Beyond Beta's Rejection

(Elias’ POV)

“Elias, calm down!” Marcus shouted over the roar of rage in my head. “Control it, for f**k’s sake.”

“I am going to find him and rip the bastard limb from limb!” I snarled, “Now get out of my f*****g way before I make you get out of my way” Marcus widened his stance in front of the doo,r stopping me from going on a rampage to find the abusive little mutt.

“Elias, don’t let him take over,” Marcus growled.

“Oh, this isn’t him. This is all me. I am the one to do this, not him,” I growled back. I felt a hand on my shoulder and whipped around, smashing my fist into the person’s body and realising a second too late that I had just knocked Tommy flying. He jumped up, shining gold and then bright white. That was enough to break me from my rage for a second and enough for me to breathe through and control it.

“What the f**k was that?” I exclaimed as his eyes bled back to their normal colour.

“My wolf,” he said a little too dismissively. It was a sure sign that he was hiding something. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he just shrugged again and picked up one of the fallen chairs and sat in it like his Alpha hadn’t gone completely berserk on him. I shook my head and turned to Marcus.

“You need to ensure that piece of s**t stays away from me, and especially stays away from Harper.” I thought for a second and then looked at him. “In fact, your job from now until further notice is guarding Harper. You understand me?” I asked, and he nodded, a grin on his face.

“Yes boss, I can break him enough that he is still fulfilling his uses if he steps out of line.” He said, and I nodded, satisfied. I knew that Marcus would protect my mate with his life. He was a gamma from a long line of Gamma’s, and since he swore loyalty, his main duty would be to protect my Luna from everyone, including myself. Not that it would ever be the case. Marcus had been itching to get on Luna duty since he found out that Harper was my mate.

“There’s just one problem with keeping him away from you,” Tommy said casually. “Well, probably not one, but one in particular.” I watched him waiting for his answer.

“Well?” I snapped, and he glanced up at me, amused.

“The dinner tonight,” he said simply, and both Marcus and I g*****d at the same time. He was right. Stokes would be at the dinner and sitting at the top table at my side. I growled when I realised that Harper would be sitting on my other side. I fully planned on making sure we were seen as a unit. Not just for the people but also for Harper herself. The quicker she started to see the power of the mate bond, the quicker she would accept me as her mate.

I shook my head. I would have to block him to a minimum and get through it, just get through these next few weeks, and then we would be done here, anyway.Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“Fine,” I sighed. “Marcus, you are on Harper duty. And Tommy, I need you to watch Colton.”

“I’m banned from the dinners,” Tommy said.

“Well, you’re not now. In fact, your mate was one of the ranked families, so you can sit with her at their table.” Tommy nodded with a smile on his face. I nodded back, satisfied.

I thought back to what Tommy had told me about that one incident with the picnic, coupled with what I knew about the ring that Colton had sealed on Harper’s finger. I knew that ring was something that kept her attached to not just the little s**t himself but to the trauma he caused her ten years ago. If I could bet her to start healing, then I could get her to release the hold on the trauma and everything that went along with it. That needed to start with breaking down her walls. I stopped and thought, suddenly I had a good idea for our date tomorrow night. It would be risky, but it could be major if I played it right.

I glanced over at Tommy. “Ok you need to tell me everything, in detail about that night,” I said and then looked at Marcus, “and get Bennet up here too.” He nodded, and his eyes glazed over as he contacted Alex Bennet.

A few hours later, the four of us had a plan of action to keep Stokes under close eye and also kept Harper safe. I was satisfied enough to leave and go and collect my mate for the pack dinner. I knocked on the door, and when she opened it, I was struck dumb for a second by how beautiful she looked. She was wearing a black dress that hugged her stunning figure, and her hair flowed straight down her back.

“Wow, you look amazing.” I kissed her cheek and revelled in her amazing fruity scent. “Are you ready to go down? People are arriving.” She smiled at me and then looked back into the room when I noticed that Louise was there. They both looked nervous for some reason. I was about to question it when she looked at me and gave me that beautiful smile again, and my concern melted. I felt so at ease around her. It was literally the only time that everything was quiet inside me.

“I’m ready,” she said, and I offered my arm, which she took, and tingles ran through my body, even through my clothes. I glanced back at Louise, who was still looking nervous. I guess I couldn’t blame her. I had locked her up for three months. I would need to find a way to show her that I wasn’t going to hurt her friend.

“We’ll see you down there, Louise?” I asked, and she nodded quickly. I smiled at that and headed down to the main hall with my beautiful mate on my arm.

Walking into the hall on previous dinners was always tense. I would see the pack members almost take a collective gasp like I was going to order their deaths right there and then. But tonight was different. The pack recognised Harper, and I wondered if seeing her at ease on my arm helped them see me in a different light. People approached Harper and me, mostly talking to her but still being friendly with me. I was happy to see Marcus flag us as soon as we walked into the hall, watching everyone with suspicion.

We finally made it to our seats, and I purposely put myself between Stokes and Harper. She looked relieved when she saw that. I could still tell she was nervous, so Marcus and I told her stupid stories from our early misendeavors and did our best to make her laugh and, more importantly, block Stokes out away from her. I still noticed the glances she sent his way, and I could feel the nerves rolling off of her. Stokes had tried to speak to me at one point, claiming he had some important information or something. I almost gave in, but Harper had pulled me in for an amazing k**s. It had started slowly, but then I felt her ease down and allow herself to be taken by the k**s. I had to break it even and allow us both to come up for air, although I didn’t want to. Whatever had happened to her during that k**s, though, Harper seemed more relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the evening. I dunno. Even Stokes was being less sulky. But the rest of the evening passed quickly, and I was sad to be walking her back to her room.

