Beyond Beta's Rejection

(Harper’s POV)

I stared at Susie. Did she just say what I thought she said? I looked at Tommy, and he looked away.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” I shook my head. “No, Louise wouldn’t agree to that.” For one, I knew she hated Damien.

“Well, she did,” Tommy hissed. He looked me in the eye and then indicated to Susie, and I nodded. He didn’t want to talk in front of her.

“I’m gonna get ready and then head into town,” I said. “Tommy, I don’t have a car. Can you give me a lift?” and he nodded.

Susie eyed me suspiciously. I knew that I seemed to let it go a little too easily, even for the Harper she knew. But I smiled pleasantly, and she eventually shook her head.

“Well, just be sure to be home by 6 pm. Mum wants a family dinner, and I’m not spending half the day in the kitchen for you to be late. That includes you too, Tommy,” she said, pointing at Tommy. He rolled his eyes and then grinned.

“Careful there, Susie,” he said. “You’re starting to sound like your mum,” Susie growled at him before playfully slapping his shoulder, causing him to laugh.

“Okay, kid, let me know when you are good to go, and I’ll be your taxi service,” Tommy said, turning to me with a grin on his face. I smiled, nodded, and then headed off upstairs to get ready.

Half an hour later, I was dressed in my trademark black skinny jeans and a low-cut black vest top. It was a warm day, so I opted for a cut-off black and red plaid shirt paired nicely with my combat boots. I let my hair hang loose and air dry and put on some light makeup, and I was done. I said bye to mum and Susie before Tommy, and I headed out to the car. As soon as we were off the street, I turned to him.

“What the hell!” I exclaimed. He shook his head, glancing at me briefly before returning his eyes to the road.

“Not while I’m driving, let’s get a drink,” he said and then he fell silent. I could see his hands gripping the steering wheel hard enough for his knuckles to turn white. I nodded and turned and looked out of the window at the passing town as we drove through it.

It was never a bustling metropolis, but I expected more people than the two, maybe three that I saw, even at 8 am But all the shop windows were dark, and the streets were empty.

“What the hell happened to this place?” I asked, and Tommy shrugged.

“Many of the mundanes moved on when Elias took over three months ago. I guess his men have a heavy vibe from the outside.” I looked at him, and he shrugged again. “We’ve had a curfew in place too, so I think that probably scared many people off.” I continued looking out of the window as Tommy pulled into the carpark of Howlers, the local dive bar. This place was the opposite of the town. Doors open, neon lights glowing, and even at this time, a good handful of people.

“Seriously, Howlers?” I asked, looking at him, and he grinned.

“Yeah, when the diner closed a few years back, Harry took it upon himself to branch out. Before 7 pm, this place is a family place.” I got out of the car and looked around. There was a funny feeling about the place, and I swore I had the feeling of being watched as well.

I followed Tommy into the bar and was pleasantly surprised at the changes. The dance floor was still at the back with the tiny stage and DJ booth, and the bar still ran along one side, but the rest of the place had comfortable-looking tables and chairs with a row of booths running along the back wall. It was reasonably busy, with a few of the tables taken by a range of people. Some business suits, some workman wear and even a couple of families. Tommy walked up to the bar and ordered himself a coffee, and I ordered a diet coke from the pretty-looking blond behind the bar, who winked at Tommy as he paid. While we were waiting, I heard a voice behind me.

“Well, isn’t this a sight for sore eyes, Harper Kirby? Is that really you?” I turned to the voice to see a grinning Alex standing behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief before grinning and walking over and hugging him. After reading the report stating the incident with the Gamma heir, I had been scared to ask in fear that Alex had been killed.

“Damn girl,” he said, pulling away to look at me. “You have certainly grown in all the right places.” I heard Tommy growl behind me and laughed.

“It’s great to see you too, Alex,” I said and hugged him again. His grip around my waist tightened, and I swear I felt him sniff my hair. Finally, I pulled away, and he grinned before looking behind me.

“Sal, I’m gonna take a break, okay?” I looked around to see the blond glaring at me before smiling at Alex and nodding her head. Alex glanced at Tommy, who now had our drinks, and nodded towards the other side of the room. Tommy headed over to one of the booths, and I followed, with Alex at my back.

I slid in one side, and Alex slid in next to me, despite the disapproving look from Tommy. I rolled my eyes at him. I wasn’t upset with how close Alex was. The guy had filled out a little since I last saw him, but it was obvious that it was all muscle, and his arms were decorated with what looked like Norse tribal tattoos. His dark hair was cut pretty close to his head, not completely shirt but not enough to grab when you… I blushed at the thought that popped into my head.

I looked up to see them both looking at me and shrugged. Alex grinned again, and Tommy rolled his eyes.

“So, you work here at Howlers?” I asked Alex, and he nodded.

“Yeah, mostly nights, but the odd morning too.”

“Nights?” I asked. “Can’t be too many of them with a curfew,” I said, and Alex laughed.

“Yeah, it’s not a full curfew, is it? If you get the seal of approval, then you are good to go as normal.” He shook his head and smiled. “But enough about me and this place, I wanna hear about you,” he said, and I narrowed my eyes. I knew he was purposely being evasive.

“Erm nope, I wanna know what the f**k went on here after I left.” Alex looked taken aback by my assertiveness. I had to remember that I was known as the timid, sweet girl, not the woman I had become. I smiled sweetly at Alex, and he smiled again. He looked at Tommy, who took a drink from his coffee.

“Louise,” he said, and Alex growled.

“Okay, come on,” I said. “Why would Louise mate with Damien, and what the hell happened with you?”

Alex grimaced and looked around the bar before looking back at me.

“Honestly, it felt like you leaving was a big catalyst in this place,” he said. “Colton lost it; I mean, really lost it. He knew I had been involved in you escaping, and I ended up in the hospital for a while.”

“Yeah, he damn near beat him to death,” Tommy said. “Seriously, we weren’t sure he would survive,”

“Oh my goddess, what?” I was horrified and felt guilty. Alex got hurt helping me.

“Yeah, I ended up with damage to the brain and was put in a medically induced coma for some time,” he said. “When I woke up, the alpha came to see me. He said my trial had taken place, I was proven guilty, and I had been stripped of my Gamma rank. I was lucky that I wasn’t getting any more severe punishment.” He sighed and looked down at his hands and then back at me. “I was in the hospital for another two weeks, and in all that time, not once did I see my dad or Louise. I had been frozen out. It was Tommy who got me set up in town and told me about Louise.”

I looked at Tommy, who was glaring into his coffee. “What about Louise?” I asked, and he looked up, his eyes hard with pain.