Not just, the Beta

CH 2

Slade

He woke up on the floor of his new suite butt ass naked; yet, alone. He frowned as he sat up and rubbed his aching head. He really did need to curb his drinking. It was starting to get out of hand.

Slade knew he’d been woken by his father, Alpha Roman’s voice inside his head, ‘Get up son, you’ve got Alpha College today. You’d better be all packed up there.’

He groaned as he stood up ‘I am,’ he told his father ‘I packed yesterday.’ His eyes moved about the living room of his new suite, the coffee table was turned over and there was a lamp on the floor. He shook his head only to incur more pain, the bloody hangover was going to kill him.

He righted the coffee table and the lamp, then frowned as he picked up his clothes. They were ripped and torn in places, kind of looked like they’d been ripped off of him. He looked around the rest of the room, no she-wolf in here with him. Though she could have just gotten up and gone home at some point.

He took a breath in, long and deep, to try and scent the room. His recollection of last night was more than fuzzy, he had some memories of getting dunk down at the pack's nightclub. He picked up Ori’s scent here in his suite and no one else. He closed his eyes and got a flicker of a she-wolf on all fours, and him holding her, taking her all hard and fast. He shook his head, couldn’t recall who it was.

His body did ache in all the right places though, so there had definitely been a girl in here with him last night. He shook it off and headed for the shower, washed up, shaved and combed his hair. Was, however, standing in his living area drying himself looking at the room; the spot he’d woken up actually.

He walked back to his bedroom, knew there was no she-wolf in there, and that bed had not been slept in, so presumably, the living room floor was where he’d hooked up with that she-wolf; they hadn’t even made it to his new bed.

Slade, dressed in casual jeans and black polo shirt, sat in the living area to pull his socks and shoes on, but still he could only smell Ori in this suite with him. It was weird to him.

He had a fuzzy memory of Ori half carrying him from the nightclub, getting in the elevator and then laughing a lot. So, he understood why he could scent her in this room. It wasn’t an uncommon thing for her to be in his room, she was his Beta. She’d been in here a couple of times and her suite was across from his. Perhaps she’d been in here this morning already, shooed that she-wolf away.

He pulled on that tether that was hers and Ori was not only up, but downstairs in the dining room already. Likely she was ready to drive him out to Alpha College, it was her job to do. She was, he knew, to drop him off and pick him up, each and every time he came and went.

Though as far as he knew, that would be just once, or should be unless s**t hit the fan, he was coming home for his little sister to get her wolf, so the family could all run together and get to know her wolf. Bond as a family, it was what most families did.

He smiled at the thought of a year at Alpha College, freedom from his father and his demands and constant hounding of him. There were also going to be other Alpha wolves there, male and female, that interested him a lot. Though his father was hoping that he would meet his Mate at Alpha College, and bring home an Alpha female to the pack.

Alpha-blooded wolves at his age were all just a bunch of horny teenagers, he was, he knew, going to thoroughly enjoy a year inside that Alpha College. Date any and all he wanted, it was an un-mated Alpha Wolf's dream place. He could already well imagine all that happened was s*x, and a lot of it, with those that were willing. How could there not be?

Slade was actually looking forward to going. The only disadvantage to being there and not here, was that he’d be a full year behind in his university studies with his unit. When he got back, they would all have completed their first year, and be going into their second year.

He grabbed his suitcase which held all he was going to need for an entire year. Pulled it along behind him as he headed down the hall to the elevator. He saw Hayden leaning up against the elevator. The boy smiled right at him “Ori’s not here to do her Beta duties I see.” he clucked his tongue and shook his head, as though disappointed in his big sister. “I’ll take that for you Alpha.” He held his hand out for the suitcase.

“I’ve got it Hayden.” He commented, knowing that this boy, just six months younger than Ori herself, was in Beta training but not with him and his unit, with his own father, Beta Anders.

He had stated on more than one occasion, he was in prep for when Ori mated off out of the pack, while he was away at Alpha College. This boy was the second heir to the Beta bloodline, and he itched to be the future Beta.

Knew it was Ori’s actual birthright as the firstborn and that Slade, Palmer and Yuri had all grown up with her, trained with her and were already bonded to her as a unit should be. Hayden just thought he could push her aside.

“You want me to drive you to Alpha College?” he asked, “I got a solid night’s sleep, unlike Ori, who was out drinking with you and the boys.”

“I’m sure she’s fine, never drinks like we do. Holds her liquor.” He stated simply.

“I’ll be taking over for her anyway, Slade,” Hayden stated.

“Maybe,” Slade answered, “Till then, you’re the second, so let it go.”

“She’ll mate off easily, you should just...”

“Enough, Hayden. Ori might have a Mate here and if she does, you’ll still be the second. She’ll still be my Beta. I’ll be keeping her as my Beta, as is the pack lineage policy.”

“A female Beta.” Hayden shook his head.

