A Beta Before An Alpha
Chapter 15

Zac's Point of View

When I get to Lauren's place, we sit at her kitchen table, and I take her brother's advice... again. “Now that Julien's gone, I think it's safest for you to come and live at the packhouse,” I state.

“I really like my cute little place”

“I know. 1 just want you to be safe, and I'll worry so much if you're here. What if Nathan shows up and takes you and 'm 1 minutes away, completely unaware? Look at today, if he would have taken you last night, he could have had you back at your old pack all by morning. I can’t protect you if I'm away from you, and I have to protect you. You can have your own room in my Alpha suite. It has 4 bedrooms, pick anyone you want, even take mine and I'll sleep in a guest room. You coul have a room in the packhouse, out of the Alpha suite if you prefer. Whatever you want. I just can’t bear to even think abo what 1 would do if something bad happened to you," I frown.

She frowns too. “I don't want you to worry,” she says, and I grab her hand and my thumb grazes her knuckles.

“Please, Lauren?” 1 ask. I hate to pull at her heartstrings like that, but what would I do without her? I love her. I haven't tol her yet, but I do.

She looks into my eyes, and I know she can feel my sincerity. She nods. “Okay, I don’t want you to worry," she agrees. I car help but smile. I love that she cares so much about how I feel. I've never met a better person. She pulls my hand to her li and gives it a kiss.

“Even though I feel fine and safe here, I really appreciate that you care so much about me,” she smiles. I get up and pull into a hug.

“I won't pack everything, because I might be fine to come back in a week after the full moon,” she says.

I just smile and nod. If I have anything to say about it, she'd never move back here. Hopefully, by the time this whole thin is over, she'll want to stay with me. I help her pack up one large suitcase, and she grabs a pillow and states that that's everything. I grab her bag for her and put it in my vehicle.

“ll pick you up after work, okay?”

She nods, and smiles, “Thank you."

“It's my pleasure, babe!” I walk her into Peggy's just before 7 pm and give her a kiss goodbye.

I show up at 12:30 am, to pick her up in case she gets off early, I didn't want her waiting around. Peggy greets me first. “Hey, Darlin't You're coming in late. It's almost closing time,” she says.

“Hey, Peggy! I'm just coming to pick up Lauren,” I explain.

“Hmm... I see. Well, I'm glad things are going well with you two. Can I get you a drink?” She asks.

“No thanks. I'm good. Yeah, things are going really well I smile. “How's your brother?”

“He's doing well after his surgery this morning. What a scare he gave us though. He's going to have to make a lot of changes, and he's a stubborn bastard, so it's not going to be easy for him or his wife,” she explains.

I feel arms on my shoulders, and then Lauren leans in to kiss my cheek. “Hey, Handsome,” she smiles.

“Hey, babe! How was your night?” 1 ask.

“It's been good. It was super busy earlier. Did you want a drink?” she asks.

“I beat you to it, Darlin’ Peggy says.

Lauren works until a little after 1am before shes finished. On the way to the packhouse, I asked her what she would be most comfortable with in terms of living situations.

“vd prefer if you choose a room on the fourth floor, in the Alpha suite with me, but if you prefer you can have a room on the third floor of the packhouse with other members,” I ask. I hold my breath waiting for her to answer. I really want her with me.

“Are you sure you want me to stay with you?” She asks.

“Yeah, I'm sure,” I smile, trying not to laugh. If she only knew.

“Okay, well I'd prefer to be close to you,” she admits. Yes! Music to my ears.

“What do you tell your pack though?” She asks.

“Ill make an announcement tomorrow, that you're my mate,” I admit.

“What if that's a lie? What if 'm not?” she questions.

“I don't care if its a lie. If you do though, then I can just refer to you as my woman, or I can just tell everyone I found “the future Luna, ?” I question.

She smiles, “I don't really know. It's your pack, why don't you tell them whatever you're comfortable with,” She reasons. “It'll be our pack soon enough. Wait, so this means you're going to be a member of my pack,” I state. She smiles and nods feel so proud, and I'm beaming.

“Can I make it official tonight?” I ask.

“Sure,” she nods. As soon as we cross my pack border, I pull over.

“As Alpha of Red River pack, I extend an invitation to you, Lauren Crane, to join my pack. Do you accept Red River as your pack?” 1 ask.

“I do. I Lauren Crane accept Red River as my one and only pack. I pledge my loyalty always," she answers and reaches out for my hand. I give it a kiss, but I want to do so much more. She stares into my eyes lovingly, and I can't resist. I move intc her. 1 put my hand on her face and lean in for a quick chaste kiss.

“Ym 50 happy, and so proud,” I whisper. I kiss her forehead and then pull away.

Lauren's Point of view

zac grabs my large suitcase and carries it up to his Alpha suite, which is essentially a very large 4-bedroom apartment. It’ nearly the entire top floor of the packhouse, except for Zac's office. I don't know why, but I was expecting there to be a lo of brown wood, and dark walls. Very rustic, but I was wrong. The walls are white, or light neutrals.

