Beyond Beta's Rejection

(Harper’s POV)

I looked in the mirror at my reflection and smiled. The full-length black dress had a sheer back with diamonds sewn in that looked like they floated on my bare skin, and one leg could be seen through the thigh-high split. My hair was styled in a curled updo with a few curls trailing down against my shoulders and sparkled with diamond-style hair clips. I had my makeup simple with barely a silver sheen across my eyes and cheeks and pale, almost skin tone l*p gloss. The only jewellery I wore was the ring that I was unable to remove. I looked at Louise in the mirror, who looked stunning in her silver satin full-length dress, and I was reminded of ten years ago when we were in my room getting ready for the ball.

So much had changed in that time. I was sad that Katie wasn’t here with us, but it had become apparent that the distance between Katie and Louise was more than just time. I had tried to ask Louise about it, but she had just said that they weren’t meant to be friends and changed the subject. I could never get any more out of her. And I hadn’t seen Katie much since I had gotten into town.

We had spent the day getting ready for the various appointments that Marcus had arranged, but from what I had heard, Elias had bankrolled. All through the day, I would think of what Elias had told me last night. His past and about the mate bond. Could I really believe that all it took was him and the mate bond to help heal the crap I had dealt with? Goddess only knew that sleeping around and avoiding any sort of emotional attachment hadn’t been a winning combination. And even if I didn’t want to admit it, I knew that Elias had made such a difference to the hole in my heart, even in these short days. I sighed and looked at myself in the mirror again. I was playing a dangerous game; I was falling for Elias, but what did that mean once I found the evidence I needed.

”Hey,” Louise said, touching my shoulder and pulling me from my thoughts. “You look sad.”

I smiled. “I don’t know, Louise,” I said, and she smiled, sympathy all over her face.

“Tommy said that he’s a good guy,” she said. Louise knew everything about why I was here. I had already told her about my mission. She had acted very differently when I first told her.

“But you said that he was dangerous,” I pointed out. “You said you heard him with other prisoners. You said I had to be careful with him,” and Louise shrugged. “I dunno, maybe I was wrong,” she said. “Like I said, Tommy is pretty happy with him.” I gave her a look, and she shrugged again.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and we both looked over. I suddenly felt really nervous as Louise headed to the door with a smile. She opened the door to both Tommy and Elias. They were both wearing tuxedos, but whilst Tommy’s was the standard black and white with a silver bow tie, Elias seemed to be that little fancier. I could see the silver waistcoat underneath his black jacket, and even someone as useless in fashion as me could tell that it was no off-the-rack deal. He was smiling when the door opened, but the smile vanished, and his jaw dropped when his eyes fell on me. I smiled at the reaction as a little red flushed into my cheeks. He stepped forward into the room, his eyes never leaving mine, and the butterflies in my stomach got stronger as he got closer.

“You look beautiful,” he said as he regained his composure. He bowed before taking my hand and laying a gentle k**s on it. Maia was yapping in my head, suddenly very excited, and for a second, I thought I saw something shift behind Elias’ eyes.

“The moon goddess herself marvels at your beauty.”

I rolled my eyes as I heard Tommy chuckle behind him.

“Dude,” he said, “Cheesy line alert.” Elias half-glanced back, slightly annoyed, before smiling again. He half-turned to Tommy and Louise, who were already both in the hallway.

“Have a good night, you two,” he said, clearly dismissing them. I could tell Tommy wanted to say something else, but Louise shushed him and smiled.

“And you, Alpha,” she said and then winked at me. She then tugged on Tommy’s arm, and the pair headed off down the hallway while I could clearly hear her chastise Tommy about being so informal with the Alpha. I couldn’t help smiling. Seeing two of my favourite people together like this, despite everything they had been through, really did make me see a nicer side of the bond.

I turned to Elias, smiled, and saw that he was back watching me. He smiled in response as he pulled out a box. It was black velvet with a silver clasp. I looked at the box with suspicion before looking back up at Elias.

