The Beta's Sister

Chapter 10

Warren

The day had been moving along moderately, but the last class seemed to go on forever. Every class today was the same as the last one. This could have all been an email, instead I was in here watching the clock melt to nothing. Each second taking longer than the next. Soon as the bell rang, I was out of my desk and even quicker out the door. Pups were saying things to me as I passed, but I didn’t give any of them my attention. I had been stopped in the hallway all day for one thing or another and I was completely over it. Right now I just wanted to get out of the school so I could breathe, and because I was meeting someone I didn’t want waiting on me.

When I get outside to the front of the school it is quiet except for the few pups that had the same privilege as me. No last hour and a means to get home without relying on the bus. Everyone else is busy heading to their last class. It was a good thing because, since it wasn’t so busy, I wouldn’t be hard for Nicole to find me. Not even ten seconds after her name flashes through my head, Nicole comes walking out the double doors.

“Hey.” I say as she walks up to me, having spotted me immediately.

“Hey.” She says back and we stand there awkwardly before I realize that I’m just staring at her with a big stupid grin on my face.

“My car is this way.” I finally let out before walking us over.

It’s a compact crossover that gives me the feel of a SUV without all the unneeded space of a larger vehicle. At least that is how my mom described it in order to get me and my dad to agree. I wanted the same car as Alpha Brendon. He drives a gorgeous white Range Rover, but neither of my parents were bending to that. My dad wanted me to have a small hatchback, but I told him I would rather walk. Thankfully, he didn’t test my stubbornness and we settled on my small black jeep.

“Ready?” I ask after we both get settled in our seats. Nicole smiles and gives me a nod and I take off heading into the woods. We sit in an awkward silence for several minutes as I try to think of something to say. I’m not usually tongue tied like this, but Nicole makes me super nervous for some reason. “So… first day at a new school. What did you think?” I finally ask.

“Cool. How about you?...Oh wait…It’s not a new school for you. Just me… I mean...”

I chuckle at her stampering. “Well, my first day was cool too.”

Our awkward silence returns and I reach in my armrest for something to chill me out. I pull out my vape pen and take a puff, allowing the smoke to fill the car as I exhale. When I look over at Nicole I notice she is giving me a quizzical look.

“Did you want some?” I ask as I hold out the pen towards her.

“No, thanks. I don’t vape.”

“Not a smoker, huh?” I ask as I take another hit.

“No. Not really. I indulge in other things, but vaping just seems so…extra for no reason.” She turns her head to the side to look towards the window and I can’t help but feel embarrassed at her words that she said matter-of-factly. I take another hit of the pen then put it back in my armrest. Her head quickly turns to me with my actions. “I didn’t mean for you to put it away!”

“It’s cool. I usually only take a couple of hits at a time.” I lie with the most assured tone I can gather. She looks at me with a narrowed gaze like she is trying to study me, making me shift in my seat. “What?” I ask with an uneasy chuckle.

“You are not who I thought you were.”

“And who did you think I was?”

“I don’t know, but I was surprised today.” She says with a shrug and turns and looks out of the window again. She doesn’t expound and we let silence hold a comfortable space between us for a long while.

Several moments pass and my curiosity starts to get the best of me. I speak up, breaking the quiet spell on the car. “So what was it that surprised you the most today? Concerning me?”

Nicole looks at me for a second before responding. “Probably with all the attention you got. You were basking in it and it just didn’t seem like you. I would even say you seemed slightly uncomfortable.”

“Well, maybe it’s because you don’t really know me.” I bite back. She didn’t say anything rude, but her words hit a nerve. My remark was definitely harsher than it needed to be.

All too quickly, we arrive at Dark Moon territory. I won’t be able to drive her all the way to the pack house, but after bringing the car to a stop I step out with her without saying a word. A patrol comes up and meets us, then after watching her walk off for a bit I get back in the car and drive off to my pack, cursing at myself for being a jerk the entire time. Nicole didn’t say anything wrong. She was actually spot on in her observation. I don’t care for the crowds or the attention, but knew I had to deal with it as a future Alpha. It’s easy for the pack to follow someone they like and I wanted my pack to like me, so I put up this popular guy facade to be on everyone’s good side.

