The Missing Beta

Chapter 34

~Tatiana~

“You’re my mate, and you can’t deny me.” That sentence keeps echoing through my mind as I watch Dominic come closer. I don’t want this; I’ve never wanted this. I got caught up in this situation without meaning to.

I don’t know what happened. One day, I was 17 years old and enjoying life. I was wondering what my mate would look like and what our life would be like. When I turned 18, I still hadn’t found my fated mate, or so I thought.

One day, King came to the school campus with Dominic, and his scent hit me like a freight train. What was weird was that he didn’t spare me a glance. I thought maybe I was smelling things and had gotten it all wrong. It took a few days for King to acknowledge our bond.

He came to my home one night, knocking on my window. I let him in; he said he didn’t want to disturb my folks. To this day, I don’t remember the reason he gave me for not acknowledging our bond immediately. I guess I was so caught up in my feelings that I didn’t press the matter.

I always had a thing for King; I couldn’t believe he was mine. I was on cloud 9 but was quickly brought down to earth when I saw my mate going after my best friend. She didn’t want him at first; she was sure to push him off at every turn. She still had her heart set on Aston, and even though he’d been gone for two years, that desire never burned out.

King was pursuing my best friend while playing into the bond with me. I was the i***t who kept going around with him. I kept giving into the mate bond even though he was showing me that he didn’t value what we had between us. So why didn’t I walk away? The mate bond is a hell of a thing.

When Katarina finally accepted King’s advances, I was devastated, but I couldn’t do anything but smile through it. I was commanded to keep the truth to myself. My heart broke when they started to date. It took everything for me to remain by her side through all the pain.

How does Dominic play into things? Well, Dominic and I used to be a thing. We weren’t serious, and we weren’t physical other than kissing and some oral here and there. We discussed going all the way, but that was before. When I found out that King was my mate, I didn’t tell him. I put all of my focus on King, pushing Dominic away.

I’m not sure how he found out about King and me, but I know they discussed it at length. One night, King knocked on my window, and I let him in to see Dominic trailing behind him. He told me Dominic was feeling bad because he really liked me, but I had found my fated mate. He said that the right thing to do would be to give Dominic what we had discussed doing before. He said that Dominic deserved to be my first. I didn’t want that; I didn’t want to be with anyone other than my fated mate. But how could I deny my Alpha, my mate? I was powerless… I still am much the same.

I’m regularly disgusted with myself, but I get lost when I look into his eyes. I’ve begged for him to let me go, begged him to reject me. He just laughs and says that he will do what he wants in his own time. I hate being with Dominic. He likes to hurt me and cause pain. The more pain I’m in, the more he gets off. I’ve been tempted to tell Katarina, but whenever I try, the pain is too much to bear.

“I said, look at me.” I pull my head up and look into his eyes. I swear he has the eyes of a demon, and there’s no safeguarding me. I’m too weak to stand up to my fated mate.

I turn my head slowly and catch King behind me. He’s spread out on the bench with his eyes on me. My heart yearns for him to be close to me, while my mind hates him with everything I have. I hate him for what he’s turned me into and for what he does to me. If I’m being honest, I don’t really hate him. How can I hate the man that’s made just for me?

I feel skin make contact with the side of my face. It’s warm, and there’s wetness on its edge. It slides along my cheek to the corner of my mouth. I try to clench my jaws discreetly to keep anything from entering. “Keep her in that position. I can watch her better that way.” My body is moved slightly, and Dominic ends up directly in front of me. His di.ck is in his hand, and he pumps it up and down. More wetness is escaping the tip, and I want to vomit.

“Run your tongue along my tip. You know how I like it.” I keep my mouth closed, not wanting to give in. The problem with that is my core is heating up. I can see King from the side, and his hand has pulled his di.ck out. The fact that what I’m doing is turning him on is enough to make me want to give in to Dominic. Then I’m mad at myself for wanting to please him. I swear, it’s a vicious cycle I can’t break free from. “I don’t have all day.” I close my eyes, wanting it all to go away.

“You heard him mate. Do what Dominic said.” It’s like his words are an individual force that I can’t keep away from. I’m being pushed to move closer to Dominic, and my mouth is slightly open. Dominic seizes the opportunity and pushes his tip in, letting his head fall back. A single tear falls down my face as I give in and do what these men want.

~Katarina~

We’ve taken a stroll around the packlands, keeping close to each other. I’ve been talking his ear off, filling him in on all he missed. I’ve made sure to leave out the parts that have to do with King. I don’t think it would make sense for us to discuss King in any way, shape, or form. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I sigh and stop walking. I turn to look at Aston.

“I’ve been running my mouth this entire time and haven’t let you get a word in edgewise. I’m sure you have no interest in anything that I’ve been talking about.” Aston reaches toward me but quickly lets his hand drop. Surprisingly, a wave of disappointment washes over me.

“I don’t know why you would think that. Anything having to do with you interests me. It isn’t like I have much to talk about, missing years of memories and all.” I gently touch his arm, quickly pulling it back. I don’t know how it’s possible, but the warmth from that touch is out of this world.

“I can’t imagine what that feels like.” Aston shrugs his shoulders.

“I try not to think about it much. There’s no purpose since dwelling on it won’t change anything.” I nod, not really liking his response, but I am determined to keep my thoughts to myself. We look at each other for a while, and the air around us gets crisper. “It’s a bit chilly right now.” A smirk finds its way on my face.

“Chilly, really? We are wolves. What is chilly to us?” Aston throws his head back and laughs. I love the sound of his laughter; I’ve always loved that sound.

“I was trying something.” I shake my head, trying not to dwell too much on this man’s smile. Aston holds his hand out to me. “Go somewhere with me?”