7. Beck
CHAPTER SEVEN
beck
With my arms occupied with Charlotte, I have no choice but to watch in helpless horror as Juliette’s body starts to go limp. Thankfully, Wyatt sneaks in with the save, making it to her before she crashes to the ground. I owe him a debt of gratitude for that.
I’m a doctor, though I’ve chosen to utilize my skills outside of a hospital by routinely taking on volunteer paramedic work and other charitable positions to help the local community.
My job is literally to save people on a daily basis, yet here I am, standing by as Juliette collapses right in front of me.
Let me tell you, not being able to do a damned thing about it is not an easy pill to swallow.
Wyatt sweeps her up into his arms bridal style, her head lolling back as his worried eyes meet mine.
“Mama!” Charlotte cries, and I tuck her cheek into my shoulder, running my hand up and down her back to soothe her tears.
There’s a moment of realization that I might be holding my daughter for the very first time, but that’s drowned out by my overall concern for her mother’s current condition.
“What the hell happened?” Wyatt asks, looking down at the barely conscious form of the Omega I’ve been pining for.
“I’m not sure, but she felt it coming on and had just enough time to thrust Charlotte into my arms.”
“We need to get her out of here.” Wyatt glances over his shoulder. “We’re attracting attention.”
“What the hell is going on?” Kash barks, coming to a complete stop as he takes in the scene.
“Mr. Beck, is my mama gonna be okay?” Charlotte’s voice wavers, then she sniffles.
“She’s going to be fine. I promise.” As natural as can be, I kiss the little girl’s forehead. “Kash, does she have any conditions you’re aware of?”
“No, but it’s not like we’re all that close these days.”
“The truck is right around the corner and out of view. Let’s head over there, so I can check her out. ”
Following Wyatt, I try to bring my professional brain back online, but it’s a struggle.
My emotions are all over the place. Every day since that night in Charlotte, all I’ve thought about is Rose.
Or rather, Juliette . My Alpha side has ridden me hard, constantly demanding we find her.
That she is ours and she is out there… alone .
But, of course, there was never anything I could do.
No matter what my packmates suggested, I’ve always refused to move on. I only want her.
Then we show up in Darling, and what are the chances that all of us have gotten caught up in the same damn girl under three very different sets of circumstances?
I feel like an idiot because how in the hell did I not recognize her all those times Wyatt fawned over her talent on the TV?
To my credit, she’s done a damn good job of concealing her identity, especially if Kash didn’t know she had an alter ego.
The other Alpha rushes forward, opening the tailgate. Wyatt twists, maneuvering him and Juliette up onto it so that she’s cradled in his lap. I step up next to them, prepared to set Charlotte on the ground beside me, but she squeezes my neck tighter.
“Mr. Beck?”
“Yeah, princess?”
“Can I stay with you?”
I share a look with Kash, who nods and steps up to the two of us. Tears are rolling down Charlotte’s round cheeks, and my heart clenches painfully. The last thing I want to do is let her go, but I need to make sure her mama is okay.
“What if Kash holds you so you can watch while I examine your mama? Would that be all right?”
She studies the other Alpha. “Mr. Kash, I’m real scared. Will you hold me?”
His entire face softens, and he clears his throat. “Of course, jelly bean. C’mere.”
Holding out his arms, she slips into them, teary eyes studying me.
“Mr. Beck, are you a doctor?”
“Yeah, princess. I am. I save people when they need help.” Leaning over, I touch my first and middle fingers to Juliette’s carotid artery, assessing her pulse. “Her pulse is strong, so that’s good.”
“Of course it is,” Juliette rasps, her eyes still closed. She takes a deep breath in and exhales. “Because I’m fine. Embarrassed as fuck, but nothing I can do about that now.”
You can practically hear the collective breath of relief we all take. I can’t help myself. I brush a stray piece of hair off her cheek because I can’t not touch her right now.
“You don’t look fine, sweetheart. You fainted dead away.”
Brown eyes open and connect with mine. “That how you charm all the ladies, handsome?”
Wyatt snorts. “Pretty sure his charm died a horrible death four years ago, hotshot.”
The silence is deafening as those big eyes widen. Whatever I owed Wyatt, I renege because… What the actual fuck, bro ?
She clears her throat. “Help me sit up, pretty boy.”