"So your goal is to piss her off completely, isn't it?" Adolfo chimes in my head.

"No, I just overreacted."

“You’re stupid,” Adolfo says with a pout. He likes being around Nicole and didn't appreciate the first time I had an outburst.

“Yeah, I know. I’ll apologize.” I say defeated. This is the second time I’ve lost my cool around Nicole. I don’t want to make a habit out of it, but at this point I’m pretty sure I’m coming off as a jerk.

—---

Apologizing to Nicole was not going to be easy. She spent the first half of training avoiding me. Over the summer we had developed this unspoken agreement that we always partnered up if we weren’t sparing. Today, every time I got the opportunity she would avoid me like I had rabies. When Beta Summer called out our run, I was grateful. This was my opportunity to talk to her.

For the first two miles she ran with Hailey and wedged herself between two warriors. I watched from behind and waited until they split up a little. The two warriors she was running with couldn’t keep up her pace for long. They were strong, but endurance wasn't their strong suit. Soon as I saw the opportunity I ran up next to her.

“Nicole.” My greeting gets answered with an eye roll. “Okay I deserve that. Can I talk to you? Please?” I all but beg, and she surprises me when she veers off. I follow her and we come to a stop out of the other runners' path.

She crosses her arms and lifts her eyebrows expectantly. “Well? Go ahead, talk.” Her forwardness catches me off guard and causes me to be tongue tied for a second. “I’m going back to the run.” She says as she starts to turn around.

“No, wait.” I call out, my tongue finally finding its ability again. She turns back to face me, her arms still crossed. “I’m sorry. Again. I shouldn’t have gotten an attitude like that.”

“Great. Is that it?” Her lips are pressed together and her eyes hold agitation in them.

“And…you were right. I do act differently when I’m at school.” She keeps her arms crossed, but her features soften a bit. “You’re the only one to see past my bullshit.” Her pressed lips curl up into a smile she tries to hide. “So let me make it up to you.”

“How?”

“Let me…um…” I take a moment to think of a good task. “Let me be your chauffeur.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll give you a ride to and from school so you don’t have to take the bus.”

“That seems like a lot for a simple attitude problem.” She says skeptically, dropping her crossed arms.

“Well, it’s my second offense so I have to pay my dues.”

“You already apologize, just don’t let it happen again.” She says and gives me a nudge with her elbow.

“How about you let me race you for it then?” I say with a smirk. “If I win, you let me drive you. Everyday.” She doesn’t reply immediately and I can see her thinking through her decision. “At this point we both have to sprint to catch up with the group anyways. Might as well make a game out of it.” I put my hand out to shake and she grabs it before catching me off guard and forcefully pushing me back.

“Deal!” She says and takes off running and laughing menacingly.

Her push wasn’t enough to knock me down, but it did manage to knock me off balance and give her a head start. I have to put in some effort to catch up with her, but am right behind her quickly. We run straight towards a large tree that splits in the middle and branches off. Nicole easily squeezes through the center and I run around it, coming up the side. Just as I come around she is coming through the other side. We make eye contact and she pushes off the tree before running smack into a low hanging branch that I didn’t notice before. She hits the forest floor with a thud and I am over to her in an instant.

“Nicole! Nicole!” I say as I gently, but firmly tap her face.

Her body is warm and she is unresponsive. I snake my hands under her body and scoop her up as I stand. Without waiting another moment, I take off running full speed towards the clearing. I make it there just behind Beta Summer.

“Nicole!” Beta Summer says, running up to us when she sees her sister laying limp in my arms. “What happened?” She asks with her eyes not moving from Nicole.

“She ran into a tree.”

“What? Clinic. We need to get her to the clinic!” Beta Summer only hesitates for a moment before leading the way, running quickly across the field. Even though we just finished a run I have no problem keeping up with her.

