts rambling when he sees how unhappy I become. 'Think of Christmas, think of snow.'

"You and Oliver will still be happily mated, that doesn't have to change. You can still live together, alone, in the house of your choice. It's not like you have to give that up." I run my hand through my messy hair. My chest is about to explode. 'Think of sleigh bells, off you go like reindeer in the sky. You can fly. You can fly. You can fly."

"You would of course give up your claim to become Beta but I mean you'll be Luna. Isn't that evey little girls dream. And you get to fulfill it."

"Then get one of them to become Luna because it was never my dream. I always, ALWAYS, wanted to be Beta. I wanted to fight and defend the land not be protected every moment of every day. I wanted to be the dragon not the princess. I can't. If you want full blown flames let me be the dragon. Please." He looks shocked at my reaction. "Ask Gina." I grab at something, any thought, that could get me out of this situation. "She'll be an amazing Luna. I can't!" My breathing starts to get ragged and shallow.

"You will make the best Luna. It is your duty to the pack. Please KitKat, do it as a favour to me, to Luna Dawn. We want to step down knowing our pack is in good hands. The best hands we could possibly leave it it." His features soften. He looks how he did when we were little and he would slip us another ice pop and let us swim for an extra hour even when our moms said no. I had to say yes now. All I could see was all my doors closing. All the windows being sealed. I was being pushed through a frilly suffocating door with no way out. My panick attack took over.

"Think off all the joy you'll find

When you leave the world behind

And bid your cares good bye

You can fly

You can fly

You can fly

You can fly

You can fly"

I start singing and slip off of the chair, onto the floor and under the Alphas desk. My throat starts to close up and my whole body starts shaking. I wrap my arms around myself as tears fall down my face. My heart feels like it's about to jump out of my chest. My breathing becomes uneven I feel like I can't catch my breath. I feel like I can't breathe. I can hear footsteps but they are so far away from my reality right now. I start taking deeper ragged breaths but it doesn't help because the air hitches in my throat. I can sort of feel someone next to me and I can smell forest and wood and metal. The smell calms be a bit because it's so familiar. I can feel something heavy over my shoulders which helps me feel like I can breathe a bit better. I sit for heavens knows how long before my heart rate slows down and I can catch my breath. I slowly come back to reality to hear my dad.

"It's okay KitKat. You're okay. Just breathe. You're okay. It's okay." He is the only person alive who has seen my panick attacks before. He looks tired. This must have been a long one. I start nodding my head slowly at what he's saying. We sit like that for the next few minutes until I'm okay enough.

"You okay sweets?" He looks down at me with tired, concerned eyes.

"I'm okay." I have to say out loud so I can start believing it. My dad shuffles out from under the desk and I slowly follow. Alpha Cohen and, oh god, Oliver stand in the corner just looking at us. At me. My dad helps me to my foot and we hobble towards the door. I don't dare look at Oliver.

Just as we leave Alpha Cohen speaks in a shakey voice, "I'll talk to Gina." I sigh in relief. Some of my anxiety leaving in my breath.