Betrayed by My Beta Mate

Chapter 71

5 Respect

Larisa POV

I head to the room that Eli gave to Clara. I knock and after a few seconds the door slowly opens. She smiles when she sees me. “Good morning Clara” I say. She opens the door completely and I head inside with the clothes I have for her. We are about the same size, so I went through my closet. I set the clothes down on the dresser. “How did you sleep, Clara?” “Better than I have ever in my life.” My heart breaks at her words, but I keep my face even. I don’t want her to see sympathy on my face. I don’t want her to think that I see her as a victim. If anything, she is a survivor even though I have no idea exactly what she has survived. “I thought after breakfast I could give you a tour of the pack. I know Eli has a meeting this morning.” The smile leaves her face as quickly as it came. I walk over until I’m standing in front of her. “What’s wrong Clara?” “I still can’t believe the goddess would choose me for your brother.” “I think she was right for choosing you for Eli.” She looks at me confused. “It would be easy for an Alpha to accept a girl that was raised to be a Luna. Only a really special Alpha would see the value in a mate that is going to learn to be a Luna by his side.” The smile that returns to her face is brilliant. She wraps me in a hug. “Besides, I wouldn’t want a stuck-up witch for my sister.” She starts to laugh and I’m glad that I could make her feel better.

She grabs a pair of jeans and a t-shirt off the dresser before she heads into the bathroom. A knock sounds on the door and when I swing it open Eli looks confused. “I thought you had a meeting this morning with father and Alpha Gabriel.” “I asked to be excused because I want to spend time with Clara.” “No way”, I hear from over my shoulder. I turn and Clara has her hand over her mouth. She slides it down and her cheeks are red. “I’m sorry, I just meant you need to go to your meeting. I will be here when you’re done. Besides, Larisa is going to give me a tour of the pack.” I look back at Eli and he is smiling from ear to ear. “Alright, it’s a date. As soon as the meeting is over I’ll come to find you.” He

nods at me before he turns to leave. “Eli” she says before she walks over and goes up on her tippy toes. She kisses Eli’s cheek before she comes to stand next to me. Eli leaves and we head downstairs to the dining room. When we walk in, I notice Susan is sitting at a table with a few other girls.

I know she is disappointed, but I hope she accepts that she isn’t destined to be with my brother. She has a mate and he is her other half, not Eli. Clara thankfully doesn’t notice her. I lead her over and we grab our trays. I notice she doesn’t take much. “You can take as much as you like.” “Thank you, honestly, I’m not used to eating a lot.” I don’t push the issue and we take a seat at one of the tables. “So what color is your wolf?” “She is chocolate brown and beautiful.” “I can’t wait till I get my wolf. I only have a few months to wait.” I look up and Susan, Jade, and Tanya are walking toward our table. I stand walking toward them without saying a word to Clara. I stop in front of Susan. “What are you doing?” “I’m going to meet our future Luna, Larisa” she says with all the sarcasm she can muster. “No, you’re not. I am your friend but I am only going to warn you once. If you say or do anything to hurt Clara, I am going to be your worst nightmare. She is Eli’s mate, not you.” I see the hurt flash across her face but it’s gone as quickly as it came. “You are no friend to pick that rogue over me. She isn’t worthy of being the Luna of this pack or your brother’s mate.” “It’s a good thing it’s the goddess’s choice and not yours. Now walk away before I let my father know exactly how his pack member is talking about the future Luna.” “You wouldn’t dare.” I laugh “try me and find out.”

She steps closer to me. “You’re going to be very sorry. I’ll make sure of it, Larisa.” A growl comes from behind me and I turn to see Clara’s eyes are black. I hear a laugh and I turn back to Susan. “Do you really think we are afraid of a you little rogue b**ch?” I’ve had enough but before I can deal with Susan, a growl that shakes the room draws everyone’s attention. My father walks in our direction. Everyone bares their neck to him. He comes to stand in front of all of us. “I want the five of you in the kitchen now.” I take Clara’s hand, leading her into the kitchen. We stand on one side of the room while the other girls stand on the other. “Now I heard that you girls have a problem with the future Luna of this pack”, he says to them. Susan shoots daggers at me before she drops her gaze. “For your information, Susan, it wasn’t Larisa who linked me about your behavior.” “I did”, we hear from the doorway. Evan

who is an omega in our pack, steps inside and bares his neck to my father. “Thank you Evan”, my father says, and he heads back into the dining room.

