Beta (complete)

12

I sat in my office, listening to Rachel's steady breathing from the exam room. I wasn't sure why Zac insisted on staying in there with her while I continued to read but I wasn't in any position to question him. After all, I was only a pack doctor and the Beta's wife and he was the Alpha of one of the most elite packs in the world, next to the royals of course. Zac wasn't really close to anyone except Titus. I mean, he was friendly with me and I was probably one of the only people he allowed to tease him but that didn't mean I could question him. There was just a line of respect I never planned on crossing with him. He was Alpha and I deeply respected him for that.

"Liz," Zac called.

I welcomed the interruption so I made my way down the hall to the sterile exam room. Rachel was awake but barely. She looked like she was in immense pain and I didn't doubt it.

I checked her vitals while she watched me carefully but said nothing. She only flinched from time to time if I brushed against a cut.

"Where are you from, Rachel?" I asked quietly.

Her amber eyes examined me as if deciding whether or not to trust me and Zac. I couldn't blame her, especially knowing what kind of life she must have come from.

"I'm not from a pack," she said in her little, light, voice.

"You don't have rogue markings," I pointed out.

She shook her head a little as she sat up, "I'm not a rogue. I've never belonged to a pack. I was raised somewhere else."

"Where's that?" I asked gently.

"I can't," she started but cut herself off as she looked down at her hands.

"Where did you get these?" I asked as I pointed to her thin thigh.

She shook her head in response.

I sighed and looked to Zac for some help but he clearly wanted to stay out of it for now.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Do you know where you are?"

She nodded, "Thunder Pack."

I nodded, "My name is Elizabeth. I'm the pack doctor and the Beta's mate. Zac," I motioned behind her, "is the Alpha. He found you on our eastern boarder and brought you here. Can you tell me what you're doing here?"

"My former sister-in-law took my little sister and I tracked her here."

"Did she do this to you?"

She shook her head, "No. I just want my sister," she whispered.

"Do you know what could have happened if he found you in wolf form?" I asked.

I couldn't keep the irritation out of my voice because this girl had no idea what she had walked into. Zac was fair but if she went on the defensive, he would have killed her on sight.

Her amber eyes watered and tears rolled down her alabaster cheeks. I instantly felt bad for taking that tone with her but how couldn't she have known?

"Please, I just want my sister back. I'm supposed to be raising her and this happened," her voice shook with emotion.

"What is your sister's name?" I asked.

"Brittany," she mumbled.

My stomach dropped, "And your sister-in-law?"

"Her name is Claire," she whispered.

My eyes shot to Zac. He looked surprised but angry at once. I knew there was something weird going on! I should have guessed she would be crazy enough to kidnap a girl just to weasel her way back into Titus's life.

"How old is your sister?"

"She'll be six next week. Do you know where she is?"

"We know Claire," I said bitterly, "My husband will find her."

I sighed in frustration, "I need you to fill out some paperwork."

Her pale cheeks flamed with color at the mention of filling out paperwork.

"I, um, I can't."

"You can't?" I asked confused.

"No. I don't know how," she whispered.

"Can you read?" I asked softly.

She shook her head, "I wasn't allowed."

I started but stopped myself, "Where were you raised?" I asked again.

She shook her head, "I can't talk about it."

"Order of the Mystics?" I asked though I already knew the answer.

Her head shot up as she searched my face. No one, except for members, knew the name or meeting locations. Only the families involved knew of the group. I had never even spoken the name to Titus and he didn't press me for information. I was lucky; I was intellectually gifted but most people weren't. The only reason I stood a chance at leaving the Order was because I stole books from my niece. I was smart enough to know that when my parents sent me to my brother's I was never going back to the Order.

"My parents were members," I told her in hopes she would open up.

"How are you here?" She asked.

"My parents died and I stayed with my brother in the pack he was born into. Five years ago, I met my husband and joined this pack."

"They killed my parents," she said. Even though there was no anger in her voice, I could tell it still hurt.

I nodded, "Mine too."

This was the first person I could really relate to with my hatred for the Order. Sure, Adrian hated them but he still had his parents, regardless of whether or not they accepted him, they were alive for him to one day mend that broken bridge. I would never be able to try to help my parents but at the same time, if they hadn't died, I might never have left. It really was a double edge sword.

"You should get some rest," I suggested.

"I'll take her to my house," Zac finally spoke up.

I raised an eyebrow in skepticism but didn't say anything in opposition.

"Okay. I'll check up tonight," I said.

Zac nodded and was already scooping her into his arms. Her blush gave away exactly how innocent she was. I could relate; when I met Titus I was a virgin and very innocent to the ways of men. Hell, I was still fairly innocent since Titus was the only man I had ever been with and I just recently started exploring more sexual behavior with him. Feminine innocence was something the Order demanded. We were to stay pure until the Master said otherwise. Usually, the Master took the virginity of the young girls as a type of coming of age ritual. Thankfully, I was spared long enough for my parents to send me away but I couldn't say the same for the majority of the other girls my age. It was a twisted community and I had no idea how anyone would willing join it but my parents had been sucked in wholeheartedly, same as Adrian's parents.

I quickly grabbed my bag from my office and called Titus on my way to my car. I didn't want to admit that I was actually terrified of Claire and what she was capable of. If she was willing to kidnap a child, enroll them in school, and pretend to be someone else just so I would admit to being Titus's wife, there's not much she wouldn't be willing to do.

"Hey, Lizzy," he answered.

"Hey. Christian is with you, right?"

"Yeah he's right here. Why?"

