Page 5 of A Second Chance for the Beta

I can’t possibly deny that. Dante is incredibly attractive. He is around ten years older than I am, as I’m his second-chance mate. “A baby…” I muse. “I’m not sure. I can’t quite envision myself as a mom.”

“I’m sure you would be a great mom,” Annie says. In general, she stays out of these baby talks. She told me once she doesn’t want to pressure anyone or intrude on their privacy like that.

Me as a mom… I sigh; here we are back with my destructive thoughts.

“What’s wrong?” Annie asks softly. “If you don’t want any children right now or ever, El, then that’s okay too.”

“I do,” I say. “Want children.”

“But?” Dave asks.

“Dante isn’t ready.”

“Dante?” Dave looks at me in surprise. “I thought he would be head over heels. He always says—”

“I know,” I interrupt him. “I know what he says. He says he wants to have them. But the loss of his first child hit him hard. And as his mate…” I pause. “As a mate, you just know. And I know for a fact that his heart isn’t ready yet.” When Annie looks at me worried, I shake my head. “I don’t hold it against him. What happened to him was horrible. And frankly, I meant what I said… I don’t know if I would be a good mother. There is nothing nurturing about me.”

“That’s not true, Ella,” Annie says. “You don’t need to be the motherly type to become a mom. And there is plenty of nurturing about you. Just look at how you are with me and Dave and how you treat my babies. Don’t sell yourself short.”

I let her words sink in. I’m still not sure if I can see myself as a mother; although I want to have children, I want to be a mother. “I’ve never learned what it means to be loved by a parent,” I admit. “I don’t know what parental love is.”

“But maybe this means you will have so much more to give,” Dave says. “I’m with Annie on this. You do you, and if you aren’t ready, that’s perfectly fine. But nothing is wrong with you. You have plenty to give, and because you went through so much as a child, you will have even more love to give.”

I look at my two friends, feeling all kinds of emotions. I didn’t expect them to take me so seriously… and then to say all the things they said. It makes my heart warm up. I grin. “Alright, I understand. I’m awesome.”

“That’s the spirit.” Dave beams.

You are the best,Annie links me.

They are right,Nefeli says.We might have no idea how it feels to have parents, but I’m sure we would shower our child with love!

I need to get more confident,I admit.When one day we have this talk with Dante and Sylvan, then the both of us need to be all the more confident in our ability as parents. Dante thinks he failed his first mate and their unborn pup by not protecting them. He is terrified of it happening again.

It’s not that I don’t understand,Nefeli says.But we are a warrior, we are a beta of this pack.

It’s nothing you can beat by logic,I say.Just by patience.

three

Family Heirloom

*ELLA*

Myfather’soldestfriendis a man named Emmet. He is the only one from the resistance who survived because my dad asked him to remain in the background. He tried to secretly protect me from the abuse of the old alpha and his minions and who saved my parents’ money and belongings for me. He was also the one to pay for my college tuition.

Annie and I grab the twins and walk to Emmet’s house. Since I’m with Annie, Jun was able to take a few hours off to spend with his mate and do some training.

“Luna Annalise,” Emmet greets us, already expecting us in front of his door. “And my sweet Ella. Please come in.”

“Hello, Uncle Emmet.” I allow him to hug me, although I’m not the touchy type normally, but Emmet is an exception. He is like family to me, the only connection to my family I have.

“You are finally ready, child?” he asks me softly.

“Took me long enough.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ve promised you I would keep everything until you are ready to face it,” he says, leading us inside and towards his living room. A few boxes are there, ready for us to go through. “I couldn’t save everything back in the day,” he says. “Your parents handed me all the necessary documents and access to the bank accounts before they passed. They wanted to be prepared in case something happened.” He pauses, swallowing slightly. He is always sad when he talks about them. It proves my parents’ trust in him, though… they handed him every valuable possession and trusted him to keep it safe, and he did.

“And these boxes?” I ask.