Chapter 52: The Beta's Unexpected Proposal

Aurora

The Moon Goddess was definitely punishing me for something I’d done in a past life.

It had been a week since we came back from our trip, which meant it had been a week since Wolfgang moved into my house.

To say was an awkward situation—to live with my mate, the same one who, just a couple of months ago, had been determined to reject me, and treated me like trash, was an understatement.

He now roamed around my house like a good housewife: cooking, cleaning, even doing the laundry.

I couldn’t deny that his cooking was superb. I thought I might be getting overweight because of it, but it was still super uncomfortable.

“So how’s the life of a married couple so far?” Emma asked during a video chat.

“That’s not funny, Em,” I said, rolling my eyes at her.

I was sitting in the living room, FaceTiming with my best friend and skimming through Netflix for something interesting to watch.

Wolfgang was out at a meeting, so I had the place to myself.

“Oh come on, Rors. It can’t be that bad, right? He’s your mate, aft—” I gave her a death glare that made her shut up right away.

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” I said before turning my attention back to the TV.

“Geez, you’ve changed so much. I wonder if I’ll recognize you when I get back?” she said with a huff.

Then her face lit up in eagerness. “Speaking of which, you are gonna meet me at the bus station, right? Mom won’t be able to, she has the night shift.”

“Of course. When’s the date?” I asked, despite already knowing what day Emma was arriving.

“Aurora Craton! It’s three days from today! And you call yourself my best friend.” She huffed, shaking her head, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her.

“Right, right. On the eleventh. The last bus from Washington, right?”

Her face immediately lit up once more. “Yes! So make sure to not be late!” she ordered.

I saluted back. We both broke into a fit of laughter as I continued scrolling through the list of shows.

We had continued chatting about random stuff, when I heard the jingle of keys as the front door opened.

He’d even had the nerve to get a copy of my keys.

“Hubby is back. I better go, so I can give you guys’ some privacy.’ She wiggled her eyebrows at me before blowing a kiss and hanging up.

I sighed and shook my head, then put down the phone and concentrated on the TV screen.

“Hey,” Wolfgang said casually. He walked over and sat on the couch next to me.

“How’d it go at the meeting? Any clue on our latest foe?” I asked, not looking in his direction.

“So far, nothing. It’s like they know our every move, how we work here at the pack. They roam around the boundaries, but the seekers haven’t been able to sniff them out.”

I hummed in response, not really caring to continue the conversation. We sat in an uncomfortable silence for the next three minutes before he finally spoke again.

“Aurora, I’ve been meaning to ask you. I know you don’t want me near you, but has it really been that awful, sharing a roof with me?” he asked all of a sudden.

To say it caught me off guard was an understatement; I’m sure the shock was etched on my face.

“I know I was a terrible mate to you in the past. But please, give me the chance to make it up to you. I promise, I’ll give you life so grand, you won’t remember the pain and sorrow you had to face.”

He stretched his hand out and gently grabbed mine. “I want us to start over, Aurora,” he said.

His eyes held softness once more. I could almost melt into them.

~“Say something!” Rhea exclaimed, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“All I ever wanted, all my life for the Moon Goddess to grant me a mate as loving and caring as my father was to my mother and Montana.”

I didn’t look at him. “The moment I found out that we were mates, all I wanted was for you to look at me the way you’re doing now. But all I got was your disdain, and every time I tried to get close, you did everything possible to push me away.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “And now you are asking me to start fresh? That you’ll make me forget all the pain and sorrow?”

I jerked my hand out of his grip. “I doubt that, because all of my pain and sorrow has been caused because of you!” I spat. Then I walked out the door.

I knew that I was being childish, but I couldn’t help it. Wolfgang ruined everything for me, the moment he could not accept me as his mate.

~“Aurora, calm down. I know you’re still hurt because of what Wolfgang did, but he seems genuinely sorry. Let’s go back and talk to him,”~ Rhea said, trying to convince me to go back.

~“No! I can’t just accept that. You said it yourself. He caused us too much pain!”~

I was so busy ranting to Rhea that I didn’t realize I’d walked right into someone until huge arms engulfed me.

“Geez, Rors. Where are you going in such a hurry?” Max asked. He looked down at me and smiled.

“I’m sorry, Max. I was busy arguing with my wolf,” I said, backing away.

“What were you two fighting about, if I may ask?” he asked, walking alongside me.

“It doesn’t matter. How have you been? Seems like an eternity since I last saw you.” I said.

He laughed. “Well, what can I say? Our alpha had me working my ass off these past few days, looking into this new enemy we’re facing. Even Aspen has been bitching that she hasn’t been able to spend much time with Remus.”

He looked at me. “Speaking of which, how’s life sharing a roof with the alpha? Is he treating you well?”

I couldn’t look him in the eye, so I looked ahead as we kept walking.

“It’s been alright. He does his thing, I do mine,” I answered, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, but I guess Max saw right through me.

“Rors, I think I’ve known you long enough to tell when you’re lying. Tell me the truth.”

“I am telling the truth. Things have been alright. We keep out of each other’s business,” I said.

He finally nodded, accepting that that was all I was going to say about living with Wolfgang.

We continued walking in silence, when Max finally spoke again.

“Rory, I know you already have your mate, but I’ve been thinking. Well, more like wishing…that maybe you and I could…you know, go out?” He blurted, scratching the back of his head.

I looked at him in shock. “You mean going out…like a couple?” I asked him, still bewildered.

“Well, yeah. Like a couple. I thought that, since you don’t want to accept Wolfgang after all the shitty things he did to you, and I still haven’t found my mate yet, maybe we are destined to be together…”

His cheeks were coated in red.

“I don’t know what to say, Max.”

I really didn’t know what to say. All this time, I’d seen Max as an older brother. I’d never thought of him as anything else, but he was right.

He was unmated, and things between Wolfgang and I hadn’t worked out so well from the beginning.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right away. Just think about it and let me know, okay?” He gave me that bright smile of his.

“I gotta run, I should be out patrolling. I’ll drop by tomorrow, and you can give me your answer then, okay?”

I could only nod my head as he smiled once more, then dashed off to the forest.

“Right. I’ll be waiting eagerly for your reply tomorrow. Bye.” He waved as he vanished between the trees.

~What just happened?~ I asked myself.

~“I think the beta just confessed that he likes you.”~ Rhea answered. She was standing there in shock as well.

~“What are you going to do about it?”~ she asked. ~“It wouldn’t be fair to our mate, but I don’t want to break the beta’s heart, either.”~

She was right.

~“Well, we could call it even with Wolfgang, after this. After all, he dated that Tallulah bitch.”~ I scoffed.

~“I guess you’re kind of right,”~ Rhea huffed.

I couldn’t believe she was agreeing with me so easily, but was it really alright for me to go out with Max?

I guess I’d have a long, restless night to ponder about it.