Page 37 of Beta and the Beast (Beastverse #2)

Sarah

" I can't believe you got my brothers off their ass this early in the morning," Lucas laughs when a very sleepy, very irritated looking Henry comes into the coffee shop.

His cute little bun is a mess, and his glasses are crooked.

Not even the pastel pink sweater can save him from looking certifiably grumpy.

"No one in their right mind wakes up this early," Henry grumbles as he walks over to me and places a kiss on the top of my head.

It's my first day not wearing a bandage over my bite mark.

I was worried about what it would look like, but the bruising has mostly healed.

Henry's at a point where he can look at it, and I don't see him getting upset with himself about it.

Romulus is over it at this point, but he keeps wanting to lick it when we're having sex, and I have to pull his hair to get him to stop.

Not that either of us minds. Part of me thinks he does it on purpose now, so I'll reach behind me and tug their hair out of its little bun.

Lucas came in early this morning with a few of the boys from the Young Alpha Center, and Jace came down with me earlier.

They've all given the bite in my neck curious glances since they all know me as Sam's beta sister, but now that Henry is down here, purring and wrapping his arm around me, they've figured out who my alpha is.

"I made you a coffee," I tell Henry, patting his arm in solidarity. "Go drink it so you stop looking like you hate being here."

"I don't hate being here." He narrows his eyes on me, making sure I'm teasing him before he heads to grab the coffee waiting for him on the countertop.

His eyes close, and a soft sigh escapes his lips when he takes his first sip.

He's too cute, which he knows if the slight tilt of his lips is any indication.

"Alright." I clap my hands together, forcing myself not to ogle my alpha even though I've already gotten used to being able to do just that most of the day in the handful of days we've been mated to one another.

"I have a giant bucket of paint that I hope is enough to paint this whole place the same color. "

I bend over to move the five-gallon bucket. Before I embarrass myself by being unable to pick it up, Henry shoos my hands away, lifts it with an easy grip, and makes it look like my attempt was more dramatic than necessary.

"Stupid, strong alpha," I mumble, earning me a flash of golden eyes from Romulus that tells me he wants me to call him alpha again. I roll my eyes and point to where I want him to set the paint.

"There should be enough, and I've already laid out drop cloths," I tell them, wincing as all six of them move for the paint at the same time.

"If you need anything…" My voice trails off when I realize none of them are listening to me. Instead, Lucas directs them, and all the younger alphas obey him without fuss.

"We got this," Henry tells me, pressing another kiss to my temple when he's close enough. "They might make a mess of it, but we'll get it done."

"I just worry," I tell him, my whole body wincing as one of the alphas drops an entire tray of paint, its contents splashing against the thankfully covered floor.

He looks up at me, eyes huge, and then to Henry standing beside me.

It's clear on the boy's face that he thinks he's about to get in trouble, so when Henry laughs, giving my hip a final squeeze, it relaxes everyone in the room.

"I'll help you get this cleaned up," Henry tells the younger alpha, showing him where some paper towels are. I try not to eavesdrop but manage to make out a little bit of what Henry's telling him while Lucas helps the others get situated throughout the building.

"It was an accident. Those happen. We just clean up after ourselves."

I smile, sipping on my coffee while I let the alphas work around me. Not that I don't try to help, because I do, but for being as kind as they are for showing up early on a Saturday morning, they're still alphas and want to get all 'this is our job' on me.

So, I'm left to scroll through social media on my phone and text Hazel even though it's too early for her to be up since she worked last night and will be working tonight, too.

I've been tasked with finding out what happened with Gabe because Henry thinks his cousin is making up a story, because Hazel isn't interested anymore.

"This is him," Henry says into his phone, walking closer to me and motioning for me to hand him some paper towels to wipe some of the paint off his hand.

It's been a few hours since they started, and the place is almost done.

It'll need a second coat, but we can do that after we've fed everyone lunch.

"No, he's here with me now. We're at the bakery I told you about," Henry says, his hand finding my hip now that there isn't any wet paint on it.

