Beauty and The Beta (Bailey)

44

Chapter 44 Jordan My stay with my mate had been shorter than I had intended, and my mind had not been as on her as much I would have liked. As terrible as it may sound, my mind has been on my sister for a great portion of the time. The conversation we had had before I left had been replaying within my mind. The things I had learned tortured me. How can we not have known the pain she was in? All of us had failed Bailey as a family, yet she never once complained…. Not only that, I had put my friend first far too many times. Like so many others in the pack did, as the upcoming Alpha, it was an easy mistake to make. He knew the control he had. I should have known better, but I had looked up to my best friend. Saw him as quite the lad. The womanizer. Never realizing that in the things he was doing he was hurting my sister. They seemed such an unlikely pairing. Tales of matebonds always seem to suggest that matebonds of fated mates are with couples that are well-matched. Perfect couples. But, with Miles and Bailey, they were far from that. Miles had found. Bailey an irritation since she began high school. Looking back, it was likely because she was more intelligent than him… not that that was difficult. But, she made him feel s**d, I guess. And, even when he tried to belittle her, she seemed to have a way with words that made him look like the fool. So, he turned to vile words. Bullying words to attempt to break her.. And, looking back. I know now that it was nasty, I was a terrible brother. But, Miles was my best friend. He and I were due to be the next Alpha and Beta. We were meant to be close. Like brothers. So s**dly, I allowed my loyalty to lie with him. And it had done until I learned of this. And that only got worse when I spoke to my Dad. The shock at the things I had learned was overbearing. How could I not have known that this was the Miles I had grown up alongside? Hearing that Miles would hurt one of our own pack altered the way I looked at him. Hurting that warrior because of the things he knew and the fact he was close to Bailey was not right no matter how he may want to twist it, and it made me concerned about the state of mind Miles was in. But, deep down, I know that it is the power of his role as the upcoming Alpha that has gone to his head. I have heard him speak of the things he planned to do as Alpha many times, and he saw

so sure that our current Alpha, and my Uncle, would believe his son was capable of all the things we were saying he was. And, if he didn’t take our word for it, then we were going to have a fight upon our hands. But, it was a fight we were willing to battle out. This needed dealing with…. “Hey handsome.” Gia wrapped her arms around my waist, the scent of her filling my s senses and instantly soothing me and my wolf. Being with my mate was truly wonderful, and I cannot believe I had ever coped without her. She has filled a void within my life; so much so, that I cannot contemplate being without her now. So, that in itself has made me find it hard to understand how Miles could ever have considered rejecting the mate fate had chosen for him. The draw to her was so powerful. The need for her overpowering.. I turned