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Chapter 25
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
Allie CarstensAnyone else need to cool off for a second?? These next few chapters will all be longer ones. I don't like to split my longer chapters, so just know that they will be slightly more expensive, but I think they will be worth it! For those of you who are new readers, welcome! My update schedule is MWF with the occasional weekend update on Saturday. If you haven't already, you should read "The Alpha's Pen Pal" which is book one of this series, and is on this app and completed, so you can binge while you wait for updates of Reid and Taryn's story. Don't forget to comment, like, vote, or leave a review! Lots of love, Allie
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The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 26
REID POV Music blares, the bass thumps, and voices ring, the scent of beer and other alcoholic beverages mixing with the sweat of the occupants of The Thirsty Moose, our haunt for the night. The entire crew is here — well, the wedding party at least — for a combined bachelor-bachelorette party that’s not a bachelor-bachelorette party, because neither Wes nor Haven wanted to do the traditional “last night out” before their wedding. Instead, they brought us all out to karaoke night at the local supernatural bar, run by Jake, a moose shifter from Canada. We’re seated at a circular booth in a corner of the bar, drinks and snacks spread across the table, all of us waiting our turn to take the stage and sing. Or most of us. I already told everyone I would not sing. Karaoke is not my thing. Sebastian elbows me in the ribs and nods towards the door. “Isn’t that your girl?” I follow his gaze, and, sure enough, walking through the front door of the bar is Taryn. Taryn, and another she-wolf
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 27
TARYN POV Reid and I freeze, his hand gripping mine, his body tense. “Did you put our names in?” he asks, whipping his head around to look at me. “No. Did you?” He shakes his head, his eyes wide. “I’ve been dancing with you. When would I have had a chance to?” “And when would I have had a chance?” I question back. He snaps his mouth shut, then turns his eyes towards the table, jaw clenching. I follow his gaze to where Sebastian sits, smiling, giving us a thumbs up. “Dickhead,” we mutter together. We look at each other again, smiles threatening to appear on both our faces. “Reid? Taryn? It’s your turn! Get on up here!” Jake calls. I bite my lip and raise my brow at him. “I’m game if you’re game?” he says “Its better than going up there alone, I suppose…” I look around again, glancing at his friends and eyeballing Sebastian. Reid adjusts his grip on my hand, lacing his fingers through mine. “Fuck it, let’s do it,” I say. He grins and turns, pulling me with him to the stage. I
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 28
REID POV “Hey there, you,” Taryn says as she walks up to me on the training field at Crescent Lake with a smile on her face. I pull her into a hug, no longer worried about who is watching or what they think. She is my girl. And soon she’ll know the full extent of the truth of those words. I can’t keep it from her anymore. Not after our moment in the bar over the weekend. Not after I promised her I was all in. I need her help, too. I tried to figure it out all on my own, but that isn’t working. And while I could ask others for help — Wesley or even Sebastian — I should tell her the truth before I tell anyone else. I owe her that. But I’m waiting until after her challenge tomorrow. She needs to focus on that, and my confession will just be a distraction. She takes in a deep breath and burrows her face into my chest, and I curl myself more around her, shielding her from the cold. She fits against me like a little puzzle piece, her curves and muscles lining up with the hard planes o
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 29
TARYN POV It’s here. Challenge day. I stand at the edge of the training field at Silver Ridge with Dawson, waiting, heart racing and palms sweating. I’ve been up since dawn, unable to find sleep, instead finding peace in Reid’s voice as we talked on the phone until an hour ago, when I left the packhouse to stretch and warm up. His deep voice soothed and calmed me, settling the bubbling anxiety in the pit of my stomach. As we talked, I imagined he was with me, laying beside me in my bed, his muscular body and arms pressed against me and holding me, his powerful hands caressing and massaging my body, aiding in washing away my worries. I may have told him I wasn’t nervous, but how could I not be? My future here in Silver Ridge was riding on this challenge. He can’t be here today. It’s against Silver Ridge’s rules for an outsider to witness a pack challenge or ceremony. He understood, since Crescent Lake has the same rules regarding pack traditions. But I could tell how much he wish
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 30
TARYN POV “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I growl, slamming my hands against the steering wheel. “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I sit in my car, parked on the street in the human city, after spending most of my day here shopping and getting my hair braided. It was therapeutic, and needed, especially after sequestering myself in my room and not speaking to anyone since the challenge on Tuesday. It took everything in me to put on a brave face, but I was glad I dragged myself out of my bed to come to this appointment instead of canceling. At least, I was. Until my car decided it would not start. “Damn it!” I yell again, slamming my fist into the center of the wheel. “This is seriously the last thing I need right now.” I lean back into the driver’s seat, hitting my head against the headrest in a slow rhythm, blinking against the itching in my eyes. Then I grab my phone, and dial the number that has been calling and texting me nonstop since Tuesday evening, the number I have been ignorin
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 31
