Page 9 of Knot Your Average Beta

What the fuck is that? I shouldn’t be jealous. I know Vee won’t do anything, literally can’t do anything. Her RMD won’t let her get close to any alphas, but the ones that rejected her. But beyond that, I don’t have any sort of claim on those men.

It doesn’t stop me from snapping my fingers in front of her face to break their eye contact, though. “Nuh-uh. Those two are mine. You have enough dicks keeping you company. Don’t take mine.”

Vee laughs. “Yeah, too bad none of said dicks are actually dicking me down.”

I chuckle too, swirling my straw in my drink, before I switch to the serious part of the night. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She doesn’t want to. I already know that. She never does. Getting her to tell me and Sorrel anything is like pulling teeth, but we’re persistent and nearly a year after she moved into the little cabin next to mine, we finally got her to spill everything. Well, not everything. We still don’t know the name of the pack that rejected her and bonded with a different omega. She didn’t tell us because she is smart enough to know I would look them up and then ruin them in any way that I could.

I’m vindictive that way.

Finally Vee sighs. “Long story short, I’m stuck in town until my grandmother’s house is renovated if I want to get anything from the sale of the property. The pack that rejected me knows I’m here and, for some reason, they won’t leave me alone.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know if… Maybe they think they owe me something, or they want to have me as a mistress.”

Anger on her behalf flows in my stomach. How dare they even put that thought into her head? There’s more that she’s not saying. I can tell. But I’ll take what I can get. “First, you deserve better than to be someone’s dirty secret. You are amazing and beautiful and you deserve to live in the fucking light. Second, do you need the money, Vee? Maybe it would be better to just cut your losses.”

“Maybe I’m being stupid or stubborn, but after all the bullshit she put me through, I deserve something from her.”

I nod. Her grandmother was a grade A abusive bitch. “You’re not wrong.” Still, I can’t help but wonder if maybe there’s something more here. More than what she’s letting herself see and believe. I can’t blame her. I’ve seen how hard it’s been for her to just exist over the last few years.

But maybe it makes me a sap, but I want her to be happy. I want her to move on from this one way or the other. Either with the pack that left her in the rearview mirror, never to be thought of again, or with them making it up to her and worshipping the ground she walks on.

I’d prefer for it to be the latter. She fucking deserves it.

“Just say it, Sade,” Vee prompts when I hesitate too long.

I set down my drink. “Okay, you can’t get mad at me, because you’re making me say this… but. Maybe you want to stay in town because they’re here. Maybe some little part of you is still hoping that they’ll come to their senses and break their bond with the she-devil we never mention and maybe, just maybe, you’re sticking around to finally get your happy ending.”

Sadie pauses, her face flushing a deep red.

“You absolute bitch.” She accuses, looking shaken and embarrassed, but not hurt. Thank god. “How dare you call me on my bullshit like that? I thought we were friends.”

I pat her hand and give her a look that tells her I can see through her bullshit. “Sorry. I just had to say it like it is. You know, that’s the only way I roll.” I swallow the rest of my drink in one gulp and then hop off the stool, dragging her with me. “Come on. I did my duty as your friend to point out your flaws. Let’s go dance.”

She lets me pull her through the VIP area, and I cast one more glance over my shoulder at the men I’d been eyeing before. They keep their eyes on me as I descend the stairs, but they don’t follow. Disappointment swirls in my stomach, but I push it away.

There are plenty of fish in the sea, or cocks on the walk, or whatever you want to say. Fixing a smile to my cherry red lips, I tug Vee into the center of the writhing mass of bodies. Scents hit me. Not the typical pheromone scents, because the club is undoubtedly using scent blockers pumped into the AC system, muting omega perfume and alpha scents, but just normal ones. Sweat and alcohol, bottled perfume, soap and shampoo.

The scents I notice as a beta.

The ones alphas and omegas take for granted most of the time.

As the music thumps, energy hits me hard and fast. I love this. I love the crash of the bodies, the inhibitions dropping, the slide of skin against my own. I love the heavy beat of the bass, so loud it thunders over my own pulse, until I feel one with it, my body nothing more than a line in a song.

When we’re dead center, in the crush of bodies, I spin to face Vee, grabbing her hips and making her shimmy with me, before pulling her in and forcing her to move to the beat. She laughs and relaxes in increments, her body going more fluid, her eyes closing as she lifts her hands above her head and tosses her wavy hair in time to the music.

When I’m sure she’s fully immersed in the song, I back up a little, not too far, but no longer guiding her with my body and grin, just watching her let go.

No matter what she says, she needed this.

And fuck I do too.

With one more beaming smile at my friend, my eyes slip closed and I lose myself in the beat.

Chapter 4: In which it is discovered I have a magic kitty

I have no idea how many songs we dance through. One bleeds into the next. Sweat beads on my forehead and drips down my spine, soaking into my black dress. The strands of hair around my face stick to my skin.

But I’m fucking loving this. Every so often I crack open my eyes to find Sylvie, see the beautiful smile on her face as she lets go. I keep an eye on her, making sure no one gets too close. It’s an unfortunate side effect of her illness that too much contact with an alpha can make her physically sick, to the point of vomiting, so I spend a lot of time slipping between her and other bodies. Until everyone finally gets the message that the pretty girl with wavy blond hair and dark roots is off limits.

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