The Beta Read Online Free Page B

confess to being a werewolf? On the first date?
    After rinsing the soap from his body, he towel dried, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, then put his glasses on. Too bad shifters didn’t have an online dating service. Pack politics would make that difficult though. Alphas were territorial about females, they wouldn’t let anyone stroll into their area and take one. Even Eric, who Robert considered pretty sane for an alpha, wouldn’t let that happen.
    Racing down the steps, he almost trampled Katrina as she crossed his path at the bottom of the staircase. She was on her way to the front door. “Oops, sorry.” He smiled at her. “Didn’t see you coming.”
    She straightened his glasses and returned his smile. “I heard you did a good job with Talon last night. Have a fun evening.” She wore a black dress and heels with her hair loose down her back. Her outfit accentuated her Asian beauty.
    “Date with Tyler tonight?”
    “Yes, I am meeting him downtown for dinner.” She paused at the door. “Do you want to come?”
    He shook his head. “I’ve got plans.” Lying was better than being a third wheel. He’d almost had a dinner date. Retreating to the kitchen before his pack mate asked any questions, Robert tossed a bagel in the toaster while he listened to the front door open and close. The click of heels in the hallway made him glance out the kitchen entrance. “Sugar, you’re home late.”
    The petite blonde set her purse on the counter.
    Sugar owned the brownstone they all lived in, the original Omegas pack—Eric, Tyler, Sam, Katrina, and himself—paid her rent. They’d been neighbors at first in an apartment complex. Then they started having troubles with the old pack of Chicago, the Ayumu. That was when they hired Daedalus, a badass Nosferatu vampire, to teach them how to fight. He and Sugar had fallen crazy in love. When Eric defeated the old alpha of the Ayumu, the Omegas absorbed them. Then Eric changed their name to Vasi, which meant Vanguards in the old language.
    “I missed my bus. Is Daedalus awake yet?” Sugar straightened her skirt.
    “I haven’t seen him, but I’ve only been awake a few minutes myself.”
    Her smile turned sad as she examined his face. “You look exhausted. Don’t let him work you so hard, Robert.”
    The him she referred to was the pack’s Nosferatu vampire warrior and her true love. “He’s only doing what’s best for us. Don’t worry, I can take it.” He slathered the bagel with peanut butter and poured a tall glass of milk.
    Once Daedalus was ready they’d go running before hitting the all night gym. Yay.
    “He told me you refused to kill Talon.”
    Rob nodded while chewing on his meal.
    “I’m glad. He wouldn’t agree with me—”
    “Damn right, I don’t agree.” Daedalus stormed into the kitchen and blocked the entrance with his six-foot-two frame and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sugar, we discussed you placing ideas in their heads. I can’t have the boys hesitating on the field of battle.”
    She confronted him with her five foot nothing, barely a hundred and ten pound body. “Field of battle? This is Chicago in the twenty-first century.”
    If Rob had someone to place a bet with he’d put his money on Sugar winning. The little librarian had grown a backbone in the last year.
    “Babe, Dark Ages or not, the pack needs warriors to protect their territory.”
    “From what? They’ve chased off all the scum. The Vasi are coming together as one. No more factions. This should be a time of peace and you’re acting like—like—”
    “Something bad is about to happen. Don’t talk military strategy with me. If I wanted to take over this city, now would be the time I’d strike. The pack is happy and their guard is down. Not to mention the alpha is out of the city.”
    Rob’s appetite vanished. He set his bagel back on the plate and drank the rest of his milk to wash down the bite stuck in his throat. Daedalus was the life of the party.
    The