BEAUTY & THE BRUTE

Five

"Her mate?" Roman Vance? That was... Unexpected. Never in his wildest dreams would he have paired him with Beverly. But the moon goddess had chosen them and the more he thought about the more he realized how they fit perfectly. It was no secret that Vance was a hunter. The first of his kind. He tracked down serial killers, judged and sentenced them. Those he caught disappeared forever. Never to be heard of again. Other packs steered clear of them because of their reputation. Now that he found out he was Beverly's mate, he couldn't be more than happy. If anyone could handle his daughter, it was him.

The goddess knew the pains he'd gone through to raise her and handle pack matters all on his own. When he'd seen her coming back that morning, his heart had sunk. She'd done it again. For a moment there, he thought she had gotten better and that the rest of the pack could now be at ease but he'd been wrong. It had started again and he was at a loss on what to do. Doctors couldn't heal her or tell him what the problem was. All he knew was that to stop it from happening, he needed to keep her happy. Give her everything she wanted. He'd told the members to do the same and they'd complied. Why then was it happening again? Would it never stop?

"No, it's not..." She started but he cut her off

"Yes. We met yesterday and got to know each other better" with every word he said, Beverly's face grew crimson. A sign of anger. Yet nothing happened. She didn't turn into someone else. Someone who's stare chilled him to the depths of his stomach.

"And you're here to claim her?"

"Yes. She is mine after all. Do you have any objections, Anson?"

Calling him Anson was a challenge. Vance was trying to rile him up to see if he would stop him from taking Beverly. He couldn't take her by force. If she didn't want to leave with him, he had no right to force her. From the looks of it, she wasn't going to go with him. She'd said they were friends because she didn't want him to know about them. Maybe, deep down, she knew how he would react. Knew that he wouldn't hesitate to make a decision. As a father, he'd done everything he could. He had protected her and made sure no one gave her a hard time. She had lived a better and comfortable life while the rest of the pack slept with one eye open. Therefore, he didn't feel guilty about what he was about to do.

"I know better than to come between mates. That is your business" turning to Beverly, he added "Just keep in mind that I cannot be there for you forever. You need someone else you can trust. Someone you can rely on" judging by the way she was glaring at him, she'd understood what he meant. Motioning for Gail to follow him, he headed to his office. Leaving them to decide the rest on their own. Once she'd closed the door, he said "You will leave with her"

"That's a given, Alpha. I go where she goes. But why are you sure she'll go with him?"

"Because she's smart"

"You're kicking her out. Aren't you?"

"I've done my part as her father. It's time for her mate to step up. I'll use the rest of my time to be Alpha of Blue Moon. Considering the support the members have given her, don't you think it's time I side with them?"

"Right. Who cares what will happen to her in the future? Or how others will treat her?"

"She's more than capable of defending herself. If they end up kicking her out, tell her not to bother coming back here. Once she leaves, there will be no place for her in Blue Moon"

"Do not worry. She will never need your help ever again. I will protect her. With my life" she spat then spun on her heel and left. Since she was Beverly's assistant, he let her insolence go. For the hundredth time, he wondered who she was. Aside from her name, they knew nothing about her or where Beverly had found her. Of course he'd tried looking into her background but with only one name, it was impossible to get any information. For all they knew, Gail wasn't even her name. But that didn't matter. She was loyal to Beverly and would even give up her life for her. He had nothing to worry about.

As he sat behind his desk, his feelings conflicted, he thought of Flora. Would she chastise him if she was still alive? He'd been happy when Beverly was born. Had been even happier when she told him she was pregnant. With a boy. His heir. But in the blink of an eye, things had changed. He'd lost all his family. Even Beverly wasn't really Beverly. It was as if she'd died along with her mother and younger brother. Was he wrong in wanting to get rid of whoever that was? In his heart, his daughter had died when she was five. That woman out there, whoever she was, didn't belong in his pack. He could have kicked her out earlier but he feared she would implicate Blue Moon. Because she had his daughter's face, he couldn't let her loose. The arrival of Vance really was a blessing. At least this way, everything she did would be Vance's responsibility.

