The Beta's Fate

3 1/2 Years Later

“Look who it is, Jaxon. It’s Uncle Koda.” Stella said, as she waved her one year old’s little fist. She was so excited that Koda came to visit for Jaxon’s first birthday. She hadn’t seen him in person since she had left the tournament a year and a half ago. They had FaceTimed, and he watched her pregnancy progress through that time. She had missed him. Kane had also gotten to know Koda through their FaceTime sessions for he was there for each one, the possessive wolf that he is.

“Hey, munchkin,” he said, giving her a big hug. “Hey my little man, come to Uncle Koda.” He plucked Jaxon out of Stella’s arms. “Hello Kane.”

Kane nodded at Koda with a smile. He trusted the man and considered him a friend now. “How was your flight?”

“It’s always comfortable on the Pinewoods jet.”

“How’s the mate hunt?”

Koda considered his answer. He went from pack to pack for 2 months in Texas and Mexico. But gave up because he had missed home.

“Eh, I’ve decided to hold off for a while. I searched all of Texas and most of Mexico. Two months was all I could afford to be gone from the pack. I’ll try again next year.”

“Koda! A whole year? Really,” Stella admonished.

“Stella, maybe I’m just mateless.”

“You’re not. I know it. A good guy like you deserves a mate.”

“I agree with my mate, Koda. Your special girl is out there.”

“I’ve already met my special girl, Kane,” Koda said as he leered at Stella.

Kane growled and had both Stella and Koda laughing at him.

“Just for that, Koda, I’m inviting all the surrounding packs in Montana and our allies in Idaho and Wyoming to Jaxon’s birthday party this Saturday. And as a bonus I am going to tell them to bring all their unmated she-wolves.”

Koda scoffed, “The party is in three days, Kane, you think you have that kind of pull.”

“Koda my pack is the biggest pack in three states. We’ve grown to five thousand members since Stella came to our pack, all because of her healing abilities. We are the pack to be in. They’ll come.” Kane beamed at his mate. Stella just shook her head.

“Kane, I will get on my knees and beg you not to do that.”

“If you do that, I will strike my son’s middle name off his birth certificate. Have some pride,” Kane said.

“Jaxon Koda Silver has a nice ring to it, I’ll meet your d*mn unmated she-wolves.”

Kane and Stella roared with laughter which made Jaxon giggle and pat his Uncle Koda’s face. Koda was happy to be with this extended family of his. He missed his best friend and was so happy to finally meet his little nephew in person.

**************************************************

“Lil! I have the best news!” shouted Emily as she ran up to her best friend at the counter of the small coffee shop she had just run into.

Lillyn looked at her friend. Her wild black curls were all over her cute flushed face. “What news?” she asked as she started to make Emily’s favorite iced caramel coffee.

“The Silver Claw Pack has invited our pack to his son's 1st birthday party. Can you believe it? It will be so much fun!”

“It’s a 1-year-old party. How much fun can it be?”

“Well, it may just be a 1-year-old party, but there will be unmated wolves there. We could meet our mates!”

Lillyn stared at Emily. Any wolf would be happy to be Emily’s mate. She was as cute as a button. She was petite at 5’5 and curvy with a big bust and hips a man would die for. Her friend Paulo said Emily had a p*rnstar body, whatever that meant. She had long black curls, and full lush lips. Her eyes were an unusual violet. She said it was because she was a halfbreed. Her dad was a shifter wolf and her mom was a witch. She, on the other hand, was too tall at 6 feet. Her hair was still a weird silver white. She had cut it to her shoulders, and it now lay in soft waves. She was still slim but not like she was three years ago when she looked like a skeleton before the Black Forest Pack let her stay with them. She didn’t really have any curves, her breasts were small, and her butt was little. Emily said she had that supermodel look to her, that she could give Kate Moss a run for her money. Lillyn just felt a man would want someone more like Ems than her.

“I don’t think anyone would want me for a mate, Ems.”

“You’re kidding me, Lil. You’re gorgeous. I wish I was as tall and skinny as you.”

Lillyn just shook her head with a small smile.

“Anyway, daddy said you and I are going, along with my cousins Jessica and Maisey.”

Lillyn groaned at that. If there was one thing, well two in this case, that she hated about the Black Forest Pack, it was Jessica and Maisey. They made her miserable. They called her beanpole or ice queen when no one was looking and always made mean comments about her unusual wolf and hair, and as the daughters of the Beta, Lillyn never complained.

She didn’t get physically abused anymore. For two years she was a rogue, and her and Spirit had learned how to fight very quickly. When she first left the pack, she had run in wolf form for days until they were out of Texas. They had made their way to Oklahoma and had met a group of teens her age. They were also rogues. They had been nice to her and taught her how to spar and steal what she needed. She got good at it. When she made extra money, she would go back to the places she stole from for the food or toiletries she needed and pay them back. The workers at the stores were baffled by her; however, she had always felt guilty, and this was her way to unburden herself. She stayed with those teens for six months. She then moved on because she didn’t want to live the life of a thief.

She found odd jobs to do to make money as she traveled. She would run into some nefarious individuals occasionally, but she would show them quickly that she wasn’t a wolf to be messed with. She wasn’t the greatest fighter, but she moved fast. Often her opponents couldn’t see her move before she was smacking, punching or kicking them. She would fight just enough to wind her opponent and then run away.

One day she had seen a girl being picked on by three boys, and she ran over to help her. She had moved so fast that the boys ended up hitting each other and knocking each other down. She had then grabbed the girl’s hand and they ran away. That girl was Emily, and she was the Alpha’s youngest daughter. Emily had brought her to the Black Forest Pack and told her dad what had happened. Alpha Dennis had asked her her story. Lillyn had told him about her abuse from her parents and the kids of the pack. She told him she had enough one day and just left. She didn’t tell him about her gifts. Spirit told her not to. He had thanked her and asked if she would like to join his pack. Emily begged her to, and she agreed. So for the last year and a half, she’d been there and worked at Buns and Beans cafe.

“I know how you feel about them, but I promise I won’t let them tease you.” Emily said.

“Fine. When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning. The trip will take 6 hours.”

“Emily, I can’t just take off like that. I have my shifts to work.”

“My dad called the owner of the cafe. It’s all been taken care of. We’ll be gone until Sunday night. You’ll be back to work on Monday morning.”

Lillyn sighed. She looked at the clock and noticed it was 6 p.m. She wiped all the counters and machines. She closed out the register and put the money in the safe. She grabbed her stuff and Emily’s hand, walked out of the cafe, and locked up.

“You’re lucky I love you. Come to my room and help me pack. You can raid my closet and pick out my party outfit. Emily squealed and rushed Lillyn to her room at the packhouse.