Page 41 of Beta and the Beast (Beastverse #2)

Sarah's Epilogue

One and a Half Years Later

W hen Henry asked me to marry him, I told him I wanted it to be just for the family.

He was more than willing to accommodate, especially since he wasn't asking me to marry him to show me off.

He did convince me to buy the perfect dress.

He even paid for it when I looked at the price tag and almost choked on my spit and died on the spot.

Henry's marrying me because he wants to honor this part of our relationship.

Even though I know his bite is permanent, that he wants to be with me forever, I don't feel its importance like he does.

When he asked me if getting married was something I wanted, something I'd thought about when I was younger, or fantasized about doing when I found the right beta, I didn't lie to him.

Of course, I wanted those things. We're raised to want those things, and I wasn't about to lie and say I hadn't imagined walking down the aisle to my future husband and committing my life to him as he did the same to me.

The conversation wasn't even in-depth, just a quick thing he asked me about, and a week later, he was down on one knee at family dinner asking me if I'd make him the happiest alpha in the world.

How was I supposed to say no to that when his eyes were flickering brown and gold a mile a minute because they both wanted to be there for the answer?

"Dad says he's intimidated by all the beasts in the house now," Scott tells me, leaning against the wall beside me as our father talks to Henry by the bar.

We made our way to a bar that Lucas recommended. It's owned by one of his friends, who gave us a sectioned-off area after the wedding so we could all socialize. The wedding was short and to the point. Our hanging out at the bar, not so much.

"He's not the only one," Sam says, frowning as he shoots a look around our small gathering of people.

Some of the guys from the Young Alpha Center came to the wedding, but they weren't allowed into the bar, no matter how many times some of them tried to tell us they had fake IDs.

Jace was bummed, but he went back home without much of a fight.

He stays in my old apartment now that he's an adult and technically doesn't need to be under our roof.

The landlord said no to combining the two apartments into one giant apartment.

No surprise there. It's for the best. This way, Jace has his own space without being too far from us.

We house unhoused alphas often. Most are frequent fliers at the Young Alpha Center and usually only need a place to stay for a week or two until things calm down at home. It's quickly gotten me over my aversion to alphas.

"At least we know Fenrir has learned to behave himself around other beasts," Janie says, leaning against Sam, her eyes heavy, her hand on her abdomen. I narrow my eyes on that movement, unsure if I'm reading too much into things or if she's been drinking soda all night.

Sam looks at me, his head giving me the most imperceptible shake, and my mouth pops open.

My excitement is too much to bear. Thankfully, Henry comes over, wraps his arms around me, and purrs into my ear, giving me something else to be excited about other than the fact that Janie could be pregnant.

I'll have to pester her about it the next time we hang out because they aren't shouting the news from the rooftops just yet.

"Want to leave, beta?" Henry asks, pulling me closer to him, swaying with me as my brothers make some excuse to either leave or be anywhere else besides around me and my new husband now that we're getting a little touchy-feely.

"Depends, where are we going?" I ask, fluttering my lashes up at him, even though he doesn't notice because he's entirely Romulus right now, and Romulus is busy staring down at my cleavage. My dress does make my breasts look good.

I clear my throat, not that Romulus cares just how obscene he is in his ogling, but he does slowly drag his gaze away, his smile all teeth as he scoops me up and tosses me over his shoulder.

***

"Come on, beta, you can take me deeper than that," Henry's voice rumbles with his approval as I lower my hips, taking more of him.

It's not often that Romulus lets him out to enjoy being with me, but when he wants me to ride him? Romulus gives up the reins because the one time he tried to let me on top, he had me wrestled to the bed on my stomach before I could finish lubing him up.

"You're so big," I whine, throwing my head back, my curled hair falling down my back and over my exposed shoulders. Henry's hands move from my covered hips up to the corseted detailing of my wedding dress until he's tugging the scooped-out neckline to show off even more of my cleavage.

He's still in his suit, the jacket tossed onto the floor, and his white button-down opened to reveal his chest and abdomen. He barely managed to tug his pants down enough to get himself out before I was climbing on top of him, reminding him he promised this for my wedding present.

"I should've torn this off you," he growls as he tugs at my skirts, pulling them up higher so he can watch as I sink onto him.

I take him slowly, still needing to stretch myself on him.

I don't realize his comment is more of a promise because the sound of ripping fabric has my eyes snapping open.

Henry doesn't even look remorseful when he sees me glaring at him.

No, he's proud and smug as he settles back against the bed, spreading the fabric of my dress away.

He's torn a gap in it from the hem straight up the start of the corset detailing that begins at my navel, and now I just look obscene.

"Ride me, beta," Henry says, lifting his hips off the bed enough to get me back into motion. "This is what you wanted, right?"

