Page 70 of A Second Chance for the Beta

*ELLA*

Despitethescarewehad, Charlie recovers just fine. None of the tests show anything to worry about—her body is fine. Liam promised us that he will run more tests and try to get to the depth of her issue.

Her eyes carry a hint of purple now, and she seems to be seeing a lot better. That alone is not a matter of concern. What concerns us is the way it happens and her age. Such a change has never happened before… not that we know of at least.

Annie is particularly absent-minded.

“Don’t try to force it,” Liam tells her.

“I know. Constantly thinking about it makes it even worse,” she groans. “But it’s there. I’ve heard about this before.”

“You mean the purple eyes, Luna?” Stella, our pack witch, asks. She has beautiful, luscious red hair and is an overall sweet and bubbly person.

“Not just the eyes, the whole… eye- and nose-bleeding thing rings a bell too.” She furrows her brows. “I don’t know if I read about it or heard it somewhere. Or maybe-” She frowns. “Yes… I think it’s nothing I read; it’s something someone told me!”

“See, we are getting there,” Liam says.

“He is right,” Dave says. “It’s somewhere stored in your mind. Maybe I can help you? Let’s get out of here to somewhere calm and try some techniques. I did learn a bit about memory exercises. The old-fashioned human way, but I think that’s what you might need.”

“That’s a good idea,” Annie says. “Let’s get going instantly, Dave.” She turns to us. “That is if you don’t need anything else from me?”

“No, we are fine,” Liam reassures her. “Aryanna and Jazz are currently dressing up the warrior Ari and Ella chose, and then Dante and Ella are ready to go on their date.”

Annie nods, squeezing my shoulder reassuringly before she and Dave leave the meeting room. Jun follows her as her gamma to keep an eye on her while the rest of us remain.

Portia, who is Stella’s fated one, her mate in witch terms, is here with us too. She has witch blood in her, but she can’t do any magic. Her true powers lie in her human nature. She is cunning and intelligent. “I told Ye-Joon to spread the word,” she says, leaning back and tapping her fingers against each other. She has long nails, colored black. Her whole attire is black and a bit mysterious. It’s her thing. “I did so myself too. I’m not sure if it will be enough, but I did all I could.”

“It has to be,” Liam says. “Ella and Dante need to make a show, though.”

“Oh, we will,” I say. “I’m going to dress extra flashy today. And I even made an Instagram post about how Dante and I will celebrate our three-month anniversary with our niece.”

“Ye-Joon and I made a few social media posts too,” Portia says. “Concerning our special guests. Let’s put it like this: you are expected.”

“Awesome,” I say, rubbing my hands against each other. “I will use the afternoon to get ready.”

“Then it’s all set,” Liam says. “Good luck, everyone.”

I didn’t lie when I said I would be going all out and dress as flashy as possible. My goal is to wear an outfit that will basically tell everyone that I’m here but also make Dante ogle me. Why not have both? I’m pretty much the jeans and tank top kind of girl, and I know he likes me the way I am, but I kind of want to see the look in his eyes when I actually show up in a hot dress.

I choose a tight red slightly glittery cocktail dress that I bought on a shopping trip with Dave and Annie, when all of us felt particularly bold and wanted to get some adventurous choices. Needless to say neither of us has put theirs to the test yet, but today is the day. I add the necklace I inherited from my mother and some earrings.

I decide to make a pretty dramatic walk down the staircase of the packhouse. I don’t like being the center of attention, but in this dress even I feel a bit extra. Some of the unmated wolves stare at me when they see me just to turn away flustered when they notice Dante’s glare of doom.

I didn’t know this is what you meant when you said you would make sure we would get noticed,he links me.

Don’t you like it?I ask.

Are you kidding?he says.You look fantastic. I can’t believe you are mine.

He puts a protective arm around my shoulder the moment I reach his side. I’m not usually a fan of a guy showing too much of a dominant behavior towards me, but for Dante, I will make an exception any time.

Lane, the female warrior who poses as Charlie, greets us at the car. Ari and Jazz did a great job with her hair and outfit. She has purple strands in her hair, just like Charlie, and wears an owl sweater and a plaited skirt from Charlie’s wardrobe. She looks both nervous and excited at the same time, but the moment we get into the car and drive off, she is all business. We go through a few details, but despite all our planning we have to be spontaneous this time.

Dante parks the car in a rather dark and secluded alley so we are away from prying human eyes just in case someone wants to attack us here. Unfortunately, our opponents don’t make it that easy for us; they don’t attack us. So, we have to go with the original plan.

Ye-Joon and Portia’s bar is an amazing place. If it weren’t for an actual mission, I would have truly enjoyed it. For now, though, Nefeli is on high alert, using her gift to constantly scan our surroundings for anyone trying to make a move on us.

Ye-Joon makes sure to greet us in a loud voice, welcoming us to his bar. The three of us sit down at one of the tables right in the middle… for everyone to see, and Dante makes sure to mention Charlie’s name plenty of times. We order a lot of food just so that it won’t look weird that we stay for as long as possible.