Chapter 4 Next Steps

*Abby POV*

I sighed as I finally returned to my new office, my brother right behind me. Today has been tiring, seeing off all the visiting Alphas. I didn’t see my ex and I was happy for that, though I wondered when he was leaving. I wondered if I would even feel the pack link disconnect from him and us.

Secretly I was thankful for my brother, he helped me to navigate this nightmare. I already knew most of the alphas and lunas due to my beta studies. However, talking to strangers was always difficult for me. And more than once he had to remind me to keep my head up high, as betas were still expected to show a slight submissive nature to other alphas but now I couldn’t. Alphas never submit.

Groaning I walked over to my office chair and flopped down, dropping my head on the table with a thud. I heard my brother chuckle as he sat in the chair opposite of me. Slowly I raise my head and looked at his amused face. “What?”

Smiling he just shook his head. “Nothing, Abby. Just thanking the Moon Goddess; I dodged a huge bullet.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “So, you admit it then?” I straightened up and arched a brow at him. “You never wanted the title, did you?”

He laughed out loud. “Of course not! All that pressure? No thanks.” He crossed his leg over his knee and retied his ponytail. “All my life Mom has been preaching ‘alpha this and alpha that’ and ‘you should do this, and you should do that.’” He stopped and a serious look crossed his face. “But... she knew the truth... about my heritage and lied about it for my whole life.”

Sighing I silently agreed. “Do you think she even knew that the title only passes to biological children?”

“Of course she didn’t.” He sighed. “But it makes me wonder...”

“Wonder what?” I asked.

“Nothing.” He quickly smiled and retied his shoe that wasn’t even untied. “So. Now what?”

“I have no idea.... we should-” I stopped as the door opened, and my dad walked in with Beta Phillip.

“You should pick a beta.” My dad answered, he must have heard us through the door. “I’m sure Phil wants to retire soon.” He cracked a smile at Phil, but the other man could not even match my gaze. “Remember the picking of a beta is a very important task and should be well thought out-”

“I want Wyatt to be beta.” I said, not even hesitating. “We can do the ceremony immediately.”

“That’s a great idea.” My dad agreed. “Wyatt we can plan the ceremony for next Satur-”

“No.” My brother interrupted.

“What?” I asked, my eyes wide in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, but. I decline.” He repeated. “I just don’t think I am a good beta candidate.”

“But... the beta of a pack is the alpha’s right hand, their closest ally.” I whispered. “So... what?” My eyes widened. “You’re against me then too?” I couldn’t help the tear that escaped my eye. “Fine. I understand.” I was rejected, again.

“The beta is also the mind of the pack, the rational one that keeps the alpha calm in cases of emergency.” He continued. “And, Abby, I am not rational. At all. It doesn’t mean I am against you. I just think... I can be put to a better use. Head trainer, maybe even an Elite.” He sighed. “Abby, I’m just tired... of the spotlight.” He finally admitted. “I’m actually looking forward to a quiet pack life.”

I couldn’t even answer him, I knew my brother was under a lot of stress growing up. Even more so than me. “Okay.” I nodded, sighing. “So, now what? Do we have any other good candidates?” A knock at the door stopped me. “Who is it???” I yelled out as the door opened a crack and Angie popped her head in.

“Oh, hey. You’re still busy... we’ll come back...” I heard the rest of my friends behind her in the hall and they chattered softly as they started to back up.

“No, wait. You can all come in.” I smiled as Mariah flew inside and walked right up to the desk.

“Oh, my Goddess girl you look freaking amazing!” She exclaimed. “I can NOT wait to get you to the mall!!!”

I just looked at her with wide eyes before I finally started to smile that turned into a laugh. Leave it to Mariah to lift my spirits. “Sorry, I’m kind of busy today.” I admitted, motioning to the pile of work on the desk.

“Busy? And what is going to happen tomorrow? You gonna walk around naked?” She smirked. “And don’t try to tell me that you will manage... girl...”

“I... have a pair of sweats somewhere probably...”

“Oh, hell no!” Angie huffed. “You need to completely redo your whole wardrobe! You need to look the part, and nasty sweats isn’t it!”

“Alright, alright... as soon as we get this figured out then we can go, okay?” I say calmly to placate my friends.

Wyatt’s phone chirps and he checks it as Stuart sits in the chair beside him. “Hey, I got to go. Delilah just texted me. I’ll catch you all later. Abby, if you leave the packgrounds let me know. I’ll go with you.” He gives me the big brother no nonsense stare that I am so used to as he walks out. I can’t help but smile back.

