Page 45 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“Oh, Levi’s coming?” Ty asks.

Austen nods, a smile curling his lips. “Levi is my older cousin,” he explains to me. “He is like a brother. He stayed with my parents and me for a few years, then he went to college. He is currently staying with a different pack to learn more about the work of a spy.” It’s obvious how proud Austen is of his cousin.

I smile at him. “He sounds like a great guy.”

“Must run in the family,” Gisela points out.

“I agree,” I say with a nod. Austen is a great guy, too, nice and smart.

Austen looks a bit flustered. “Stop teasing me.”

“We are not teasing you,” Gisela says. “Now if we said that about Ty, then it would be a different issue.”

I laugh while Ty grumbles under his breath. We hang out for a bit longer, and eventually Ty gives me Rob’s phone number. I don’t really feel like dating anyone at the moment, but maybe it would be fun to just meet someone outside of the pack for once.

sixteen

Potatoes

*CHARLIE*

Iswiftlyreturnhomejust to get it over with and get reprimanded, but Ella doesn’t mention my earlier outburst again. Dante takes a break from work to check on the both of us and doesn’t scold me either, aside from asking me to be more careful and not send another boy to hospital. For a second I consider telling them about Rob and how he seems to be interested in me. Then I drop it, though. That’s too private to share, and I can certainly handle a date myself.

Before dinner, I find myself strolling around the pack grounds again and watching some of the animals. They have a little farm here, which is kind of cute. It’s there that I bump into Jun, the gamma.

“Here you are,” he says.

“Have you been looking for me?”

“Ella was,” he admits. “She said you didn’t take your phone with you.”

My heart tightens as sudden fear overcomes me. I don’t know why I feel that way; it makes no sense, but I can hardly shake the anxiety off. “Did something happen? Are she and Uncle Dante okay?”

“Yes,” he reassures me. “Nothing happened. She just wanted you to know that dinner is ready in an hour.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“So, who did you beat this time?” he asks. He is a quiet and introverted guy, but nice. He is not as stern as the alpha and not as serious as Dante.

“A misogynist boy in school,” I say.

Jun’s lips tug slightly in amusement. “I think you will make a good warrior one day if you get your temper in check.”

“You mean I could learn how to fight?”

Jun eyes me thoughtfully. “Why don’t you get a private trainer to help you train your wolf senses and learn how to release some steam?”

I blink at his suggestion. Learning how to defend myself sounds great actually! Some days, I just want to beat something and can barely keep my anger in check. Why didn’t I think of that before!? “Where can I sign up?”

“Well,” Jun looks amused. “You would need to ask the beta. He is the one organizing the training schedules.”

Wait… this means I need to ask Dante? I groan inwardly. He is always super tentative that I won’t get hurt, and then he is also… well… I’ve not been too nice to him. Or rather, I’m absolutely shit to him all the time, and now it’s him I have to ask a favor from. Karma is truly a bitch.

But once I set my mind on something, I have a hard time not thinking about it. And I don’t want to chicken out. Don’t be a chicken, Charlie, be an owl! Not sure if owls are brave, but in my mind they are.

Jun is so kind as to show me towards Dante’s office in the packhouse, an area I haven’t seen so far. I’ve only been in the alpha’s office once, when he made me a pack member, which was super cool with a silver knife and blood and all!

Jun knocks at the door and leads me inside. “Beta Dante, your niece wanted to talk to you.”