The Beta's Sister

Chapter 3

Nicole

Summer walks to the main area of the pack house with me on her back. I would much rather go upstairs and soak in the tub for the next three hours, but Summer says I need to replenish the calories I just burned off. She won’t even let me go up for a quick shower. 

“If you go up for a shower, then you won’t be back down for a few hours at least. Way past breakfast.”

“Then I will be just in time for lunch.” I reason, making Summer roll her eyes. 

“We are going to miss out on the crispy bacon, since we had to stay after with some delinquents.” Kamaria says, walking beside us and giving me a side-eyed look. 

“Yeah right. Like they wouldn’t set a plate aside for their Luna and Beta.” I say unconvinced. 

“All is fair in love, war, and breakfast.” Kamaria says just as we enter the dining hall. 

After making our plates, we take a seat at one of the tables in the middle of the room. Kamaria was right, it is a straight free for all in here. I’m pretty sure the warriors and fighters were using their skills from the field on each other as they went for their food. I managed to get some decent bacon and a scoop of cheese grits that had just come off the stove. Kamaria comes over with a grin on her face, taking the seat next to mine. 

“What are you so happy about?” Summer asks while pouring granola onto her bowl of yogurt. 

“Ms. Mae stashed a plate of bacon away for me.” Kamaria says as she triumphantly places the plate with a mound of brown strips down in the middle of the table. “I’m not eating this by myself. Eat up.” She tells us while sticking a piece in her mouth. 

“I thought you said all's fair in love, war, and breakfast.” I say to Kamaria.

“That’s why it’s important to have connections.” She replies, placing two more pieces on her plate. 

Kamaria is pretty average in height, somewhere around 5’5”, but her personality is like that of a giant. A gentle giant. She may be a warrior, the lead warrior of Dark Moon; but she doesn’t throw her power around. Her soft brown skin and long curly hair can deceive people into thinking she is helpless. That’s a mistake that she wouldn’t allow someone to make twice. She is a fierce fighter and amazing Luna. 

Summer is eccentric in every way. She was originally Alpha Brendon’s Beta even though she was not born with Beta blood. She turned down the position to focus on her training to become a fighter. It paid off because she is one of the top fighters and trainers in the pack. Warriors are born with the spirit, fighters get to make the choice for themselves. If you ask me, Summer was born a fighter. 

Her eccentricness even spreads to her looks. Like Kamaria, it’s easy to assume the least of Summer. She’s shorter than Kamaria, who gained a couple of inches since becoming Luna, her skin a more golden brown and her natural red hair cut short. Still, assumptions about her not holding her own would be horribly misguided. 

I start to dig into my food and the minute the cheese grits hit my tongue I roll my eyes in ecstasy. Maybe Summer was right about me coming to eat before showering. Missing out on this has to be some type of sin. No wonder the warriors and fighters were battling it out over biscuits earlier. 

“Okay this is good.” I say as I shovel another spoonful in my mouth. “It’s just cheese and grits, how can it be this good?”

“Ms. Mae. She has magic hands.” Summer says with a shrug. 

“Seriously?” I ask with wide eyes. "How did I not know that?"

“No, she’s not a fae or anything. She’s just a damn good cook.” Summer says, chuckling at my shock. 

“Oh. okay. So… should we talk about expectations?” I shift my gaze between them with my question.

“Expectations?” Kamaria asks. 

“Yeah. I can only assume there will be some conditions to my living here.”

“Oh…I guess that is a question for Summer then.” 

“Well, I don’t want to be your parent.” Summer starts. “I trust you to do what you are supposed to do. I don’t think there will be any issues, but if a problem does come up, we will handle it when it comes” I nod in understanding and she goes on. “Everyone in the pack house takes on pack duties two days out of the week, nothing strenuous, just a way for us all to chip in.”

“So all the work isn’t left to the Omegas?”

“The Omegas still handle a good amount of the work, but they are not our servants.” Kamaria says with a hint of sterness. “Rank is rank, but everyone matters here, and shared responsibilities help remind us of that.” I nod my head at her explanation. 

“That’s good news to me, being that I am an Omega.”

“Technically, but you are seen as part of the Beta family here.” Summer explains. “So you will have pack duties Thursdays and Sundays. You can pick your job then. The biggest rule is that you always go into the woods in pairs. No venturing out on your own.” Summer’s seriousness escalates with her words.

“Is the rogue problem really that serious?” I ask, feeling myself worry a little. 

“For the most part they are just displaced and looking for shelter, but we want you safe.” Kamaria says, placing a hand on my shoulder. I look down at the remainder of my food on my plate and feel my appetite falter.

“You’re family, Nicole.” Summer's words draws me to look up at her. “I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. So please stick to this one rule.”

“Okay.” I say with a nod as I try to hold in a grin. I know that Summer cherishes me, but hearing it still makes me feel good.

“I know how important independence is at your age, so I want to offer you a job.” Summer says as she picks up a bacon strip and takes a bite. 

“A job?” 

“Yeah, you will want to make some money, right?” 

