Taming His Beta General

"Think you are too good for everyone? You should ask your mother," he sneered.

Cruel hands bruised and grabbed her as she tried helplessly to fight back the weakness in her drugged limbs.

"What did you do to me?" Her words rumbled sluggishly.

"Something to keep you nice and warm." Cruel laughter echoed in her head as frustrated tears leaked down her face.

Cold air slapped her chest as he tore her shirt open.

Then his eyes widened in shock and fear as a strangely familiar voice whispered her name.

"Lorraine".

"You... what... how?!"

His screams followed Lorraine out of...

Wait. Something, someone's hands, was on her.

Her eyes flared open, and he jerked above her.

"What...wh...?"

Light stabbed her eyes as she blinked at the tawny eyes above her.

Still gripped in the throes of her nightmare, Lorraine immediately swung her fist, connecting solidly with the concerned face above her.

"Fuck, what the...?!"

She rolled sideways and dived for the gun on the bedside table.

She had the gun pointed right at his forehead before he could blink.

"Woah! Calm down, Prickly. What are you...?"

"Stop calling me that." Her voice sounded like sandpaper scraping against her throat as she glared at him.

Even as her body finally registered that she was no longer in that desperate situation, no longer the helpless teenager, she could not force herself to lower the gun.

"What are you doing in my room, Alpha?" She sneered the title with suspicion.

He finally lowered his hand from his bruised jaw, eyes on hers instead of the gun, as he got off the bed too.

"I heard you. Man, that was..." A tortured look crossed his face as he shook his head.

Lorraine stiffened against the compassion on his face as he continued, "You were...I don't know, babe. Whatever you were seeing in your sleep must be bad. I hope I never get to see that kind of look on your face again," he said passionately.

Lorraine did not want whatever he was trying to show her. Her hand firmed on the gun when she realised he had stepped forward.

"I was trying to shake you out of it when you..."

"Don't come closer." She blurted, pointing the gun at his feet. "You shouldn't be in my room." She glared at him.

He let out an impatient sigh as he stepped forward anyway. "Then you should lock your door next time and not sound like..." He shook his head again and asked urgently, "What were you dreaming of, Lorraine? That..."

The sudden firmness behind her back made her realise she had been stepping back from him as he walked towards her.

Anger spiked in her at that unconscious movement.

She was not a coward. She never cowered before any man, ever.

"Get out!" She gritted out coldly, the torment of her nightmare pulling at her bones.

She expected him to keep moving anyway. He was arrogant that way.

Her fingers tightened on the gun unconsciously. But he did the unexpected.

He stopped.

Yet that look, so close to pity, stayed.

"Babe, you know you can talk..."

Her lips curled upward in a scoff as she repeated, "Get out. And stay away from me."

He looked torn even as he nodded. "I am going nowhere, Lorraine. I will always be here for you," he muttered.

Just when she thought her shivering limbs would betray her before him, he turned and left, closing the door gently after him.

The clicking sound seemed to send a signal to her system as her body started shaking violently.

She dropped the gun and slid down the wall.

Curling her arms tightly around her raised knees, the contrast of her feverish body against the coolness of the wall on her back made her shiver more.

"Why? Why now?" She murmured, her voice muffled against her knees as she tried hard to stem the shiver.

She had not dreamt about him and her crime for a couple of years.

She had finally stopped looking over her shoulder, feeling a bit secure in the life she had built.

And now this?

The pathetic feeling from that night tasted bitter in her mouth.

No one had dared to make her feel like that again, ever. No one would.

So why...?

Her head snapped up as she glared at the door he had just passed through.

"It must be because of him and his stupid claim," she thought with conviction. "He did this to me."

"You know it is not just a claim, Lorraine," Kiara, who had been thrumming with that weird energy while the Alpha was in the room, finally spoke up. "He is our mate."

"Not for long." Lorraine declared as she stood, her distress buried beneath her anger for the moment.

"I am going to reject him and..."

"The queen said..."

"I don't care what the queen said." The lie rolled off her tongue as a familiar weakness suddenly rolled through her. "She can't expect me to be his mate. The Moon Goddess has gone too far with her joke this time." She held tightly to the edge of the bed, stubbornly willing her body to fight the curse of her birth.

"You know that won't work, Lorraine. Just use it." Her wolf's exasperation rang through as Lorraine gritted her teeth against the overwhelming weakness.

She hated this. Hated this weakness she had inherited from her mother. Yet she knew Kiara was right.

She could deal with Logan later.

For now...she hastily took out her insulin pack.

The chain snapped as the punching bag ripped.

