Page 23 of Beta and the Beast (Beastverse #2)

Henry

G etting pizza took a little longer than we hoped it would. There's a place right down the street that has them for carry out in record time, but they were busier than usual, something about some game. Who knows, Romulus and I aren't as into sports as our dynamic would have people think we are.

Whatever, don't care because we're about to go home to our girl, and there's a good chance we get to tell her we want her.

Not just for tonight, oh no, we're down bad for her.

If she lets us, we want to mark her, claim her, and keep her in our bed until we're sure she'll smell like us no matter how many cans of odor neutralizer she uses on herself.

I open the gate that leads to the stairs behind the bakery, and my nose twitches. It's normal for there to be various scents as I'm walking around. Other alphas, omegas, little hints of betas. What's strange is smelling anyone other than myself when I head up the stairs.

Fenrir fucked with how thoroughly we had this place marked when he forced his scent all over Sarah's apartment.

We had to turn the filtration system on, something we plan on turning right back off as soon as possible.

I want her apartment to smell of us. I want her to get used to it because that's what it's always going to smell like.

And we need to rub ourselves against her. Need to smell like her. Need her on our skin.

I take the steps two at a time back to the apartment, but when I reach the top, I freeze. I take a few quick inhales, noticing it's not just Fenrir and Lilah's scent invading our space. Oh no, it's another alpha.

I inhale hard again as Romulus takes over. He thinks our beta might be in trouble. The alpha's scent is familiar, but I can't place it, and I'm not thinking rationally enough to tell Romulus not to go in full growl, ready to fight someone.

He may have told Sarah he wouldn't fight alphas for her, but that was more so in the sense that he's not about to go out and pick fights to show off his strength. He has no issue protecting what's his. If an alpha is encroaching on our beta's space, that's something she needs protection from.

Sarah's front door is unlocked, which makes Romulus growl even louder before swinging it open.

All the lights are on, so we can easily make out the scene in front of us.

Our sweet beta is standing in front of a shaking alpha, already looking at the ground and offering up his neck in submission.

Romulus shakes his head, confused about our beta putting herself between us and a competitor, but then he takes a second to really look at him.

" Jace? " Romulus snaps, his growl reverberating through the room like he's beyond pissed off. And, sure, he is, but more than that, he's surprised.

"Romulus, stop scaring him," Sarah tells him, standing with her hands on her hips as Jace tries to cower further behind her.

We must be putting off a lot of pissed-off pheromones to be scaring the kid so badly. Even Vilkas is terrified since he's probably in control of the body right now, and he isn't lunging at us or trying to fight.

Romulus gives me control of our body now that he knows the only threat in the apartment is him. He huffs in smug appreciation at me calling him a threat, and I shake my head to keep myself from laughing while tensions are so high.

"Sorry about that," I say, moving over to the kitchen area and setting the pizza box down before broaching what's happening and why Jace is in Sarah's apartment.

Get him out. Can't fuck our beta into submission if he's here.

Can't kick him out without looking like an asshole.

Our beta doesn't like assholes.

Guess we're not getting laid tonight, then.

Romulus grumbles his disapproval but doesn't argue with the assessment of our situation.

We can be disappointed that telling Sarah how we feel will have to wait.

What we're not going to do is make Jace feel even worse about whatever's going on with him.

He wouldn't have come here if he thought he had other options, so we need to figure out what happened.

"Are you hungry?" I ask Vilkas.

I've already pulled down a plate from one of Sarah's cupboards and added two slices for her. I walk over to where she's standing in front of the younger beast, ready to tell me to back off. My lip twitches upward in appreciation at her ferocity in keeping the young safe.

"Protective, little beta," I whisper to her as I hand her the plate of food I made for her. Her cheeks stain a pretty shade of pink as I turn my attention to the male behind her. "Vilkas, food?"

The beast perks up at hearing his name, and he lifts his lashes enough to flash me a peek at his golden irises. He gives me a brief nod, his body still shaking. I can only imagine the pheromones Romulus was putting off to have him so shaken.

Sarah watches me closely as I turn my back on them and return to the kitchen.