By the time we make it to the clinic and I lay Nicole on one of the empty beds, Beta Stephen is running through the door. He makes it to her bedside in no time and one of the nurses comes up to start examining her. The doctor appears shortly after and starts flashing a light into her eyes as he pulls her eyelids open.

To all of our relief, Nicole starts stirring and mumbling lowly. “What happened?”

“Nicole! Are you okay?” Beta Stephen says loudly. Nicole grimaces at his voice and puts a hand to her head.

“Ow, Stephen. Not so loud.”

“Nicole, how are you feeling?” The doctor asks in a more gentle tone.

“I have a headache.” She says just above a whisper.

“You should. Your clumsy ass ran into a tree.” Stephen lets out with a relieving chuckle.

“It wasn’t a tree. It was a branch.” Nicole corrects him.

“Nicole.” The doctor gently interrupts their banter. “You spiked a pretty high fever, which is pretty abnormal for a bump on the head. So I’m going to take some blood and run some tests to make sure everything is okay.” Nicole nods her head and tries to sit up, but is pushed back down gently by Beta Stephen.

“Lay back. You don’t need to sit up.” Stephen scolds her.

“I’m fine. My wolf is already healing the knot on my head. It’s the embarrassment that will live on.” She says before glancing over at me.

“I should probably go.” I let out as I move away from the bed. My nerves were all wound up, but seeing her awake now has calmed me a lot.

“Thanks, Warren.” Beta Summer says, looking over to me. “I already told Alpha where you are, so he shouldn’t give you any trouble.” I nod and lock eyes with Nicole as I give her one more glance before I force myself to walk out the door.

Nicole

That was embarrassing. How I ran smack into a tree hard enough to knock myself unconscious is beyond me. Stephen is not going to let me live this down. He’s already started with the jokes and it’s only been an hour.

I keep replaying the whole thing in my head. Warren wanted to race and I had started with a good lead that he had quickly closed in on. When I came up to a huge tree, I saw Warren taking the long way around and I saw the split in the middle and figured I could shave off a few seconds and get the lead again. I pushed off the tree just as Warren came around and that’s when I ran smack into a thick branch at full speed, with no time to react. I could have sworn there wasn’t a branch there before, but I guess I somehow missed it. And the cost of that mishap is my eternal embarrassment.

I groan at the memory and throw the sheet over my head as I sink lower into the bed. I’m about done with humiliating myself in front of Warren. From the first day I met him, it’s been one thing after another.

My wallowing is interrupted by a knock on the door. I peek from behind the sheet to see the doctor walking into the room. He bows to Summer and Stephen who are cuddled on the couch across from me. They both stand up and walk up to my bed and I pull down the sheet and sit up straight in the bed.

“Hey, Doctor Laurence. Can the clutz be released now?” Stephen asks with a grin and I shoot him a glare.

“Just a little bit longer. I have her blood results back and wanted to discuss them with you.” Stephen gives him a nod and the doctor continues. “Excuse me if this is being too forward, but what is your lineage? Supernatural.”

“Supernatural? Uh…wolf. Why?” Stephen replies with his eyebrows furrowing.

“Well, when we looked at your sister’s blood it had some abnormalities to it. As if she was a hybrid.”

Stephen’s face is shocked at first then he chuckles. “I don’t think that’s possible, Doc. We can trace our family history back at least a couple hundred years.” He says. He shoots me a look for confirmation, and I nod my head in agreement, remembering the stories our parents have always told us.

“Hmm. Interesting.” The doctor says with an inquisitive look for a moment. He shakes it away then smiles as he shifts his gaze between the three of us. “It could be nothing. I didn’t run a full ancestry test and just noticed the abnormality. She is free to go. If there are any other problems just let me know.” He bows to Stepehn and Summer then turns and walks out of the room.

“What was that about?” Stephen asks as he watches the doctor leave.

“He said it was probably nothing to worry about.” Summer assures him, rubbing his back. “You ready to go, Nicole?”

“Yes, please.” I reply. I am ready to get this whole day behind me.