Brynn's Beta

Chapter 3--Jace

I hurried into the pack house to grab some breakfast before my conference call. I would barely have time to shower if I rushed. Maverick was going to try and join in, but he was preoccupied with his mate who currently wanted nothing to do with him. I saw Brynn out of the corner of my eye in the kitchen, my heart started pounding, and my wolf stood up and paid close attention. Every time I saw her, she looked more beautiful. In fact, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and I hated how the unmated warriors gawked at her. Lately, I found myself stifling growls when warriors would notice her and make comments. A few days ago, I even punished one for stepping over the line. Except, he didn’t really step over any line, and my actions definitely raised a few eyebrows.

I was tight with her older brother, so I grew up watching out for Brynn since she tagged along during some of our misadventures. It seemed like I was always a little protective of her, but that’s just because she was a tiny, little girl running after us as fast as she could. At least, that’s what I always told myself. She wasn’t little now, though. In fact, she was the perfect height for me, I realized recently. Brynn had this long, shimmery golden blonde hair and these clear cornflower blue eyes. When she turned to look at me, my heart stammered a little every time. I really tried not to think about her breasts and curves, but I couldn’t help myself. Plus, she had the most perfect ass and I was definitely an ass man. Fvck! Now I was getting hard in the middle of the dining room.

I was pretty sure she was my mate, and even told Maverick about it. I wouldn’t know for sure until she turned 18—which was in a few weeks, but all the signs were there. I hadn’t caught her scent yet, but that was just a matter of time, it would get stronger the closer she got to her birthday. (A date I had marked in my phone, and memorized, and maybe tattooed on the inside of my eyeballs.) I was doing my best to treat her like everyone else, but it was pure torture already and I had weeks to go. One of our most sacred laws was to protect the mate bond and not misuse it against a younger wolf by manipulating them into thinking they were mates before 18. There were a few variations of the rule, but the basic principle remained, “don’t tell.” I was holding to a strict standard because I didn’t want anything to get in the way of me claiming Brynn the minute she turned 18.

Later that day, I caught the faint scent of something incredible. It reminded me of blueberry pie in the summer with a touch of whipped cream. It was mouth-watering. Maybe Mrs. Gibson finally found someone who could bake. I loved pie, but we rarely had it in the pack house for some reason. Honestly, our food quality wasn’t that good, but I didn’t know what to do about it and Maverick was too busy to think about it. Plus, as backward as it sounds, it was more of a Luna thing and we didn’t have one. I kept forgetting to ask my mom for ideas. Maybe one of these days I would remember. In the meantime, I started to track down the incredible pie smell. Oddly, it was coming from one of the common areas. I looked inside and saw Brynn cleaning up a mess that a bunch of the warriors made last night. A couple of them were promoted recently and I offered some beer, pizza, and video games to help them celebrate. I left before it was over and didn’t realize what a mess they made.

Now Brynn was cleaning it up and I felt terrible. I lost the scent I had been tracking given the overwhelming stale beer smell, but walked into the room to help out. Maybe because I wanted to get a little time with Brynn to talk to her, have her attention all to myself. I grabbed a stack of pizza boxes and walked towards her to dump them in the bin. As soon as I was close, I caught the smell again. It was Brynn.

Slade, my wolf, started howling in my head. We both knew. It was Brynn. She was definitely my mate.

I swallowed hard and tried not to show anything, but I took a deep inhale, filling my lungs, as it invaded my soul. Things suddenly seemed a little less grim, just being close to her. She was talking about transferring to the village, but no way did I want that to happen! It wasn’t as safe as the packhouse. Normals shopped there. What if one asked her out and she said yes! What if she liked him? What if he kissed her?! I almost growled out loud before I caught my ludicrous train of thought. Brynn hadn’t dated much. That I knew. I wasn’t exactly keeping track, but I also wasn’t not keeping track. For some reason, it was always unsettling to me whenever I would see her with another boy. Now I knew why. She was mine and I couldn’t wait until she knew it.

