The Beta's Forbidden Mate

Chapter Eight

Fear ran down my spine at his words.

"What kind of danger?" I asked.

Asher let go of my hand and stood up. He began pacing the living room, his long legs crossing the small space in only a few steps before he had to turn.

His anxiety was contagious, and I felt my skin tingle with nervous energy.

"All werewolves are raised to fear and avoid humans, but Alpha Samson's hatred goes deeper than that," he said, his deep brown eyes focused on the floor. "When he was young, not even twenty, a group of hunters shot and killed his mate while she was out running in the forest."

"That's horrible."

He nodded. "They say the pain from losing a mate is unbearable. A lot of wolves go mad from it, many of them take their own lives. But not Samson. Instead, he became consumed by revenge."

"What did he do?"

His expression turned dark. "He waited for the hunters to return to their camp that night, then went in and slaughtered every last one of them. Meanwhile, the pack followed their scent back to their town and killed their wives and children."

A cold feeling twisted in my gut. Asher's brow was furrowed as he continued pacing.

"That was all before I was born. But If Samson finds out that his beta is mated to a human, he'll kill us both," he said shortly.

I blinked at him, unable to process what he was saying.

Twenty minutes ago I hadn't known that werewolves existed, and now he was saying they would want me dead if they knew about me?

This was all starting to feel like some kind of horrible nightmare.

But I could still see the shredded remnants of Asher's jeans on the kitchen floor. And I could never forget the wolf that had been standing in the kitchen, its golden-yellow eyes fixed on me.

Werewolves. Packs. Alphas. Betas. It was too much to take in.

"Wait, a beta is like, a second in command, right?" I asked. "So doesn't that make you the vice president? Can't you just...change the law or something?"

Asher gave me a disdainful look. "A werewolf pack is nothing like your ridiculous, ineffective political system. The alpha is the ultimate authority. What the alpha says, goes. There is no 'vice president'."

"Well can't you reason with him? Explain what happened, and that we weren't trying to do anything wrong?"

He sighed. "You don't understand. My job is not to challenge Alpha Samson. It is to uphold his commands, and enforce his laws. Only the most loyal, the most trustworthy wolf is selected to be beta. It is a great honor, and Samson will see this as a betrayal."

"A great honor to work for a murdering psychopath?" I scoffed.

He scowled in response. "You know nothing of our ways. Do not speak of the alpha that way. Samson may have his flaws, but he saved me. Raised me. He helped make me the wolf I am today."

I rolled my eyes, but bit my tongue. It was clear that Asher was struggling with himself, I didn't want to make it worse.

I was freezing. I rubbed my hands on the bare skin of my arms, feeling the goosebumps.

Somewhere out there, right now, was a man who would murder me if he knew I existed. If he knew about the connection between Asher and I.

Not a man, I reminded myself. A werewolf. A monster.