Trying to prove that I'm not a threat to anyone in the apartment will be easy.

I just won't let Romulus out again. He's not a threat either, but Sarah and Vilkas need to feel secure so Jace can regain control of his body and tell us what happened.

I'm sure Vilkas can, but talking to the alpha is usually easier than talking to the beast. Beasts can be dramatic.

I am not dramatic.

"How many slices do you want?" I call over my shoulder.

"Two?" Vilkas asks more than makes a statement, but it's good that he's at least speaking.

I grab him two slices and slide them onto a plate before doing the same for myself. There's no way two slices will fill me up, but I only bought the one pizza because I thought it would be Sarah and me tonight. I need to make sure she and the young get enough.

When I return to the living room, Sarah's speaking to Vilkas in a hushed tone.

I can't make out what she's saying, and it makes me want to be closer to her so I can catch every word.

Instead, I keep myself firmly planted beside the couch while I wait for her to finish.

Vilkas's golden eyes briefly meet mine before returning to Sarah's.

He ducks his head in a nod before moving to the couch and standing beside it.

"Sit," Sarah says, and I don't know if she's talking to Vilkas or me, but we both move at the same time.

I slide a plate over to the younger beast and then stare at Sarah.

She has her plate of food in one hand, the other on her hip, and she's watching the two of us like she's not quite sure what to do with us.

I have the urge to wrap an arm around her waist and tug her into my lap so I can feed her by hand, but something tells me she won't like that in front of Jace, so I control myself.

"Will you eat, please?" I ask her, smiling when she gives me her full attention. Her brows furrow in confusion, so I add. "I need to make sure you have enough to eat before I eat."

This time, it isn't just Sarah looking at me like I've lost my mind; Vilkas is doing it too.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the younger beast opening his mouth to ask something, and there's a chance he asks something crass.

Beasts are immature and vulgar in general, mix that with him being a seventeen-year-old boy, and there's a good chance no one in this room, including Jace, wants whatever Vilkas is about to ask to leave his thoughts.

"Think about if it's worth asking," I say, low and neutral. I don't want him going back to being scared, but he needs to know there's no way I'm going to allow him to be inappropriate around my beta.

Vilkas closes his mouth, his eyes narrowing on me. I watch him in my peripheral vision, but don't bother turning to face him completely. I don't want him to think I'm getting him in trouble, but a stern warning is good for any alpha to get, especially when they might take things too far.

There's a huff beside me on the couch before Vilkas grabs a slice of his pizza and devours it like an animal.

I can't say much because it's not pretty when Romulus is out to eat.

Sarah seems not to mind it either, but then again, she has family dinners where Fenrir is out and about, so she's probably used to some of the quirks beasts have. Another reason she'd be perfect for us.

Perfect for me.

Us. Stop trying to keep her all for yourself already.

Well, she will be mine, and sometimes I will share her with you. That's more than fair.

I roll my eyes and don't even dignify that remark with any of my own. Romulus can pretend all day long that he's the only one Sarah wants, but we both know that isn't true.

" Are you two dating? " Vilkas asks, his voice muffled by his full mouth. His words are distorted since he's not used to being in control of speaking. He sounds angry, but from all the times we've worked on letting him out more at the Young Alpha Center, it's just how he sounds.

Sarah clears her throat to take the lead in the conversation. Fine by me because if I'm the one answering, I'll be telling everyone that we're dating. I'd love to tell them that Sarah's my mate, and she just doesn't know it yet. But now isn't the best time for that conversation.

"No," Sarah says, and Romulus is out and growling before she gets past the one word. She raises a brow in his direction, but it doesn't silence his growl. "We're neighbors."

" Beta, " Romulus growls a deep warning. He doesn't like what we have with Sarah to be minimized so much.

"Alpha, not right now," she tells him, a scold in her voice.

It's not the tone that has Romulus softening, but the title she uses with him. He retreats into our mind, thinking her calling us alpha is as good as her admitting she's ours.

" Whipped, " Vilkas mutters.

I glare at him this time and am not surprised when he ducks his head, shoveling in more food to make it seem like he's too busy eating to notice I'm unhappy with his comment.