I sort of forgot myself while I was standing next to her. I shoved the pizza boxes in the bin, and just stood there filling my lungs. Her scent was faint, but unmistakable. Now that I had it, I would be able to find her anywhere and everywhere. I was so excited for her wolf and the full strength of everything about her. I was smitten, completely. Hopefully, I wouldn’t mess anything up between now and her birthday.

We were discussing her transfer when Brynn stepped a little closer to me. I don’t know if she even realized it, but she was staring intently at my lips and started blushing. Did she want to kiss me?! I sure as fvck wanted to kiss her, shove her against the wall, wrap her legs around my waist, feel her soft curves against me. I got hard just thinking about it—about her. I took another deep breath to calm down and I heard Lia behind us. s**t! She and Brynn were tight. What if Lia caught on and told Brynn?! I backed away and hoped it looked as innocent as I intended. Just a helpful Beta cleaning up after himself.

Lia introduced Aspen to Brynn and they continued on their tour. So far, I liked Aspen, but didn’t love her. She was charming and funny during our wine tasting a few days ago and I could tell she was definitely feeling the bond with Maverick. However, now that she was here, at the pack, and Maverick told her what he was, she was mostly keeping to her room and had completely given Maverick the cold shoulder. She was a human, so maybe this kind of this was normal. I figured Lia showing her around was a good sign. I hoped it worked out for she and Maverick. The pack needed a Luna, but more importantly, my friend needed his mate.

Later that day, I was working on a project with Maverick in his office when his door slammed open and Aspen stormed in. I was shocked that she was so brave, but she was his mate and a normal so she probably didn’t know that no one walked into the Alpha’s office without knocking, except a ranked member, and well, the Alpha’s mate. I laughed a little at the irony, but then Aspen was yelling at us.

“Did you know that some asshole, your “Gamma” (she used air quotes) is harassing Omega’s?!?!?!! I just caught him assaulting Brynn.”

My heart stopped in my chest as I jumped up “WHAT?!” I yelled. “Is Brynn ok? What happened? Did he hurt her? I’m going to kill him!!”

Aspen put her hands on her hips, “Brynn’s not hurt, just scared. Lia is with her in Brynn’s room in case Will comes back to finish what he started. He threatened me, then offered a three-way.”

Mav’s face darkened in anger the longer Aspen talked and I knew he was barely holding back his wolf. I felt the exact same way,

“Did he hurt you?” Maverick asked Aspen as he clenched his fists and growled, coming around the desk to stand in front of Aspen. I could barely breathe. I had to check on Brynn, to make sure she was ok. I looked at Maverick, “I’ll be right back. I need to check on Brynn.” I raced out of the room to the Omega wing and Brynn’s room.

Stopping in the kitchen for a quick minute, I grabbed a bottle of water and some of the sparkling water I had noticed Brynn drinking. I rushed to her room and paused in front of the door. Gently knocking, I called her name, “Brynn? It’s Jace. I … I wanted to check on you. Are you ok? Can I get you anything?”

I heard shuffling behind the door, but it didn’t open. Brynn finally answered, “I’m fine Jace. Lia is with me. I don’t need anything.”

My wolf was frantic. He needed to see her. I needed to see her, to make sure she was unharmed. It took all of my self-control to not kick her door in. I took some deep breaths and picked up Brynn’s scent. It helped calm me. I paused and rested my forehead against the door, “Are you sure you are ok? Can I … could you please open the door, just a crack?” I whispered.

There was another pause before Brynn answered. I could tell she was just on the other side of the door, “I … I just need some time. I will be fine. Thanks for checking on me.”

I sighed, I didn’t want to make a bad day worse and I was probably already pushing the boundaries of our friendship. “I’m here if you need anything. I’m taking Will to the cells. I promise he will never hurt you again. I left a bottle of water outside the door and I’ll have Ivy bring you some tea. I promise, Brynn. You will always be safe.” I pressed my hand against the door in a silent promise and went to deal with Will. My thoughts were murderous. He would be lucky to live to the end of the day.

I was heading back to Maverick’s office when he linked me and told me where to find Will. I ran out of the pack house and down the trail. Soon, I saw Morris and another warrior standing next to Will who was secured to a tree. Will may have been a Gamma, but he was a s**t fighter. Morris and Lia were both stronger. I wasn’t surprised that Lia had been able to subdue him. I walked right up to Will and punched him as hard as I could multiple times.

