Another Chance for the Beta

Chapter 35

THEO

We stayed with Harrison and Emma for an hour or so, having a laugh. Hayley wanted to get to know her brother's mate.

"I think we should leave," says Hayley suddenly with a smile while looking at me. "We planned on going shopping tomorrow so I need to get some sleep," she says.

We all move away from the table and head to the front door and say our goodbyes.

Once the door is shut behind Harrison and Emma, I hold out my hand to Hayley and she takes it. "What do you want to do?" She asks with a smile on her face.

I can't help but smirk at her. "I thought you wanted to sleep," I said to her while pulling her into me. I make her walk in front of me as I lean forward and sniff her neck.

Hayley stops and leans into me. "Theo, I was trying to be nice," she says in a whisper. I can't help but smirk again. "So, you wanted to be alone with me," I say in a raspy voice as I place a kiss on her neck and move back.

Hayley turns around and looks up at me with a smile. "I always want to be alone with you but I thought we could get to know one another again, we might have marked each other and are mates but we still need to know each other," she says.

I can't help but smile. "And how are we going to do that, pretty lady?" I say, and her smile widens. "Well, we could go for a walk or somewhere, you know, like a date," she says, blushing slightly.

I knew exactly where I could take her.

I hold my hand out to her to take, and she does. I pull her to me. "A date, you say?" I ask her as I look into her eyes. "How do you feel about ice skating? You still hate going on the ice as you did as a teenager," I say with a smirk.

I remember a group of us would go ice skating but Hayley point blank refused to get on the ice except once where she used a grip hold on my hand as I held her around but she fell and pulled me down on top of her which resulted in her having a cut on her leg and I ended up with a really bad nose bleed; I shuddered at the thought.

Hayley looks at me with a grim look. "You are kidding, right? After what happened to us the last time, I never wanted to go on ice again," she says.

I look at her. "I wanted to take you there as it has changed since we were kids; they have more to do there now. They changed it to a winter wonderland over Christmas and as it is nearing Christmas we should look around, they have a Ferris wheel too," I say to her, her eyes light up at the mention of the Ferris wheel as it is her favorite ride. We had our first kiss, well peck on the cheek on one and it was the best thing ever. Also, the view from the top is amazing as you get to see all the mountains around the territory.

"Well, I think it will be the best first date ever," she says as she grabs my hand and starts to walk in the direction of the ice rink.

The winter wonderland is not far as it is held in the middle of town. The town is owned by the pack, but we let humans and other shifters come through as long as they don't cause problems. Rogues think it is a place they can come but lately, we haven't seen many in a few weeks which I'm happy about but also a little nervous too as you never know when they might strike.

As we approach, there are not many people around, as it is getting late. This is the best time to come; the place is open till late closer to Christmas. All the decorations make it feel romantic for couples and also the kids love meeting Santa too.

Hayley and I walked around looking at the stalls; there was a place where you could win a teddy which I did win for her.

The Ferris wheel was empty, and I paid for tickets and we took our seats. I did ask the young wolf working on it to let us stay up on top for a little while longer, but only if no one was going on.

Once we were seated and moved, Hayley wrapped her hand in mine and looked straight ahead as we slowly moved around, only stopping a few times. "Well, do you still like playing soccer?" She asks me and she pulls me from my thoughts, I look at her with a smile. "Of course, but I don't get to play as much as I used to. Alpha Jacob always used to send train packs or do pack duties just to keep me busy, but I didn't mind," I said.

She nods and looks over the side as we start to move again. "So you still whizz at numbers like you were back in school," I said. "I always loved how you would try to explain the question to all of us, even though you might lose us halfway through," I say with a chuckle.

She looks at me. "Of course, my job with Mr. Norris was to check and make sure he could either buy or sell products. I was his go-to girl," she says and looks at me. "You will have to meet him one day; he helped me gain my confidence back and also helped me when no one else would."

I nod. "I would love that," I say, but her face turns stern. "You still don't have that stupid mindset about humans, do you?" she says, trying to figure me out.

I look at her for a moment and sigh. "I don't have a stupid mind about humans; I had a bad run-in with a dude back when my parents used to take me to the cabin for a break. The kid was local, and he hated me. Back then I was a skinny kid, and he thought he could bully me," I said. She pulled my hand into hers and moved it to her lips and placed her lips on my knuckles to kiss. It sent tingles straight through me.

"You know not all humans are bad. Mr. Norris and Connie are lovely," she says and smiles. "You will like them; they will change your mind."

'I will try, just for you," I say. The Ferris wheel comes to a complete stop and we are right at the top. The view is spectacular. The night air is crisp up here, but the movement in the treetops makes the night sky look magic with the stars twinkling.

"Wow," says Hayley as she takes in the view. "I forgot how much I loved this place."

I can feel heartache and love spread through the bond. I look back at her, but she moves her head and places it on my shoulder.

"Theo, can you promise me something?" she asks suddenly.

"Yeah," I say as her scent wraps me up in her warmth.

"I want us to come here every Christmas and we do this every year just the two of us," she says and moves away which makes me feel cold all of a sudden but she looks at me. "I want us to have the most amazing life, kids, and our own home. The whole works, but I want us to have this just for the two of us, no matter what."

I can't help but smile. "I promise, but one question though," I say with a smirk. "We best make sure we find babysitters then, as I'm making sure we have loads of pups."

She looks at me. Through the bond, I can feel all types of emotions love, heartache, and warmth but it is her face that says something different. "Theo, I do want kids but can we wait till I'm ready or when it happens, it happens but I just want this for us, I need it I think," she says and slides slowly more and places her hands on my cheeks and makes me turn my head so it fully looking at her. "I want us to have one thing and that is us being up here once a year on a Ferris wheel just the two of us, as mates but when kids come into the picture, I will need your help as I don't know how I..." she says but I cut her off as I place my lips on hers, I kiss her passionately on the mouth for a few minutes.

I move away and look at her. "Hayley, I will be here with you every step of the way, I'm not going anywhere, you are my mate and I know I was a jackass before about a lot of things but I want you to know I am here for you and when the time comes for us to have another baby, I will promise you no one and I mean no one will ever hurt you again," I said, I lean my head on her forehead as I breathe in her scent.

Hayley closes her eyes, and I place a kiss on her forehead. The Ferris wheel is on its way back down and we get off.

I hold her hand, and we leave. We head back to the pack house.

I know what I did was stupid and reckless, especially with Carly, but Hayley was always mine and I'm making damn sure I'm there for her no matter what.