“You did. And you survived it all. My perfect, brave, strong girl.”
I cuddled her close and sighed. “This feels so good. I didn’t realise how much I’d miss you until I didn’t have you for a day.”
She laughed again and pulled away. “So, you weren’t part of the plan to toss me away as soon as the baby was born?”
I frowned at her. “Of course not. There’s never been such a plan, and there never will be. You’re our Fated Mate, and no one’s taking you away from us.”
Celeste screwed up her face. “That’s not what I heard the other night.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, I know. I still can’t believe how stupid Tayte was to try and bullshit his way through that meeting.”
Celeste blinked up at me. “So, he really was lying?”
“Of course, he was! Are you serious right now?”
Celeste chewed on her bottom lip.
“Tayte said he’s going to move out. I’m not sure where he’d go but…”
I gaped at our mate. “He what?”
Celeste’s eyebrows rose on her forehead. “I don’t think it’s a bad idea, actually. We don’t need him and I can’t forgive him for what he did. He betrayed me.”
I reeled backwards feeling like Celeste had smacked me with an open palm. “Don’t need him? Don’t NEED him? He’s our Alpha. He’s the one who holds our family together. Who will save our pack if it comes to a fight?”
Celeste’s gaze dropped away and she began playing with her hair, twirling it around her finger and staring at the strands. “Well, you can do that too.”
Now I wanted to shake her.
Sure, Tayte had been stupid and we all wanted to punish him for the consequences of his actions, but she didn’t get it.
“I can, but you’re not understanding the difference between an Alpha and a Beta.”
Celeste shrugged and I began to panic. Tayte looked after us. Guarded us. Would die for us. He was the glue that kept this family together.
“Look. I know what he said was dumb and foolish, and resulted in us almost losing you and our baby. I haven’t spoken to him since that night and I was planning on punishing him for a while yet. But breaking up our family… that’s a different thing all together.”
I didn’t want to lose our pack. It wouldn’t function without him.
“I need to find him. He can do his penance another way.”
I ran out of the room and along the corridor.
He couldn’t have gotten far.
I made my way outside and sniffed the air. Nope. Nothing.
I jogged over to the car park and went up to level three where we’d parked the car.
The truck was still there, and next to it was Tayte’s car.
He hadn’t taken it, so where was he?
I jogged back down the stairs and went to the cafeteria.
It was five in the morning and no one was around, but I’d been hoping Tayte had come to get a stale coffee, or some food from the vending machine.
But there was nothing.