Brian looks to Angie and they both glance at the other only empty chair beside Stuart who is looking around in interest. They both rush towards the chair at the same time, fighting to sit before my dad clears his throat. All of a sudden, they all notice he and Phil are still in the room and they all jump to attention.

“Sorry Alpha Abraham!”

He looks at my friends sternly before breaking into a grin as well. “Not Alpha anymore, I’m the Elder.” He corrected as they all exhaled. “But we still need to decide this soon.” He said looking at me again.

“Decide what?” Brian asked.

“We need a beta candidate.” I sighed. “And Wyatt doesn’t want it.”

“Why not just have a tournament?” Mariah asked. “The winner gets to be the next beta?”

“It's more than just brute strength for a beta.” Phil answered. “They have to be quick witted, smart, and able to read a room.”

“So... make everyone take a test first. And the top scores get invited to participate in the fight?” Stuart asked. “You can include anything in the exam, like math problems, history questions, and social studies.”

“That... could work.” Phil answered. “We could invite the whole pack... anyone who scores high would be considered.”

“Then its settled.” I nodded. “How long would you need to prepare the test?”

“A couple of days would be best.”

“Right. Send out the word. This Saturday we will select our next beta.”

~~~

*Wyatt’s POV*

I breathed a deep sigh of relief. It was like a giant weight just fell off of my shoulders as I left Abby’s new office. No longer am I held to that high standard, I don’t have to keep looking over my shoulder making sure that I am acting in a manner that benefits an alpha.

Now I can just live a quiet life with my Delilah, we can raise our family just like we have talked about. I wondered if she was okay with living in a separate house? Maybe close to the lake that me and Abby used to play in as pups.

I never wanted to be Alpha, and when I was 15 years old, I debated resending my claim to the title. But my mother stopped me. She was so angry for me even mentioning the thought. Anger started to invade my senses; she knew my whole life I wasn’t Abraham’s son. So, who was I? What is my real dad like? And why did she never go to him after the DNA test? I knew I was an alpha’s son, the blood that runs through my veins is an alpha’s blood. My mother was a gamma’s daughter, a fact that she threw in everyone’s face when they questioned her.

As if being my mother wasn’t enough.

Opening my mate’s room on the second floor I sighed, mother was here as well. They sat on the bed and both of them jumped up and looked at me curiously. “What is going on up there now?” Mother asked.

“Talking about the beta selection.” I shrugged, taking Delilah in my arms and letting the smell of her shampoo calm my nerves.

“And you’re not up there?!” My mom started. “That is the perfect opportunity for you to cement your place in the pack!”

“Yeah, Wyatt baby.” My mate cooed. “You should think about our future.”

“I did think about it.” I answered. “And actually, Abby already asked me to be her beta.”

“So why are they still-”

“I refused.” I snapped at my mother. “I am happy just being Wyatt. Not Alpha Wyatt, not Beta Wyatt... just Wyatt!” I glared as she looked at me wide eyed, anger danced in her eyes while her nose flared again. I glanced at my girlfriend as she looked shocked and a little taken aback. “You’re okay with that right? We can be happy together, without all the stress of running a pack. Just you, me, and our pups.”

She smiled slowly. “Oh... of course. We can be happy.” She nodded. “If.... you are sure? You won’t change your mind?”

“Of course not! I love you and all I want is you.”

She looked at me again. “If you are sure you are okay just being an Omega, I mean. That you won’t change your mind about pursing the Beta or Gamma post...”

I went to answer her again, but my phone started to chirp. “Hang on.” I checked my messages as Delilah sat back down on the bed. “Oh, sorry. I got to go.”

“Just where do you think you are going?!” My mom raged. “We are not done talking!”

“Alpha has summoned me.” I growled at her, tired of her tone. “We are going to find her some new clothes. It seems she is too tall for everything she owns.”

“But you-”

“I am still her brother, she said so herself. And as her big brother I am going with her to protect her from all the creeps and weirdos who follow women around just to take pictures of their asses.” I glared at my mom before softening my gaze and looking towards Delilah. “You want some macaroons? I’ll pick us up some.”

“Oh... sure. Yeah.” She muttered as she grabbed her phone.

“Alright, knowing Abby and her friends we’ll be out till late. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I grinned. “Love you.”

“Uh huh... oh, love you too.” She gave me a smile as I closed the door behind me.