Beta (17 page)

I
considered that for a moment but shook my head, rejecting
it.

"No. He's
more mature than that. He knows we love him and I think he's going
to be happy," I said confidently.

"I hope
you're right. With everything going on, I just don't
know."

I reached
across the table and grabbed his hand. We should be happy right
now, not depressed and stressed. I wanted to enjoy this time with
him but without a final decision from me, we would have Claire
looming over us.

"I, um, I
made a decision about Claire."

"Yeah?"

I nodded
slowly, "I don't feel right putting her to death. I want to...I
just can't make that call," I admitted.

"I can
make it for you."

I shook
my head, "No. I don't want to stoop to her level. I almost feel bad
for her."

"What,"
he asked as if disgusted by the thought.

"She lost
her mate. You know what that does to someone," I said
softly.

I knew if
I lost Titus I would lose my mind. I knew Claire wasn't in the
right state of mind but I also knew she could control herself a bit
more. She was selfish and clinging onto anything that once gave her
some happiness. I was certain she and Titus were happy for a little
while at least, even if he didn't love her. She was lost and
confused but that didn't change the fact that I still hated her. I
knew I couldn't make the call to put her to death because it would
weigh on me for the rest of my life. Then what would happen if
Christian found out I made that decision? He would hate me forever
even if he never wanted anything to do with her. When I thought
about everything she had put Christian through, I wanted to kill
her but for his sake, I refrained.

"Yeah but
that doesn't excuse everything she has done."

"No it
doesn't. But I won't have another person's death on me. I want her
banned and exiled so she can't come back."

He
sighed, "Fine. I will set it up."

"Thank
you."

Titus
paid for our food and we left the restaurant just as quietly as we
entered. I felt rather somber despite my want to feel elated. I
just couldn't be happy in that moment for some reason. I had
Andre's death still weighing heavily on my conscience. He deserved
it and I was forced to do it but I couldn't deny that I liked it.
The surge of power I felt when I killed the man that had forced me
to fend for myself as a child was exhilarating. He had planned to
keep me in captivity until I produced the children he wanted then
he would dispose of me. Still, I had never killed anyone and never
wanted to do it again. Even if I wasn't the one pulling the trigger
on Claire, I would still be responsible.

"Can we
just take care of this now?" I asked.

"Are you
sure you want to?"

I nodded,
"I want this finished. I want us to enjoy this time."

He made a
right, heading to the holding cells where we would deliver Claire's
punishment.

"Call Zac
and have him meet us there."

I pulled
out my phone and did as Titus asked. After a few rings, an out of
breath Rachel answered the phone. To say I was shocked was an
understatement. In the years I had known Zac, no one ever answered
his phone except him. Sure, there had been a couple girls here and
there that he messed around with but none ever lasted more than a
few days and there was certainly never anyone serious enough to
answer his phone.

"Hey,
it's Elizabeth. Is Zac around?"

"Yeah but
he's in the shower. Want me to get him?"

"Uhm
yeah, sure."

"Okay,
hold on."

I looked
over at Titus and mouthed 'what the hell.' He shrugged, just as
bewildered as I was.

"Hey,
Liz," Zac said as he answered the phone.

"Hey, um,
could you meet us at the cells? Titus is handing down Claire's
punishment."

"You
don't want it to be public?"

"No. I
just want this entire thing to go away. I want her banned and
exiled."

"If
that's what you want," he trailed off.

"Yeah," I
responded.

"Okay.
I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thanks,
bye."

I turned
to Titus, confused.

"What was
that about?"

"Who
knows. That's bizarre. I mean, I never thought I would see the day
he showed another female attention."

"You
should have seen him in my office. He was genuinely concerned about
her well being."

"I
haven't seen him like that since Eva."

"Weird,"
I said, "Do you think he's finally serious?"

"Maybe.
She seemed like a nice girl. Young," he commented, "How old is she
anyway?"

"Nineteen."

His eyes
widened slightly, "Wow. Really young."

I
shrugged, "I'm younger than you."

"You're
only a few years younger than me. They're eleven years
apart."

I hoped
Zac really did care about Rachel. I wanted to see him happy but at
the same time, any woman he chose to be with had to be considered
for the position of Luna. If she and Zac became serious, she would
have to grow up quickly and help him run the pack. It was not a
position I envied in the least but I had a good feeling about
Rachel. She was young and naive which wasn't necessarily a bad
thing. It could be the breath of fresh air this pack needed after
Claire's escapades.

********

I never
liked the cells. They were modern- the walls were coated in silver
to prevent wolves from escaping- but they were depressing. Of
course, they weren't meant to be a happy place but it was so bleak.
If one was spending time there, said prisoner would know something
awful was going to happen to them. Claire was getting off easy, in
my opinion. She would be sent to a heavily guarded, pack owned
island off the coast of Alaska. She would be given a place to live
though it would be far from what she was accustomed to and she
would work twelve hour days of manual labor for the rest of her
life to earn her food. There would be no electricity, no way to
communicate with the outside world but she would live. She would be
denied any contact with other inhabitants and live her days out in
solitude. It was a rough life but a life nonetheless.

