Page 20 of A Second Chance for the Beta
She sighs, clearly understanding that it’s her I’m worried about. I’m scared she might be fed up with me, but to my surprise, she nudges me with her elbow. “I love you, despite you constantly worrying about me.”
I reach out my hand, letting my fingers glide through her hair. She wears it short, and I love it. She looks like a fairy that way, a tough one. Before I can pull my hand away, she kisses the palm of it and takes it into hers.
“Any hints of someone creeping around?” I ask Ella when we exit our cab.
She furrows her brows, checking her surroundings. “No, I don’t think so, but we can never be certain.”
“It’s very unsettling that someone is following us. And we don’t even know who they are or what they want,” I point out.
“Do you think they could be after Charlie?” Ella asks.
“But why?” I point out. “Charlie is fifteen now from what we researched. Why would they be after him now of all times?”
“Maybe for the same reason we are,” Ella points out. “It took me quite some years to find out I have a living family. I just don’t know why else they would be following us. We aren’t particularly difficult to track. If someone wanted to find you or me, they would be able to do so easily.”
“That’s true. Especially for werewolves. It’s not like we are living a hidden, secretive life.”
Ella looks like she has more to say, but we find ourselves stepping through the doors of the charity organization Prince Eric sent us to, and both decide to shut up. To our surprise a young man at the counter indeed expects us.
“Ella Messina-Hargrove?” he asks tentatively and addresses Ella directly. He peeks at his tablet a few times. “Can you show us your papers?”
“Of course.” Ella takes her passport and hands it to him, and he nods in relief.
“And this is—” He looks at me.
“Dante Messina-Hargrove,” I introduce myself. “I’m Ella’s husband.”
When we married, we decided to keep both our names. We both liked the way they sound together.
The man checks our documents and then types something on his tablet. “Please follow me,” he says in a low voice. Ella and I nod and trail behind him. He leads us to the garage, where an older man is waiting for us. He is clearly a wolf; I can easily take up his scent, but he doesn’t seem to be hostile.
“Thank you, Kurt,” he says to the young man before gesturing for him to leave. “I’m Gerard,” he says, lowering his tone. “Eric is an old friend and vouched for you.”
“You are a member of the Council?” I ask.
He nods. “There is a lycan pack in Cambridge,” he explains. “I’m an elder there.” He pauses. “But we are not here to exchange pleasantries. I know you have no reason to trust me just like that, but please join me for a drive.”
Ella and I exchange a gaze. I don’t need to mind link her to know what she is thinking. It’s a well-placed risk we have to take. We are both strong, and I doubt anyone noticed yet that I am a lycan. If shit goes down, we’ll have that surprise to our advantage.
“We are ready to come with you,” Ella says.
Gerard nods in relief before unlocking his car. I let Ella have the front seat, and once inside, Gerard immediately starts his car and takes off. It’s the right time to ask another pressing question. Before I can do so, though, Ella beats me to it. “Did you have us watched when we arrived?” she asks, not beating around the bush.
Diplomacy has never been your forte,I snort through the mind link, unable to hide my amusement. I love how straightforward she is.
Ella’s lips tug into a smirk.
“You were followed?” Gerard asks.
“By your surprise, we assume it wasn’t your men?” I push.
Gerard shakes his head. “I didn’t have you followed; I just expected you.”
“I doubt Eric had us followed either,” Ella says.
I furrow my brows. This is indeed a bit worrying. If it wasn’t Gerard or anyone from the Council tailing us, who was it? I check my phone to see if I have already gotten a reply from the Council concerning the pictures we sent them, but there isn’t one yet.
We can’t help it now, so instead, Ella and I keep the conversation running with Gerard. He talks to us about how he met Eric during a meeting in Rome a few years ago, explaining to us how Eric’s extra attitude was controversial at first, but soon he rose through the political ranks due to his cunning and intelligent nature.