“It would do me the greatest honour if you would wear this,” he said and opened the box. Inside, laid on a bed of black velvet, was a pendant. It was a hollow circle with the shape of a crescent moon inside. On one tip of the moon was a white stone, and on the other tip, a black stone. I couldn’t help but look closer at the piece of jewellery. It looked to be silver, which I knew wasn’t possible. I looked up at Elias again, and he smiled.

“The metal is platinum, and the two stones are moonstone and obsidian,” he said. “This was my sister’s and the official crest of the Crescent Dawn pack, the pack I grew up in.” I looked up at him in concern. This wasn’t just a pretty piece of jewellery. This was a major significant piece.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, “But I couldn’t wear it. It’s so important to you.”

He smiled. “Not as important as you,” he said and took the pendant attached to a delicate chain from the box and held it open to place around my neck.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t me making my claim,” he said, and I narrowed my eyes at him. He laughed nervously.

“Okay, well, it sort of is, but only so that certain people understand to leave you alone.” I knew that the certain people he was referring to were just that one person. I nodded and lifted my hair so he could put the necklace on me.

“The two stones represent the duality of life,” Elias said as he did up the clasp, “The dark and light, the sweet and sour, the pain and pleasure,” I could feel his fingers on my neck, and I shivered as his touch sent electricity down my spine.

“Each must live in balance with each other to truly experience the full extent of what this world has to offer. One side gets overbalanced, and it can desensitise and lessen the experience.”

I looked at Elias as he spoke. “Huh?” I asked, suddenly feeling dumb. It felt like he was saying something important, but my mind couldn’t seem to grasp his words. Again, the feeling of overwhelm began to crawl over me, and I could feel the pressure of something trying to push through. I felt my panic rising and quickly found the spot on my hand that I knew would ease the panicky feelings. I rubbed the spot, felt the pressure recede, and started to feel like I was a little more clear-headed.

I looked up to see Elias watch me with curiosity as I regained myself and smiled. He smiled back at me before holding out his arm to me. I nodded and linked mine through his, and his smile grew.

“Let’s get this party started then,” he said, and we headed out the door and down the hall. I could hear noise, like a general din of conversation, music, and other sounds that indicated a crowd as we headed down the stairs. And as soon as we hit the last flight of the stairs to the ground floor, I could see that half the town was already here and enjoying the festivities. Marcus was standing at the bottom of the stairs with the redhead that worked the reception for Elias on his arm.

“Alpha,” he said, looking at Elias and bowed slightly. He looked at me and smiled. “Lun-, erm, I mean Miss Harper,” he said quickly as I scowled at the initial name. “Please may I introduce my date Kylie?” he asked, and I smiled at the woman. I was sure I recognised her from somewhere but could quite picture her.

“Oh, Harper and I go way back.” She giggled in a high-pitched, sickly-sweet voice that I could tell was completely fake. I could also see the nasty look in her eyes as she smiled. “We even used to go to school together.” I looked at her in shock and focused on her face, and tried to go through high school memories. Then it hit me, of course. She had been one of Donna Tobbins’ girl gang of vicious vipers. I returned the smile with a slight smirk.

“Of course,” I said, “How could I forget?” I then turned to Elias. “Kylie was one of the popular girls, me not so much.” And then I looked back at Kylie. “I remembered as you followed Donna around everywhere. That’s a point. That is one person I haven’t seen since my return. Where is Donna?” Kylie looked uneasy, and I noticed Elias and Marcus exchange a look that I couldn’t quite decipher.

“Donna Tobbins?” Elias asked, and I nodded my head, and he shrugged. “She and her family are no longer in town,” he said nonchalantly. But despite his attempt at downplaying the subject, I could tell that there was more to this story. I went to push further when we were interrupted by a cough. I looked to where the cough came from and felt Elias’ arm on mine tense up.

I looked over and saw Colton standing to one side. He was also dressed in a tuxedo, although it was just black and white.

“Alpha, the stage is ready when you are,” Colton said, although his eyes never left mine. Elias growled next to me, and I glanced over before moving closer to him. I saw a flash of gold in Colton’s eyes. I shook my head at both of them and went to pull my arm out from Elias’s, but he stopped me.