“How dare you! How dare you assault an Omega. A woman who is innocent. Who has the right to say no. You fvcking piece of sh!t. You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as Brynn.”

I kept punching him until Morris finally pulled me off, “Jace! You’re going to kill the guy. Alpha Maverick wants him to suffer. Let’s get him to the cells so he doesn’t have the chance to heal.”

“He should die,” I growled, barely in control.

“I know. But you know that’s going to cause more issues. Let’s put this piece of s**t in the darkest hole we have and forget about him for a while.”

Somehow Morris got through to me. I stepped away to calm down, but I was going to have to go for a run late tonight. First, I was going to keep my promise to my mate and keep her safe by locking Will up.

After Will was secured, Maverick, Dr. Fagan, Lia a time or two, and I spent the rest of the day talking with the various Omega’s who Will assaulted. The stories were heartbreaking, the evidence damning. Will would die for what he did. We saved Brynn for last. I didn’t want to interview her at all, but Maverick thought it would be best while it was fresh and Dr. Fagan wanted to check on her.

Once again, my heart was pounding. At least I was finally getting to see my mate. I was nervous and excited. There were fvcking butterflies in my stomach. This morning felt like a lifetime ago. Dr. Fagan knocked on the door, and I heard murmuring before she motioned us to come in.

Brynn was sitting on the floor hugging a pillow. Like some invisible force pulled me towards her, I went to sit next to her on the floor. I just wanted to be close to her. Even though she couldn’t feel the bond the same way I could, I hoped being close would be comforting for her. Ivy and Lia went off to get some snacks, giving us some privacy. Maverick sat in a chair across the room.

At first, Brynn wouldn’t even look at me. I nudged her shoulder, “Hey, it’s ok. None of this is your fault. We just want to make sure we have the info we need to keep Will locked up for a long, long time. You know, I saw the bite marks on Will’s hand. I know you gave him hell. It was really brave.”

Maverick jumped right in, picking up on my cues, “Sure was,” he agreed, “you sure you don’t want to start warrior training? I think you’re a natural.”

Maverick was such a good Alpha, the joke broke the ice and Brynn looked up at me. I clenched my teeth when I saw the hand print across her cheek. She smiled a little when she realized that she had inflicted some damage on Will. I saw an ice pack on her bed and grabbed it, so I could hold it against her face. Brynn had an adorable little blush on her neck as I pressed the ice pack against her cheek, but she leaned into me just a little and smiled. It took more self-control than I was prepared to admit to not pull Brynn onto my lap and bury my nose in neck, to hold her close, and comfort her.

Brynn started to explain everything that happened and by the end I couldn’t contain my growl. Maverick knelt down in front of Brynn and actually apologized. We had been friends our whole lives and even I was surprised at that action. It was rare for an Alpha to apologize and even rarer for him to get down on someone’s level.

I agreed with everything that Maverick told Brynn. She would never get hurt again. Brynn looked like she was going to cry. I nudged her shoulder again and squeezed her hand as I brought it up to hold the ice pack in place against her cheek.

Leaning in just a little, I murmured, “I’ll come back to check on you tomorrow. You have the day off again. Relax and let me know if you need anything. Anything at all.”

She kept her eyes closed and nodded as I got up. I was stepping out of the room when I heard her call my name. It was one of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard.

“Jace?”

I turned to look at her one more time for the night, “Hmm?”

“Thanks for checking on me earlier and bringing me my favorite sparkling water.” Then she smiled at me.

I grinned. It had been a sh!t day, but my mate smiled at me! I felt like I was floating as I walked out with Maverick.

“I’m going to bring Aspen dinner and give her an update. You going to be ok, man?” he asked.

“Yep. I’m going for a run. Got to blow off some steam.”

“Gotcha. See you later.”

I headed outside and started stripping before I even hit the tree line. I ran for a few hours until the exhaustion from the day caught up with me. Shifting back, I climbed the stairs to my room, showered, and collapsed into bed, dreaming of Brynn’s smile.