Beauty and The Beta (Bailey)

40

Chapter 40 Asher + Leaving my office for the night, planning on going to the gym, despite it being almost

midnight, | heard footsteps up ahead of me, and | couldn’t help but wonder who would be in the packhouse at

that tof night. The packhouse is always abandoned about an hour after dinner has finished, with everyone

returning to their homes for the night. And the place becomes my lonely hideout. A place where | am free to

roam in the darkness and silence. Not caring for anyone else. Though, tonight, | worked a little later than usual

as there was a backlog of paperwork with Caleb having to stay with Eden and take care of her. She was truly

struggling with this pregnancy. | was thinking this baby would not be long until it decided to make its appearance

and arrive in our crazy little world. At least then, | suppose, it would stop making its mother suffer... well, then it

would just be causing both its mother and father to suffer sleepless nights...ah, the joys of children! packhouse |

listened carefully for the noise of the footsteps once more, wondering who they would be at this late hour, and

could feel Zion pushing forward too, feeling unsettled at someone being in the when they shouldn’t be. He is

rippling beneath my skin, ready to push forward and shift should the need present itself. The sound of someone

here had him on edge as much as it did me...... protect| increased the speed of my own steps, to turn the

corner, to walk straight into Eden, and nearly backwards as | almost bounced off her pregnancy bump. “Ooff!”

she mumbled, stumbling backward herself. | quickly went to steady myself and go to help her. but she had

already leant against the wall, her breathing quite rapid as she held her belly. “S**t Asher!” she snapped now,

sounding far from impressed with me. Though I could hear the fear within her voice, so I think the snapping was

more because | had scared her. “What are you doing in here at this tof night, Eden?” | asked her, completely

puzzled. She should be hin bed by now surely? “You should be at home!” | had to say | was more than a

little concerned at the fact to get here she had to have walked across the pack on her own in the dark

too. Why hadn't Caleb come? Or called for me? “Oh should 1?” she snapped again. “Thanks Dad.” My eyes

widened at her grumpiness. Jeez, if this is what Caleb has to put up with on a daily basis, then he was welcome

to married bliss. “Fine, go back to wandering around in the dark then, oh happy one.” | snarled, not in the mood

for dealing with her mood swings, as | turned to move away. “Where are you going?” Eden asked me, like she

was shocked | was suddenly leaving her. “Away from you.” “Not rude much.” She is eyeingwith a scowl. |

don’t know if she thought her evil eyes were going to scare me, but they simply amused me. “Well, if you are

talking tolike that, you can’t expectto want to talk to you, nor spend twith you. Besides, | am going

to bed.” | lied, still planning on going to the gym, knowing it was far too early yet forto even try getting any

sleep. “Well you can’t expectto be in a good mood at this tof night when | want to be asleep she

grumbled. G. Chapter 40 Asher -5 Pearts | frowned. “So why are you up then?” | find myself asking, despite me

saying | didn’t plan on talking to her. “Let alone wandering around the corridors of the packhouse!” “I am ling for

the new teacher to arrive,” She toldwith a shrug. | already told you would be arriving. Do you not listen?”

earlier she | rolled my eyes. Yes, she may have told me, but I still would not expect her to be arriving at this time

of the f¥*g night! Why on earth would she allow a new member of the pack to arrive in the early hours? Needing

to get away or not, desperate for her to join our pack or not, it still seems illogical to allow someone to cat

this tof day... or night, as the case may be. This woman did not think sometimes, | swear. Though her excuse

for anything she did of late that we disagreed with was that it was pregnancy brain. Personally, | think it was just

bad planning, or being too big-hearted...

“Go hEden.” | said to her with a sigh. “No, | need to wait for the new teacher. She should be here anytime,

or in the next hour or two.” “I will stay up and wait for her. Why did you not just ask me? You know | am here

anyway, and | rarely sleep well.” | said to her, already hating myself for even suggesting this, but knowing |

would be awake for hours yet, and it seemed silly Eden struggling to keep herself awake, and making herself feel

more ill than she already does in the process. | would just have to fight all my natural instincts to avoid.

interacting with people | don’t know or like and welcthe teacher the best way | could. “Are you sure?” she

says towith a small smile, and | give her a reluctant nod, knowing that | would regret this “Aww, thank you,

Asher!” she gavea big hug “And when you get home, give Caleb a big kick, preferably in the head, and tell

him he is a lazy f**r. it should have been him coming here doing this and not you. Especially at this tof

night.” | told her and she laughed. “He looked all sweet, all snuggled up fast asleep, sucking his thumb, I didn’t

want to disturb him she said with an affectionate smile. | found myself smiling too, in spite of myself. | can’t

believe my best friend still sucked his thumb. | knew he had done for as long as | could remember.. “Hmm, you

may want to keep that quiet, it kind of ruins his big, tough. Alpha image when you say he sucks his thumb.” |

told her and she laughed. “Thanks again Ash, | will go hand try to get ssleep now. If this one will let

me. Please be nice to the new girl. Her nis Bailey, remember?” she tells me, with a warning stare. Like she

thought | couldn’t be trusted to welcsomeone into our pack nicely... not like it was that difficult to do, was

it? And, besides, if she decided to turn up in the middle of the night, then that was her look out, she would have

to take us as she found us. Can't say | was bothered if she was here or not. It was more for Eden that she was

coming....