The Beta's Catch novel Chapter 44

-HER-

"So..." I speak after some time. We have been sitting in silence, wrapped in darkness for quite some time now, "Can you change into a wolf?" I ask awkwardly.

"Of course," He answers. His voice is a whisper. It's deep and soothing. I want to fall asleep to this someday.

"Oh," Is all I am able to say in response.

"I'd change once you are... er... comfortable with us?" He hesitates before adding, "His name is Chance. He is excited to meet you already," His words make my stomach dip but I continue to inquire further.

"Is he... like an extension to you?" I feel more and more awkward asking these questions meanwhile he doesn't really seem to have any problem answering them. He's upfront and honest. I know that I'd need to be the same when the situation would be reversed.

"He's more like my subconsciousness part. All my gut feelings and raw instincts are regulated by him. He is a rawer and more guttural version of me," Jake explains.

"Okay," I carefully pick my next question and ask, "Do you only change on full moon n-"

"No, I can change on command. Why? Do you want to meet Chance?" He inquires and I instantly flush. I am curious but at the same time, I am afraid of asking wrong questions.

The fact that he is different hasn't sunken very well into my mind yet. I need some time to adjust to this. I hope he is willing to do that with me.

"Some other day maybe," I mumble as he continues to nudge my neck. I sigh in delight. I am slowly starting to like this.

"Sure. I don't want to overwhelm you," He speaks softly. It floods my stomach with butterflies.

"Why were they calling you Beta?" I ask next.

"That's my rank in the pack," He answers nonchalantly but I am curious to know more, "What's a pack? Is it like the one that wild wolves have?" I inquire.

"Yes. It's more or less like that. My pack's name is Red Moon. It has around 500 wolves," He informs.

"Wow, that's a big number. You're the only pack around Itaville?"

"No. There's another pack but that's in the south. It's relatively smaller than mine,"

"How many packs are there around the world?" I couldn't help but wonder out loud.

"Around 600. Apart from that, we have rogues and lone wolves who don't like to be part of the community,"

"Is it like a cult?"

"Er... no. We are part of the human society but they're not really aware of us. Though we have our own governing bodies like the Werewolf council. We also have our own rules, frankly, they don't differ much from humans and we have territories too,"

"No, it's actually very rare. At present, the werewolf council has only 5 recorded hybrids among all the werewolf packs. It's me, Davis, dad and two other people from somewhere far,"

"What do you mean by control over the element?" I wonder.

"I can basically start a fire out of thin air, I can manipulate any fire, I can set or unset anything on fire... and many other things but I don't do it often because it takes a huge toll on me and my wolf. It's a very energy draining process,"

Silence falls between us as my mind processes his words. I couldn't help but grow more and more fascinated by him. I could have never thought that something like this would be possible.

He is erasing the stark line between fiction and reality... and I am not scared. If anything, it's feeding my curiosity and interest.

Sensing my silence, he asks, "What do you think about this, mate?"

"I am curious to know more about you," I tell him after a pause.

"Does that mean I'll see you more often? Would you spend more time with me?" My heart tugs at his questions.

The attraction is slowly getting stronger. I couldn't ignore it anymore. I know that I'd be giving in to it soon but I don't want to rush anything. I don't want to do anything that I'll end up regretting later.

"Maybe," I tell him turning around a bit. I gasp when I see his eyes glowing in the dark like a wild animal. His hold tightens around me, "Please, Cybele. You're my mate... you mean the world to me," He mutters against my skin before his lips descend on mine.