The Missing Beta

Chapter 29

~King~

The ride back home was silent. I was angry and stewing at the fact that Katarina was in such close proximity to Aston. I have no idea what Katarina’s issue was, and I had no intention of asking.

When we arrived in front of the packhouse, Katarina quickly exited the car and walked away. She didn’t wait for me to open the door or say goodbye. I was going to go after her, but I wanted my anger to subside first.

I went up to my room and threw myself on the bed. I can’t believe how all of this is working out. I know it isn’t right, my wanting Aston and Katarina to stay away from each other, but it’s how I feel. Katarina is mine and has been mine for a while now. I’m going to mark her and marry her. She’s my life and future, and I don’t want to give that up for anyone.

The morning sky shines through the curtains, piercing my eyelids. The brightness in the room causes me to groan and roll out of bed. There’s a lot to do today, and it's already late in the morning. The most important thing to do is talk to Katarina.

I hurry and shower so I can get dressed for the day. I should go check out the training grounds, but my situation with Katarina is more important right now. I hurry in my room and leave just as quickly.

I make it to Katarina’s house in record time and quickly knock on the door. It takes a few moments before the door opens to Katarina’s uncle. “Good morning, sir. Is Katarina available?” One thing about Katarina’s aunt and uncle is that they don’t particularly care for me. They are respectful and keep everything pleasant, don’t get me wrong. I just notice the shortness sometimes and the need to keep their distance. I’m sure that the fact that I’m the future Alpha and their niece is in love with me are the only things that keep them semi-decent with me.

“Good afternoon, future Alpha. Let me fetch her for you.” I nod and turn, walking along to the end of the porch. I lean against the railing and look out over the lawn. The seconds tick away before I feel her presence. She walks closer to me, and her scent floats in the air.

“Hey, King.” I slowly turn around and find her sitting on the swing bench. She looks gorgeous as always, with her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head and her body wrapped in a long sweater. She has on a pair of black leggings and high, scrunchie socks. I smile at her, but her expression remains neutral.

“Good afternoon, beautiful. How did you sleep?”

“I’m fine. What are you doing here? I would think you’d be overseeing training or something.” Katarina knows me so well, and if we didn’t have static in our relationship, I’d be doing exactly that.

“Ordinarily, yes, but I felt that I needed to be here instead. We have some things we need to smooth over.”

“Do we?” Okay, this isn’t going to be easy. Katarina can be a bit stubborn, but I should be able to overcome that. When all is said and done, she loves me as much as I love her, and that will always win out.

“We do. Last night was…”

“Unnecessary.” My head snaps up, and my eyes zero in on her face. It may be relatively emotionless, but her eyes aren’t. The anger is like a storm rolling through her eyes. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she’d snap my neck if given the chance.

“Unnecessary? What exactly was unnecessary?” Katarina lets out an exasperated sigh and crosses her arms tighter across her body.

“You ran all the way to the cabin for what? My friend, your best friend was in pain and you couldn’t care less. We left him and for what? There was no reason why you couldn’t stay at the cabin, no reason to drive home in a dangerous storm.”

“We were perfectly safe and got home with no issues.”

“That isn’t the point!” Katarina throws her hands up in the air, letting her sweater fall open. My mouth goes dry at the sight of her plump breasts in her tight tank top. I can see her ni.pples are hard, poking through the material. At the moment, she could ask me for all of my money, and I’d gladly comply. “HELLO?!” I shut my eyes and swallow in an attempt to right my brain. I open my eyes again to see Katarina glaring at me.

“Uh, I..”

“You what, King? Why were you such a fu.cing pr.ick to one of your best friends?!” Lust quickly turns to anger as her words settle over me. Who does she think she’s speaking to? I let out a low, deep growl in warning.

“Watch how you speak to me. I won’t tolerate being called names by you or anyone else.” Katarina stands up with her fists clenched at her side.

“Am I meant to be afraid of you? We will be joined in less than two weeks, making us equal. There’s nothing that says we can’t start that now.” I’m seething at this point, and I know that if I stick around, words that can’t be taken back will be said.

I push off of the railing and stand in front of Katarina. “I’m going to go so I can calm down. Hopefully, the next time we speak, it will go better.” I turn and walk across the porch, eager to get away from her before I explode.

~Katarina~

I watch King walk away and feel nothing. Honestly, I haven’t been feeling much of anything toward him since last night except anger. Before, even if I was mad at him, he’d still make my inside clench, and I’d feel butterflies in my stomach. There’s none of that now.

I continue sitting on the swing bench, going over our very short conversation. I’m not sure why things feel so strained right now, but something’s got to give. We will be married and marked in less than two weeks, and this is not the way to start a life together.

I think back to last night and Aston being in pain. I wonder if he’s okay or if he actually shifted. I wonder if any memories returned to him since he shifted. I should try to go by and see him later today.

Oh, Aston! He’s been in my mind all night, and it isn’t just that. Hope has been on a rampage for the night as well. The crazy thing is she can’t identify what she feels; she just knows that she feels it strongly. There’s something going on, and I don’t understand it.

I’ve talked to my aunt and uncle this morning, but they said that I definitely will get no powers unless I’m marked. Knowing that it can’t be my powers appearing has me stumped. One thing is clear: Aston has been heavily on my mind. Hope seems to be more at ease when he occupies my thoughts. When I think of King, she becomes agitated to a degree. She gets worse when she tries to identify why that is and comes up empty.

When I wasn’t wearing my jewelry, I felt different. That’s another thing I’ve been stewing on all night. I felt lighter, as crazy as that sounds. I mean, my jewelry isn’t big or gaudy, so I don’t understand the feeling. My locket is white gold, and so is the thin chain. The ring isn’t ostentatious or anything like that. It's a simple ring: 1.5 ct princess cut diamond in a plain setting, 2.1mm width- pavé band, all in white gold. It was the compromise that we came up with. King wanted huge diamonds and a few of them, and I was happy with a simple band. So, neither piece was heavy, yet I felt so light without them.

I sigh and run a hand down my face. I don’t know what’s going on with me or King, but I need to figure it out. I don’t want to start our union in turmoil. I move to get up when a presence stops me. I look up and see a figure approaching from the lawn. “Hello, turtle.” My stomach leaps, and my breath is temporarily knocked out of my body. I can’t believe he remembers that.

“Turtle?”

“I told you I gained memories from childhood.” Aston leaps over the porch railing and sits down next to me. The heat from his body is doing things to me that I dare not comment on. “So, hello, turtle. How are you?”