Beyond Beta's Rejection

Chapter 48

(Elias’ POV)

I walked into my office and sat down at my desk, keeping myself very still. The fury raging inside me was at the point of almost tipping over into a destructive warpath. Marcus followed me in, watching me carefully.

“Hey, boss,” he said. I could tell he was keeping his tone even so as not to trigger me. If anyone knew my temper, anger, and monster that lived inside me, I wasn’t talking about my wolf, Jax. If anyone knew that other monster, then Marcus would be the one to have seen him in action. I did my best to keep that side of me, the bloodlust side, firmly under wraps. Only since meeting Harper, since finding my beautiful mate, that monster felt both sated whenever we were around her and instantly hell on earth furious the second anything dares to hurt her.

“How much did you hear?” I asked, looking up at Marcus. We had just been to the cells. I had found Harper snooping around the entrance in what suspiciously looked like she was casing the place. She was trying to get access to get her friend, who we had locked up. Louise Chambers was an odd one. I saw as her husband made a run for the woods, and she made no move to follow him. And then, when I killed the former Gamma of the pack, I expected to turn around and see her screaming, crying, anything that would express the grief that she would have at seeing her own father killed right in front of her. But no, she was staring at her father with such anger and rage that I knew there was more to that story. 

This was why I didn’t treat her like the other detainees, despite her husband being one of the people listed on my list of being responsible for this whole thing. I needed to get Damien Chambers in a cell to get everything I needed to ensure this pack benefited from our operations. I believed Mrs. Chambers when she said she didn’t know where her husband was, but I couldn’t be completely sure. So she stayed in the cells until I knew for sure.

I really thought allowing Harper in to see her friend scored me some brownie points and that maybe Chambers might let something slip that would help me find her husband. So I listened. I stayed right there in the cell as the women talked. What I heard set my blood on fire. The torment and torture that the poor woman had endured at the hands of the people that were meant to be protecting the pack, one of them being her own father, sickened me. I held it together but almost lost it when I realised that because of who she was originally mated to, this could have very likely been the fate of my own mate. The monster inside me howled for blood, and Jax joined in. In fact, for the first time in my life, the three dominant parts of me were in complete agreement. 

The least I could do was agree to let Chambers out and set her up still on the top floor, away from the people who hurt her the most. Finding out that she and Tommy were mates was also a shock and led me to wonder what else Tommy was hiding. So after allowing him to spend some time with his mate, I planned on speaking to him about what else he was hiding from me.

“I heard it all, boss,” Marcus said, pulling me back to the room and my fury, “But we still have to be careful. We need Stokes to ensure the transition is a smooth one,” I growled even though I knew Marcus was right.

“I never liked that slimy mutt,” I growled. “And I see how he looks at my mate, and after what he did to her….” I felt the monster rise, and I saw the red haze setting in before I could grasp control. He had already taken control of my body, and I was helpless to rein him in. I blinked and forced myself to push forward to take control again. Once I breathed through the rage and came back to myself again, I looked up at Marcus in relief. Which quickly turned to shock and then shame. 

The room was trashed. My computer was laid in pieces across the room, and the desk was empty, the original contents now scattered across the floor. Two of the bookshelves were also laid on their sides, with their contents littering the floor. Marcus was standing with his hands outstretched, with a guarded look on his face. I closed my eyes and dropped my head into my hands.

“How long?” I asked, and I heard Marcus blow out a relieved sigh.

“About 20 minutes. Not bad this time,” he said with a nervous laugh. I looked back up at him, and he smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Did he say anything?” When the monster came out, he sometimes had a message to give before I was able to reseal him back up in his box, or whatever it was that kept him simmering with rage inside me.

“He demanded that I command Stokes to come here now and said that he will burn in the fires of hell for all eternity, you know the usual flowery crap you expect” I chuckled at his definition of flowery and shook my head.

“You didn’t call him, did you?” The last thing I wanted was for Stokes to see this mess. Thankfully Marcus shook his head and grinned.

“But I did call for a couple of Omegas to come and clean up,” he said, and I nodded my head. 

“I want to talk to Tommy about Harper and her experience with Stokes,” I said, and Marcus raised an eyebrow.