Sand burst out, spraying Lorraine's boots.

She was hardly breathless as sweat coated her face.

She debated between cleaning up first and continuing the punishing routine of training she had started at dawn.

The second option won almost immediately.

She got into position for a set of kickboxing lunges.

The first round of kicks had the dummy almost snapping off its stand.

"Wow. Someone woke up bright and early." The amused tone had Lorraine straightening as she turned around.

The tight sensation that had settled in her chest all morning eased slightly as she saw the red-haired woman by the door.

"My queen." Lorraine bowed in greeting to the one person she respected most in her new world. Queen Athena.

A woman who had risen from being a rogue to becoming the first queen of the kingdom she had united, the United Kingdom of Werewolves.

Meeting Athena had been one of the best things to happen to Lorraine. She was one reason the despicable "rogue" tag had been lifted from Lorraine's life. Who would have thought the daughter of a sex slave would become a beta general?

"Lorraine." Athena's brilliant smile graced her exquisite face, her jade green eyes glinting as she took in the burst bag.

"Trouble sleeping?" she enquired gently as she took Lorraine's hand.

Lorraine always thought Athena's keen eyes never missed a detail. Yet she tried anyway.

"No, not at all. I slept fine. I just want to get an early start," she said hurriedly.

Athena's eyes lingered on Lorraine's for a moment, and she thought the queen might probe.

Lorraine was not sure she had rallied her willpower enough to hold back from spilling everything bothering her to the queen right there.

She hated feeling this way. For years, she had lived on duty and action alone. So the torrents of emotion that had been battering her since what happened at the Mirage Pack were not normal for her.

Athena's presence had always soothed her, but at the moment, Lorraine just wanted to scream while pulling at her hair.

The undignified image that thought conjured in her mind made her straighten up as she decided to do what she hated most. Lie to the queen.

But instead of asking, Athena simply squeezed Lorraine's hand gently, patting the back with her other hand as she said, "I am glad you did. Of course, you will let me know if there is anything you'd like to discuss?"

"Of course, my queen," Lorraine responded with relief.

She watched Athena step over to where the boxing gloves were kept.

"It's been a while. Spar with me?"

"Yes, my queen." Lorraine responded, getting her gloves too as she wondered if the session would help her get rid of the anxiety she had not been able to dispel all morning.

Athena was not actually dressed for training in her cream-coloured jumpsuit and slippers.

Yet she casually tossed her slippers aside and gave Lorraine quite the workout with a precise series of fists, kicks, and tumbles.

She looked just as regal while flipping Lorraine over her shoulder as she did when presiding over pack matters from her throne.

"Better?" Athena said as she held out her hand to pull Lorraine up from the last flip.

"Better." Lorraine responded with a smile, surprised that she actually felt a bit better.

Athena had that effect on others.

Soothing without probing. A better queen, Lorraine could not think of.

"You ladies looking to outdo us or something?"

Lorraine felt the slight change in Athena's stance even before they both turned to the man entering the training hall with his beta.

Love was painfully evident on Alpha Raymond's face as his eyes zoned in on Athena, his big smile crinkling the sides of his eyes.

He kissed Athena soundly, a humming sound in his throat that had Lorraine looking away awkwardly.

It was not as if it was the first time these two had shown their love so openly, but with what had just happened that almost made them lose each other, Lorraine could not help but feel mushy inside seeing them like this again.

"I miss you so much, my queen," Raymond said breathlessly as they finally separated.

Looping her arms around his neck, Athena teased in response, "I just left you in bed minutes ago, my alpha consort."

"Too long," Raymond answered, rubbing his nose against hers.

Lorraine looked away with a genuine smile caressing her face as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Her gaze met Justin's and he winked at her.

She resisted her customary glare at him and simply looked away.

There was a time she had thought the mild attraction between them might lead to something.

But now...Logan.

Athena's giggle at whatever Raymond was whispering to her was Lorraine's signal to get out of there before the lovebirds scarred her for life.

She looked at the sand she had intended to clean up and back at the door, muttering, "I will come back for that."

Athena tried to pull back and was pulled right back into Raymond's embrace.

His intended kiss landed on her collarbone as Athena looked from the sand to Lorraine's retreating back, saying, "No, leave that for the maids to handle."

"Yes, my queen." Lorraine responded hastily, not bothering to look back as she heard kissing sounds.

"Well...ehn, I will go do that...thing," Justin called out to Raymond.

The latter did not bother to respond as Justin turned on his heel and followed Lorraine out.

Justin chuckled as they headed towards the Alpha House. "Damn. Those two make being single so hard."

