The Missing Beta

Chapter 14

~Katarina~

My plan was to go home, but I didn't want to do that. I don't really have an explanation for my aunt and uncle. I know that if they were to see me upset, I would have to explain things to them. I thought I'd go to King, but the same thing; I just don't have an explanation in me.

Honestly, I don't even know what's wrong with me. I know that I'm in love with King. I have been so for a while. I don't know why I took off on Aston like that, and it saddens me. I would love nothing more than to have my friend back. “You look a little flustered there.” I whip around to find Dominic not too far from me. I look around and notice that I'm pretty close to the training area. I didn't even mean to come over this way, but here I am.

“I'm okay. I'm just a bit tired.” Dominic looks me up and down, and it makes me uncomfortable. To be honest, Dominic has always made me feel that way. There's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way.

“I just want to be sure that everything is okay, Luna.” I scowl, hating that title. I know that I'm going to be Luna one day, but I'm not right now.

“I've told you before, just call me Katarina.” Dominic shakes his head and moves closer to me. I want to scoot away, but I don't want to be obvious about my discomfort.

“No can do. You will be the Luna of the pack soon, and I need to address you as such.” Dominic stands next to me, and goosebumps erupt all over my skin. He's a good-looking man, but I can't look at him right now. I turn my head and look at the ground. I feel heat emanating from his body. “Who are you, Luna? What secret are you hiding?” I swallow as discreetly as possible and step away from him. He doesn’t follow, and I'm thankful for that. “Tell that friend of yours that I can't wait to see her.” I risk a look, and his smile doesn't warm my heart. I turn and hurry off.

~Chandra~

I've been dreading today for a week, but there's no avoiding it. My sister creates a portal, and we step through and land on the lands of the BlackPaw pack. A shiver runs up my spine because this could be it for me. If he remembers anything and can point to me, I'm screwed.

We are greeted by the Alpha of the back and his Beta. I hang behind my sisters, wanting to interact as little as possible. “Thank you three so much for coming. I'm Alpha Blake, and this is my Beta Eddison.”

One of my sisters steps forward, taking the hood off her head. “It's nice to meet you both. I'm Ulva and with me, I have my sisters, Isidora and Chandra. We were sent by High Priestess Topaz to help with your situation.” I say nothing and try to shrink back as much as possible.

“Yes, and we are so grateful for that. Please follow us to my office, and we can get started.” I trail the group, walking into the packhouse and up the stairs. We only go up one flight before walking down a hallway. We walk into an empty office, and everyone gets settled. I decide to remain close to the door just in case I need to make a quick exit. Ulva and Isidora sit in front of the Alpha, who sits at his desk.

“Would you like to sit?” I jump, and my hand goes to my chest. I look to see the Beta next to me. I didn't even know he had approached me.

“No, I'm fine right here.” I cut my eyes, finding it hard to look at him. He looks so much like the boy; it's eerie. I listen to his footsteps retreat, and I exhale a bit.

“So, Alpha, please tell me what's going on.”

“I'll let my Beta fill you in since he's the father.” Ah, I should have guessed that's why they look so much alike.

The Beta clears his throat before speaking. “My son disappeared four years ago. We just found him a week or two ago, alive and healthy. He doesn't remember anything about being gone. He only remembers the last two years of his life where he lived as a human. He can't sense his wolf, either. He says it feels like there's a block that's preventing him from accessing his memories.” Of course, there's a block. The purpose of letting him go was to see how long things lasted and how he would cope. Having access to his wolf would have complicated things. My true intention was to remove his wolf permanently, but I don't know if I succeeded. So far, from my last check-in with him, I know he has no access, and his wolf isn't easily sensed by others if he is still connected to him.

“Can we meet him so we can have an idea of what we may be working with?” The Beta nods, and he closes his eyes. He opens them again and looks toward the door just as there's a knock. The door opens, and a beautiful woman walks into the room. He trails behind her, looking nervous. My breath catches when he looks at me, and it takes everything for me to remain still. He nods and looks away, walking further into the office. Well, that's a plus. He doesn't seem to know who I am.

~‘A’~

I wake up feeling dread in my body. My stomach is heavy, and it is as if there's lead weighing it down. Today, the witches will be here in an attempt to see if they can help me remember. The idea that I'm going to be meeting witches is mind-blowing to me. I swear I stepped into crazy town, yet I'm not freaked out.

A soft knock on my door prompts me to sit up. “Yes.” The door opens, and Shawna is at the door.

“Good morning, A.”

“Morning, Shawna.” I notice her slight flinch at my calling her name, but she doesn't say anything. I'm sure it hurts her, but I'm just not there yet.

“Your f- Eddison and I thought it might be good for you to meet with the Alpha before the witches arrive.” The Alpha, the man who runs this place.

“Didn't you say that I've known him all my life?” Shawna smiles and nods.

“He's your Godfather. He invited us to have breakfast with him and his son this morning, King.” I've been told that King and I were very close friends before all of this. I nod, and Shawna leaves me to get ready.

I meet them downstairs, and we walk over to the mansion or packhouse. The place is freaking huge and must be about 4 or 5 stories. Not even places I've seen in pictures can do this place justice.

We walk through a side door and are immediately met with stairs. We climb narrow stairs, and I wait to get tired on our journey. Surprisingly enough, I experience no shortness of breath or burning muscles.

We come out in a hallway and walk down a bit until we reach big double doors. The doors open, and we walk through to an apartment. An apartment in a mansion that's interesting. We go to the dining room and sit down at the table. There are two men sitting already, and they have eyes on me. I'm slightly uncomfortable under their gaze but take it in stride. “You look good, Aston. It's so great to see you. I would have been by sooner, but we wanted to give you space.” I look at the older man talking to me; he looks like he could be my age. To be fair, Eddison looks that way as well.

“You're the Alpha, right?” He nods.

“That's Blake to you and maybe, one day, Uncle again.” He smiles at me, and it feels genuine. His son clears his throat.

“I… I can't believe that you're here. I've missed you, man.” I look around the table, having forgotten his name. “I'm sorry. I'm King. We were best friends.” I nod at him, and food is set in front of us. This might be an awkward meal.

↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹↹

I walk down the hall with Shawna. We are supposed to be waiting to be called into the Alpha's office so we can meet with the witches. I don't know what to expect; I just hope they can help.

We stop in front of a thick wooden door. We stand there for a minute or two before Shawna knocks on the door and opens it. She walks inside, and I follow her. The Alpha is at her desk with two women sitting in front of him. Eddison stands off the side. I don't know what I was expecting, but I would have never thought these women were witches.

I feel a presence next to me and turn to my left. There's another woman standing there with a hood over her head. She's looking at me intently, and I feel a tremor through my body. I don't know if I'm supposed to know her or not, but I don't like the feeling she gives me. I nod at her before turning forward and walking to the rest of the group.