Lincoln POV

We are in my office meeting with Alpha Gabriel of the Moon Stone Pack. “I’m glad we have this opportunity to form an alliance. I know my pack is nowhere near as big as yours, but I promise that my men and women are fierce warriors.” “I’m sure they are Gabriel. Eli and I would love to come and tour your pack.” He smiles “absolutely, maybe Eli’s mate is one of my unmated females.” “I appreciate you thinking of my son but he has found his mate and our future Luna.” “I apologize, I didn’t see the mark.” “No apology is necessary Gabriel, I just found her” Eli says. “Congratulations on finding your mate, Eli. I just turned twenty-five and I still haven’t found her.” He is nothing like that a**hat Mateo, so I have no problem introducing him to the unmated females in my pack. “Would you like to meet with our unmated females, Gabriel?” He smiles “absolutely, thank you Lincoln.” We all stand and head for the door. Once we start down the hallway, I get a link from Evan. “Alpha, I am so sorry to interrupt you but there is a situation in the dining room with Larisa.” I don’t even let him finish telling me exactly what’s happening.

“Eli, can you take Gabriel down to the pack yard and I will join you in a moment.” I can see concern on his face but he does as I ask. As soon as I reach the dining room, I hear Larisa’s friend Susan talking about Clara. When I hear her threaten my daughter, Talon is ready to lose his sh*t. We growl and the whole room goes quiet. Once we are in the kitchen, I take a deep breath to calm us both. “I am only going to give you girls a warning once. If I ever hear you disrespect Larisa or your future Luna again, you will not like the punishment I hand down. I could banish you today for such behavior.” Their eyes fly to mine and drop immediately. “We are sorry Alpha” they all start to plead. “It is not me you should be apologizing to.” The three of them start to say how sorry they are, but I don’t think Susan is sincere. I know she is hurt but I will not stand for her mistreating anyone in this pack. “Are we clear about what the consequences will be if anything like this happens again?” “Yes Alpha” they say in unison. “You are

all dismissed.” They rush from the room and I turn to Larisa and Clara smiling. “We can talk more about this later but I just want to say I’m proud of you both.” I leave to join Eli and Gabriel in the pack yard.

Eli POV

I wonder what the hell could be so important that my father would leave a visiting Alpha. We reach the pack yard and the girls are waiting with smiles on their faces. He walks up to each one and greets them. I’m glad my father has formed an alliance with his pack. He seems like a genuine man. A few minutes later, my father joins us but he says nothing about where he has been. “It was lovely to meet you all”, Gabriel says to the women before he joins us. “Thank you for allowing me to meet more of your pack.” “Your welcome” my father says. “Eli I’m going to escort Gabriel to the gate. Will you wait for me in my office?” “Of course”, I say and head to my father’s office. Ten minutes later, he comes inside and takes a seat. “What happened” I ask. My father tells me everything that Susan and her friends said and did. I can’t help the growls that escape me. “She had better stay away from our mate”, Silas says. “Hopefully, she listens to my father, or I will not be so forgiving.” “I know your angry, Eli, because I would be furious if anyone ever spoke like that about your mother.” “I am but as long as Clara is alright I will let that anger go. I hope for Susan’s sake she listens to your orders.” He nods “go find your mate and spend some time with her.” He doesn’t have to say it twice. I am out the door and off to find Clara.

Calliope POV

I don’t know what I expected the collective to be like. Pack wolves speak about rogues like they are unsophisticated animals that wreak of rotting meat. They act like they are beneath us. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. When we arrived at the collective, Abigale showed us to a cottage. It may not be a pack house but it’s beautiful and quaint. It has two bedrooms and has been decorated with warm colors. It’s perfect and I feel more comfortable here than I ever did in the pack house. Everyone we have met has been very kind and welcoming. I just pray that us coming here doesn’t put the collective in danger. I head downstairs after I’m showered and dressed. My mother is in the kitchen cooking

breakfast. “Good morning, Calliope, how did you sleep?” “Well, how about you mother?” She smiles “let’s just say I slept all the night for the first time in a long time.” As we eat breakfast, a knock sounds on the door. I get up to answer it and Abigale is waiting on the porch. “Good morning” she says. Sarah steps off from behind her and wraps me in a hug. “Good morning little one.” “Good morning Calliope” she says. “Do you think I can see your wolf” she says with a toothy smile. “Sarah” Abigale starts to say, but I’m more than ok with letting Aurora out for a run.

“If it’s alright with your mom, Aurora would love to meet you.” Abigale smiles and nods at me. We head outside and around to the back of the cottage. I step back from my mother, Abigale, and Sarah. I shift and Aurora stretches. Sarah is smiling from ear to ear. When Aurora gets close she lays down and Sarah climbs on her back. I can feel her snuggle into Aurora’s fur. Aurora stands and walks slowly in a circle before she lays down again. Sarah slides off and goes to stand next to Abigale and my mother. I shift and Abigale and Sarah are staring at me with wonder on their faces. “How,” Abigale says. I look down and realize she is asking how my clothes are still intact. “My wolf is special.” She smiles “I think that you are just as special as Aurora, Calliope. The goddess has made you strong and brought you and your mother here to live a better life.” She walks over to me and wraps me in a hug. We head back toward the cottage and Sarah takes my hand. We pass a few trees and I feel like we are being watched. I scent the air but I don’t smell anyone. “Are you alright” Abigale asks, getting my attention. “Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go inside and you can tell us what we can do to contribute to the collective.”