"Are you
sure you're okay to do this?" Titus asked before we walked
inside.

I half
smiled at him, "I'm positive. I want this done."

"Okay,"
he said reluctantly.

Zac met
us outside of the building with a small, apologetic, smile. I knew
he felt bad for me but he didn't need to. I didn't want anyone's
pity, especially not his but Zac was close to Titus so that made
Titus's problems into Zac's problems. The two were thick as
thieves; I mean, Zac was the best man in our wedding and he's
Christian's godfather. I wanted Zac to just worry about himself for
once. I wanted him to focus on whatever this was with Rachel and
hopefully let it grow. I knew he was still hurt from the loss of
his mate and Rachel could never make him feel the way Eva made him
feel but he could care about Rachel and even love her. Mates are a
one time thing and when someone finds theirs, things move quickly
because just like humans, we die. It's better to have a short time
knowing one's mate rather than not knowing them at all. Even though
Zac's situation was sad, he was making the most of it.

"Hey,"
Titus said casually.

Zac
nodded at us and opened the door for me to walk through. I glanced
around the sterile front room. Not even my practice looked this
barren.

We
followed Zac down a hallway lined with heavy doors to the end and
made a right. I counted three more thick doors and we stopped. Zac
entered his code into the keypad and the metal clicked
open.

Inside,
Claire sat on the thin cot, glaring at me. She clearly blamed me
for this situation even though she did it to herself. She should
have never come back. Once she realized Christian and Titus were
happy, she should have left but she decided to sell me out to the
worst man on the face of the planet.

"We have
decided your punishment," Titus said confidently.

Her eyes
fell on him and her glare dropped. I couldn't tell if she was
genuinely in love with him or if she just wanted him. I did feel
bad for her but he was my mate and I wasn't going to give him or
Christian up.

"Please,
Titus, stop her," she begged.

I was
confused by her statement, "Stop me from what?"

"Stealing
my son! I was supposed to marry him!" She screamed as she pointed
at Titus.

"I'm not
going to argue with you," I said calmly, "You signed away your
rights and left your son in the hospital. The only reason you are
pretending to care about Christian is because you want Titus
back."

She
scoffed as if that was the most preposterous thing anyone had ever
said.

"If you
were a real mother, you would understand the pain and shame I went
through everyday knowing I left them. But you didn't carry
Christian for nine months. You didn't go through the sickness, the
fear, any of it!"

"You're
right. I didn't. I picked up the pieces of the mess you left
behind. I raised a child that wasn't biologically mine. I stayed
with my mate despite the fact he was engaged to you before and had
a child with you. I accepted everything and dealt with it because I
am a stronger woman."

"You're
not better than me! Christian will never look at you as his mother
now. He will find out that you had me killed and he will hate you
for it."

"Oh we're
not killing you. You are banished and exiled."

Surprise
colored her face. She really thought I would condemn her to death?
Did she really think I was that type of person?

"Exiled?
Titus," she begged.

"The
decision is final. You will be held here until transportation can
be arranged," Titus said apathetically.

Her glare
set on me. I swear I felt her hate radiating, like she was throwing
it at me. She knew she lost and she wouldn't accept it.

"He will
come for you again," she said darkly as she practically pierced my
soul with her chocolate eyes.

"He is
dead," I responded, "I killed him."

She
laughed, "I bet you didn't drain him. Have to drain them," she
scolded.

I didn't
drain him but I practically beheaded him. There was no way he
survived that...right? I looked to Titus for confirmation that
Andre was dead but he looked less than sure.

"That's
what I thought," she said triumphantly.

"He would
be stupid to come for her again," Titus defended.

"Doesn't
matter. He will come for her and he will take her. This time, you
won't get her back."

"Come
on," Titus said, trying to get me to leave.

"So you
know his plan?" I asked.

"Of
course."

"Don't
listen to her," Titus said.

"Hold
on," I held up my hand to Titus, "What do you know?"

"Everything. Didn't you find it strange that you were able to
'kill' him so easily?"

I hadn't
thought about it but she was right. In the moment, I just assumed I
was so filled with rage, I was able to overpower him but maybe I
was wrong. Maybe he had a bigger plan that I wasn't seeing. What if
he was still alive?

"She
doesn't know anything," Titus tried to assure me.

"Don't
try to fool her, Titus. I'll tell you everything," she offered to
him.

"At what
cost," he scoffed.

She
shrugged, "Divorce her and marry me."

"Never
going to happen."

"You
would rather her be taken somewhere you can never find her and
raped until she can't produce any more children? You know a
vampire's lust is insatiable. He will take her ten times a day
without the mercy of death."