“I have my speech right now,” he said like it explained something.

“Okay, I can go find a drink,” I said and went to pull my arm back again.

“Please, Harper, it’s important to me that we walk in together,” he said, glancing at Colton again. I finally got it. It was important to show the pack that he was to be trusted and to show Colton that I didn’t belong to him. I smiled at Elias, feeling the headache starting to return. This being between an Alpha and a Beta was starting to wear thin on my patience.

“Well, let’s do it because I am really starting to need a drink,” I said and stepped down the last few steps, pulling Elias with me. I heard Marcus chuckle and mumble something like being a handful. I shot him a glare as we passed, which just made him laugh harder.

Elias and I walked into the room, and despite there being no announcement or indication that it was happening, I still felt the eyes of every person in that room looking at us. Most had their heads bowed in respect for the Alpha, but some stared at us straight on. I made a mental note of who these people were. I suspected that Colton’s supporters were very evident in the room. As we walked to the stage, there was the occasional greeting to which I smiled, and at one point, I saw my sister waving her arm and grinning like a madwoman. We made it to the stage steps, and Elias made a show of turning to me and kissing my hand before letting go and heading up the stairs. I looked around for a waiter and snagged a glass of something sparkling as one passed by.

I contented myself with standing to one side while Elias began his speech. He started with the usual stuff about the time of year that Alpha Daniel would do each year and then moved on to some important announcements. I tried to listen to what he was saying, but the headache and the pressure were starting to make me feel a little dizzy. Finally, Elias finished, and I welcomed his cold hands on my arm when he came over. I looked up at him to see the concern in his eyes and smiled.

“Are you feeling ok? You feel warm?” he asked, and I smiled and nodded,

“I’m ok. I’ve just had a headache today,” I said, and he continued to look concerned.

“Maybe we should get you back upstairs,” he said, and I shook my head.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Why don’t we dance?” I pulled him onto the dancefloor. He resisted a little but not for long, and soon we were dancing to a slow song. I moved slowly, feeling Elias’ hands on my back and my arms looped around his neck and felt his nose running against my neck, sending shivers down my spine. I wasn’t sure how many songs we danced to or even what they were. I just knew that I had never felt so safe and comfortable as I did right there.

Then Elias took my left hand in his and whispered in my ear. “Do you trust me?”

I smiled, and without even thinking, I did. I trusted him! I didn’t understand how I knew it, but I knew that he wasn’t the man I had been sent to look for and that I could trust him. I felt him tug gently on my hand and looked up to see why, when suddenly a hot flash went through me, my legs buckled out from under me. I felt Elias’ arms around me as he scooped me up. My head was suddenly spinning, and I couldn’t see straight. Elias moved us to the side of the room. He sat me in a chair and kneeled in front of me. He looked at me with concern as I tried to regain focus. I could tell that I was sweating, and the pressure in my head was almost unbearable.

“What’s going on?” I stuttered as someone rushed over, and I felt cold water against my lips. I focused on Elias in front of me and saw Tommy kneeling next to him. He had a smile on his face.

“Harper,” he said. “Kid, think back to the last time you felt like this,” he said, and both Louise and Elias looked at him funny. And then it hit me. The last time I felt like this was just before my 15th birthday. I had spent a week with a fever and headaches, only for it to finally end in…

I looked up at Tommy and realised, tears streaming down my face. He grinned at me before whispering something to Elias, whose eyes widened.

“Let’s get you outside,” he said, composing himself quickly and scoping me up, and heading for the door. He made a straight line for the woods, and I could feel someone undoing my dress as we went. Elias placed me in a clearing that was just off from the pack house but still hidden by the trees. I looked up to see Tommy and Louise watching me. I was suddenly very scared.

Tommy tugged on Louise’s hand and smiled. “Come on, she’s in good hands.” He smiled at me again before they headed back out through the woods. I cried out as pain shot through my body and felt Elias’ cool hands on me again.

“It’s okay, baby,” he said soothingly. “Breathe through it.”

I screamed as another pain shot through my body, and I started to shift into my wolf for the first time in over ten years.