At least, he doesn't think there is. When I look down, there's a freshly painted handprint on my shirt.

He's too caught up in his conversation to notice, even with me laughing softly and looking up at him, waiting for him to pay me attention. "It needs to be done today? When?"

My brows pull together, and I nudge his pec, wanting to know what's happening.

Everyone else is preoccupied with their painting and listening to whatever music they have blaring through the sound system.

I've been ignoring it for the most part.

Somehow, their music has made me realize I've aged because, in my head, I'm that old man complaining about what the youths are listening to.

"No, I can be there." Henry frowns. "He needs someone to go with him. I'm not letting him go alone."

I rub the flat of my palm against his sweatered chest, hoping to ease some of his tension, and he finally lets his gaze lower to mine, the hardness in his features softening.

"I'll find someone. What time did she give? Okay, thank you."

Henry hangs up the phone and tucks it into his pant pocket before his hands are on me, turning me around so I'm standing in front of him, looking up.

"What was that about?" I ask, resting my hands on his chest and drawing small circles against the soft fabric of his sweater.

"Jace's mom gave permission for him to get his stuff from the house today, but it needs to be done before her boyfriend gets off work at three."

"Oh, does that mean?" I let the question hang in the air.

We were told Henry would have an answer by Monday as to whether or not Jace was being placed with him. If Jace is already being told to get his stuff from his home, then maybe he's allowed to stay with Henry now, and we can stop having him sleep on the couch in my living room.

"It means he's moving in with me, but his mom won't let me go with him to get his stuff. She says she doesn't trust an alpha around her or her daughters."

I huff, disliking how anyone could feel threatened by my big teddy bear of a mate, but also knowing I was feeling the same way about him and any other alpha only a few weeks ago. I'm about to tell him I'm sorry he has to deal with that when a better idea pops into my head.

"I can take him."

Henry shakes his head, but I continue before he tries to argue with me.

"I'll drive him over there and help him load his stuff into the car. You said the boyfriend won't be home. Nothing will happen to me."

" I don't want you out of my sight, beta, " Romulus tells me, his voice low because now that he's out, the energy in the room has changed. He keeps me tucked in front of him, ensuring the other alphas know he's not a threat to them. " So no. "

"It's not your call to make, and I don't see any other beta showing up to help you out," I tell him, standing on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss that he isn't expecting based on the dumbfounded look on his face. While he's reeling from that, I untwine myself from his arms and head for the door.

"Jace, we're leaving," I call out, ignoring the warning growl Romulus shoots my way. I turn to Lucas, who's watching the interaction between me and his brother with a shit-eating grin. "If he tries to come for us, will you stop him?"

As if he's never wanted anything more, Remus sparkles in his eyes. " You got it, beta. "

Jace follows me from the shop to the apartment. "What's going on?"

"You're staying with us from now on, so we're going to go get your stuff from your mom's house," I tell him, staying as positive as I can because he's still a kid who was kicked out of his home with nowhere to go.

He's quiet for a long moment, his head bobbing up and down like he's trying to process everything.

Then he sniffles, and it breaks me a little bit.

I wrap my arms around him, not caring that he's a whole head taller than me and easily double my size.

He curls into me like any child would when looking for comfort, and he lets me offer it until he's ready to take on the rest of what we need to do today.

***

I knock on the door to the house about a half-hour drive from the center. It's a cute house in a nice little suburban area. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't a tidy flower bed with white daisies growing in it or a bright blue door. It's all so normal.

Jace is behind me, his head cast down, red curls covering what I'd be able to see of his eyes. I try getting him to stand beside me, but he's having a hard enough time, so I let him stand behind me. Not that there's any chance he'll be able to hide behind me and not be seen.

When his mother opens the door, it's clear where he got his looks. Her hair isn't as bright as his, but it's coppery and curly, and her pale skin has a smattering of freckles just like Jace's.

"Who are you?" she asks, a little ruder than I was expecting from someone who looks like a typical omega.