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Chapter 46
Allie CarstensRemember to keep your seatbelts fastened... and maybe invest in a helmet...
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The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 47
REID POV My dad lunges forward from the doorway, his movements strong but erratic, the alcohol affecting his motor control. My gut instinct is to attack first, to fight back and defend myself, but it’s clear he is hallucinating, remembering the attack and mistaking me for the rogue who killed my mom, and I can’t bring myself to hurt my dad, self-defense or not. I dart out of his reach, but his large hands and sharp claws catch my body, slamming me into the cabinets and knocking the air from my lungs. His claws sink into me and slice around and down, pulling me towards the floor, and my chin hits the counter, my teeth snapping down on my tongue and stars bursting into existence behind my eyelids. I groan and spit the blood from my mouth, my hand clutching at the wound wrapping around my abdomen. My vision blurs and my head spins. I can’t see it, but I can feel the deep gashes in my stomach, feel that they’re much deeper than my enhanced shifter healing can handle on its own, without
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 48
TARYN POV Reid stands frozen in the middle of my hospital room, his eyes locked on the ultrasound screen. His heart pounds and his throat bobs, but he doesn’t blink or look away from the image. I bite my lip and blink back against the water in my eyes, my hands clenched as I wait for him to react, to say something or turn and run out the door, but he just stands there like a statue. “Taryn?” Dr. Russo asks, pulling my attention back to him. “Sorry,” I say, flicking my eyes to Reid and then back to the doctor. “What did you say?” “I asked if you’re okay with this?” He glances at Reid, and I nod, taking in a deep breath. I would have preferred to tell him myself, tell him when it was just the two of us and we had time to talk, but there’s no taking it back now. The truth is out there, and now I must face the consequences. “As I was saying, the pup looks great,” Dr. Russo says, and Reid’s throat bobs again. “It’s measuring a little on the bigger side, but that is to be expected beca
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 49
REID POV I sit on the edge of the hospital mattress, holding the images of my Sour Patch in my hand, staring at them with a smile as Taryn finishes changing into the clothes Maddie brought to the hospital for her. “What are you smiling at?” she asks, climbing onto the bed next to me. “Sour Patch,” I say, holding the strip of ultrasound pictures out to her. “Really? That’s what you’re going with? Sour Patch?” “Don’t you think that’s what she looks like?” I ask, peering over the top of the strip as she examines them. “Like a little sour patch kid gummy?” “I thought she looked like a gummy bear the other day when they first showed her to me,” she says, chuckling. “Nah, she’s totally a sour patch kid,” I say, shaking my head at her. “See, she already has that little cheeky smirk.” I point at the image, at what I assume is the pup’s head, although I really have no clue what is the top and what is the bottom on the black-and-white picture. “Reid, I’m eight weeks pregnant. She’s the s
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 50
REID POV “Hey there, Buddy.” The words echo in my brain, setting off a chain reaction of memories, each one with those words as the central focus. “Hey there, Buddy.” He winks at me as I stand in a line with all the other six-year-old pups on our first day of training. Wesley is on my left, his chest puffed out and his head held high. My smile grows as I beam up at my dad, ready to make him proud and show all the other pups what I’ve already learned with him during our roughhousing at home. From the corner of my eye, I glimpse my mom as she runs by. She waves at me and blows a kiss to my dad before continuing on her way with the group of warriors she’s headed out to patrol with, a smile on her face as always. “Hey there, Buddy.” The wind ruffles my hair and the sun blinds my eyes as he exits the water, surfboard in hand. He sets it in the sand, then checks the wrist strap on my board, making sure there is no fraying or tearing before he follows me out into the surf, ready to spe
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 51
REID POV “Listen, Buddy,” Dad says as he pulls away from me. His nose is tipped with pink, his eyes are puffy, and his cheeks are stained with tears. He sets his hands on my shoulders and takes a deep breath. “You should go. Spend some time with your mate.” His eyes flick to Taryn over my shoulder, and he smiles at her. I shake my head, and Taryn rubs my back. “I don’t want to leave you. You shouldn’t have to go through this alone.” “I’ll be fine,” he says, squeezing my shoulders. “Bonding with your mate is more important than—” Another coughing fit hits him, and he lets go of me, covering his mouth and gripping onto the bedding again, his knuckles turning white. Taryn moves around me and rests her hand on his arm, pulsing more of her golden healing magic into him. “We don’t mind staying,” she says, her voice cracking. “I can help ease some of your pain, at the very least.” My arm wraps around her waist and I slide closer to her, my lips kissing her shoulder. Selfless. Brave. S
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 52
TARYN POV “Here we are! Home sweet home!” Reid says as he opens the door to Wesley and Haven’s old house. I stand on the wide covered porch of the small sage green, white, and tan bungalow, my eyes taking in the view from the steps and the adorable patio swing at one end of the porch. The house has less of a cabin feel than most of the buildings here at Crescent Lake, but it still gives off the same homey vibes I get from the pack as a whole. I turn and walk to the door, but Reid stops me, blocking my path. “What are you doing?” I ask, leaning away from him and the mischievous glint in his eyes. “I have to carry you over the threshold.” I try to protest, but he lifts me in his arms, cradling me to his chest, and I squeak and cling to his neck, laughter bubbling out of me. My braids swing and the charms clink together as he steps into the house, holding me tight against his body and not letting me go. The entry has a long console table under a mirror, and within it, I catch a gli
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 53
REID POV Faint light pokes at the edge of my consciousness. A lean but muscular body stretches along the length of mine, smooth skin beneath my hands and held within my arms. The scent of peaches, strawberries, and peonies fills my nostrils and I smile to myself, burying my nose into the base of Taryn’s neck, placing a tiny kiss there that sends a shudder through her still sleeping body. That’s my girl. Even in her sleep, her body responds to my touch. Even in sleep, she reacts to my possessiveness, to my claim on her heart. Our once tenuous bond is stronger than I’d ever thought it would be, ready to weather whatever life throws our way. My hand moves to her stomach, just below her belly button. Her belly is still flat, not yet showing even a hint of a curve, but I know our pup is in there, growing and thriving. A pup. Our pup. My pup. My daughter. If anyone asked me three weeks ago if I thought a pup would be in my future, I’d have laughed in their face. But now, she’s all I can
The Beta's Blind Date Chapter 54
TARYN POV We’re quiet for most of the drive from Crescent Lake to Silver Ridge, my hand in Reid’s as he navigates the roads and switchbacks that bring us higher into the mountains. He squeezes my hand every once in a while, sending comfort and love to me through the bond. We’ve spent the last few days in a bubble, existing in a world filled with only the two of us as we built up our trust in each other and strengthened our bond before ultimately marking each other. The storm may have put a damper on everything else — the rest of the wedding, Haven and Wes’s honeymoon, and getting to the bottom of everything to do with my old pack — but it gave us what we needed. It gave us time. Time to bond and accept each other, to forgive and mark each other. But now it’s time to face the real world. And something in me tells me we’re in for a bumpy ride. Even Blake isn’t her normal chatty self. Instead, she is quiet in the backseat of our SUV, picking up on the solemnity of the situation. “What
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