Beta (19 page)

"Hey,"
Titus said as he sat next to me.

He tossed
his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. The calming
sensation he always caused flooded my mind, putting a small smile
on my lips.

"Where
did you disappear to?" I asked.

"We're
going to take out the Order."

I
instantly pulled away from him and frowned but Christian's sleeping
form didn't let me go far.

"I don't
want you to get hurt."

"I won't.
You forget I've been trained for this," he said with a
smile.

"Titus.
I'm being serious."

"So am I.
This isn't just about killing Andre anymore. They pose a huge
threat to us an our allies. They need to be dealt with."

"But what
if something happens to you?"

"You will
be okay, Liz. Trust me."

I
absently shook my head, "But without you-"

"Without
me, you will be sad but you will take care of our children and this
pack. You'll find someone else that will love you."

He was
dead serious. His hazel eyes bore into mine with sincerity but I
knew that wouldn't be the case. I would never want anyone but him.
Sad was the understatement of the century. I would be devastated,
in mourning for years. I would never stop missing him even if I did
survive long enough to raise our children. I just prayed I didn't
lose my mind like most did when a mate died. Just the thought of
losing Titus was hard enough. I couldn't imagine it actually
happening.

"When?"

"After we
get back. We're still working out the logistics."

I nodded
stiffly, "Promise me you won't do anything reckless. I need you,
Titus," I admitted.

He rested
his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me in to kiss me
gently.

"I
promise I won't do anything reckless."

"Seriously Titus. I only care about what happens to you," I
said.

He
laughed lightly, "Lizzy, come on. I don't have these muscles just
for your viewing pleasure," he teased.

I rolled
my eyes but laughed since he was trying to make light of the
situation.

"You are
so ridiculous," I said with a light laugh.

"But you
love me," he said with that signature smirk that could only really
be his.

"Yeah,
yeah. You're still ridiculous though."

He
shrugged, "Maybe. How long has he been out?" He asked, motioning to
Christian.

"About an
hour. I don't think he's sleeping at night."

"I know.
Do you think we should do anything about it?"

I shook
my head slowly, "Not yet. Lets see if he does it on his
own."

"Alright.
Maybe we shouldn't let him nap during the day so he's tired
tonight."

"If
that's what you want to do," I trailed.

"We can
send him on a patrol," Titus suggested.

"No!"

"Why not?
I was running patrols at his age."

I
scoffed, "Titus, that's dangerous."

"Just a
small one in town. Come on. He will be fine."

I bit my
lip and stared down at Christian. I wasn't sure it was a good idea
with everything going on but Titus was right. Christian had to
learn sometime and if it was just a small one in town maybe it
wouldn't be so bad.

"Who's
going?"

"Brent,
Jodie, and Sam."

I
frowned. I would rather it be with Titus and Zac but Brent was
Third in Command so I guess that was okay. Jodie and Sam were two
of the best warriors; I knew they would die before ever letting
harm come to Christian. Even if he hadn't been the Beta's son, they
all would love Christian.

"If
you're sure nothing will happen then fine," I reluctantly
agreed.

He kissed
me more suggestively, "I'm glad you said that."

"Why?"

"I've
been waiting to be alone with you."

"Is that
so?"

"Mhm," he
mumbled as he trailed his lips along my jaw, just a brush, a
promise of what was to come later.

This man
managed to drive me crazy in the best and worst ways possible. Only
Titus could tell me he was going to take on a coven then make me
agree with it and sleep with him. My weakness for him knew no
bounds. Only he could make sex feel new every time even though we
had been together countless times in the last five
years.

"Christian," I said as I ran my hand over his
hair.

He tucked
himself further into me an curled his legs. Both Titus and
Christian hated to be woken up.

"Christian, do you want to go on a patrol?" Titus
asked.

Instantly, Christian was wide awake and off my lap. Nothing
could make him forget me quicker than the chance to prove himself
to his father.

"Where?"
He asked excitedly.

"It's
just a small one in town but I think this would be a good start,"
Titus said.

"Really?!"

"Come on.
You're going with Brent."

"Bye,
Mom!" Christian said as he started to take off.

"Hey!" I
called after him. He turned around and ran back.

"Make
sure you listen to Brent and if anything happens, I want you to
come right back here."

"Promise
I'll listen to Brent," he said. I could tell he was eager to go so
I kissed his cheek and he ran off.

I wished
I could go with him but it wasn't customary for the parents to
accompany their child's first patrol. A patrol was an opportunity
for the child to establish themselves away from the parents.
Abiding by the tradition didn't mean I agreed with it.

"I'll be
right back," Titus said.

"I'll
meet you upstairs."

He
smirked, "Even better."

I hopped
up and walked in front of him on purpose. I wanted him to watch the
sway of my hips, to imagine what would be waiting for him upstairs.
I heard a low, possessive, growl and tossed him a playful look over
my shoulder as he went the opposite direction but never took his
eyes off of me.

I hadn't
realized how badly I wanted him until he was just out of reach. We
hadn't had sex since before Andre took me and that was
unacceptable. Everything had been so tense and stressful with
Christian not sleeping and not letting us sleep and we still went
to work every day. We should have taken time off work to just be
together as a family but hindsight is always twenty-twenty. Maybe I
could ask Anne to take over for a few weeks so I could spend some
time with Christian before Titus and I left.