“Is that a wise move?” he asked, and I grinned.

“I promise he will be on his best behaviour.”

The Omegas arrived looking shocked at the mess, but I allowed Marcus to direct them while I decided to take a short walk around the grounds. I was half tempted to take a trip up to the third floor to see how Harper was doing with her lunch but instead left her to it. It wasn’t long before Marcus was calling me back to the office. And the room was spotless when I got there. Not at all like someone had lost their shit an hour before. I sat at my desk as Marcus passed me some documents, and I started to look over the manifest in front of me. It was a Circle report of the latest merch runs.

“Do we have confirmation that the schedule is in place?” I asked him, looking through all the different descriptions.

“Yeah, I got confirmation from Taylor yesterday,” he said, and I looked up at him.

“And is the shipment the standard, or are there any special orders?”

“No, standard only, no report of living orders this time,” I nodded in relief. The last thing I needed was to deal with a truckload of panicked she-wolves.

“Okay, tell Taylor to keep our men on it. I need this to reach its destination,” 

“Yes, Alpha,” Marcus responded. 

“Did the Luca family get relocated?” 

“Yes, relocated with a cover.” Marcus chuckled, “And I confirmed that Alex Bennet is healing after last night too,”

“Good, he was a good show of strength, so people know we mean business. What about-” that was then. I smelt the overwhelming scent of strawberries and knew that my mate was lingering nearby. I jumped up from my desk to find her. She was standing in the hallways, looking uncertain. I got a sense of unease from her like her mind was conflicted. I hated that we hadn’t mated because I couldn’t mind link with her yet but knew better than to try to force my mark on her. In fact, the growling that happened inside my head from both the monster and Jax told me that they would risk killing themselves to rip me apart for doing such a thing. 

“Harper?” I gave my best disarming smile, although it did little to settle her unease. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you.” I moved closer, hoping my own scent would help calm her down, but caught the strongest scent of that mutt Stokes, and it was all over her. A growl slipped from my lips without warning.

“Why do you smell like Stokes?” I growled and then chastised myself for being so possessive. Thankfully, it didn’t seem to phase her as she rolled her eyes. 

“Because he’s a delusional dick. He was waiting for me at lunch with his mum and the Luna,”

“Former Luna,” I pointed out. She didn’t hold that title, and I wanted Harper to realise that she was destined to be my Luna, not of this pack. That was only temporary, but of the whole empire that I was building.

“Yeah, that. Did you know that Caroline Stokes thinks we are married and all that?” She asked, and another growl slipped from my lips.

“Yes, I was aware of her ramblings.” It was so sad to see the woman lose her mind but worse to see that useless son of hers encouraging it. “I have offered to have her go somewhere where people will help her, but Stokes wasn’t having any of it.” I was beginning to struggle with keeping my cool just thinking about that dick, and I rubbed my eyes to hide the flash of gold that was Jax threatening to break out.

“Anyway, what can I do for you?” I took her hand to help keep myself calm. 

“I erm… just wanted to know how I am expected to dress at dinner. It’s been so long since I have done one and all that.” she was so sweet when she rambled, and it took all my effort not to chuckle.

“There’s no dress code,” I said and pulled her in close to scent her beautiful fruity scent. “Whatever you wear will be beautiful,” and I laid my lips on her forehead and could feel the slightest tremor in her when I did it.

“Well, ok then, I will see you at dinner,” she turned to go, but I didn’t want this to end. I had the feeling she was pulling away from me.

“Harper,” she looked at me, the nervous look returning to her face. “I’ll pick you up from your room. I would like us to enter together.” She smiled, and I finally ran out of excuses to keep her here with me, so regrettably, I let her go. I watched as she walked down the hallway until she turned the corner and disappeared from sight. I took a deep breath, hoping to catch the remnants of her beautiful scent.

“Okay, lover boy, back to work,” Marcus called from the office, and I muttered under my breath how much of a dick he was. He laughed out loud to indicate he had still heard me.

“I have Tommy on his way down in a few minutes,” he said, and I grimaced. Good, I was ready to hear the ugly truth about the time that Colton had my mate under his possession.

Chapter 53 - Beyond Beta's Rejection