The light wood floors run through most of the place, giving it a light and airy feel. The lighter accents make the place feel very bright and welcoming, even with some of the darker tones. Like the kitchen is beautiful with black cabinetry, but it h white and grey marble countertops and stainless-steel appliances.

There are also large patio doors leading to a large patio area off of the dining room. The living room has a large white sectional couch, with a distressed black coffee table and a large TV stand, that has a large TV. The large TV doesn't surpris me one bit. There's a perfect light blue cozy chair too. For some reason, I pictured his place looking like it was designed b a lumberjack. I've never seen him wear plaid or anything, so I don’t know where that thought came from. Maybe it's the facial hair? “Your place is beautiful, I don't know why but I was expecting something... different,’ I admit. He smiles.

“Like what?”

“Maybe more log cabin vibe,” 1 admit. He furrows his brows and laughs.

zac shows me all 4 bedrooms and tells me to choose one. I like Zac's room best, it smells like him so much.

“You're bedroom is probably bigger than my whole apartment,” I laugh. It has white walls, with an accent wall, that had light grey distressed wood. It has a large black upholstered king-sized bed, with white bedding, and it looks so comfortab He has a huge master bathroom with beautiful marble tiles, glass doors, fancy shower heads, and a huge soaker tub. It h: 2 walk-in closets and the bigger one is empty, which made me smile. I know it's not a good idea for us to share a room, ai I won't make him move rooms, so I pick the closest room to his.

It has a queen-sized bed and all lighter furniture. It also has a tv, a beautiful ensuite bathroom, and a walk-in closet. Zac puts my suitcase in the closet for me.

“I'll let you get settled, and get to bed. It's late, you must be exhausted.”

“Okay. Thank you,” I smile.

“Can I get you anything before I go? Drink? Snack?” He asks. I shake my head. “Well, you know where the kitchen is, help yourself. This is your house too, okay?” He says, brows raised, waiting for me to agree. I can't help but smile. “Okay, thank We hug for a minute and then say goodnight.

I quickly unpack my stuff, and I check the clock, it's almost 2 am now. I grab a glass of water and then get my PJ's on. I put some comfy shorts on and a t-shirt, and crawl into my bed. It's so comfortable, with all the feather pillows, throw pillows and feather duvet. It's like laying on a cloud. I couldn't help but moan when I first laid down.

I wake up, and the clock says 8:07 am. I slept so well in this bed, I think it helps that Zac's scent is everywhere in this hou I love it. had the best dream last night too; I was dreaming that Zac and I were on the couch watching a movie. We starte kissing, and then things got heated. He climbed on top of me, and his hands started to roam my body. Our make-out session soon turned to more, and we were eventually going at it on the couch. It was so hot.

I've thought about s*x before, and wanted it, even came close once, but I couldn't go through with it. I just couldn't. I wanted to save that for my mate. I care about Zac more than I have about anyone, and I've never wanted it as badly as I d with him. Is this what it feels like to be a teenage boy? It's always on my mind now.

The dream was so amazing, and it only makes me want Zac even more. I'm left with a throbbing ache between my thighs. just want to walk into his room, and crawl into his bed, and attack him. I move my hand under the blankets, and I close m eyes as my hand glides down my stomach. I imagine that it's Zac's hand that's touching me, and how it would feel if he were with me. I move underneath my shorts, and into my panties. I start to rub circles, and it feels so good. It’s relieving some of the throbbing ache I have down there. I'm careful not to make a sound, the last thing I want is for Zac to hear me am breathing heavier, though. I picture Zac's body on top of me and pushing into me, and I imagine the way he would ma me feel, I can feel my body is building up closer and closer.

Knock knock.

I gasp, and I whip my hand out of my panties. I'm filled with panic. Does he know? I jump out of bed and take a quick lool in the mirror. My cheeks are flushed, and my hair is a little messy. I quickly straighten my hair a little and decide that I ha got to accept the flush cheeks. I open the door to Zac's smiling face, holding two coffees. “Good morning, beautifull” he beams. “Good morning” 1 smile, as I look him up and down.

Maybe it's because my head was just in the gutter, but I can't help but drink up his appearance. He's in a grey t-shirt that’ really working for him. It's tight around his arms and shoulders, and he's wearing darker grey sweatpants. How does he look this good in sweats?

“You done checking me out?” Zac smirks.

“No! Turn around, let me see the tush,” I smile. If I'm caught, I might as well own it. He chuckles and turns around.

“Very nice,” I admit, with a smirk.

He turns back around, and his deep laugh fills the room. Nothing in this world sounds better than him laughing like that. He leans in to kiss me, but pauses, and kisses my cheek. I open my door all the way and accept the coffee, and make my way inside my room, to sit on my bed. Zac leans into the door frame, “Do you have anything planned today?” he asks. “Nothing set in stone, maybe hit the gym after. What about you?” I ask. “I was hoping this afternoon we could shift and gc for a run. I think it would be good for our wolves,” he says.

