Chapter 19

"So you're telling me, that you've been a beta to a pack this entire time? And now your alpha has found you and is trying to get you to go back?" Jaden leans forward on where he's sitting on his couch.

"For the fifth time, that's exactly what I'm telling you." I roll my eyes at his ridiculousness.

"Hey! Don't let your secretive ass get annoyed with me. I had no fucking idea you were a beta." He accuses.

"That's the point. You weren't supposed to know because I was never going to go back." I shrug.

"Well if you weren't going to go back, why are you making such a big deal about it and telling me? You're not actually considering it, are you?" Jaden narrows his brown eyes.

I stay silent, and a guilty feeling washes over me. Maybe I actually am considering it.

"Holy shit. You want to go back."

"No! I don't want to. Well, I don't know. I'm not sure. I'm just really confused with everything at the moment." I feel my leg start to anxiously bounce again.

Jaden stays silent and studies me for a moment. He nonchalantly leans back in the couch.

"Listen, as much as you're confused and actually considering this, this is my piece of advice. Don't go. You're still trying to cope with your miscarriage-"

I attempt to interrupt and deny that, but he holds up a finger, shushing me and letting him continue on.

"You're figuring out a new relationship with a new mate, you're just barely starting to finally open up about your past to me and Berkeley, and last but not least, and I don't mean this in a rude way, but you don't have your wolf. You can't be a beta to a pack when you have no wolf."

I look down frustrated because, as much as I hate to admit, he's so right.

"A thought crossed my mind the other day that maybe if I go back and try again, maybe my wolf will come back." I admit quietly.

Jaden takes a deep breath, and I don't look at him because I don't want to see any look or form of pity he has to offer. "But that's just my advice. I'm not telling you what to do, but you need to think about those factors as well."

I nod. "If I choose to go, would you and Berkeley come with me?"

Jaden goes silent, before ultimately shrugging. "It's not that simple Kyle. I can't just pack up everything and leave to go to a pack that me and Berkeley might not be even accepted in."

"Sorry. I know it's too much to ask."

Jaden phone goes off, making the tension in the room very apparent. He reaches for his phone on the coffee table to answer it.

"What's up?"

Silence.

"Are you shitting me?"

More silence. I feel my body grow with concern.

"Alright, I'll be there in five." He hangs up the call.

"What's going on?" I ask Jaden as he stands up from the couch to put on his shoes.

"Ransom is being an idiot again." Is all he explains.

"Ransom? Idiot? Wha...I'm coming with you." I stand up.

Jaden turns around quickly and holds out a hand to stop me. "Hell no. I don't recommend it."

"Why not? He's my mate, after all? You can't keep things like this from me. I'm going to find out sooner or later." I cross my arms over my chest.

"Better later than sooner." He mumbles.

"I'm coming with, and that's final." I leave no room for argument.

Jaden sighs, and gives up arguing with me on this. He leads the way out of his house and we both get into his car and speed off to Ransoms apartment.

———

Jaden doesn't even bother knocking on Ransoms apartment door, he just pats down the top of the door railings to find a spare key, and unlocks the door to walk right in.

"Berkeley?" Jaden calls out, and I'm following closely behind him.

We both halt in our tracks as we hear some screaming, a door being slammed just as we hear a glass shatter against something solid. Possibly a wall.

"Really Ransom?!" We here Berkeley yell, clearly infuriated.

Me and Jaden share a quick glance before we enter a dark hallway from where the sounds came from, and see a rough looking Berkeley staring down a bedroom door.

"What the hell is happening?" Jaden asks, and Berkeley turns to us, her gaze stopping on me.

"What's he doing here?" She asks.

"He wouldn't let me come unless he did too. I'm gonna ask again, what's happening?" Jaden approaches her and pulls her in for a protective hug, and she latches onto him.

"He's having another episode. You know? Where his PTSD causes him to see something and it doesn't really go away. So he drinks and gets angry and it just turns into a disaster." She explains, and I can hear from her quivering voice that she's trying to hold tears back.

"Is the door unlocked?" I ask.

Berkeley pulls away and shakes her head. "No, it's not. But I wouldn't recommend going in. He just threw a beer bottle at me and I barely made it out before it hit me."

I see Jaden tense up in anger, and Berkeley quickly calms him down.

I approach his door and whisper to my two friends that I'm going in, and luckily they don't stop me.

I shut the door quietly behind me, and I'm met by the strong smell of liquor, and a dark room.

I hear some mumbling from the other side of the bed that I can't see, and I carefully tiptoe my way around the bed to see a panicking Ransom on the floor, his back against the bed, his knees up to his chest, and his hands pulling at his hair.

I don't dare to try and touch him, because who knows what type of panic that could cause, but I make my presence known.

"Ransom," I whisper, and his head snaps up and his eyes meet mine.

He's here physically, but mentally he's not. He's not seeing me, he's seeing someone else.

He looks shocked and dazed for a moment, before shaking his head and tears start to fall from his eyes.

I get on my knees and carefully scoot closer to him. "Ransom, you're ok. You're alright." I speak reassuringly.

He shakes his head, and continues to quietly cry.

"You're safe, in you're bedroom. With me, Kyle." I reach out my hand to touch his shoulder gently.

He looks back over to me, and I can tell he's slowly mentally coming back to reality. I give him a small smile.

"That's it. You're ok." My hand finally rests on his shoulder, but that's when he grabs my arm roughly and yanks me flat on the ground. He straddles my hips, and his hands squeeze my neck.

I feel my airway being quickly blocked, and my hands go up to grab his wrists, trying to pull them off of me. I kick my legs to try and throw him off of me, but it's feeble.

I look into his angry eyes as he doesn't see me back.

I gasp for air, and when my vision starts to turn fuzzy and black, I see him realize what's truly going on.

He quickly let's go of his grip around my neck and gets off of me, and I sit up, choking and gasping for air, rubbing my soon to be bruised neck.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean...I'm sorry. Oh my god." Ransom whispers, looking at me as if he just murdered me unintentionally.

I let him try to calm down as I regain my sense of reality as well, and get my breathing back to normal.

"Do you always choke people when they help you?" I give out a wheezy laugh, attempting to lighten the mood.

He just stares at me, wide eyed and surprised I wasn't screaming and yelling at him.

"Can I touch you without you trying to strangle me?" I ask, trying to give him a smile.

He doesn't say or do anything, so I make a move and pull him into me and wrap my arms around him.

He begins to mumble and blubber multiple "I'm sorrys." To me, but I just gently shush him and tell him that whatever he's seeing is over.

He's ok and he's with me.