Page 81 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“You did,” Annie reassures me.

“In a way, I think Charlie did heal Dante and me, much more than we realized,” I admit. “Everyone always says that she is lucky we found her, but we are just as lucky.”

I think of the day Dante received the call from his mom. The fact that it didn’t make him spiral downwards for days shows how much he has healed by now. The three of us have become a family, and I’m going to do everything to keep this family.

Charlie beams happily when she sees me. She is even happier when she realizes that Annie and I brought her snacks and breakfast from the packhouse. I sit with her for a bit, cuddling her while we catch up. I give her a teenage-appropriate version of what happened at the mission yesterday, minus the fact that she is a hybrid. This information I will save for later. I also haven’t told her yet that I think her father is out for her. This is something I really want to be certain about before tossing it at her.

The fact we have new leads instantly raises Charlie’s mood. “Now I just hope I can get out of the hospital fast.”

“Don’t worry about that. They just want to monitor you for a few more hours,” I reassure her, brushing over her head. “But tonight when Annie and I return from work you can come home.”

“Good.” She sighs in relief. “It’s not bad here, but I prefer being home.”

“Is Austen still here?” I ask her.

“Yes, he has a few check-ups now. I am going to work on my comic until he is done. Then he will come so that we can watch a movie. Gisela is in school but will visit after,” Charlie explains. “And Jazz and Livia promised to come too.”

“Good, then I don’t need to be worried that you die of boredom,” I joke.

Charlie giggles. “I’ll be fine.”

Annie leaves us alone for a few minutes, and I spend the time just chatting with my girl and promising her a dinner of her wishes. She wants chicken drumsticks with rice and coleslaw salad, which I can easily promise her.

When Annie and I leave her, we both see Austen walking down the corridor, a happy smile on his face. Annie grins. “Charlie will be sixteen soon, and when we tackle the threat, she will finally have a normal school life. So, bets on Austen inviting her to prom?”

I chuckle. “Not going to bet against that, but I’m curious how Dante is going to take it. He almost had a heart attack the last time she talked about boys.”

“I don’t even want to know how Liam is going to handle it once our girls reach dating age,” Annie says. “Good thing they are still so small. Plenty of time left.”

Shoot, this reminds me that she is working so much again at the moment instead of spending time with the family. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. I bet you would prefer being with your girls and mate.”

“El,” Annie says earnestly. “Yes, I’m a mom and I’m a wife, but I’m also a luna and a friend. Work needs to get done, and sometimes I need to be the one who does it. Today, the girls are with Liam. I actually think it’s good for them to spend individual time with him too.”

“Just don’t stretch yourself too thin,” I say.

“I won’t,” she promises. “My mom is coming this weekend and will stay for a week to be with her grandchildren. It will give Liam and me the chance to focus on your problem here,” she pauses. “And have sex.”

I laugh at her last words. “Yep, seems like when you are parents, every minute counts.”

“Mom said she would babysit so that Liam and I can go out,” she explains. “I can’t wait for it.”

“Let’s hope Silas can provide some answers,” I say. “So that we all can have some date nights soon.”

“Well, at least we got Richie’s picture cleared up,” Annie says. “Our little IT team did it. I am going to take it to Silas to show it to him. Liam also talked to Dalila yesterday night. She is eager to help.”

“Dante will make sure that Richie finishes the sketch of Imogen today.” I pause. “Poor kid.”

“Yes,” Annie says quietly. “Another problem we have at hand. So far there is no one with the name of Imogen in the database of the town’s hospital. She probably worked there under a false name. I bet she only did it to pry on her future victim. Richie had no chance.” She shakes her head. “Seems like she just waited for him to be of age. Of course, it doesn’t salvage him from the fact that he closed his eyes to the obvious red flags she and her team gave him, but…” Her voice trails off.

“I know what you mean,” I say. “It makes me feel uncomfortable even thinking about it. I don’t hold it against him, although it involves Charlie and me. But if it wasn’t Richie, they would have found another victim to manipulate. At least Richie cooperated the moment he realized what was happening.”

“Yes, but what are we going to do with him now?” Annie asks. “He knows so much about our world now and about us.” She sighs. “Well, I need to put this problem aside for now. Visiting Silas is more important.”

I agree with her, and we hurry back to the packhouse. Jun is already waiting for us, and to my surprise, Raffy is here too. “Alpha asked me to accompany you,” he mutters. “I… I hope you don’t mind, Luna.”

“Not at all,” Annie says with a smile. “With Ella, Jun, and you guarding me, nothing can happen.”

“Hopefully you will survive a day without Dave,” I tease.