The Mark of a Beta

three

My brain is whack.

I finally make it to the pack house and sense a bit of anxiety in the air. I see some pack members grabbing their meals like usual, but there's a lot more hushed whispering compared to loud laughter and shared conversations that normally fill the space.

I see Thomas just as he drops down the final step of the stairs. His eyes travel the room until he sees me, and I visibly notice his relief at my presence.

I know I'm amazing, but I'm a little thrown off as to why he's so grateful that I'm here.

"Thank Goddess you're here," he says, gripping my arm and proceeding to do one of those weird man-shoulder-pat things. I hesitantly pat his back as others begin staring at us, or more specifically Thomas.

"Not that I'm not loving this weird fucking hug we've got going on, but why are you acting so..."

"Relieved? Because I was just in a meeting with the Dark Wood pack's representative and I was looking for any excuse to get out of there," Thomas answers, eyes wide with slight panic.

In an instant I notice the hush that has fallen around the room- nosy fuckers. I tilt my head to the side and Thomas finally realizes the audience he has amassed with his strange behavior. I leave my backpack on a random table and we both head to a random room downstairs that is away from prying eyes and listening ears. Those werewolves were anything but subtle, the shitheads.

"Alright, you're freaking me the fuck out. I thought the meeting was to help them with a witch problem. Are they making threats? Shit, if they are then I'm going to die! I don't have any training! Fucking hell, I need to pack 10 boxes of poptarts to get me through a few months-"

Thomas' genuine smile, no matter how small, at my idiotic comments bring me joy. I was only trying to get him to calm down and take a breath. He seemed so worried. I was only half serious about the poptarts...

"Nah, nothing like that! It's just... those pack members are nothing like anyone I've ever met before," he says, his eyes turning contemplative once again.

"Is it Alpha Grayson up there with Alicia and our Alpha and Luna?" I ask. If so, I need to find an excuse to go up there and crash the party. I'll be the judge if the rumors are true or not surrounding his appearance.

"No, their Alpha didn't come."

Now I'm disappointed. And I'm still hungry.

"But," he continues, "the Beta came with three of their pack guards. And lemme tell you, the Beta is scary as hell."

My ears perk up at this new information. There are rumors surrounding the Beta of the Dark Wood pack, but not as many as there are surrounding the Alpha. The man is a mystery to me and the rest of the wolves I've overheard talking about him. The Dark Wood pack has been under new leadership for about a year while the Alpha and Beta are only 20 years old. They're pretty fucking young to be running a pack, but they seem to be doing a good job.

No wars have broken out or anything, so that must mean they're doing okay.

While the ladies can't stop talking about the mateless Alpha with blue-gray eyes, there is an air of mystery around the Beta. Through the grapevine I've heard that he doesn't talk much and displays little emotion compared to his counterpart who can at least act diplomatic.

I wonder why he would send his Beta if he couldn't play nice with other wolves.

I curiously want to know more.

"What makes him so fucking scary?" I ask, sitting down on one of the five brown leather couches in this room. What room needs this many couches and this much leather? The interior designer needs to be fired because this room is hideous!

"It's not so much what he says, but it's what he doesn't say. Which is a lot. He just stares at you, looking deep into your soul where it feels like he has the ability to peer into it, find your weaknesses, and exploit them!" Thomas' hands get animated as he speaks more. His eyes have widened again, and I can tell he's truly put off by this Beta.

"Then it's a good thing he's not our enemy," I say, patting his shoulder.

"I guess. The dude is intense. You should see him. He just nods and says 'yes' or 'no' most of the time. He doesn't seem to talk very much," Thomas adds.

I can't relate to that guy. I talk way too much. I'll never understand why people don't like to talk. And people that don't like attention? I can't begin to understand it. I love when people pay attention to me. I'm pretty great, so it makes sense.

There's also something deep in my chest that is begging for me to meet this Beta. To uncover his secrets, to figure out why the hell he's so mysterious and intense and quiet. There must be something deeper about him.

"So... not to call you out or anything, but shouldn't you be up there in the meeting? You are the Beta's mate," I ask him.

Thomas blushes. He actually fucking blushes.

"About that... I was mindlinking Alicia because the dude was seriously putting me off. She said that I could take a break and say I had to use the restroom, so I got out of there and came downstairs. I found you shortly after," Thomas explains all while twiddling with his fingers.

"So you were scared as fuck and your mate let you be a pussy? That's anticlimactic. I thought at least some fight would have broken out, or you got in some heated argument and had to- OW!" I scream out as Thomas punches me- hard- in the arm. "What the fuck was that for?"

I massage my arm that is throbbing from the impact of my friend's fist.

"I'm not a pussy! I just, you know, needed a break. I- I just... You're supposed to be my friend!" Thomas whines and I sort of feel bad for him, so I just laugh at him and shove him a little.

"I'm fucking with you. Although, I'm curious about that Beta. Can I come up with you?" Then a plan hatches. "Wait! Let's prank them! Do you still have those air horns?"

Thomas sees the resolve on my face and immediately shakes his head.

"Cooper, no! No, no, no, you can't! This could ruin relations with this pack if we fuck this up. Right now, we have the upper hand in giving them important information that they don't have. We can't have them think lesser of us."

Fuck, he makes sense. Maybe another time...

"Fine, I hear you," I mumble. I'm so fucking disappointed. That shit would have been hilarious, but the last thing I want is to take one of my pranks too far and ruin something for the pack.

"I know you hear me. Tell me you're not going to prank that Beta."

"I'm not going to prank the Beta," I say in a monotone voice. I then whisper, "today."

"COOPER!"

I'm already running away, cackling as I go.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I just finished writing the part where Cooper and Axel meet and I really think you guys are going to love it! Next post is on Wednesday :)

Q: If you could be any mythological/supernatural creature, what would you be? (besides werewolf, let's be more original, folks)

A: A phoenix, they're badass and literally die and come back to life

Love you all,

Xx alexia