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"Gail, have someone prepare a room for him"

"I didn't come for a sleepover sweet cheeks"

"You either stay until tomorrow or leave. Alone"

Roman smirked. Did she think he wouldn't dare do it? "Fine. I'll stay"

"And my name is Beverly. Call me something else and I'll punch your teeth out"

"Yes, ma'am" at her glare, he corrected "Beverly" she wasn't what he'd pictured. When she'd woken up that morning, he had thought she was average. Boring. But they eyes boring into him at that moment were everything but boring. If it was possible, she would have shot lasers from them. Now that he'd been warned not to piss her off, he wanted to do it just to see what would happen. Would they flash that way from passion and desire? Claiming he'd gone there to take her had been a slip of the tongue. One he would surely regret in the future but at the moment, he was enjoying himself too much.

Roman had figured out that she couldn't stand disorder. If even a hair fell out of place, her secretary was there to fix it. The house, he'd noticed, was sparkling clean and aside from the three of them, no one else lived there. The only other scents he could detect seemed to be coming from one direction. The kitchen. He concluded that Blue Moon was a strange place. No wonder their Alpha and his family were weird. He'd expected some resistance from Anson. Fathers didn't let go of their daughters so easily. Most asked for a month or at least a week before handing their precious daughters to complete strangers. Anson hadn't even blinked. It felt as if he couldn't wait to give Beverly away. But that wasn't right. Was it? The man treated her like a princess. He'd even hired a secretary for her. Perhaps he had misjudged the man.

Come dinner time, they gathered at the table. It couldn't be called a gathering since it was just him, Beverly and her ever present secretary. The table was filled with all kinds of food and naturally, he thought the rest of the pack would join them. Ten minutes passed before he realized no one was coming. Even her father didn't bother showing up. Roman ate silently, waiting to see if she would be mad or at least irked. She carried on as if that was the norm. His members didn't fuss over everything but at least they made sure to eat together. Speaking of members, he'd forgotten about Shaw and the others. Mind linking them, he asked,

"You hungry?"

"Boss, I knew you wouldn't forget about us. I'm famished"

Out loud, he asked "Is anyone else coming to join us?"

"No" that from her assistant who stood beside her.

"Come on over then" he told Shaw. When he closed the link, he found the secretary's eyes on him "Get two more rooms ready" she didn't reply. Only looked down at her mistress and left after she'd gotten the go ahead. A few minutes later, Shaw and two other warriors came in and made a beeline for the dining room

"Boss, I love you so much" he made a move to hug him but Roman raised the knife was holding. Shaw retracted and moved to take the seat beside him. Hogan and Finch followed suit "Did you have them prepare all this for us?"

"Of course not. You're not that important" he waited until Shaw had stuffed his mouth then said "Meet Beverly Anson. My mate" shock and surprise had him choking for the next two minutes "Beverly, this is Shaw, Hogan and Finch"

"I didn't ask" she replied, her voice soft and expression that of pure innocence. If he hadn't seen her mouth moving, he would never have believed she was the one who'd spoken. Others would consider her answer rude. He downright loved it.

"Is she the Beverly Anson?" Shaw asked after he'd recovered

"The one and only"

"Wow! Consider me impressed. She is the exact opposite of you"

"Meaning?"

"Nothing boss"

Once she was done, she left them alone. Not bothering to show them the way to their rooms. An hour later, her secretary came back and asked them to follow her. Just as he'd suspected, no one else lived in the pack house. There had to be at least fifteen empty rooms. Roman had to wonder why the members chose to live elsewhere. As far as he was concerned, people fought for rooms in the main house. Why was Blue Moon different? He didn't have to wonder long. The next morning, he was woken up by loud banging. His first thought was that they were renovating the place. Which would explain why it was empty. He could have gone back to sleep if he didn't hear the sound of metal connecting with glass. Getting out of bed, Roman went to inspect what was going on.

He couldn't say he was surprised by his findings. There was a reason she was known as a nutcase. Beverly stood in what looked like an office, holding a golf club. She'd trashed the entire place. Nothing had been spared. Even the door had a large gaping hole in the middle.

This was the reason no one stayed in the house.

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