My brother slowly helps Juliette until she’s awkwardly sitting in his lap, fussing with her skirt.
“That happen often?” I ask softly.
“Never. It’s a first for me.”
“Any idea what may have caused it?” I study her, watching her pupils and the way her chest rises and falls at a normal rhythm, trying to reassure myself that she really is as fine as she claims to be.
“You’ve obviously never seen an Omega overcome by an Alpha pheromone fog coupled with the fact that she just realized her childhood friend, a guy she just met, and the man from a one-night stand are all pack . I was overwhelmed , Beck. Nothing more.”
“What’s a one-night stand?” Charlotte’s innocent voice asks.
Juliette’s startled eyes meet mine, and I can’t help the way my grin spreads widely across my face.
Wyatt chuckles.
Kash coughs.
“It’s when two people see each other for just one night,” I tell the curious little girl in my packmate’s arms who’s eyeing her mother quizzically.
“Mama, you know Mr. Beck?”
“Yeah, sweet pea. I do.”
“And Mr. Kash, too?”
Her eyes quickly dart to the other Alpha, then away. “Yup. We were friends when we were your age.”
Fuck. I didn’t consider what this would mean for him—knowing his packmate fucked the woman he hates but no doubt used to have some kind of feelings for. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hate her in the first place. I’ll have to talk to him about all of that later.
Juliette starts to push herself off Wyatt’s lap, but his arms snake around her waist.
“Where do you think you’re goin’, hotshot?”
Under the dim streetlight, I notice the pink that floods her cheeks. Her sweetening apple cinnamon scent hits my nostrils, and I bite back the purr rumbling in my chest. Seeing her with my brother sets off a chain reaction in my hindbrain that just keeps repeating a single word. Pack .
“I’m fine now, Wyatt. You can set me down.”
“Don’t know. Think I better keep you right here just a little longer. Make sure you really are steady before I let you go.”
“Yeah, Mama. Let Mr. Wyatt and Mr. Beck help you ‘til you feel all better.”
“Sweet pea, I’m sorry if I scared you. I’m all good now. I promise.” She shoots Wyatt a look to which he simply responds with a grin.
With the emergency averted, the rush of emotions I ruthlessly shoved to the side to stay focused comes trickling back in.
My eyes scan the Omega in front of me. She’s so close after being out of reach for four long years.
Everything I felt that night comes rushing back to the forefront.
She’s still as beautiful as I remember. Her curves a little curvier in all the right places.
And when I think of the reason for that, my gut does a somersault.
There are so many questions I want to ask, things I want to say, but not with Charlotte around. This requires an adults-only conversation that I’m determined will happen sooner rather than later.
“Juliette?” an unfamiliar voice asks, and I spin around to find the pack of Alphas from earlier lined up behind me.
“Oh! Alex...” She rushes to push off Wyatt’s arms and awkwardly slips out of his lap until her feet land on the ground.
In her rush to reach him, she stumbles, her hand landing on his arm to steady herself.
“I was walking home and must’ve fainted.
Luckily, Wyatt managed to catch me before my face met the cement. ”
Fuck’s sake. She should not be up and moving around yet.
“Thank God,” he murmurs, turning her until she’s facing him. “Are you okay?”
His hand raises as if to touch her cheek, then pauses, his fingers curling in until he tucks it back against his side.
Pussy. What kind of Alpha hesitates when you have an Omega like Juliette standing right in front of you?
You did, my Alpha side growls.
“Um…yeah. I’m okay.” She glances over at the three of us, a grimace pinching her face before it disappears when she turns back to him. “Actually, I’m pretty exhausted. I think Charlotte and I are going to call it a night.”
“Of course. Why don’t you let us walk you home?”
She bites her pouty bottom lip, her fingers fidgeting with the material of her skirt. “Oh, that’s not necessary. It’s only a short walk that we’ve done a million times. Y’all surely have better things to do.”
If I were him, I’d scoop her up and walk her home myself.
She just fucking told them she fainted, and she’s exhausted.
Even a half-decent pack would do the right thing here and take care of the gorgeous Omega they’re courting.
Though I’m really fucking praying they’re not decent at all because that would mean I’d have half a fucking chance to prove I’m better for her.
“Are you sure?” one of the other Alphas asks. “It’s really not a bother.”
Who in the fuck says bother these days? Fucking idiots.
“I’m sure, but I appreciate the offer.”