Lorraine did not bother to wipe the smile off her face as she responded, "I can't believe that bitch almost succeeded in ruining their bond."

"She got what she deserved," Justin said gravely.

Lorraine's brows rose at his statement. "Well, who would have thought you had a penchant for violent death, beta?"

Guinevere, the impostor, had shot herself when her schemes blew up in her face.

He shrugged with a grin. "For those who deserve it, yes. I am full of surprises, you know. Want to find out about others?"

He winked when she shot him a glare.

Then his look suddenly turned serious. "I am just so glad you are okay, Beta General. You won't believe this, I know. But I actually missed you while you were gone."

Lorraine stiffened when he suddenly held her hand.

She was about to shrug him off when a terse command snapped through the morning air.

"Take your hands off her!"

Chills danced on Lorraine's skin even as her blood spiked with awareness.

Damn Kiara wouldn't let go of her obsession with him.

She and Justin turned in the direction of the voice, and her breath caught in her throat.

The glower on Logan's face was so ferocious that she swallowed automatically. And not from the way her core was melting at his domineering presence.

He had not used his alpha command, but it was damn close.

"I will appreciate it if you stay the fuck away from my woman." He said in a deceptively soft voice that only made Lorraine's warrior instinct remain on alert.

She had no idea if it had happened when she turned or if Justin had been the one to let go, but her hand was no longer in his.

A very preferable development. Still, a word in Logan's statement stuck in her craw.

"I am not your woman," she gritted.

"Oh, baby. You are mine and mine alone. Which means staying away from other men."

The audacity. "You can't tell me what to do!" She seethed, gleefully welcoming the roaring anger in place of the awful feeling that had been pulling at her all morning.

Though he was a beta and no match for Logan even in build, Justin shifted slightly in front of Lorraine, saying, "Is he bothering you, Lorraine?"

Lorraine's brow puckered a bit as she wondered when they had gotten on a first-name basis.

She was about to respond when a low growl rumbled out of Logan as he stalked towards them like a hulking beast homing in on his prey.

Lorraine was slightly impressed by how Justin stood his ground still.

She, on the other hand, was slightly nervous at the way the alpha's exposed forearm seemed to thrum with restrained energy.

Nervous! Can you believe that? She recoiled from the silly feeling just as Logan got to them.

His smile was chilling as he looked down at Justin like he was an annoying fly.

"You are bold, my man. Bold to dare to think my mate needs your protection."

Justin squared up. "You are the Luna's guest, Alpha. And as much as I respect that, you..." He suddenly stiffened as his ocean-blue eyes jerked from Logan to Lorraine. "Mate?"

Disbelief and something close to pain rang in his tone as his eyes beseeched Lorraine. "You are his...mate?"

"You get the memo now?" Logan's scoff scraped on Lorraine's nerves. "Now scram. You really should know better than butting your nose where it's not needed."

This insufferable...

"He is not my...anything!" Lorraine snapped.

Something flickered in Justin's eyes as they snapped back to hers, "But he just said..."

"I am going to reject him." Lorraine declared, eyes burning holes through Logan.

A growl erupted from him as he shoulder-shoved Justin out of his way.

"No, you are not!" Tawny eyes burnt like coals into Lorraine's shocked face.

Before she could draw a breath, firm arms were pinning her legs together while she dangled over his shoulder.

"Hey, you can't just...!"

Nausea rose in Lorraine's throat as he swung around, his cold tone directed at Justin, "Try me. Fucking try me, beta."

Lorraine blew the bouncy ends of her bob out of her face as she kicked hard at his shin.

She barely connected before he swung around again, moving lithely like she weighed nothing.

"This is ridiculous. Put me down, Logan!"

"Not a chance."

His response, coupled with the fact that Lorraine's gaze caught on some soldiers a few paces away, infuriated her.

She was the beta general, their superior. And the mortification of being thrown over a man's shoulder like a...ninny was just too much to bear.

She kicked hard at him, doubly attacking with her fists too.

All she got for her trouble was a break in his stride. Oh, she almost got away.

Her body even slid down his, reminding her of how hung he really was.

Molten heat shot through her core, and Kiara's shameless cartwheels were the only thing Lorraine blamed for how easily he hauled her right back onto his shoulder.

Then he had the nerve to pat her butt, his chest rumbling against her confused body as he said, "Now, stay put. We are almost there."

"Where the fuck are we going?" She snapped.

She finally looked around to see that they were in the woods.

"A place where we can talk."

"Right." She snorted. "We couldn't have done that at..."

Her words trailed off as she saw the unexpected view ahead.