“Yes, please!” I say excitedly, making Summer chuckle.

“You might not be too excited when you hear what the job is.” 

“What’s the job?” My appetite returns and I shovel some more food in my mouth with my question. 

“Well, me and your brother wouldn’t mind a date night every now and then. Maybe you can be Elias’s babysitter.” 

“That’s too easy! I would watch my nephew for free.” I say and Summer raises her eyebrow. “But since you already offered me money to do it…”

—---

I sit in the bathtub, happy to finally rest my achy muscles. In another few hours the pain will be a distant memory, but right now the warm water is a welcome friend. Plus, not to mention, I get to do this all again tomorrow. I groan at that thought and use my toe to lift the handle on the faucet and put more hot water in the tub. 

I let my thoughts drift to a certain dark haired boy. “Warren” I say, trying his name out on my lips. 

“Man he was cute.” Ava says in my head. 

“Definitely the best part of my day so far.” I agree.

“I wonder where he went off to after training.”

“He was sent to do something with Alpha Brendon,” I say with a shrug. “But I didn’t see him come into the dining hall, and we were down there for a while.” Our conversation is interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Nicole, you think you want to get out at some point in time?” My mom’s voice seeps through the closed door. 

“Yeah, I’m just finishing up,” I call back. 

Reluctantly, I wash up and proceed to get out of the tub and get dressed. My hair got all messed up from Summer’s idea of exercise this morning and Kamaria’s idea of a punishment. I take out the two pony tails cursing when my hair gets tangled in one of the elastics. It takes some maneuvering, but I finally get it free and decide to throw my hair in one tight centered ponytail at the top of my head, allowing my curls to breathe freely. By the time I’m done with my hair there is another knock on the bathroom door with my mom rushing me out. I quickly throw on my jean shorts and an oversized white tee, then walk out the bathroom. 

My suitcase is still lying open on the floor, but more rummaged through since breakfast this morning. Eventually, I’ll get to unpacking everything or I’ll just live out of a suitcase for my time here. I grab a pair of socks and slide them on my feet as I head out of my bedroom.

“Finally.” My mom exclaims from her seat at the kitchen island. My dad is standing behind her, massaging her shoulders. I internally roll my eyes even though I think it’s sort of cute. My parents can’t seem to keep their hands off each other whenever they are in the same room, which is all the time. 

“Sorry, I was soaking my achy muscles.” I say with a hint of annoyance, earning a look from my father that makes me bite my lips together. “Sorry.”

“Well, I wanted to take you to go get some things you might need before we leave.” My mom tells me.

“You’re leaving already?” I ask, surprised. 

“Not tonight, but probably tomorrow evening.” 

“Why so soon?”

“What? Do you need me to stay longer, Ms. Independent? This is what you wanted, right?” My mom is still a little hot about the whole moving out situation. I guess she wasn’t ready to be an empty nester so soon. 

“No, but it’s an eight-hour drive. Don’t you want to stay and relax for a while?”

“Me and your father will relax plenty.” Ew. I don’t think I like the way she just said that. “We are going to take the scenic route back since we won’t have a grumpy teen in the back to ruin our good times with her eye rolls.” I roll my eyes at her answer. “See? That! We are going to take our time stopping and taking pics without being called cringe every five minutes.” 

“That whole sentence was cringe.” I say under my breath, and apparently I wasn’t heard or they have gotten skilled with tuning me out. 

“So, today I wanted to go to the city and pick up some things for you.” My mom continues. "We will take Elias with us and make it a whole day.” My eyes light up at the sound of my nephew joining us. I love his little squish face. He can make time with the lovebirds bearable.

“Where is Elias? Actually where is everybody? Summer? Stephen?” I ask as I walk over to the refrigerator and take out some juice before pouring me a glass. 

“Stephen is working and Summer took Elias with her while she went downstairs to check on something.” I nod at her response and finish my juice, placing the glass in the sink. By the time I rinse it out and place it in the dishwasher, Summer is walking through the door.

“Okay. I think he is good to go now. He’ll probably go to sleep real soon,” Summer says as she walks over to us, patting Elias’s back. She passes him over to my mom who has her arms out waiting. 

“There’s my grandpup!” My mom says in her baby voice as she coos to Elias and he smiles up to her.

“The diaper bag by the door is already packed,” Summer continues. “Nicole, can you grab two milks out of the refrigerator? How long do you think you guys will be out?” I take the breast milk out of the refrigerator while Summer directs her last question to my mom. 

“Just a few hours. I think two bottles will be enough,” My mom says with her eyes glued to Elias. “If he gets fussy, I’ll bring him back right away.” 

I notice Summer give my mom a forced smile, showing she was still a little uneasy. I go into the refrigerator and grab another bag of breast milk, raising it up to her slightly. She gives me a genuine smile with a wink before mouthing ‘thank you’. 

“So did you rush me out of the tub to just sit around or are we going to get moving?” I let out, earning me a glare from my mom. I return her look with my cutest smile and she rolls her eyes, before standing up and making for the door.