The Missing Beta

Chapter 33

~King~

I push through the brush, determined to deal with this quickly so I can get back to Katarina. I don’t know where her boldness comes from, but I don’t like it. I need to get her to remember how things should be. The wedding is coming up quickly, and I need everything in place before that.

I’m trying to figure out how to keep Aston away from my girl. Obviously, I can’t do anything in actuality since he just got back. Everyone would be aware if anything were to happen to him, so that wouldn’t work. It isn’t that I plan to do anything to him; I’m just going through all possibilities.

It isn’t that I don’t trust Katarina because I do. She’s always been trustworthy, no matter how many men eye her throughout the day. It’s the fact that Aston and Katarina have history, and I don’t want that history to repeat itself. I know he was mated to her in the past, but I have to believe that connection is no more. He hasn’t claimed her, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Still, one can’t be too careful, and I want to be proactive rather than reactive. Maybe when I’m done here, I can get help with this issue I seem to be dealing with.

The structure is coming up quickly, if the landmarks I’m passing are anything to judge the distance by. There's a broken-down lean-to that sits in the middle of vegetation. We found this a few years ago and realized that no one comes out here for any reason. It’s been our place to handle all types of business, and we are never interrupted. The closer I get to the structure, the louder the sounds get. There’s crying and pleading filling the forest air. Birds are scattering, and animals are keeping their distance.

The scene I walk upon isn’t one that instills surprise in the slightest. I stand back a bit and watch things play out. “Please….pppllease…don’t do this. I don’t want this.” I clear my throat, and all eyes fall on me.

“What’s this I hear? Are you denying a bit of fun?” The tears continue to fall, but it has no impact on me.

“I… I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to do this. Please… please tell him to stop.” I walk closer and bend down to keep eye level. I reach out and gently touch a soft cheek with the back of my fingers. I close my eyes, willing the urge to do more to go down.

“I thought that you were willing to do whatever it is that I wanted. I thought I got to decide when enough is enough.” My fingers become wet, and I retract my hand to wipe it clean. I stand, looking down at the crunched-up face that’s looking up at me.

“I… I…”

“Do this. You’re my mate and you can’t deny me.” I smile and step back, watching her teary eyes on me. I move to the bench held deep within the lean-to and settle back. I plan to watch all this unfold.

~Chandra~

I’ve been at my lab for a while now. The minute Topaz asked me that question, I knew that I had to get out of there. She was sniffing around and too close for comfort. I was able to evade her questions and got out of there that night.

Thankfully, no one knows of my lab, not even Yanna, and I’m glad I kept it that way. I’m able to kill two birds with one stone here: check on my living experiments and stay away from those nosey bi.tches in the coven. As long as I’m able to stay under the radar, I won’t have any issues.

What’s really bothering me is the fact that Topaz came looking for me like she did. What was the purpose of that? What made her come looking for me? Let’s not even get into her questions. Asking me who I am and what I’m into is definitely not okay. No one needs the answers to those questions; they are for me and me alone.

The shrill ring of my phone breaks through my brooding, causing me to sigh as I fumble for the device. I’ve been ignoring calls for days now, carefully screening each and every one of them. Some of my sisters have been trying to reach out, but I’m not foolish enough to answer. I’ve even gotten a few calls from Yanna, but I know that’s a trap.

The caller is unknown, and now I’m at a crossroads. I know who it could be, but it could also be someone trying to trick me into answering. If it isn’t a trick, and I don’t answer it, it would be like putting a nail in my own coffin.

I sigh, hating the position that I’m in, and connect the call. “Where the fu.ck have you been?” I swallow thickly, trying to even out my voice.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play stupid with me! I’m not in the mood!” He breathes heavily into the phone, and I’m beyond ecstatic that I’m not in his presence. “You know I have eyes everywhere, and I’m paid a lot of money to keep tabs on you.” Yes, I know all of this and found out the hard way. I’ve kept it in mind ever since. “I hear that you left the coven and are hiding out. What’s going on? Where are you?” I cackle into the phone, having no desire to keep it quiet.

“You can’t seriously think that I’d tell you where I am. I’m not crazy by any means.”

“You need to go back. You’re supposed to keep him from remembering. I hear he has some early memories back. How long do you think it will take until all of his memories are back?” I've thought about this and know it’s only a matter of time. No matter how much I say against my sisters, they aren’t totally useless.

“I’ve already been working on that.”

“You had better. There’s no way I plan to give up my life for the likes of you. I’ve told you before, but let me remind you… if I go down, you’re going down with me.” I’m about to disconnect the call when his bold voice grabs my attention. “Get your ass back wear you belong!”