“That sounds fun,” I admit.

“When we go down for breakfast, I want to make an announcement about us,’ He says. I nod, smile and pat the bed. He starts to make his way closer to me, and when he gets just a few feet away from me, he stops. His eyes close and he take: deep breath. He lets out a groan and then starts to back up.

“What are you doing?” I ask, brows furrowed.

“No, it's not... a good idea. Crack a window, I'm going for a cold shower,” he says with a huskier voice.

My cheeks are instantly on fire, and my hands move up to my cheeks to hide them. The last time he told me to crack a window, it was because he could smell my arousal. “I don't know what you're talking about” I say trying to feign innocenc I didn’t even think that he'd be able to smell it. I can't.

I'm so embarrassed, that I don't know what to do with myself. I open the window and hop in the shower. While I'm in the shower, it crosses my mind that Zac might be ... releasing some tension in the shower. I shouldn't be thinking about him sexually this much. It's almost pathetic, but I smell him everywhere in this house.

The throbbing between my legs is even worse after thinking about Zac in the shower; water running down his gorgeous body, while he strokes himself. I had to release some tension, or I felt like I'd burst. I brace myself against the wall with o hand, and I lift one leg on the shower bench and proceed to touch myself, thinking of Zac the entire time.

When I get out, I do feel better, I'm not sated, but that definitely helped. I put on some black distressed skinny jeans with an off-the-shoulder loose grey sweater. I put my hair in a bun, add a little make-up, and perfume and leave my room to find Zac.

Zac is sitting at the island, with his phone in his hand. He looks up and smiles when I walk into the room.

“You're so beautiful,” he says while watching me, as I take a seat next to him. I lean into cuddle him.

“Thank you!” I pause, “Was this a bad idea?” I ask.

“What?”

“Me living with you.”

“NO! It's not a bad idea. It's a great idea. Why would you say that?” He asks, as he looks at me, puzzled.

“Well, it's hard to be in your house, and have your scent everywhere and not... be affected by your presence, and then yo have to deal with my scent, which doesn't help you. You'll need to have a cold shower, and then I will too just thinking about what you're doing in your shower. It's a vicious cycle," I add. I'm a little embarrassed, but I feel shockingly comfortable talking about this stuff with him. I also do feel like I needed to address this, I don't want Zac regretting our living situation. Zac is just grinning ear to ear at me. He pulls me close and gives me a very quick peck.

“It sucks that we have to stay away from each other for a while, but it also feels really good to hear, and smell that you want me as much as I want you. Plus, I love that you're here,” he smiles.

“It just might be easier if I move into a room out of your Alpha suite" I offer. He just smiles flirtatiously and shakes his he no.

“Well, I'll try to be more discreet, I'll crack a window and stick to the shower if I need to... you know. That way it's hopefull contained to one small room.”

He groans. “Did you just? In the shower?” He asks, his face etched with pain.

“Pfft... No... nol" I say, and not very convincingly, obviously, because Zac just rubs his face, and groans again.

“Now every time I hear your shower going, I'm going to wonder what's happening in there,” he adds.

“Sorry, probably nothing. Probably just showering,” I add with a chuckle.

I change the subject, and after a few minutes of talking about what exactly Zac plans to say in the announcement, we sta planning to go down for breakfast. I wrap my arms around him, giving him a hug. He holds me tightly with his strong arm: His scent smells so good and so does his cologne, and his body feels perfect next to mine. I look up to him. Being this clc to him, and looking up to him is a bad idea, I know that. I also don't really care.

He looks into my eyes, “I really want to kiss you right now,” I admit. Zac smiles, “Me too." I move up on my tiptoes, to get closer to him. My heart is racing, and I just need him. Seeing me move in, Zac bends down meeting his lips with mine.

We throw caution to the wind and spend a few minutes wrapped in each others’ arms, sharing a heated kiss. It feels so 200d to be able to be in his arms like this. When we pull away, we take a second to catch our breath, while still holding each other close.

“I want more, I want all of you. I hate this," I whisper, my heart beating out of my chest.

He groans, “Me too. I've never wanted anyone like I want you. Not even close,” he admits.

“I feel the same way,” I admit while making eye contact.

“I love you, Lauren. Is it crazy to say it this soon?” He asks. I can't help but feel giddy.

“It's totally crazy, but we're both crazy, because I love you too," I beam. Zac pulls me in and kisses me again. This time it's slower and more tender. I move my hand to his cheek and graze my fingertips through his facial hair, and he lets out a lit groan.

“We should go... Zac says. I nod and take a step back, and I see him readjust himself. I give him a sympathetic smile, and then he grabs my hand. I feel like I can't get close enough to him right now, so I also use my other hand to hold his arm and cuddle into him as we walk. He smiles at me and kisses my forehead.

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