When we reached her door, I wanted to carry her in and take her as my own. I wanted to fall to my knees and beg her to allow me to worship her. Or, at the very least, I wanted her to see how I looked at her and how much I knew I was already falling in love with her. Instead, I didn’t push it. I didn’t try to impress her. I kissed her cheek lightly and wished her sweet dreams before allowing her to close the door. I leaned against the door, really hoping that she would have sweet dreams and that I would play a starring role in them.

I headed back to my room, and mind linked to Marcus. I was checking that everything was in place for tomorrow. I wanted it to be absolutely perfect and for Harper to be completely relaxed. Marcus laughed and told me to stop bothering and go to sleep. I didn’t know how to go to sleep, though, because a lot was riding on tomorrow. If I messaged this up, then I knew that I would have no chance with Harper trusting me again. I stripped to my boxers, carefully laying my clothes onto the ottoman at the end of my bed before sliding into my covers. I laid there awake for some time before finally falling asleep. In my dream, I was running through the woods, chasing something. But I wasn’t alone. To my left, Jax ran and to my right was a shadow. We all matched each other in every way. If I verved, then they verved, and if I sped up, so did they. We were mirroring each other, and I enjoyed the feeling of freedom you get when you run at speed. Slowly the forest gave way to fires, and everything around me was on fire. The hotter it got, the more difficult it was to breathe. The lack of oxygen caused me to slow down, and Jax along with me. The slower Jax and I got, the quicker the shadow got. It was like it thrived on the heat and the destruction.

Then up ahead, I saw a bright white light that looked to be at the peak of a hill. The shadow ran towards it. I pushed against my aching muscles towards the light. As I got closer, I saw a figure in the light. The figure had long dark hair and a long, flowing white dress. The dress had small stones on it that seemed to reflect light from somewhere and was what was causing the ethereal glow that I could see. As I got to the top of the hill, I saw the shadow standing tall next to the figure, and both were looking down into a massive crater. I stood at the edge and looked down into the crater to see what looked like a big battle going on. I could make out bodies, but they were blurred like they weren’t really there. I looked up and noticed three other sources of lights around the edge of the crater, each with its own person looking down onto the battlefield. I glanced back at the figure beside me when I realised the person was Harper. She smiled at me and went to speak when suddenly I felt something hit me in my gut, and I was knocked back. As I landed on my a*s, everything went black, and I shot up in bed.

I looked around the room, now lit up with the morning light, until I saw Marcus grinning at me. I then noticed one of my shoes on the bed and growled. I looked back up at him.

“Did you just throw a shoe at me?” I asked, and he grinned again.

“Yeah, because I’m gonna wake you up the regular way,” he said and rolled his eyes. I laughed and threw the shoe at him.

“I’m not that bad,” I muttered to myself.

“Sure, you’re a cupcake of sweetness,” he replied sarcastically as I headed towards my bathroom to get ready.

Once I had showered and gotten ready for the day, I walked back into my room to see Marcus still there. He was flicking through one of my random magazines.

“You don’t have any place to be?” I asked, and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I sorted a breakfast for your girl and set Stokes a list a mile long,” he said. “He won’t have time to pester her today.”

I nodded a thanks. “And everything is ready for tonight?” I asked. “This is really important. It can’t be messed up.”

Marcus grinned and nodded his head. “Don’t worry, boss, everything is set up. I got people out at the location today, and it will be ready for you.”

Satisfied knowing that there wasn’t anything I could do but wait, I decided to get some work done. We were almost complete with the plans for this pack, and I wanted to map out the next pack we were going to take. We had a few to choose from and scouts at all, but I was conscious of certain organised elements watching us and wanted to be as strategic as possible for maximum impact, if not anything else.

I spent the day pouring over maps and plans with Marcus while liaising with various scouts. I had decided to leave Harper alone for the day. I knew that she was with Louise, and Tommy had told me they were doing some girly self-care thing, so I was happy that Harper was at least content in her day. It wasn’t long before I was back in my room, getting ready for the evening. The plans I had required a more casual approach, so I put aside my usual suits and wore jeans and a t-shirt. I headed over to her room with the roses I had bought in hand. I knew roses were cheesy, but I didn’t mind a little cheese. I had a weight in my stomach from the nerves. This was crucial, and if it worked, it would let Harper know that she could count on someone other than herself.

I knocked on her door and was floored when she opened it. Again, her hair was straight and down her back, and she wore the amazing jeans that hugged close enough to her body that I felt jealous of the amazing material. The top she wore was a deep red shade that complimented her skin perfectly and was enhanced by the deep red that adorned her lips. I wanted to cancel the whole thing right there and then and just take her back to my room. I was speechless and held out the roses to her like an i***t without even saying anything. I shook myself to get my head back in the game.

“Happy Birthday,” I finally said, and she smiled, and I held out my arm once more for her. And she took it after handing the roses to Louise, who was standing behind her eyeing me suspiciously. Harper and I headed out of the pack house into the courtyard, where I had one of my cars waiting for us. I helped her into the car, holding the door open for her, then ran around the other side and jumped in. We set off down the drive, and I sent a quick, silent prayer to the moon goddess that this would actually work.