REID POV “Taryn, please wait!” I yell the words through gritted teeth, my hand gripping the edge of the tailgate on Wesley’s truck. My wolf is right there, right at the front of my mind, pushing to shift and chase after her. But I’m in the middle of the street, in the middle of the city, and I can’t let him out. And as much as I want to let him chase after her, to explain what happened, I can’t shift in front of humans. I lean against the tail end, still gripping the tailgate, and tilt my head up to the sky, forcing my canines to recede. My eyes itch and water as her emotions roll into and through me like a tidal wave, so bitter I can taste them. Regret, embarrassment, pain, anger, disappointment… each one palpable, each one just as strong as the rest, each one meshing with my own until it is impossible to tell whose emotions are whose. And all of it is my fault, because I couldn’t control my instincts and keep my wolf at bay. Because I lost myself in the feel of her beneath my han
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 32
REID POVMy tears subside and I’m sure I resemble a wrung out washcloth left to dry on the knob of a bathtub, but I gather up the rest of the cookies and leave the garden. I would stay longer, but the temperature continues to drop, and the scent of snow lingers in the air, threatening to fall at any moment.I walk back to the packhouse, retracing my steps from earlier, albeit slower this time.I know what I need to do. I’ve thought about it all day since Taryn drove off before giving me a chance to explain. But needing to do something and wanting to do something doesn’t always go hand in hand, so I take my time, letting my thoughts overtake my mind as I walk.It’s clear what she thinks. She thinks I was just using her, just telling her what she wanted to hear so I could get something out of her. And maybe the old me would have done that. But I’m not that male anymore. Not since the night she barreled into my life with her scent and her smile, her sass and her fiery drive.I push my reg
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 33
REID POV Somehow, I made it through the rest of the night and all of today without unraveling like a scarf caught on a rusty nail. I don’t think I slept at all though, and it took everything in me to hold back a growl of annoyance and keep myself from snapping when Wesley stumbled back into his house at six in the morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed after spending all night with his mate. He should remember not all of us are so lucky. The ceremony will begin in about thirty minutes, and Wesley paces the shore of the lake, biting his nails and sighing and growling every few minutes. He stops right on the spot they will say their vows — the spot she stood in the first time she came to the lake, the first time he ever saw her in person after almost twelve years of no contact — and fidgets with his bow tie, his eyes glazing over as a mindlink comes through to him. He frowns and rolls his eyes, but crosses his arms and plants his feet on the ground, muttering I don’t even want to know
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The Beta's Blind Date EPILOGUE
REID POV TWO MONTHS LATER — SEPTEMBER 30th Today is a perfect day. The sun is shining, its rays warming the grounds and the lake and the garden. There is a light breeze winding and swirling its way around the forest and through the flora, carrying the scent of pine, water, flowers, and sunshine with it. There isn’t a cloud in the sky, and the air is the perfect temperature — neither too hot nor too cold. I woke up with my girl in my arms, and my other girl singing us the song of her people at the top of her little lungs, letting us know she was ready to start her day. I spent the day carrying Savvy around against my chest in her baby wrap while Taryn rested and had a spa day with Haven, Maya, and Blake. I soaked in all her gummy smiles and little coos and baby noises, only bringing her back to the house when Taryn needed to feed her. There is no broken, emotionally damaged hybrid after my mate and wreaking havoc on our lives — the crones made sure of that. Malachi extended an offe
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 64
TARYN POV SEVEN MONTHS LATER — JULY 21st After a grueling twenty-one hours of labor, our Sour Patch was born at home at 4:31 am on July 21st. Reid was the perfect partner and father through my entire pregnancy and birth. He brought me breakfast in bed in the mornings when I was too exhausted to get up, and he held my hair back for me on the rare occasion morning sickness hit me. He put together every piece of furniture in the nursery and the cradle that now sits in the sitting area of our room, and he held my hand and coached me through every contraction, rubbing my back and caressing my belly, sending me every ounce of love he has for me as I worked my ass off to deliver our pup. And now, he’s standing in front of the window, framed by the light from the early morning sun. He holds our sleeping daughter in his arms, his face ducked down close to hers as he tells her about Crescent Lake, and about the moon goddess, and about all the things he’s going to teach her as she grows up. I
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 63
REID POV As soon as we secure Merina to the chair in the cell, I turn around and leave, heading back the way we came in. King Malachi is questioning Merina, getting more details from her about her confession, and even with my distaste for torture, I’d love to watch her squirm, love to watch him get every piece of information out of her by whatever means necessary. She more than deserves it for what she did to my mate. But the ache in my soul pulls me out of the room and back towards the packhouse, back towards my distressed mate. Her pain is mine, growing stronger by the second, clawing up my insides, impossible to ignore. I shove the door to the building open and Taryn flings herself at me, heels in her hand, burying her face in my shoulder as she clings to my neck. Her tears soak my T-shirt, silent sobs wracking her body. My arms wrap around her on instinct and I turn to take her back inside, out of the cold and away from prying eyes. “I’m here,” I say, my lips right against her
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 62