"Brittany isn't Claire's daughter. She kidnapped her and enrolled her in Christian's class to get close."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Zac found a girl on patrol and brought her to me because she was hurt bad. When she woke up she told us she was here trying to get her sister back and it all came out."

"This is getting out of hand," he muttered more to himself.

"Couldn't agree more. I don't want him in school while she is on a rampage. There's no telling what she will do."

"Okay. I'll call the school and let them know what is going on."

"Do you know where to find her?" I asked.

"I think so. I'll try to find her again and see if I can get the kid back."

I hated that he wanted to go find her on his own. As much as he assured me he only love me, I couldn't help but be jealous. It was in my nature to be territorial and Claire was just bringing every repressed emotion to the surface.

"Okay."

"Where are you?"

"Leaving work. I'll get Christian so you can go find her."

"Okay. I'll see you in a minute. Bye," he said.

"Bye."

I slipped my phone into the outer pocket of my bag and started back towards Titus's office. It wasn't far from my own which I liked for situations like this where I could just run and grab Christian.

I thought about this entire situation but something didn't feel entirely right. How ironic was it that Brittany and Rachel belonged to the Order? It was odd that Claire's mate must have as well. I felt like I was missing a connection somewhere but I wasn't going to harp on it because my main focus was to keep Christian away from her. If she was willing to kidnap someone else's kid, she would have no moral qualms in taking mine. Then again, I had a strong feeling it wasn't really Christian she was after. Her ultimate goal was to have Titus back but that was never going to happen naturally. No one in their right mind would ever reject their mate because it was so rare to actually find them in the first place. Marriages usually ended if one party found their mate. I would imagine that would be a rough situation but it wasn't unheard of. How could she honestly expect Titus to leave me for her? I would rather die than ever see them together because the pain of him rejecting me after all this time would be unbearable anyway. I would be better off dead if he ever decided to leave me and take Christian back to her but she didn't really want Christian back; she wanted the security that came with being the wife of the Beta. It was a status symbol that I couldn't care less about but to her, it was everything. She wanted Titus for his power and his money, not for him and Christian. I couldn't believe this was the woman he had a child with. Just the thought of it made me angry. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got and I needed to stop. I couldn't change the past and the fact that he had a son with another woman, a crazy one at that but I could choose how I wanted to spend my future with him. I wanted, needed, to let it go and not second him or myself because if this situation hasn't broken us yet, I seriously doubted anything would. He was my mate, that was all there was to it.

I parked and made my way up to Titus's office once again. Amy waved at me, on the phone as usual so I politely waved back. She was a nice girl and she had worked for Titus for years, since before I met him, and she was quite loyal. I never felt threatened by her even though from time to time I did catch her admiring him. It was only natural for her to do so though. Titus was an extremely attractive man and I think he knew it. He wasn't overly cocky about it but he certainly knew how physically attracted I was to him and used it to his advantage more often than not.

Christian sat behind Titus's desk and waved at me as I walked in the room but I didn't see Titus anywhere. I could here him on the phone though.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

He pointed to the balcony just outside his office where I could see him absently walking back an forth on the phone. He looked frustrated but still remained calm in typical Titus fashion.

"Are we going home?" Christian asked.

"Do you want to go home?"

"No. I wanna see a movie."

I thought for a moment. A movie might not be a bad idea. It was a nice public place and until I found the missing link in this insanity that was quickly falling on us, I didn't want to be home without Titus. I wasn't sure how far Claire was willing to go but I wouldn't put it past her to stalk our home.

"Okay," I agreed.

"Really?! You'll take me on a school night?"

"Yep. Get your stuff ready," I prompted.

He started packing his backpack as Titus walked back inside and closed the French door behind him.

"I'm meeting her here in twenty minutes."

"How did you get her to come?"

"I told her I wanted to talk about everything and to bring her daughter to meet Christian."

I held back the irritation because I knew it was just an act but I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep my cool with this situation. I felt myself starting to lose my carefully composed grip and just become a feral wolf in Claire's presence but that wouldn't do anyone any good.

He ran his hands over my hips and linked his fingers together on the small of my back, pulling me as close as possible.

"You are so sexy when you're jealous," he whispered in my ear.

I rolled my eyes and pushed on his chest but he wasn't releasing me any time soon. He nipped at my ear, effectively sending a shiver down my spine. That man certainly knew how to win me over.

"I'm not letting you out of our room from the second I step through the front door," he said as he kissed me lightly and released me.

I tossed him a pointed look but his smug grin let me know he wasn't buying my indifference. He knew the affect he had on me, especially when he made promises like that.

"I love you, Lizzy. I'll see you in a bit," he said.

"I love you too."

Christian started pulling my hand, excitedly trying to get me to leave.

"Aren't you going to say bye to Dad?"

He released my hand and jumped up for Titus to pick him up. He hugged him but quickly came back to me in an attempt to get me to leave. I shook my head lightly and told Titus we would be at the movies for a bit but we would be home right after.

I loaded Christian into my car just as I noticed Claire pulling up with Brittany. I didn't want her to see Christian and blow the entire thing so I quickly shut the door. She looked over at me and smirked like she had won some prize but little did she know she was being set up. She thought Titus would cheat on me with her or something and then divorce me but that would never happen. If he didn't want to be with me, he would never cheat on me. He would simply tell me and divorce me whether I liked it or not. One thing I could always count on Titus for was brutal honesty.





This one is a little slow, I know. From here on out, things escalate rapidly. Next chapter we find out exactly what Rachel means to Zac and why he is so concerned for her!

And yes, it is 4:30 in the morning.


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