Chapter 129

Helen POV

I rushed back into the estate, Freya clinging to my shoulder as I ran into the house and down the hall to the bedroom I probably shouldn’t have left. Justin is just coming out of the doorway, his eyes wide and relaxed when he sees me.

But it doesn’t last long.

Randy is coming up behind me, out of breath and brushing past me as he heads to face Justin. I can see my mate’s eyes, jealous and confused, and I realize all too soon how it looks for me to come running down the hall with his Beta while he’s sleeping.

Doesn’t look good for anyone. Randy still approaches anyways.

“Alpha, sorry for the mix up,” the Beta grumbles. “I tried to get her to a healer and then the pixie showed up and was telling us about—”

“Save it,” Justin snapped, his tone strict. “Luna, please. Come back to bed.”

I looked at Freya, knowing I couldn’t leave thing unsaid about Ezequiel. I took a cautious step back, knowing Justin would throw a fit, get angry and drag me to bed after I’ve gone behind his back and left bed while he was unsuspecting.

“I—I can’t, Alpha.”

His eyes grew surprisingly soft. “Why not?”

Feeling hopeful, I inhaled sharp. “Well, Freya told me tonight that the pixies were lured to William and I think they’ve all been captured. I have to do something, Justin.”

I half expected him to throw me in the barracks and put up a fight, but he surrendered so easily. He walked away from Randy and came to my side, kissing my forehead while he took me in his arms. He grinned slightly at Freya before pulling away from me altogether.

“Okay, mate. Let’s get to it.” His eyes drifted down to my ankle, same as Randy’s had earlier in the night. “You need to heal first.”

My stomach snarled and I tried to hide my flustered cheeks.

He grinned slightly, the handsomeness of such a smile on my mate’s face making my heart soar, but my stomach still ached so terribly. “Let’s go get you something to eat first.”

I agreed and followed my mate as he stomped through the hallways towards the kitchen. Randy came up beside me, confused why Justin had ignored him so coldly, but I knew it wasn’t intentional. He is learning to trust me again.

It would take work from us both; that’s for sure.

We congregated in the kitchen, Randy setting up files and notebooks for brainstorming, while Justin fixed me some soup to eat. I knew I was hungry, but I didn’t know I was until I drank the whole bowl down while only taking three inhales between gulps.

I looked up to see both the Alpha and Beta watching me curiously. Freya had thankfully passed out fully on my shoulder, saving me from another cocked look.

Justin returned to my side and took my bowl, kissing my cheek again. “I’ll make more, sweetheart.”

I bowed with embarrassment but didn’t care fully because I was so hungry it didn’t matter. I was starved with William and didn’t even know how I got to the estate of True Mates again. I needed water and food and rest—I didn’t need more problems to solve.

But I had to help Freya. I couldn’t just ignore her and the other pixies still in trouble. I laid my head down, ate the soup when more came, and tried to tame my anxiety and stress.

Steps came into the room while I tried my best to fight off sleep, seeing Russo come into the kitchen and stop cold in his tracks when he met all of our eyes. He grinned sheepishly, reaching into the freezer and grabbing a pint of ice cream and a spoon.

He joined us at the far table, looking through the paper work while he ate his ice cream without mention of it at all. I bit back a laugh and blinked slow, the world starting to spin and my eyes dry and heavy in my head. I need sleep…

But I need to help the pixies.

I forced myself to sit up while Justin briefed Russo on what was going on. Randy slid into the seat beside me, his eyes pacing my tired, worn face.

“Luna, you don’t look so good.”

I swallowed, wanting to hide myself from sight from Justin, knowing he would tell me to go to bed. Surprisingly, he didn’t mention it, just took my frame into his gaze and then went back to hearing Randy run through the story Freya told us.

Russo slid me a small bowl of ice cream and I picked up the spoon, hoping the sugar would keep me awake, but it hardly did the trick.

I felt the spoon slip from my hand and heard it clink against the floor below. My cheek rested on the cool table and I fought myself to stay awake.

Randy grumbled first, “She should be resting. She did just get back.”

“You’re the one that took her outside to find the healer and get involved with the pixie,” Justin snarled. “You started this when you should have just told her to go back to bed.”

“I did, but she is the Luna, Justin, I can’t ignore her,” he snapped.

“I am your Alpha first so you listen to me when I say she is to stay by my side, Randy.”

The Beta kicked out of his chair by the sound of it falling beside me. “I am not going to argue with you, Alpha. I did everything I was supposed to do. I kept her safe and I made sure she didn’t leave the pack grounds. What else do you want?!”

“I want you to stop coming after my mate!”

The room fell silent and I fought to wake up, to sit up, but all I could do was open my eyes a little to see the Alpha growling towards the Beta, and visa versa.

I wanted to ask Justin to relax, or at least to explain what he just said, but Randy spoke before I could, in the same bewilderment as I had found myself in.

“What the hell are you saying, Justin?”

My mate bit down hard, his jaw locked. “I’m talking about the fact you can’t stand she is my mate, and not yours. You sneak around in the night with her, behind my back? You tried to take her from me before, make her Luna of this pack and you could be Alpha! You’re jealous!”

The room got so deathly silent that it made me ill.

He couldn’t seriously think that Randy wanted me as a mate, that it would ever make sense, considering how I see him as a good older brother and he sees me as a little sister.

But when I looked to Randy to explain himself, he did something I never thought was possible in this moment.

He hesitated.