TARYN POV I stare at myself in the full-length mirror of our walk-in closet, smoothing my hands over the knee length pencil skirt of my off-white outfit. Butterflies swarm in my stomach, fluttering and tickling my insides, and my hands tremble, but I exhale and close my eyes, putting up my mask for the event today. A low whistle sounds from behind me, and I peek out through my lashes to meet Reid’s stare in the mirror, his blue eyes scanning over my dress and lingering on how it hugs the curves of my ass, thighs, and breasts. Heat and longing rise within me, and I turn to face him just as he reaches me. He tugs on the peplum ruffle of my top, pulling me flush against him and lowering his lips to mine for a soft kiss. “You look delectable,” he says. I laugh against his mouth. “Thanks.” “But what if you need to fight?” he asks, his hands skimming my hips and thighs. “This skirt hugs you in all the right places, but there is no way you can move properly should things end in a scuffle
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 61
REID POV We sit around Dominic’s bed, Taryn in my lap on one side, and Maya and her mother on the opposite. King Malachi, Dr. Russo, and Wes all stand near the end of the bed, on standby, should things get hairy. Tensions are high and heart rates quickened, but none are faster than mine. The only thing keeping my heart from racing out of my chest is my mate in my lap and in my arms. Her calm demeanor in turn calms me, grounds me. For the most part. Neither my wolf nor I are comfortable entering this… astral plane or whatever Renée called it — but I’m more uncomfortable with my mate going in there without me, so I’ll do what I have to if it means I know she’s safe. I squeeze her and she rubs my forearms, her hands warm and soft against my skin. The protective bracelet on her wrist jingles and clinks against mine, and she looks over her shoulder at me, a soft smile gracing her beautiful face. Renée places the black tourmaline charm necklace around Dominic’s neck, and I stare at it,
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 60
TARYN POV Large hands roam my body, one skating over my ribs and up to my chest and the other traveling down, caressing the tops of my thighs. Warmth spreads through me from where Reid’s hands touch, snaking through my veins like tendrils of smoky incense, sensual and soothing, and just as intoxicating. His hand comes back to my hip, and he presses a little kiss to my mark, his thumb stroking in circles on my abdomen. I whimper and sigh and push back against him, closing the already nonexistent distance between our two bodies. My ass rubs against his groin, and his hard as a rock dick twitches, a groan falling from his lips as he pinches my nipple and slides his hand down between my legs. “Maya said we needed to sleep,” I say, even as I tilt my hips up, seeking his expert touch. “Maya isn’t part of our mate bond,” Reid says, brushing his fingers over my entrance. “And we did sleep. All night. And now I want to have my way with you.” His digit slips between my lower lips, not enter
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 59
REID POV “What the fuck just happened?” I ask, holding Taryn against my body. She trembles and her skin is colder than ice, her teeth chattering and her eyes squeezed shut. She presses herself closer to me, her hands gripping my sweatshirt, her face burying into the fabric as she takes in deep breaths. I keep one arm around her waist and cup her cheek with the other, my eyes scanning her face, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest, worry and fear rushing through me like a jolt of lightning in my veins. Her beautiful skin has a gray tinge to it, and her eyelids flutter in time with her shivering body. Her heart beats even faster than mine, and rapid breaths force her chest and shoulders up and down at an unnatural pace. I clutch the back of her head and hug her to my chest again, swaying side to side, hoping the calming movement will help settle her nerves. “I was hoping Taryn could tell us,” King Malachi says, letting go of Dominic and stepping away from the bed. “Not here, tho
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 58
TARYN POV Reid tugs me away from the bed and stands between Dominic and me, taking a protective stance, his claws out and his growl echoing through the hospital cell. “What the hell? I thought you said he would stay unconscious?!” Dr. Russo rushes to the IV stand, checking the drip line and preparing another dose of sedative from the cart nearby, his movements rushed but precise. “I underestimated how much of it would filter from his system as Taryn healed him. I can prepare another dose, but it will take some time and I’ll need to focus.” Dominic’s eyes bore into me, cold and unfeeling, harsher and more distant than I’ve ever seen them. Gone is the male I knew, the male who was a friend before he was ever anything more. The male I thought would still be my friend even after I told him I wouldn’t remain at his beck and call. Maybe he was never that male. Maybe it was all an act. I’d like to believe that’s not the case, but the proof is staring right back at me, his lip curled and h
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 57
REID POV I lower my lips to Taryn’s as my hand slides to the waistband of her leggings, her body quivering in anticipation. But I don’t kiss her. I just hover there, right above her mouth, my breath tickling her lips. Her throat bobs, her pretty neck still stretched and exposed, a feast for my eyes. Her complete submission to me in this moment awakens the primal instinct in me, the one I held back for too long after I met her. It prowls beneath my skin, demanding I claim her again and again, to make up for denying and fighting it. She shrieks as I rip her leggings from her body and toss the ruined garment aside, then reach for her boots to pull them from her feet. My claws slice down the middle of her sweater, and I push the halves aside to reveal her bare breasts, nipples already peaked and pointing straight to the ceiling atop her round tits. “Where’s your bra?” I growl, my eyes darkening. I don’t mind if she wants to free the titties, but the thought of another male seeing her
