My Beautiful Beta

Chapter 4

"That has to be Jooheon." Ann said as I jumped up to get the door. He came bursting in the moment the door swung open and rushed into the living room.

"Oh fuck... Is she ok? What happened? How did it happen? Tell me everything." I heard the door shut and realized he hadn't come alone. Shownu was there behind me standing quietly watching me. I could tell he was worried. About Jooheon. About Alise. But mostly... About me... And for the life of me, I couldn't figure out the why even though everything in my brain screamed that that's how one is supposed to feel. He came towards me and opened his arms. I fell into his embrace and just sighed.

I knew that Alise would need Jooheon when she finally woke up but I hadn't realized how much I needed Shownu. His presence calmed my entire being. I'd never felt like this before. I inhaled his scent deeply before releasing it. I must have made a noise that only he could hear because he held me tighter. He pulled me into the living room so I could explain what had happened. Jooheon was already talking to Ann who had pulled him to the side so they wouldn't disturb Alise.

We started to tell him what had happened but Alise started to stir and called out his name. He raced to her side taking her hand in his.

"Careful, princess. Take it nice and slow. Ok? Can you drink some water for me? Good girl. Ok... Rest now, I've got you." He voice had changed. It was softer than it had been when he first got here and his power had mellowed. He still felt like an Alpha but it didn't make me feel like cowering. Of course, having Shownu by my side helped immensely.

"What... What are you doing here?" Alise tried to get out.

"I called him." I stated. "I figured him being here would make you feel better." I sighed and sat down.

"God... I've been having the weirdest dreams lately." Alise started placing her hands on her head, trying to shake away something.

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?" Jooheon asked as everyone watched her. Ann and I were seated on the love seat across from Alise and Shownu was standing behind Jooheon. Alise took a deep breathe before she began to speak. 

"Well I'm not sure really. All I know is, I keep seeing this wolf. The first dream I had I was running through the woods. Actually, we... Were running in the woods. It was so vivid. The next time... Was just this morning but I wasn't asleep. I was wide awake but... I don't know. It felt like my bones were breaking and coming back together. I even felt fur. Then... I woke up here. But I can still see a wolf's face. I think I even heard it howl in my head."

"No... Sweetie, you did that yourself before you passed out." I said. Ann patted her hand. Jooheon was just staring at floor.

Alise looked at us all in horror.

"What?!? I... I howled? You're kidding, right?" We both shook our heads, that we were not.

"It was a pretty good howl, too." Ann chimed in. I turned my head to face her, glaring. "Sorry."

"Great... I'm over here going crazy and howling out loud and you're complimenting me on my skills? I'm so happy you think my wolf impressions are up to snuff." She rolled her eyes and covered her face leaning forward on her knees.

"You aren't going crazy." Jooheon finally spoke.

"Ok... Then what would you call it? I know I don't feel crazy but I don't think I'd know what crazy felt like, if it felt like anything. Fuck! Now I'm mumbling like a crazy person!" Alise clapped her hand over her mouth to shut herself up. Jooheon smirked.

Suddenly Alise stood up saying she wanted to take a walk to clear her head. That she needed the fresh air. Jooheon asked her if she wanted company, but she refused him. I should have offered to go with her but she seemed adamant about going alone. Before we could even blink she was out the door.

Ann was staring straight ahead barely blinking. I wasn't any better. Just trying to wrap my head around what Alise had just said. Was her wolf finally trying to break through?

"Is her wolf trying to trigger itself and just isn't strong enough so it's just manifesting in her dreams? I don't get it. I mean... It's good that she's having dreams about it though, right? That has to be some kind of positive sign." Ann said trying to figure things out. We both stared from Jooheon to Shownu.

"I've never heard of anyone going through anything like this before... But then again... Alise is adopted, right? So she never knew her biological parents. They were both werewolves and I'm guessing that they were probably both Alphas, otherwise I don't think her wolf could be strong enough to even manifest as much as it has." Jooheon looked around at our faces as he spoke, as if looking for some kind of confirmation.

"Do her parents know anything about her biological family? Have they ever mentioned anything to either of you? They're has to be some kind of record of who or where she came from." Shownu took a seat next to Jooheon as they tried to sort this all out.

"No, they've never mentioned anything to either of us. If I remember correctly, they never had any involvement with her real parents or an adoption agency. They actually found her out in the woods while they were on a hike. I remember because her mom would always get all misty about it when she told us the story. She couldn't believe how anyone could leave a poor, defensely baby out in the wild." I told them. I had watched Jooheon as I told him the story. He seemed to get agitated and more upset.

For some reason, that made a part of me a little proud. It was really nice to know that he cared that much for her. I mean I realized that with us wolves, the mate bond is everything. But it was just really refreshing to see a guy care as much about someone I considered my sister.

Without any warning, Jooheon had jumped from the couch and dashed out the door. We all just stared at him, confused. Shownu was the first to follow him out of the door, followed closely by myself and Ann. We looked at Jooheon and could feel his rage.

"She's been taken." He stated.