Page 30 of Star-crossed Betas

Me:It’s a good job you’re pretty -_-

Cee:And to think, I thought it was my mad BJ skills that won you over ;)

Me:You’ll have to remind me :p Going to sleep before Santa gets here, night xxx

Cee:Hope you’ve been a good boy this year ;) Night xxxxxxxxx

“Who ya texting?”

“Jesus Christ, Alf, thought you were asleep,” I whisper shout at my younger brother.

We’re staying at the family cottage in Kendal for Christmas, so I’m sleeping on a pull-out bed on the floor in his room because Jasper and Jade are sleeping in the room I used to share with Jas.

“I was trying to sleep, but then I kept hearing you giggling down there,” he replies.

“I wasn’t giggling, and it’s Alice. Santa won’t visit if you’re awake,” I tell him. I make a mental note to text her because then it feels less of a lie.

Alice is my best friend and neighbour, we’ve known each other since we were pups. She doesn’t know who Cee is specifically,but she does know I’ve been seeing someone in secret, and she covers for me sometimes.

“Charlotte told me Santa isn’t real.”

How did I go from a quick Merry Christmas text to my boyfriend to having to choose whether or not to kill my ten-year-old brother’s Christmas spirit? As future Alpha, Jasper can field this one.

“Maybe you should ask Jas about it tomorrow. He’s very clever; he’ll know,” I whisper back. “But it’s probably best to go to sleep just in case, you know?”

Alfie lets out a little hmm, like he’s debating the merit of my suggestion.

“Yeah, okay. Night, Nix,” he says before rolling over. I may not have a visit from Santa to look forward to, but I can’t wait to see Jasper try to dodge Alfie’s line of questioning tomorrow. I shoot a quick Merry Christmas text off to Alice and try to get some sleep myself.

“You ever going to tell me who your mystery man is?”Alice asks down the pack bond. We’re both in our wolf forms so we can head to our respective New Year’s Eve plans.

“Are you going to tell me which Eastwood sibling you’re going to meet tonight?”I ask back without answering her question.

This whole situation has worked out pretty sweet for me this year. A couple of weeks ago, Alice started hooking up with one of the Eastwoods, I’m guessing it’s Benjy because he’s our age, but she won’t tell me. I’m pretty sure the only reason she’s keeping it a secret is because she’s salty I won’t tell her who Cee is. We told our families we’ll spend New Year’s Eve together, so we’re meeting back here tomorrow morning.

“I’ll tell when you tell,”she replies. See? Salty.

“I’ll tell you one day.”This is my stock answer to this question now, and I’m not lying. I will tell her one day; I’ll tell everyone one day. I know I’m only twenty-two, but Cee is it for me, and I know we’ll find a way to be together out in the open eventually.

I’m an hour early when I get to the abandoned barn where Cee and I meet. Plenty of time for what I have planned. I carried a big duffel bag in my mouth the entire way here so I’d have everything I needed. I start by hanging a pack of battery-powered fairy lights along the top of the wall in the corner. The hay we use to cushion the ground is scattered from the last time we were here, so I set to work spreading it more evenly before laying out two thick blankets over the top.

We found this barn last autumn; there’s never been anyone else’s scent here, so we assume it’s probably sitting on some unused land. There was a particularly bad storm in November, though, that ripped off some of the roof shingles. Fortunately, we were able to patch it up. Okay, so it was mostly Cee—he’s an actual joiner—I just passed him the tools when he asked for them.

The final touch for my New Year’s plans is the bottle of champagne I nabbed from my parents’ cellar and two plastic wine glasses. Laying them in the centre of the blanket, I step back to admire my handiwork. It looks pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

Around six months ago, Cee made us a joint playlist we could both add songs to. It’s basically half songs I enjoy and half songs he adds to try to annoy me. Joke’s on him, though, because I love me some Whitney Houston. I’m connecting my tiny portable speaker to my phone when I hear the gentlethud, thud, thud,of heavy paws in the distance.

A few minutes later, Cee's big furry grey head pokes through the door; he nudges it wider and walks inside before he shifts back.

“You did all this?” he asks, taking in my surprise. I grin at him in response and make grabby hands, beckoning him to hurry up and cuddle me. “One sec, let me throw some joggers on,” he says, reaching into his rucksack.

“I mean, don’t feel you have to because I’ll probably just take them right off.”

“Exactly, and who am I to deny you the opportunity to strip me naked.” He winks at me as he pulls the joggers on; they hang loose on his waist, and I accidentally let out a needy whine.

“Get over here and kiss me. I haven’t seen you in a bajillion years.” Cee laughs at me but makes his way over and straddles my thighs. Holding my face in his palms, he presses his lips to mine in a kiss far too chaste for my liking.

“Two weeks, actually,” he says between kisses.

---