A Beta's Undying Love

Chapter 3: Mate

-Garrett-

The word beautiful didn’t even begin to describe her. Nothing could. As soon as I laid eyes on her, I knew. My wolf didn’t even need to say the word mate. I just knew. For a moment, she was all I could see, and her scent—intoxicating, even with Katrina between us—overwhelmed my senses.

Her auburn hair was neatly tied in a bun, and her hazel eyes locked onto mine. She was slim, maybe too slim, as her white nurse’s uniform seemed to hang a bit loosely on her frame. That’s when I noticed something else in her scent—an underlying spiciness. Damn, this female is sick, I thought. The sickness tainted her natural, delicate lily fragrance, and soon, it would likely overpower it.

“Did your mother need anything?” Katrina’s voice finally pulled me from my thoughts.

I tore my gaze away from the stunning woman in front of me and looked down at Katrina. Despite the conversation being about my sick mother, her eyes still held that unmistakable hunger. But I couldn’t blame her. Every time I came here, the staff—and even the visitors—looked at me the same way: hungry, desperate for me to make their wildest fantasies come true.

“She just wanted her scarf. Don’t worry, you can continue to show…” My eyes drifted back to the woman, Lily. She had turned her gaze away from me now, though there had clearly been an attraction between us just a moment ago.

“This is Lily,” Katrina said proudly. “She just transferred here and comes with a glowing recommendation.”

Lily, I thought. Her name was perfect for my perfect mate. I stepped around Katrina and stood directly in front of her. Finally, her eyes met mine again, though they were still guarded.

“Very nice to meet you, Lily,” I said in a low voice, watching as a slight shiver ran through her.

Then I turned back to Katrina. “Well, I’d better let you finish showing her around. Besides, my mother needs her scarf,” I said, before walking away.

As soon as I stepped away from my mate, everything inside me screamed to go back, to claim her right then and there. It didn’t matter that we were in my mother’s room, or that there were others around. They could watch if they wanted, just so they knew exactly who my beautiful mate belonged to.

-Lily-

Legs shaking? Check. Heart racing? Check. But no chest pain—so, no heart attack. Good. Then why did I feel like fainting? Probably the cancer’s fault. It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with that out-of-this-world handsome man who had just spoken my name like it was the sexiest word he’d ever said. No, definitely not that.

“Well, let’s continue, shall we?” Katrina asked cheerfully. She finished the tour quickly and gave me my first assignment.

“I need you to go to the small storage room down the hallway and grab the Christmas decorations,” Katrina explained.

I gave her a confused look. “Isn’t it a bit early to decorate for Christmas? I mean, it’s only the beginning of November.”

“We don’t do a lot because big changes often confuse the residents. It’s more for the visitors, and we start early to remind people that there are still good things in the world,” she explained.

It reminded me of those motivational posters I’d seen in the doctor’s office: There is hope. There wasn’t much hope to be found here. This place felt like the last stop, unless, of course, you believed in something beyond this life.

Nonetheless, I nodded and followed her instructions. It wasn’t a hard task. I passed the cozy living room where a few people sat, talking quietly with some of the residents. The handsome man was there, too. My eyes lingered on him a bit longer. He was sitting in front of a very fragile woman—his mother, I assumed.

Shit, I thought, I knew exactly what it was like to watch your mother wither away like that. I quickly looked away, not wanting to get caught staring, and walked down the hallway to a dark wooden door that squeaked as I opened it.

The room was small, with a single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. I turned it on and saw stacks of boxes piled on top of one another, along with a few brooms and chairs. I walked over to one of the stacks and opened the top box. Just a few extra blankets.

I set it down by my feet and began sorting through the others. Nothing here either. I moved to a taller stack and tried to lift the top box, but it was heavy, and my body wasn’t exactly in the mood to cooperate.

“Need some help?” I jumped, nearly knocking over the entire stack of boxes. His deep, spine-chilling voice startled me. Thankfully, he was quick to catch the boxes before they toppled, his arms steadying the stack and trapping me between the boxes and him.

“I-I’m fine,” I stammered, trying not to get lost in those piercing blue eyes I wanted to drown in.

It definitely wasn’t professional to flirt with a visitor. They weren’t here to find a date. They were here to say goodbye. The handsome man stepped back, hands in his pockets, clearly waiting to see if I could manage on my own. I lifted my chin and turned around, determined to prove I didn’t need help.

But as I grabbed the heavy box, I was almost ready to beg for his help. My body screamed in protest as I lifted it, nearly dropping it, but I managed to hold on. I shot him a look that said, I’m a strong, independent woman, even though all I wanted to do was sit down and catch my breath. He seemed to notice, glancing at me with concern, but I ignored it and opened the box. It was filled with Christmas decorations, and I sighed with relief.

“A bit early for decorations, isn’t it?” he inquired, his eyes scanning the contents of the box.

I shrugged, placing my hands on my hips, feeling more exhausted than I wanted to admit. “Apparently, they decorate early to try and cheer people up. Haven’t you noticed? Or is your mother a new resident?”

He shook his head. “She’s been here for years,” he replied.

Years? I wondered. Then why didn’t he know they decorated early?