The Beta's Mate

Chapter 4

Andy’s POV


Beep…
Beep…
Moaning I reached over and hit my alarm clock, 7am.
Goddess I hate morning workouts. Logan pulled me towards him, putting his head in my neck.
“I have to go handsome.”
“Skip it.” He said, his voice ruff and deep from sleeping.
“I can’t I already skipped yesterday.”
He groaned as I got out of the bed, unhappy with my answer.
By 7:30 I was in the training arena, helping Alexi and Grayson clear the arena for training.
“Good morning, Luna.” A male voice drew my attention to the opposite side of the room, to an emotionless Damon. His brown eyes narrowed as he walked towards us.
The guy is such a dick, I still have no idea why you won’t just punish him.
Alexi’s voice rang through my head, I know he’s right. I should deal with Damon, but if I do Logan will be pissed. Connors been locked in the cells since he attacked me, if Logan finds out about Damon, he will throw him down there as well. As much as I dislike the guy, I don’t want him imprisoned for having a shitty friend.
I tore my gaze back down to the ground, avoiding Damon’s glare.
“I’ll take them for a run to warm up.” Grayson said as he jogged towards the warriors. I could feel Alexi tensing beside me, as he shuffled on his feet.
Weird.
“What’s up Lex?”
He palmed the back of his neck, sighing before he spoke.
“A pack has been attacked by rogues; they are asking for our help.”
I stared at my brother; I know him well enough to know that wasn’t the whole story. There’s no way he would be this nervous about a random pack.
Putting my hands on my hips I waited for my brother.
“It’s Silvercrest.”
Wait what?
That’s not possible.
“Seriously? No one’s even heard from them in over a decade.”
He nodded his head, before continuing.
“Do you know anything about them?”
I thought about it for a second before replying, did I know anything?
“Only a little, my mother told me about them when I was a kid. She said the alpha was an anachronistic idiot, who should have never been an alpha. And that the whole pack secluded themselves from the world when his mate died.”
Alexi visibly paled, shaking his head he whispered. “Damn, that’s horrible.”
“Yeah, after that Silvercrest never reached out to another pack again.”
“Until now, maybe it’s because they have a new Alpha. I mean his son should have taken over the title by now.”
Alexi was right, his son should be in his twenty’s now. I don’t know much about him; I just hope he’s nothing like his father.
“Who are you thinking of sending?”
Alexi thought about it for a second before answering me. “I was thinking maybe us and Logan. Grayson’s more than capable of running this place for a few days, if we leave in the morning we can hopefully be back by the weekend.”
Before I could respond the doors to the arena opened, pulling our attention as a few dozen warriors flooded the room. I scanned the wolves filling the space, they all looked rough. Apparently, I’m not the only one who drank too much last night. Chuckling I walked over to Grayson who stood at the front of the group, appearing completely unfazed.
Either Grayson can seriously hold were wine or he didn’t have nearly enough fun last night.
A slow smile pulled at Alexi’s lips.
I think you’re right little sister.
“Everyone pair up, we’re doing one on one’s today.”
I was met with a chorus of ‘yes Luna’s’ as they all paired off, myself Lex and Grayson split up. Each of us taking a corner, watching the warriors fight.
A deep growl filled the air, I spun around to see a pissed off Damon standing over a bloodied warrior. The warrior looked half dead; I couldn’t quite remember his name. Thomas, I think. Damon growled again, moving closer to Thomas baring his fangs.
“What the hell are you doing Damon?”
Ignoring me, the enraged wolf prowled closer.
Oh, hell no, there is no way I’m allowing him to attack an unconscious man. My anger began to boil over, heat flooded my chest and without looking I knew my arms were engulfed in flames. Damon paused, looking at me. A smirk covered his face. “Can’t beat me without your little tricks Luna?”
A swirl of anger rippled through my core, extinguishing the flames I stalked closer to him.
“Want to bet?” I taunted.
A smile covered his face as he stalked towards me. The other warriors formed a circle around us, excited for a show.
“Now this little wolf is going to be fun.” He sneered before lunging for me.
Blocking him at the last second, I got the satisfaction of watching him stumble before catching his footing. The room filled with the sound of laughter as the wolves all cheered.
