Page 12 of A Second Chance for the Beta

I roll my eyes while he leads me deeper into the building. We pass by a few Council members. Some of them greet Dave, some seem to be nervous to have him around. He appears to be completely unfazed.

“Hello, Jason!” Dave waves at a middle-aged man, who glares at him. Dave completely ignores his hostile behavior. “How is Clara?”

“She told me to say hello,” Jason says begrudgingly.

Dave pretends not to notice it and instead just beams. “She is such a sweetheart! Tell her I will give her a call soon.”

Jason just grumbles, but before he can say something, Dave has pulled me along. “I see you got the hang of things,” I grin.

“I learned that if you can’t get the assholes on your side, you can definitely befriend their wives and mates.” Dave chuckles. “And I wasn’t lying. Clara is an absolute sweetheart.”

“How did Liam manage to make the Council react so fast to my problem?” I ask him. “Don’t get me wrong, I know they look into cases like mine, but it’s only been a few days.”

“Alpha Liam emphasized how dangerous it would be to have a teenage wolf within humans, someone who probably doesn’t know what they are.” Dave laughs. “I didn’t know he could be that cunning. We don’t even know if the kid is living with the humans. Could as well be part of a pack. How does he do that? Everyone always seems to listen to him.”

His explanation makes sense. Liam probably pulled a few tricks out of his sleeve to make them work faster, plus he is an Alcott, a golden child for the Council.

“Liam has been raised to become alpha,” I tell Dave. “Ever since he was born. As the firstborn child of a reigning royal lycan alpha, that alone set him up to be blessed with lots of gifts.” I pause. “But it’s not just that. His father had him study and learn a lot. He knows how to carry himself in difficult political situations. That’s why everyone respects him so much.”

“Makes sense,” Dave says. “There had to be a lot of pressure on him,” he points out.

Liam’s father is a great alpha and a generous man. He loves his family and his pack, but Liam is his first child and heir. They have a great relationship, but I assume it wasn’t always easy.

But when is it ever?

I sometimes wonder how it would be if my dad was still around. He came from a strong beta lineage, and my mom even had a bit of alpha blood in her. I’m sure they would have pushed me to reach my potential, especially with the gift I have. I’m sure I would have hated that sometimes, but at the same time, I wish I had these moments to butt heads with my parents and to just feel their love, their hope, even their expectations of me.

All I had was people to shun and neglect me until I met Annie and Dave as a teen.

I want to make sure that Charlie, no matter how old he is now, will have a family. That he will have love, security, and the chance to develop and grow.

“You are quiet,” Dave says. “Is everything alright?”

“No,” I say honestly. “I’m worried.”

“We will find Charlie, El.”

“Dave…” I pause, finally daring to say what I didn’t dare to voice in front of Dante. He lost a child once, and I don’t want him to help me just to be faced with disappointment again. “I’m scared. What if Charlie… you know…”

I can barely say it, but Dave understands nevertheless.

“Liam told me that strong wolves can feel the bond to their family,” he says quietly. “And your wolf is strong, isn’t she?”

Very strong,Nefeli says proudly.

I blink, understanding what Dave is hinting at. Why did I not think about it?Nefeli… can you feel it? A bond to a family member?

She seems to be confused at first but then just grumbles.I can’t believe we needed a human to tell us we could try that. Give me a moment!She walks around, trying to make herself comfortable. I can feel her relax in my mind. Despite being suppressed for the first years of her existence, she never harbored any resentment towards me or the goddess or anyone else… well… minus our old shithead alpha of course.

She is proud and strong, slightly impatient when our mate fucks up, but she is also such a good friend to me.

I’m not sure,she says.Ella… there is something… it’s faint and far away, but I’m picking up something in the distance.

Wait… you feel something!?

Yes,she says.I feel the existence of a young wolf related to us.

“Dave,” I exclaim, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “You are the best.”