The Beta's Daughter

19 | What Alphas Do

It felt like Lennox and Reid argued for years.

I mostly stayed in my room, huddled under the blankets. Lily and Sam took turns sitting with me, through my crying fits and naps. Logan hadn't been able to stay in the same place as the yelling; Mel had taken him to her cousin's, where it was quiet.

It felt like years, but- in reality- it was only three days.

The third day, I woke up to a knock on my door.

___

"Julie?" Lily murmured as she opened the door and slipped inside, her eyebrows drawn together. Something had happened.

I sat up, straining my ears for Lennox's angry voice, and heard only the soft murmurs of Jacob and Reid in the office.

"What's going on?" I grumbled, my voice raspy from not being used. "What happened?"

Lil sat next to me, sniffling. "Um..." she shook her head, silky brown hair shifting back and forth. "Alpha Lennox has given his t-terms, and Reid..." She swallowed, closing for a second. "And Reid..."

Lily Marian Hall Freeman barely ever cried. She was a happy person, and strong, too. When she first told me her story, one where her family was brutally murdered and her body raped by a cruel man, she didn't cry. I cried for her, because she couldn't. She had to be strong.

Now she was crying for me, because I couldn't.

"Reid agreed to them," I whispered, nodding. I pulled her into my side, eyes wide and unseeing as I held her. I didn't even have to ask know what Lennox's 'terms' were- me, and my children.

Our children, though he didn't know. Sam and Logan didn't know.

My teeth sank into my lip, and I squeezed my eyes shut. What was going to happen to us? What would Margo, what would Lennox do to us?

He wouldn't hurt a couple of ten-year-olds, would he?

"I-I'm sorry," Lily wheezed, sitting up and wiping at her cheeks. "I shouldn't- I-" She whimpered, her breathing harsh. "I gotta go." 

I nodded numbly. "Okay," I whispered, nodding.

At the door, she looked over her shoulder and sniffled. "I'm so sorry, Julie," she whispered, big brown eyes meeting mine. "I wish- I wish..."

I gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's okay, Lil," I told her. "It was going to happen sometime."

She took a deep breath, nodding once. "I guess it's just what Alphas do. They don't care about other people."

And then she left.

___

It took a day to pack up all our clothes and belongings. Sam and Logan were confused, and kept asking me why we had to go, and if it was something they did, how they could fix it.

So the night before we were going to leave, I sat them down in the living room and told them that this was not their fault. It would never be their fault.

"Mom, why can't we stay?" Sami whispered, looking up at me with blue-green eyes. "I don't want to go."

I smiled softly, hugging them both. "I know," I told them, pressing a kiss to first her forehead, then Logan's. "But it's out of our hands, okay? We just have to make the most of it. Now, you two should go to bed. It's almost eight."

They each gave me a kiss- first Lo, then Sam. I watched from the couch as they trudged upstairs, before turning my gaze to the man who stood leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

"You're good with them."

I smiled softly, glancing back at the stairs. "I try," I whispered. "It's just... Being a single mother is hard."

Dhiren stood, coming to sit next to me. "Doesn't the Alpha help you out?" He asked, his brow furrowing. "With school and stuff?"

I snorted softly, resting my chin on my hands. "At first, but... once I finished high school, and online college, got a job-" "You have a job?" Dhiren cut in, sounding skeptical.

I nodded, smiling. "I'm an elementary teacher," I told him, shrugging. "Money's not that good, but Reid pays for lunch money for all the pups, 'cause he gets paid by the humans, you know, and I pay for book rentals and things. Sometimes I work at the bar in town, but it's- it's not a good place, I guess."

He hummed thoughtfully, sitting back. I nodded again, not knowing what else to do. I mean, I hadn't seen him in ten years, and we hadn't been exactly besties before that. What was I supposed to say to him? Hey, dude, great to see you- I mean, I barely knew you, but... Yeah. No.

But it was good to see him.

And ask him about my family.

"How's-" I paused, clearing my throat. "How's Dani?"

He looked up, smiling... weirdly. "She's good," he said, before frowning. "She misses you. So does your mom... they don't really talk about it. You."

I stared at him, wide-eyed. Me. It. I was an it now. My own family couldn't even talk about me with each other.

And I was going to go see them.

And I was scared. All day, I'd been thinking about what I was losing as I'd drive away from Silver Tooth, but I hadn't even touched on the fact that I was going back to everything I'd left.

So I said goodnight to Dhiren, and he- always the gentleman- said goodnight to me. I went upstairs and kissed Sam good night again, and then Logan, and soon crawled into my own cold bed.

The room was empty, all my photographs and clothes and old posters from my teen years packed away.

I couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning and thinking about going to spend the night in Mel's room, or even Lil and Reid's. But I didn't, and I toughed it out.

It was lonely.

— MAGNUS CHASE IS OUT OMG IM FREAKING OUT BEC PJO AND HoO IS MY LIFE OK AND I WAS LITERALLY HAVING A FANGIRL ATTACK IN THE MIDDLE OF TARGET OMG

(if you've read it, no spoilers, seriously)