The Missing Beta

Chapter 45

~King~

I continue to pace back and forth, waiting for her to appear. It took forever to track her down this morning, and this is the result. My pissed-off self is the honest result. I'd mark her right now if we weren’t going through this ceremony tomorrow. Maybe I should mark her anyway. There’s nothing that says that I have to wait until the ceremony. That’s just what Katarina demanded, and I’m not inclined to do anything she wants right now.

Just as I make a solid decision in my mind, the office door opens, and her scent hits me. I stop moving and put eyes on her. The ring is on her finger, and the necklace is around her neck. I guess that’s a good sign. She closes the door, though not completely. I’ll be sure to remedy that as soon as I can. We will need privacy for what I have planned.

I watch Katarina take a step toward me and stop. She stands in front of the door and just looks at me as if she’s waiting for something. “Well? You wanted me here, so here I am.” That fu.cking attitude. I don’t know where it’s coming from, but it needs to disappear already.

“Watch your tone.” I take a few steps back. “Come in here and sit down. Why are you by the door?”

“I have other things to do today. I want to get whatever this is over with so I can go about my business.”

The bi.tch is really starting to piss me off. Her attitude is atrocious. We’re a fu.cking Alpha, and that type of disrespect won’t be tolerated.

I got this, Conan. This is going to end today. There’s no way I’m going into this ceremony tomorrow under all this hostility.

“Come sit down. Please.” Katarina eyes me, and I keep my composure while waiting for her to move. She finally starts to move further into the office as I move closer to the door. As soon Katarina turns her back on me, I quietly close and lock the door. I plan to make our bond official before she leaves this room.

I use my speed to move away from the door right before Katarina turns to look at me. She slowly lowers herself into a chair while keeping her eyes on me. She sits on the edge of the chair, keeping her eyes on me. “Well?” I clear my throat and slowly walk around the room.

“We’ve been disconnected lately. It’s really bothering me. I want us to be able to fix things.”

“Disconnected? More like you’ve been a major asshole, and I’m just now noticing it.” I continue to walk around, inching closer to her. “What is it, King? Are you that jealous of Aston?” I stop in my tracks, and my blood runs cold.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me. Are you so jealous of Aston that his being back has warped your mind? Can you not handle him being in your space again?” I find myself behind her, wrapping her hair around my fingers. I yank my hand down, her head coming with it.

“Watch your fu.cking mouth! I’m not jealous of ANYONE! I’m fu.cking King Jamison, future Alpha of the Blackpaw Pack! Everyone wants to be me!” Her hand claws at mine, but I only tighten my grip. “You’re the one who lost sight of everything the minute that fu.cker showed back up. You’re the one prancing around this pack like a little bi.tch in heat just because that loser reappeared.” I yank her head back even more, causing her to yell out. “It doesn’t even matter because I’m going to claim you once and for all. I’m going to fu.ck you and mark you today… right now. You aren’t leaving out of here without my fu.cking mark on your neck.”

~Aston~

I swear I’ve been running through this nothingness for far too long. I have no idea where I am or how long I’m supposed to be here. I would love nothing more than to be out of this space and back to the land of the living.

I stop, stop running and stop thinking. I look around but see exactly what I expect, which is nothing. There’s no light and no shapes. There’s no sound or things. Even the fire is gone at this point, and I actually miss its presence.

I let my body drop, my ass hitting, I don’t know what. I may be on the ground, but there’s no real ground. I mean, there’s nothing above or below and nothing on the sides. I pull my knees up and rest my arms on them. I look around, willing anything to appear.

A jolt goes through my body, causing my breath to hitch. I have no idea what the fu.ck that was, but it was painful. I look around, but there’s nothing to see. I breathe slowly, and another jolt hits me. It makes me wonder if this is what being tased feels like.

My body jerks again with another jolt, and I start to breathe heavily. My heart is beating a mile a minute, and I’m starting to get scared. I don’t know what’s going on, but I want it to stop. Jolts flow through my body again and again, causing my body to seize. My upper body is thrown back as I shake all over. Thoughts of my family and Katarina flow through my mind, and I wonder if I’ll ever see them again. Is this really how I’m supposed to die?

The jolts and shaking continue, and I cry out as the pain begins to be too much. My head feels like it’s splitting, and my chest is getting tighter. I don’t think I’m going to last too much longer, but I have no way to stop this. My eyes shut, and the air leaves my body.

The air changes around me, and my body shoots up into a sitting position. My vision clears, and I see I’m at home, on the couch. I hear voices, but I’m not paying them any attention. Something is calling to me, something that requires my immediate attention. Mate needs us!

~Katarina~

I don’t know what I was thinking coming here. Well, let me take that back. I know exactly why I decided to come here. No matter what’s going on right now, staying away wasn’t an option. If I had stayed away, harm would have come to everyone I love, and I can’t have that.

My head is throbbing, and I swear his grip is tightening each second. He pulls me up from the chair and slams me against the wall. My breath leaves my body as I try to get him to let me go. I can’t find my voice to beg for him to let me go, but I plan to fight nonetheless. “You’re mine, Katarina, and it’s time for us to make it official.”

This can’t be happening. It isn’t even because I’m already Aston’s but because I refuse to let anyone force me to do anything. This is not how this is supposed to be. This is not how anyone should be treated.

King’s knee slams into me, pushing between my legs. He forcefully parts my legs, and his free hand roughly grips my breasts. My eyes roll in the back of my head, and I feel my eyes fill with tears. I don’t want this. The door slams open, causing us both to focus on the interruption. “GET YOUR FU.CKING HANDS OFF MY MATE!”