The Beta

XLIII

*Faye*

The eyes were what gave it away. I could tell the mid-aged woman was Rian's mother because of her eyes. They matched his sharp blue ones, emanating intelligence and strength. Her grip was cool and hard as we shook hands.

"It's nice to finally meet you," she said calmly.

"You, too, Mrs. Whitewater."

She smiled but the gesture was small and didn't meet her eyes. "Just call me Marie."

Instead of expressing how uncomfortable that would be, I nodded my head. Rian wrapped his arm around my waist, and I instinctively looked up at him. He seemed to be glowing. Clearly his mother meant a lot to him.

"Where's Father?" he asked.

"He's helping Fanny down at the store. You know how Fridays are their busiest days."

"So he won't be back until tonight?"

"More than likely," Marie answered. "If you'd like, you can drive into town for me. We're running low on groceries. It would give you a good reason to go see him."

Rian's smile seemed forced as his gaze dropped to his shoes. "Yeah."

My intuition told me something was off about this conversation. I was missing something.

"Well, I'll get the list from my purse. Why don't you show Faye to your room?" she suggested.

Taking my hand, he led the way down the stone hall. Everything—the floor, the cream walls, the portraits of Thea and Rian as babies—was bathed in a soft golden color from the ceiling lanterns. It almost seemed like we had traveled back in time to a medieval era.

Rian's bedroom was the first on the right. For some reason, the strange normalcy of the entire house couldn't top his room. Rather than wolf paintings or wolf stuff, the space was very normal. There was a full-sized bed with blue covers, a brown wood dresser, a simple square window overlooking the forest, and an open closet displaying a variety of t-shirts.

"It's small, I know," Rian said, sitting on his bed.

"I like it," I remarked. "It's cozy. I hadn't expected this."

He quirked an eyebrow. "What were you expecting?"

"Um...I don't know. Nothing this normal."

"Hmm. Well, this is it. Nothing special." He patted the space on the bed beside him, but I shook my head.

"I have a rule," I told him.

"And that is?"

"I don't lay horizontally around guys. That's how girls get pregnant."

He chuckled. "Such a pessimist. I'm not going to get you pregnant."

"Abstinence is the only way to be sure." I flashed him a grin.

"You sound like those STD commercials."

"That's a good thing. I advocate STD awareness."

Rolling his eyes, he flopped back on the bed. I crossed the room to him and leaned over him. He smiled a little, the gesture flat and without emotion.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Lies."

"I...it's complicated, Faye."

My brows knitted together while I said, "Everything is complicated with you, wolf boy."

"Wolf man."

"Rian. Tell me what's bothering you."

His lips pressed into a straight line. "I didn't exactly leave on the best terms with my father...or anyone. So I'm not sure I want you to be with me when I see my father again."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...he's not as tolerant or forgiving as my mother. He'll probably say a few things that will sound rude."

"Well, I have to meet the man. It's not like we can just sneak around the whole time I'm here and never see him."

A mischievous expression crossed his face. "Why not? Sneaking around might be fun."

"You're so bad! How did I end up being your anima?" I demanded, laughing.

"God knows I need someone to balance me out." He laughed, too.

"What's all this laughter about?" Marie inquired as she appeared in the doorway.

I jumped and skittered away from the bed while my cheeks reddened. She was wearing a warm beam, much warmer than her last smile.

"I can't remember the last time I heard Rian laugh," she said, winking at me.

My mouth opened, but no words came out. Meanwhile, Rian rose from the bed to stand beside me, dwarfing me like usual.

"The anima bond really works on me, I guess." He shrugged.

"No," she replied doubtfully, shaking her head, "this is more. You're in love with her. The anima can't make you love someone."

I reeled my mouth shut with an audible snap. They both looked at me. My stupid blush deepened, spreading through my whole body.

"You haven't gotten to that stage yet?" Marie chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry. I assumed you had."

Neither I nor Rian knew what to say so we awkwardly stood in silence for a minute.

"Well! Here's the grocery list and the car keys. Tell your father I love him," she said before disappearing.

Rian was biting his lip when I managed to glance up at him. My gaze quickly fell away. His fingers curled around mine and he tugged me out of the bedroom, down the hall, and out the front door. We didn't talk until we were both seated in an old white Jeep.

"So, what?" he finally spoke with a sigh. "Yeah, I'm in love with you. Surprise."

I swallowed down a chuckle. "I thought you might. Seeing as how you can't live without me and all."

"Of course." He shot me a death glare. "Well, I hope you weren't expecting that moment to be romantic. Because it clearly wasn't."

"I don't know. I kinda thought it was cute, even if it was a little awkward." Leaning across the console, I peered right into those stunning eyes. "I love it when moms spill their sons' secrets."

"Oh, shut it," he snapped playfully before kissing me.

When he finally pulled away, our gazes held. My entire body felt lighter, more free.

"Just so you know, I don't expect you to love me back yet." Rian took a deep breath and I couldn't help but look away. "I'm a lot to handle and hard to love. Besides, I know you humans have that whole concept of time and it hasn't been very long...but just know that I do love you. No matter what. No matter how long it takes for you to feel the same."

I grinned, looking at him again. "I mean, I might already love you. You'll just have to keep me around to find out."

"You despicable human," he growled through a smirk. "Such a malicious lover, you are. Playing with my heart."

"If only you didn't like the torment..." I tapped his nose and settled back into my seat. "I do believe we have groceries to retrieve."

While he turned the key in the ignition and the vehicle whined to life, he muttered something under his breath that made me laugh. "You adorable little sadist."