Beyond Beta's Rejection

(Harper’s POV)

I looked around the room as everyone watched me, probably waiting for me to make a move. The former luna smiled at me as I considered backing up out of there.

“You know what,” I said. “I suddenly don’t feel so hungry after all” I glanced at Colton, who smiled when our eyes met. “In fact, I feel quite nauseous.” Colton’s face fell again as I scowled at him.

“Nonsense!” Marcus said, pushing me further into the room, “You are not a coward, so grow a backbone.” I glared at him, but he just grinned in response and grabbed my hand and pulled me around the room, passing Colton on purpose, until we got to the other end of the table where Elias stood and held out the chair next to him.

It wasn’t lost on me that it was the chair that the Luna used to sit in, and I glanced at her as I stood there. She was already watching me and smiled brightly and nodded her head. I sighed and sat down.

“Suits you nicely,” she said, and Colton growled at her. Caroline glanced at him and then to her friend and back to Colton in confusion.

“Colton dear, don’t sit in your father’s chair. You know how he gets,” she said and then carried on talking to the Luna. I glanced between them, and Colton watched his mother with a sad look on his face. He noticed me watching and glanced up at me before looking away.

When I lived here, it had been rumoured that the Beta’s wife was compromised with her mental health. That was ten years before the loss of her mate, so it wasn’t shocking that things would have progressed. I glanced at Elias, who was watching Caroline with concern. He met my eyes and grimaced. We broke contact as a plate was placed in front of me, and the smell of bacon reminded me of how hungry I was. I grabbed my fork and began to dig into the English breakfast on my plate.

I half-listened to all the conversations around me as I ate, catching snippets here and there.

“Alpha Elias,” one of the twins purred at him, smiling brightly, “Would Lisa and I be able to steal a piece of your time later today so that we can go over the final preparations for the ball this weekend?” I looked up in interest. I glanced at the twins and then Elias.

“Ball?” I asked, “You are still holding the Midsummer Ball?” I asked, and Elias nodded.

“I wanted to continue some of the pack’s traditions,” he said. “It seemed the balls and the weekly dinners are something that the pack values.” He shifted in his seat, suddenly looking fidgety.

“Which reminds me,” he said, looking over at Marcus. The latter was grinning at his Alpha’s sudden discomfort, “The weekly dinner is tonight, and well…” he hesitated before looking at me. “I would like you to sit with me at the top table” I felt my stomach drop as he said it, “Please,” he pleaded as he took my hand in his, and I glanced down the table as Colton growled. My eyes met Colton’s, and he glared at me. The last time I had been to the pack dinner was our announcement and intention ceremony. It was also the night when he and Damien tried to force me and leave me alone in the cold, dark night and in pain. He had no right to be pissed off at me, or anyone, for that matter. I smirked at him before turning back to

“I’d be honoured,” I said, and he glanced at Colton and then back to me and smiled. He knew I was doing it to spite Colton, but the look on his face said he didn’t really care.

Elias looked back at the twins with a smile on his face, although he didn’t let go of my hand.

“And of course, Lily, why don’t you and Lisa come and see me this afternoon.” Both girls nodded enthusiastically. I smiled to myself as I took my back to finish off my breakfast. Elias looked disappointed for a minute but then smiled and stood up.

“You will all excuse me. I have some work to do,” he said and motioned for Marcus to follow. “Beta, I’d like to see you in my office at your earliest convenience,” he said, and Colton scowled at him but nodded. Marcus grinned at me before getting up.

“See you around, princess,” he said with a wink, and I rolled my eyes as he followed Elias out of the room.

“Harper dear,” the Luna called, and I looked down at her, “Would you please give us the pleasure of having lunch with Caroline and me?” she glanced at Colton, who seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face “I would like to talk with you about something.” I smiled and nodded.

“Of course, I have something that I need to do this morning but can certainly find you after,” I said. Maybe I could get some information from her about Elias while I was at it.

“Amazing, we will be in the 3rd-floor sitting room from midday,” she said with a delighted smile. Colton stood up suddenly, scraping his chair back loudly, and stormed out of the room. I watched him go and then glanced at the Luna, who seemed to have a smug smile on her face. There was obviously something going on between them. I was hoping that I could maybe get that from the Luna in our little talk later.

Soon everyone began to drift out of the room, and I was alone when I finished my breakfast. An Omega came into the room to clear my plate, and I thanked her as she scurried off. I got up to leave the room and headed back to my room. I had plans for my morning and wanted to grab a couple of things before I went. I opened the dining-room door, and leaning against the wall immediately opposite, was Colton.

I stared at him straight in the eye, keeping my expression blank, as he kicked off the wall, crossed the hall, and blocked my way out. He tried to back me into the room, but I held my ground despite him getting right in my personal space.

“What do you want, Colton?” I asked with my best, bored tone, and he grinned at me. I knew he wasn’t buying my calm exterior. My heart was beating really fast, and werewolf hearing meant that he could hear exactly how fast.

“I wanted to remind you of something, Strawberries,” he said as he leaned in to sniff me. “Just because that jumped up piece-of-shit Alpha thinks that he can lay some sort of claim on you. You always have, still do, and always will belong to me.” he grabbed my left hand and tugged on the ring quickly. I hissed at the shock of pain that ran through my body, and he smirked at my reaction. I was starting to get seriously pissed off with this guy. I glared at him as I pulled my hand out of his and slapped him across the face. His head rocked back with the impact, and he growled at me.

“Bring it on,” I growled back, and he took a step forward, so we were practically touching. I pushed my hand between us and pushed him back again.

“Let’s really get one thing clear,” I growled. “You are right. The Alpha doesn’t have a claim on me, but then neither the f**k do you!” I pushed him again until he was out of the door frame and I could get out of the room.

“The only person that holds a claim on me is me!” I pushed hard one last time and slammed him back into the wall. “Do you understand Beta Stokes?” I didn’t wait for a response before storming past him and down the hallway. I was sick of everyone thinking they could decide for me.

I made it to my room and grabbed my suitcase. I unzipped the secret compartment in the back, pulled out my favourite hunting knife in its sheath, and slid it into my boot. I left the room and headed down the stairs and out of the pack house. I made my way halfway down the drive and then left the path and headed into the woods. I had been itching to do this ever since I had found out yesterday, but it had suddenly become very busy. I found the little wood path that I only knew about because of Tommy and followed it all the way up to the solitary stone building. I circled the building three times, taking in the cameras surrounding it. I tried to gauge if they had any blind spots that I could use to my advantage between them. I looked at the double steel doors to see if there were a magical button that would allow me entry because, of course, they would leave the entrance to the pack cells open for all to visit, right? I scoffed at myself. I knew I had to get in since I heard that Louise was being kept here. But I also knew that it had always been forbidden for pack members to even be in this area.

I circled the building again, trying to formulate a plan. I would need to come back at night and bring some tools. The electronic keypad could probably be hacked if I had enough time. I was mentally making a note of everything I needed as I rounded the corner to the front of the building again and stopped dead in my tracks. Elias was standing right in front of me, his face expressionless, just like it had been at the bar yesterday. Marcus was leaning against the door with a big grin on his face. I glared at him, which only caused his grin to widen, and then returned my look to Elias. His lips twitched as he watched me squirm, trying to think of a feasible excuse for why I was here.

“I wondered how long it would take for you to show up,” Elias said with a satisfied smile.