Before I
could even make it to the end of the hall towards our portion of
the mansion, Titus was right behind me. He pinched my butt, causing
me to squeak a little. He laughed at my jump but I turned to glare
playfully at him. Of course he used that to his advantage and
pulled me flush against his body, crashing his lips to mine. I
loved the feel of his soft, firm lips against mine. He had this way
of making everything so toe-curling passionate, I could never tire
of him.

"Beta?" A
young girl's voice came from behind Titus.

He
growled in frustration but looked over his shoulder at the
girl.

"What,"
he demanded.

I lightly
poked his chest, successfully pulling his attention back to
me.

"Be
nice," I scolded.

He rolled
his eyes but didn't apologize to the girl.

"Alpha
needs you in the library," she said timidly.

"Thanks,"
he muttered.

She
scurried away and I secured my arms around his neck again, pulling
myself to his lips.

"Go. I'll
see you soon."

"Better
be waiting for me in that bed," he responded with a
kiss.

I laughed
lightly, "Whatever you say, Titus."

********

Christian
entered the seating area in our section of the pack house and
flopped down next to me.

"How was
your first patrol?" I asked as I set my textbook down.

"Boring.
Brent didn't let me do anything," he complained.

I laughed
lightly, "That was the point."

"But Dad
got to. I'm big enough now."

"Dad
didn't have to deal with hostile territories. Maybe in a couple
years when everything settles down you can do more."

I could
tell he didn't like that answer but it was the only one he was
getting. I couldn't deny how relieved I was that his first patrol
was boring. He was only five so I didn't want anything too exciting
to happen. Usually, patrols were very quiet though. Of course,
except for when Zac found Rachel.

"Momma
can I invite Kyle over?"

Who the
hell was Kyle?

It took
me a minute to realize he was talking about the boy from school he
had befriended when Brittany told him I wasn't his
mother.

"When we
go home," I responded.

Christian
sighed and slumped back on the couch, "But I'm bored."

"Why
don't you find someone to play with here," I suggested.

"No one
wants to play with me."

"That's
not true. What about Brent's daughter?"

He
scrunched up his nose like that was the most ridiculous thing I had
ever said. I swear, he and Titus had the exact same
mannerisms.

"Or not,"
I responded to myself.

"She
can't play the same games as me," he rationalized.

"Why
not?"

"Because
she's a girl. She'll get hurt."

While I
thought it was cute he was concerned for her safety, I wanted to
stop the damsel in distress complex. When that girl grew up, she
would be perfectly capable of taking care of herself and I didn't
want Christian to think women had to always have a man to protect
them.

"Do you
plan on hurting her?"

"No!"

"Then she
will be fine. Girls can play the same as boys."

"No they
can't, Mom."

"So I
can't do the same things as your dad?"

He shook
his head instantly, "Dad's big and strong. You're
small."

I laughed
lightly, "That's true but I can still do the same
things."

"Sure,
Momma."

My jaw
just about hit the floor as he patronized me. My five year old son
was just sarcastic! Who the hell taught him that?

"Go play
with Brent's daughter," I responded as I shook my head.

He
groaned but made his way out to the main house.

I picked
up my textbook again and continued reading. Fertility treatments
were complicated at best; at least, that was my understanding.
There were plenty of natural remedies to help a woman conceive but
none of those would help Macy. Her problem was physical. She simply
wasn't built to have children. Every treatment I had read of
involved the male as well. I needed her husband's sperm to do
anything. I wasn't sure how she could obtain that but it was
necessary.

I got
through a few more chapters before Titus came to our wing and
closed the connecting door, clearly pissed off about
something.

"What's
wrong?" I asked as I set my book down again.

He shook
his head, "Brent was just challenged for his position."

"Really?"
I asked, shocked by this development.

"Yeah. It
was one of the old Dark Moon pack members."

"Weird,"
I mused.

He
flopped down next to me, just as Christian had earlier.

"How was
Christian's patrol?" He asked.

"Fine. He
said is was boring, thank God."

Titus
laughed a little, "Where's he at?"

"I sent
him to play with Emily."

"Oh
yeah?"

I nodded
with a slight smile. I had every intention of finishing what we had
started earlier.

I scooted
as close as possible to Titus and brushed my lips over his strong
jaw line. He let me continue my slow seduction down his neck. I
wanted more though.

I tugged
his basic gray t-shirt over his head and lightly ran my hands over
his perfectly defined chest and stomach. His body had been molded
to perfection through hours of dedication in the gym and a career
in manual labor. He loved construction and even though he co owned
the company, he still did a lot of hands on work.

I kissed
down his chest, his abs, only to go to my knees in front of him and
unbutton his jeans. His breathing picked up just enough to be
noticeable which gave me a thrill. I loved that he wasn't able to
control every anatomical response when I touched him.

He was
hard, waiting for me to make my move; I hadn't even really touched
him yet and he was growing with anticipation. Starting at the base,
I licked my way up, listening to him moan in appreciation. I took
him in my mouth, careful to keep my teeth tucked away as he
gathered my hair out of my face and gripped it tightly behind my
head. I noticed every muscle in his torso flex with his careful
control but I wanted him to lose control. I wanted to know that I
could finish him just with my mouth--in my opinion, a true test of
how good our sex life could be.