Page 24 of Beta and the Beast (Beastverse #2)
"Most alphas do what their mates tell them," I say. "It means we're good to them. So don't pretend like you won't be doing anything whoever you choose to be with tells you to do."
Vilkas's ears turn scarlet, but it's the only sign that he's even listening to me.
It's good enough for me, and I turn back to Sarah to ensure she's eating.
If she's not, I might pull her into my lap to feed her because she needs to eat something.
Luckily, she's working on her pizza. She looks a lot like Vilkas in how she has her head ducked as she eats. What has her so embarrassed now?
You called her our mate, and she didn't deny it. Little beta knows she wants this, too.
I replay what I said to Vilkas and wince. That wasn't exactly how I wanted her to find out how much Romulus and I care about her, but the cat's out of the bag now, and I'm not about to put it back in.
"Why did you come here?" I ask Vilkas, giving Sarah the space she probably wants to work through how she feels about my statement.
I'd love to sit her down and ask if she's okay with it, if it scares her, and if there's anything I can do to make her happier with the prospect of being with us.
But there's a teenager on her couch who takes precedence.
When he finishes his pizza, he swallows hard before letting his eyes shift back to blue, letting Jace have control of the body.
"Mom called me earlier." Jace shrugs, pretending like his mother talking to him isn't something that has him tied up in knots all the time.
Since we've grown closer, he's told me that when he showed signs of being an alpha, his mother's boyfriend didn't like him being in the house or talking to his mother or sisters.
That's why he spends most of his time at the center, but he tells us he returns home at night to sleep.
He talks to the therapist who does volunteer work for us every week, and I imagine his home life is often discussed.
"I'm guessing it didn't go well?" I ask, turning my body to face him.
Romulus is bugging me to make sure I can still see Sarah. She either knows how clingy alphas and beasts are because of her brothers, or she's just that good at reading us because she leans against the armrest closest to us and presses her body into our shoulder enough to tell us she's there.
"She was calling to tell me I couldn't come back home, that Greg wasn't comfortable having a beast in the house, and that she couldn't trust me not to hurt my sisters.
" Jace wipes at his nose and takes a long, deep breath.
Sarah's whole body tenses beside me, her demeanor shifting from caring about me to wanting to care for the hurt male on her couch.
"I kept Vilkas a secret, but Greg was yelling at Mom this morning, and I couldn't keep him inside. I told her Vilkas is good and he hasn't done anything bad. She told me she didn't care, I was a monster, and I can't go back home."
"You are not a monster," Sarah snaps, her tone sounding more like a ferocious nest mother than my sweet beta.
Mmm, let's make her a nest mother. Give her young to watch over. She'd be so good at it. So protective and caring.
I have to clench my teeth hard together to keep a purr of satisfaction from rumbling out at Romulus's idea.
Not only are we sterilized to make sure we don't pass on the beast genes to any children, but we haven't even talked to Sarah about whether she wants children or not.
I never thought to ask because anyone who wants to be with a beast knows most of us are sterilized.
She's a beta, though. For all I know, she wants to be a mother.
Romulus is right that she'd be great at it, but I can't give that to her.
"It doesn't matter," Jace says, wiping his eyes. "She told me if I showed up, they'd call the cops on me."
"I will…" Sarah lets her voice trail off as she pushes away from the couch, grabbing for Jace's plate and mine.
She shoves mine onto my lap, telling me to eat, and places the last half of her second slice on top of my two slices.
Such a good little mate, already knowing to give me what she doesn't eat.
"I need to do the dishes while you two talk. "
I open my mouth to tell her I'll do the dishes as soon as we're done, but she presses her fingertips to my mouth. "I need to do something."
She saunters away before I have a chance to lick her fingertips, but that's for the best. This way, I can give Jace all my attention without getting distracted by my beta.
I can hear her working in the kitchen and see her moving out of the corner of my eye.
But I'm still able to focus on what's more important right now.
"Did she say if you can go pick up any of your things? Or say goodbye to your sisters?" I ask.
I've thought about calling her up on my own, even before Jace told me all of this, so I could tell her that we're working on having a place where young alphas can stay, but it's not fully certified yet.
I always stopped myself because I didn't want to make things more difficult for Jace if his mother didn't know where he spent his days.
Now that he's an unhoused minor, I'll have to report it, even if I want more than anything for my paperwork to go through so he can move into the apartment across the hall with me.
"She just told me that if I tried to go over there, they'd have the cops come pick me up." He shrugs like he's not taking it personally, but he has to wipe away even more moisture from his eyes.
"Okay, well, we'll get it figured out," I tell him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a tight squeeze.
Alphas aren't the best at receiving affection from anyone who isn't an omega, and we don't show it to one another unless we're packed up.
Not for any biological or instinctual reasons, but because we're raised to think we're tough and feeling emotions isn't. So when Jace throws himself into me, allowing me to comfort him with a hug, I'm a little surprised.
He buries his face in my shoulder, quieting his distress.
Sarah finishes the dishes while Jace cries, and when she finishes, she comes to stand beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a small smile.
She's upset. I can see it in her eyes, but she's going to pretend that everything's okay because she cares about others.
She might not have ever thought she'd care about alphas of all the dynamics, but here she is, seething over the mistreatment of one and wishing to make it better.
"Hey, I have some ice cream I need to get through. Would you mind helping me with that while we watch a movie?" Sarah asks when Jace finally pulls away from me, wiping at his eyes and trying not to make eye contact with us in case he sees judgment in our eyes.
"I like ice cream," Jace says before swallowing hard. "I mean, if you need the help."
"I do," Sarah says with a chuckle, shooting me a wink as she goes to grab it from the freezer. "The remote is on the coffee table. Can you find something for us to watch, alpha?"
My heart squeezes when she says it like a term of endearment.
What I wouldn't give to hear it from her every day.
I find an action movie that should keep Jace's mind off how terrible his day has been.
When Sarah joins us on the couch, I pull her into my lap this time, not caring about her trying to escape.
"Calm, beta. Alphas are openly affectionate to their mates," I purr in her ear, loving how she melts into my arms when I refer to her as my mate again. "It's good for him to see healthy relationships."
"Fine, but only because you're warm and technically in my favorite spot."
Jace barely pays us any attention, and the ventilation system in the apartment is doing its job because no matter how much I'm trying to scent mark Sarah, the pheromones are whisked away within seconds.
Sarah falls asleep before the halfway point of the first movie, and when it ends, I turn on the sequel because Jace is still awake.
His eyelids grow heavy as he curls into himself and leans against the arm on his side of the couch.
When his eyes stay closed after a few minutes, I turn the television off and lie in the darkness, watching over them.
I'll find sleep, too, but right now, I want to enjoy being the one they trust enough to keep them safe while they sleep. We can't do this every night, but for tonight, something about it feels right.