I couldn’t help but laugh with them, the look of pure unfiltered hatred on Damon’s face had my heart racing. I have no idea why he gets to me so much, it’s not like I can’t take him. I’ve not had anyone hate me like that since Connor. Noticing my hesitation Damon lunged for me again, this time tackling me to the ground. Regaining myself I hurl him off of me, he landed with a loud thud before growling again.
“What the hell is your problem?”
“You are, everywhere you go death follows you.”
Standing there in shock, I couldn't find the right words to say. What did he mean? What does death have to do with me?
Although my only desire has always been to protect those I love, a part of me believes he is right. Maybe I've been doing this wrong all along. Maybe he's right.
“Shut the hell up Damon. You have no idea what you are talking about.” Alexi screamed, his anger flowing freely.
Throughout my life, my brother has protected me, even when there was no need for it. The silence in the arena was broken by Damon's growling before he left the arena. The warriors around us went back to training, keeping their eyes away from us.
“Ignore him, little sister, he has no clue what he's talking about.”
Alexi tried his best to console me, but it wasn’t working. Demon had exploited my greatest insecurities. This idea that I might pose a threat to this pack. The fact that he made it feel real made me realize I wasn't the only one thinking it, that maybe the rest of the pack was as well. I walk through with my head lowered, leaving my brother and Grayson to finish training. There was no way I could face them, no way I could pretend it didn't affect me. If I were a better actor, maybe my life would be a bit different. But as it stands, I just couldn't face it.
If Damon was only angry because he was afraid, are they all afraid of me? I have been trying to avoid using my power because it is so unstable and honestly it terrifies me. If I used it again, what if I burnt another pack to the ground!! I am not strong enough to lose another family.
I missed my mother more than anything else for the first time in years. Before I knew it, I was walking through their house. My ears filled with the sound of my mother singing off key to the radio and my father screaming at the football. As soon as I saw my mother, I immediately calmed, a sense of home overtook me. She smiled when she saw me for the first time. Her smile disappeared, covering her face with worry.
“Are you okay sweetie?”
Without saying a word, I wrapped my arms around her, the smell of flowers filling my nose. She hugged me to her, kissing the top of my head as she held me there. A few seconds later another pair of arms wrapped around us, and I knew my father had come in. Not caring about missing his game.
“What happened sweetie?” my mum asked releasing her hold on me. I looked up at my parents, taking a deep breath I told them everything that happened in the arena.
When I was done my dad just sighed as he wrapped an arm around me.
“He shouldn’t be blaming you for what happened, I’m sorry sweetie.”
I just stared at my father, his expression was painful to watch. He was always so calm and happy around us, but he looked defeated.
“Blaming me for what?”
He took a deep breath before answering me.
“For his father.”
When I stayed quiet, he continued.
“He was our best warrior, he came with us to Crescent Moon. Whilst we were searching the pack he was jumped by a hunter. By the time we reached him it was too late.”
My fathers gaze stayed glued to the floor, obviously not willing to look at us. He had lost one of his men that day and I could tell he blamed himself.
I pulled him in for a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, it’s not your fault.”
He smiled down at me, kissing my forehead he whispered.
“Its not yours either kiddo. I’m sorry he’s blaming you.”
“Its okay.” I said.
And I actually meant it, if hating me helps him feel better about his father I can live with that.
“Who’s hungry?” my mother asked, not liking the sadness in her kitchen.
My dad laughed, shaking his head at his mate.
“Have you ever met our daughter? When is she NOT hungry?” mum laughed as I moaned. Dad looked at me, eyebrow raised. “Does that mean you don’t want any food?”
I shook my head quickly.
“I could eat.”
They both laughed as my mother started cooking. Giving me and dad orders as she prepared the food.
By the time we were eating I had forgotten all about Damon, and just enjoyed spending some time with my parents. I hadn’t been able to see a lot of them since I had woken up in the hospital and I didn’t realise just how much I missed this feeling of home.