“Is no different to a female Alpha. Watch your words, I like my Beta.” He shot at the boy “I also doubt she’ll Mate off out of this pack.” He stated as he stepped out of the elevator and walked his suitcase over to place it by the front door. Before heading off to breakfast in the dining hall.

His mother and father, Elise and Roman, were there with his little sister Dariah and his little brother, Clay, as were the current Alpha Unit and his own. He walked off to get food, and saw Ori’s eyes fall on her brother as they walked together. Her expression didn’t change, but he knew what she was thinking.

He left that boy by the buffet tables and walked back to the Alpha table. Ori kicked a chair out for him as she always did, and he sat across from her “You’re late.” She stated right to him.

“You didn’t wake me.” He commented as he looked at her, still found it more than odd that it was only her scent in his room, when he’d woken up, butt ass naked, and his clothes were in that state, someone had undressed him in a real rush to have him.

He had no actual memories of the girl, just that she was a brunette; as was Ori herself. He had no actual memories of doing anything he shouldn’t with his future Beta.

Though she was more than pretty, stunning to look at, with her long dark brown hair, though it was always pulled up in a ponytail or high plait. Her eyes were what attracted every wolf around to her. They were pale silver green, with a brilliant bottle-green around the outer edge, practically shined like neon even in natural light, and they were framed with long thick natural lashes. She also had nicely shaped and plump lips, a lovely complexion and a good athletic body from all their training.

He also knew that all the un-mated wolves here inside this pack ogled her, in training gear or after being shifted back from her wolf China; a large silver wolf with four black socks. One could tell she was a Beta wolf just by the size of China. Her wolf's eyes were blue, not the usual green. She got them from her mother’s bloodline. Her mother’s wolf also had those blue eyes.

Some lucky wolf out there was going to be mated to that girl, and get to see those amazing eyes of hers, open every morning and look at him, watch that mouth of hers curve into a sleepy, but happy smile, and fall in love with her every damned morning all over again.

Slade sighed internally as he pulled his thoughts away from looking at his Beta, as though she was actually a girl and a stunning one at that. She was not a girl to him, Ori was his Beta, not something to play with, not something to bed.

Though the thought of her being mated off and out of this pack, that bothered him more than a little. He didn’t want that to happen and he knew it. He turned his eyes to his breakfast and away from the girl. No, she was 18 now, a woman, not a girl anymore, by wolfen law, she was an adult, a she-wolf of mating age even.

She was a good strong Beta, trained with him and his unit, just as hard as they all did. Put all the effort in, and he knew she wanted the position of his Beta as well.

“You should be responsible for yourself now. You have to be, for the next year. I won’t be there to wake your ass up when you sleep in.” she interrupted his thoughts.

He smiled at her. “Certainly didn’t this morning. You left me on the floor of my suite, now, didn’t you?”

She just shrugged “Your heavy ass, was too much for me, to haul into your bed.”

He heard both his and her father clear their throats, and he rolled his eyes. They didn’t like the way he and she spoke to each other sometimes. But his relationship with Ori was no different to that of his with Palmer and Yuri. “She put me to bed.” He turned and looked at them as he bit into his toasted croissant.

“He was drunk.” She shot right back. “Bloody heavy.”

He snorted as he looked at her, “Oh, too much for you to handle, huh.”

He watched those brilliant eyes of hers roll back in her head as she muttered “Well, if you didn’t drink so much, you could have walked yourself. You probably don’t even recall me dragging your ass to your room.”

He shook his head and shrugged it off, “I don’t, not really.”

He got hit up the back side of his head by his father. “Son, what’d I tell you?”

“I’m sober now, and I got me a six-hour drive to get over my hang over as well.”

Slade heard his father huff with annoyance. “At least your Beta is reliable, keeps you in line.”

“Mm.” he nodded as he looked at Ori, it still confused him more than a bit, his state upon waking up and just her scent in the room. Though looking at her now, nothing seemed amiss to him, she was the same as always; same attitude as normal.

If they’d had s*x, surely she’d have found this morning awkward, and she didn’t seem the slightest bit different to him at all. He’d ask her if there was no one around.

But he also knew that he had a six-hour drive to nitpick at her about last night, and why he’d woken up aching in all the right places with half-ripped clothes in a turbulent looking room, and only her scent in there.

He was now wondering if he’d succumbed in his drunken state to the thoughts that had been popping into his head about his Beta as both he and she’d gotten closer to their 18th’s.

He had found himself looking at her, and more than his Beta at times, those eyes of hers were killing him. Every time she bloody laughed at him or something he said that was funny, and he saw them really light up, he’d felt attracted to her; his own Beta.

He pulled his mind from her, he’d find out in just over a month's time if they were or weren’t Mates anyway. He wouldn’t be here for this coming full moon, but home for the one after that. It wasn’t that long a wait.

Slade shook it off, and reminded himself that he shouldn’t be thinking like that about her, that he didn’t want a Mate just yet. At 18, he was going to go to Alpha College, and was going to enjoy all those alpha females looking for some action. He’d be more than willing to give them.