My Young Beta [cover and first 4 chapters only]

1| Maneuvers

| Dana |

I let my wolf take the lead as we snaked our way through the undergrowth. I used my smaller size to my advantage, hiding as I made my way to my destination.

A slight shuffle of leaves made my head tilt to the side. The barest shift of the breeze brought confirmation my opponent was near, his scent faintly detectable.

I held still, staying low. Further up and to the right I heard the unmistakable sound of a snarl. A beat of silence and then the growls of confrontation. The wolf ahead of me, blocking my path, started towards the sound, giving me the opening I needed.

I slithered over another fallen tree, seeing the large wolf as it ran towards the action- but foolishly away from what it should have been guarding.

I saw my quarry through the low branches. Stealing myself for just a second, I tensed my legs and bounded off. I heard the crashing sound of another member of the opposing team coming up behind me. I used my small size and litheness to my advantage again. With a burst of speed, I rapidly approached the flag I needed to capture.

I yipped, tucking my ass in as I leapt through the air, even curling my tail in. I felt the barest hint of the swipe that missed my hind.

The flagpole fit perfectly in my maw as I snatched it as I sailed through the air, rolling a few times as I landed, before springing back to my four paws and standing proudly with the flag still in my mouth.

“I got it!” I screamed triumphantly to my team mates via mindlink.

“f*****g pain in the ass,” I heard behind me. I looked over my wolfy shoulder at the shifted naked man on the ground. He was laying where'd he'd landed after his failed attempt to stop me. He gave me a cocksure smirk, thinking I was checking him out.

I just flicked the flag pole so it waved a little and trotted over towards my teammates as they came through the trees.

~*~

There was a lot of celebrating, even the other team conceding we hadn't just lucked out- like they kept alluding to.

We were on our quarterly weekend maneuvers. It was a cooperative program that my pack and a number across the Americas were part of.

A number of members from each pack would come together and compete on a series of trials. We were rotated but you often went with the same people. The squad this time consisted of Peter and Noel, in their early twenties, and Jordan and I- the aged.

Jordan and I were in our early thirties and unmated. We had been f**k buddies on and off throughout our twenties and had settled into an exclusive thing in the last few years now. He had joined our pack after his pack was overtaken and he and many others didn't agree with their new Alphas methods.

He'd shown his capabilities early, joining our elite warrior program where I was a senior member. I had already taken up more senior responsibilities, Jordan on a similar trajectory to me. It meant we spent a lot of time together and had a very good friendship on top of our physical relationship.

We had both still decided to wait for our mates where many choose a mate by our age. It seemed our fated mates were nowhere to be found- as elite warriors of our pack we'd both traveled to a number of other packs, but had had no luck.

Jordan had been looking at me with soft eyes all night. Things had started to become a little more serious lately, Jordan showing more public displays of affection where we'd kept everything behind closed doors.

If I was to take a chosen, I’d be very lucky to have him.

As the night revelry started to wind down, Jordan nudged me through a mind link, no words needed.

~*~

“f**k,” I grunted, holding onto the edge of the cot with one hand and gripping my short dark hair in the other.

“Shhh,” Jordan mind linked me, stopping his movements, my body bouncing back to meet him still. His breaths could be heard, but he was able to hold back his vocal response better than I could.

Once he thought I was quiet enough, he pinned my hips and resumed his covert pounding into me. I started to moan out as his strokes built a bigger fire inside me.

“Dana,” he whispered as he chuckled lowly. Switching back to mind link. “If we get caught, they'll court-martial us.”

“You shouldn't f**k me so well, then.” I mind linked back crassly, and with impatience. His stop starting was driving me crazy. And he was being dramatic. We wouldn't be kicked off the elite corp- we'd be punished for sure. But it wouldn't be that severe.

He flipped me over onto my back, leaving my warmth for the briefest of moments.

“Quiet,” he linked preemptively. Placing his hand over my mouth, he started small quick thrusts.

This time, I bit back the cries of ecstasy that wanted to rip from my body. He sat back, pulling my hips up onto his thighs as he knelt. One hand stayed in place over my mouth, the other settling his thumb into my folds. I gasped against his palm. I twisted my face, lessening his hold enough so I could capture a few fingers in my mouth. Sucking them in, I came undone. I was able to cut the cry on my throat, but only just.

“You feel so good,” Jordan moaned in my mind. His breath had changed, his arousal peaking as I came on his c**k and sucked on his digits. He liked it a little dirty.

I pulled off him, his breath cutting off with desperate surprise. I folded up onto my front and drew his s*x into my mouth, taking him as deep as possible. His fingers laced into my hair, helping me with the rhythm he needed.

He came with a hitched breath, letting a small grunt slip out as I sucked his seed into my throat.

He smoothed my hair and he withdrew. Turning my body, he lay us back onto the small cot, kissing my mouth.

“That was amazing.”

I grinned into the kiss as a response.

Jordan paused for a beat, his body tensing slightly. I pulled out of the kiss to look at him. He had a very serious look on his face all of a sudden.

I tilted my head in question.

“Dana…” his hand came to cup my face. My eyes flicked down to where my pale hand sat in contrast to the dark skin of his built chest. My heart started to beat faster.

He used his hand on my cheek to rotate my face back up. “I love you.”

No one had ever said that to me. Not in a romantic way.

“I love you too,” I whispered out loud.

His serious face broke into a big smile, his mouth capturing mine again. We snuggled down to sleep. He would normally sneak back to his own tent, but I think after our declaration he wanted to stay a little while longer.

I woke only briefly as Jordan left my tent, him giving me a sweet kiss on his way out.

~*~

We headed back to our pack, The Winding River Pack, the next day- I looked forward to seeing what our life would be like back home after our I love yous.

“I’m going to eat every form of meat they have in there,” Jordan was saying. We were walking side by side up to the pack house for dinner. We had been back to the barracks with just enough time to shower and change- we didn’t even get a quickie in.

He wasn’t holding my hand, but occasionally he would brush the side of his hand against mine, curling his pinky with mine. I couldn’t believe the butterflies that were erupting in my stomach.

Jordan had a blissfully happy look on his face. Our love declaration must be the doing, and I wondered if I had the same look on my face when I looked at him. This weekend had been amazing. We had won the trials and Jordan and my relationship had taken a step. I didn't let myself think about what this could lead to, but it was hard not to think he could ask for me to be his chosen.

We were just stepping up to the front entrance of our large pack house, when I noted that our Alpha, Luna's and Beta were standing just a little way in front, awaiting a car that had just pulled up. I wondered briefly who was visiting, just as the car door opened.

I went to mindlink Ada, our packs Beta, and my best friend, to say hi when I felt Jordan come to a halt.

Jordan turned his head to me with effort.

Our eyes met, his eyes misted- Baxter, his wolf, flickering in and out.

I knew that look. I’d seen it before.

I sucked a harsh breath in, glancing back to see a gorgeous woman who was striding towards us, having just exited the expensive looking car. She was very young, newly shifted probably and an alpha wolf. She looked familiar, but I was too stunned to stillness to remember from where, my brain going slack.

“Dana… I'm sorry,” Jordan spoke as he looked back towards the approaching woman like he was being called to- and he was.

The woman growled as she got closer, displeased with my proximity to her mate.

I swallowed thickly and stepped back and away from Jordan. I'd gotten in the way of an alpha she-wolf and her mate before. A large hollow feeling started in my chest.

Ada rushed forward, standing between me and Jordan meeting his mate. Bundling me into her side, she whisked me away.

~*~