Becoming Beta (Completed)

Chapter 16

Zeke

Everyone was staring at me. I told them about Valerie, how we met, how she now lives in my bedroom, our friendship. They all took a moment to process it; but they were interrupted when Piper squealed, practically breaking eardrums. "You two are so gonna be mates!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me.

I groaned. "We've been saying the same thing!" Caroline informed her, gesturing to herself, Nick, and Thalia. I rolled my eyes at her. "Don't act like you're not even considering the possibility! You're buying her a freaking birthday present and the girl is sharing a room with you!" she pointed out.

Everyone else nodded in agreement, including the guys. "It's called 'being nice'. I don't think you guys have heard of it" I snapped.

"See! Her sass is even rubbing off on you!" Nick chuckled. I narrowed my eyes at him. "I bet ten bucks that Valerie is your mate" he challenged. I didn't respond. Honestly, I have considered the possibility. But there are a lot of possibilities. It would be such a coincidence if she is my mate. I would find my mate the day she turns 16. It would be too convenient. Liam and Sam haven't even found their mates yet. "You're hesitating 'cause you know it's true" he stated.

I glared at him before looking at Liam and Sam. "You guys should come back to my pack. Maybe you'll find your mates" I suggested. They looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded in agreement. Caroline and Piper began muttering about me changing the subject. "Fine. It is possible that she's my mate. But it's also possible that she's Liam's mate or Sam's mate. We won't know until next week, so just drop it for now" I said softly. They sighed, nodding their heads.

They actually looked a bit sad that I didn't want to talk about it. I felt bad. "Go get ready. That gift isn't gonna buy itself" I stated. They snapped out of their glum thoughts as smiles appeared on their faces. "Anyone else wanna go?" I asked. Some of them nodded their heads.

It would be Nick, Caroline, Piper, Kat, Amanda, Caleb, and I going- which means we need more than one car. Nick volunteered to drive as well as Piper. She's still taking advantage of every opportunity to drive her car. Thalia decided against going because she was still talking about food with Grams. We said goodbye to them before walking out the packhouse.

I rode with Nick and Caroline in his car. While he followed Piper's car to the mall, I told him about my phone call with Valerie. "I knew Roger wasn't fond of you" Nick muttered. "I wasn't expecting him to actually try to get intel on you, though. What was he even gonna do with it?" he wondered.

I shrugged. Maybe he would challenge me, or find someone who could. Or he was getting information for someone else. Or maybe it was just harmless and he wanted to know more about me. "I don't think he would physically hurt someone. But he might hire someone to do it" Caroline chimed in.

There are a lot of possibilities and a lot of reasons. "We won't know for sure until we look into it" I stated, putting an end to the conversation as we parked at the mall. We walked over to Piper, Caleb, Kat, and Amanda. "Don't make me broke" I said sternly.

The girls rolled their eyes at me. I was already regretting inviting them. "So what are you looking to give her? Tops? A bracelet? A necklace? A hat? A-"

"I'm not sure" I cut off Piper's many suggestions. Her list would've gone on forever. "Let's just look around and you guys can point some stuff out" They nodded in agreement as we entered the mall. Us guys followed the girls as they immediately went into a clothing store and sifted through shirts.

They walked back and forth from the racks to me as they showed me different shirts. The shirts weren't bad. But none of them felt right. "I don't think I should get her a shirt" I stated. The girls nodded and we walked out of the store.