Chapter 8 A Better Beta

Alaric's POV A few days later. “I have news about Cara Wilson, sir.” My Gamma, George knocks on my office door. I gesture for him to enter and close the door behind him. “Well? Have you heard who fathered her child?” I return to signing the documents in front of me while he speaks. “Not exactly. I have it on good authority that Eamon Auburn is also investigating her, though.” The pen in my hand snaps in half. I’m irked by this news, and my muscles tense tightly, too tightly, before I can control myself. “That’s not all.” George clears his throat. “She’s not pregnant, sir. Her friend is an obstetrician at the hospital. Cara was there for a social visit.” I let out an exhale through my nose. “Relieved? Or disappointed she wasn’t carrying your young?” Grey mocks inside my head. “You know damn well it would spell nothing but doom and misfortune for her and the baby if that were the case. No, this is pure relief,” I chastise my wolf silently. “And yet I can taste your regret for her to be leaving the pack,” Grey shot back. “Good Betas are hard to find,” I reply. “Which I’m sure Eamon Auburn knows, too.” “You’re just going to let him snatch Cara up, then?” Grey’s voice was low, approaching a growl. I ignored him, not wanting to get into this while I still have work to do. I thumb through the documents on my desk: contracts, financials, meeting minutes. Pack DarkWood’s influence and strength had done nothing but grow in the three years since I’d taken over as Alpha King. But we could do better. We were positioned to be the strongest in the world soon. By securing the alliance with BloodyMoon through my marriage to Lilia, we were one step closer. Eamon was a formidable Alpha and would be an excellent ally, especially once Lilia bore my heir who would be Eamon’s own flesh and blood. Yes, I needed to focus on the future. On Lilia. On the well-being of the pack. I order George to take the signed documents in front of me and bring in new files. He reaches clumsily across the desk and mistakenly swats at my coffee cup. My signature on the page is barely visible through the pool of hot brown coffee. The liquid soaks through, and soon enough the pages underneath are ruined, too. There’s even a small brown stain on the cuff of my white shirt. “I guess good help really is hard to find.” I glare at my Gamma, and George averts his eyes meekly. “Get this mess cleaned up and bring me replacements to sign. And don’t EVER let this happen again,” I growl at him. If it were Cara... Cara never would have let this happen. ** * Later that night, I return to the Alpha family mansion to find Lilia asleep on the sofa. Her dark red hair flows prettily over the soft colors of the floral pillow.She almost looks peaceful. “For once in her life,” Grey mutters. I internally hiss at him. “Show some respect. I’m sure it’s hard to handle, changing packs so quickly. Give her some credit.” “I’ll give her as much credit as you give Cara.” My wolf retorts. I sigh and mentally wave him off. Someday, Grey and I will probably look back at this rough period in our lives and laugh. Right now though, he’s being a royal pain in my ass. Lilia stirs from her sleep as I step into the room. She speaks through a yawn, “I’ve been waiting for you.” Her lips break into a smile, “I’ve prepared dinner just for you.” I hear the slightest sound of a cough from the corner, and I look over to see the maidservant patting her own chest. Lilia and I dine in the formal dining room, candles lit at the center of the table. Lilia has made my favorite meal, steak and potatoes. The steak is cooked perfectly, prepared exactly the same way as I normally ask of the cook. Exactly the same way. It’s sweet that Lilia wanted to make my favorite dinner for me. If she needed a little help from the chef, then so what? How could Lilia be expected to know what I like? Lilia’s kindness and thoughtfulness were the important part of the dinner. And those attributes are what will make her such a good Luna for the pack. I don’t need her to be a perfect chef, I already have one of those. It’s her heart that matters. And I found out a long time ago that Lilia’s heart is strong, caring, and honest. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for saving me when we were kids all those years ago,” I said to her softly. “Do you still remember it?” I had nightmares about that time frequently. Dreams of being a small, defenseless child. Trapped in an unfamiliar and dark place, unable to find a way out, no matter how hard I tried. The confusion. The loneliness. The terror. I don’t think I could ever forget. “Of course I do,” she said sweetly. “When you… when you fell… into the river! It was so, so terrible!” I blinked at her several times, knitting my eyebrows together in confusion. “There was no river. I got lost in the woods. Don’t you remember?” Suddenly, we all fell silent. She burst into tears, wailing. “I’m so sorry! It was so traumatic for me, I… I must’ve blocked it all out. Oh, Alaric, you have to understand! I was so frightened!” She rose from her seat and walked over to sit in my lap. “Please, Alpha King, I’ve known so much pain in my life, please don’t abandon me now. We’re just getting to know each other, after all these years. Please, I just want you,” She sobbed into my shoulder. I knew I should have wrapped my arms around her in comfort, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Something didn’t feel quite right. I stood up, gliding her off of my lap. “I have some more work to do this evening. Don’t wait up for me,” I said, keeping my voice gentle to avoid setting her off into fresh hysterics. That much was true, these days I always had more work left to do. George was filling in as Beta, but each passing day made it clearer and clearer that he was not the right fit for the job. I know he really wants to be my beta. His noble family put a lot of pressure on him. But...It took him three hours to do tasks Cara could handle in one. So, George and I were working overtime. Every single day. It was rough on both of us. “If I might say, sir, you don’t seem like yourself. You seem… well, to speak frankly, sir, you seem unhappy. Especially to me.” George had told me on one late night. I snorted in a laugh, not wanting to acknowledge my agreement out loud. No, I wasn’t happy. But how could an Alpha be happy without a good quality Beta? I just needed to find someone to fill the void. “Put out a posting for a new Beta,” I ordered. “I want to do interviews as soon as possible. Find me the very best candidates, and quickly.” I need to find a Beta like Cara. ...No, I need to find a better Beta than Cara.