"You know it is," I tell him, still pretending to be upset with him for ripping my pretty dress. It's not like I would've gotten any more use out of it since I only plan on marrying him once. "But did you have to tear my dress?"

"Yes," he deadpans, and then his lips curl in a smile. "We bought a second one, same as this one."

"You did?" I ask, my cheeks burning at the knowledge that he planned on ripping up my dress this whole time and had a second one ordered because he was going to ruin it.

Henry sits up on his forearms and pulls me into a kiss as I slide down his length even more. A moan of delight and pure pleasure fills his mouth as he kisses me.

"Of course we did," he tells me, holding me close as he watches my expression. "Romulus wants to chase you down in it and rip it up, too."

"You two are the worst," I groan, but there's no truth in my words.

Henry doesn't take them to heart, considering I'm picking up speed on riding him, grinding against him when I take him almost completely to get that sweet, sweet friction that I need to come.

When his knot starts to swell, he'll start stimulating me with his hand since I won't be able to grind on him as efficiently, but until then, I enjoy the warm, wet friction as I take him.

"There's a good beta," he says, falling back down to the bed but leaving his hands to explore my body, spreading my legs wider so he can watch how obscenely his cock spreads me open. "You ride me like a pro, baby. I've never felt something so good."

"Henry," I cry out as his knot starts to swell, his hand resting right up against me so I can grind against it. "Fuck, I want it."

I lock eyes with him, his gaze as dark and desire-filled as mine feels.

Sometimes, frequently, when I feel Henry and Romulus's knot begin to swell, my lust-addled brain gets the fantastic idea that we can take it.

That if I just try hard enough, I can fit him inside of me.

Of course, Romulus uses this to tease me, but Henry, the sweet man, is always so sincere about it, as if I'm not willing to sell part of my soul to feel him trapped inside me as he comes.

"You want my knot, baby?" Henry asks, his free hand coming up to stroke my cheek as I bounce on him like a mad woman, chasing down my climax that's just on the cusp of my taking.

"I want to give it to you. It's yours. All yours. Do you feel that?"

On my next downstroke, he removes his hand from between my legs, letting me feel his knot beginning to stretch me.

He lets me wriggle on it for a moment, my chest heaving, my whole body feeling like it's on fire for this man.

He knows what he's doing to me, letting me grind against his knot to my heart's content, murmuring words of praise and adoration as I work myself higher and higher.

"Such a pretty beta trying to take my knot," he growls as his hands move to cup my breasts, tugging on the fabric of the neckline until I'm bare for him. "You're so fucking gorgeous, Sarah. So smart and kind and so fucking hot."

I laugh a little at how his flattery always seems to stray back to liking how I look when I'm trying and failing to impale myself on his full length. I reach down and wrap my fingers around his knot as I ride him.

"That's it, baby, squeeze me hard. I'll give you what you need." Henry's voice is a ragged, growling mess.

He bucks his hips to meet mine, taking care not to force his knot to stretch me even though I'm begging for it.

It's one thing to want it and another to feel it pushing me past my limits, attempting to split me open.

It's only happened once when I was a little overzealous.

All our playing immediately halted because I cried, and not in the fun way.

"Fuck, I love you," I groan as I grind my hips against him, letting my body take over as pleasure starts to sweep over me.

Henry keeps up the steady rhythm when I start to falter.

His cock twitches inside of me, his seed spilling out around him with each thrust. It coats his knot and my hand as I squeeze and squeeze until I'm laid out limp on his chest, and his breathing is hard and ragged as he runs his fingers through my hair.

"You're so good at that," Henry tells me, a hint of awe in his voice. "You're making Romulus jealous that he can't stand being underneath you."

I look up at my mate, my alpha, and now my husband. I can't help the blush that covers my cheeks when I see him looking at me like I'm the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. Sure, he's still buried deep inside me, but him looking at me like that? How am I not supposed to get flustered?

"If you give me like five minutes, Romulus can try to see how long he'll last underneath me," I tease my mate, running my fingertips over his sweaty chest.

Of course, when Romulus hears a challenge, he's not one to wait. I'm on my back, squealing as he buries his mouth against my neck, licking at his bite mark like he does all of the time now that it's healed.

" Five minutes? " he asks, making me work to figure out what he's talking about. It isn't until he thrusts into me, his cock not having a chance to soften, that I realize he's ready for more.

"I could probably be persuaded to rest for less time," I tell him, laughing a little when he lifts his head enough to glare at me, his golden eyes sparkling.

" And what does my little wife want? " he asks, his voice sounding too dangerous to be saying such sweet things that do wicked things to my body.

"Say it again," I tell him, mimicking the exact words he used all those months ago when I called him alpha for the first time. Oh, how far we've come since then.

" Wife, " Romulus purrs, thrusting into me and making me forget all about needing time to rest.