Beta Bully (F/F) - Chapter 27 (Early Access) (Patreon)

The Treaty

Darcy had heard quite enough. She pushed past the dressing room curtain, trembling from head to toe. She locked her glaring eyes onto Luna, and the beta’s face snapped to hers as soon as she stepped out. Luna’s stern expression instantly slipped away.

“Don’t you dare speak to my friend like that,” she whispered with barely contained rage.

“Darcy-”

“He’s right. Reece is completely right about the way you treated me,” she continued. It was her turn to speak. Well overdue, in fact. “And he has every right to speak to you that way, because I’m not the only one who suffered under your bullying. My friends, who stood by my side all those years, they struggled, too. You hurt them, too.” Her heart ached as she spoke. She felt partly responsible for their pain. “You’ve caused them stress and pain, and they deserve an apology.”

Luna stood slowly from the block-shaped seat, turned a little to face all of them properly, and dropped her hands to her sides solemnly.

“I’m sorry,” she said. Her tone was expectedly grave, but Darcy could already see Reece wasn’t buying it. “I regret the way I acted before, and I’m really embarrassed by it. That’s why I get so defensive. But Darcy’s right, you two must have had it tough because of me as well. I’ll find a way to make it up to you both.”

“By buying us dresses and bikinis?” Reece drawled.

Luna’s jaw twitched, but she managed to speak semi-politely through her gritted teeth. “By proving that I can treat Darcy well,” she said.

“We’ll look forward to seeing that,” Melody said awkwardly, attempting to be the roadblock between them.

“Yes, we can all go ice-skating in Hell to celebrate,” added Reece.

Darcy sighed quietly. After a beat of silence fell between them, she announced, “I think we should call it a day.”

Melody was, unsurprisingly, the first to protest. “But you haven’t found your dress yet!”

“There were some you hadn’t had a chance to try on,” Luna said softly. “Don’t let us stop you from getting the right one, you can try on as many as you like. We’ll behave, promise.”

“Don’t make promises on behalf of other people,” Reece grunted. Darcy locked eyes with him and he gave her a guilty frown. “Sorry, Darce. I’m not trying to ruin your princess moment.” She hadn’t been attempting to make him feel bad, she just wanted to check he was okay. Going head to head with a beta was scary, her friend had some big balls on him.

She looked to Melody. “Could me and Reece have five minutes?”

Her friend nodded and put her elbow out to Luna. “Why don’t you escort me to the accessories? I’m in the mood to shine.” Luna looped her arm through hers with what almost looked to be a nervous grin. She nodded to Darcy once before she was dragged away by Melody in a fog of her chatter. Darcy smiled weakly at her as they went.

She dropped onto the seat beside Reece and tried to ignore how much of her back was exposed by the half-zipped dress.

“Thank you, Reece,” she whispered.

His face snapped up, shock painted across his delicate features. He may not be an omega, but Reece was still of the submissive gender. Small, sweet, soft, and apparently also a bit of a badass.

“I don’t know many subs that could speak to a beta like that.”

He snorted. “That’s because most subs have a sense of self-preservation. A little voice in their heads that reminds them not to provoke people that could crush them into dust.” His tone was light and teasing but his expression sombre. “Maybe my mum was right about all those additives in candy messing with my mind. I’m clearly not the brightest bulb in the box.”

“Shut up,” she laughed quietly. After a silent pause, she added, “I really appreciate you sticking up for me.”

“I really appreciate you not letting her kill me,” he replied.

“She wouldn’t do that.”

“Would she have done that two months ago?”

“Everything you’re saying is logically right,” Darcy admitted, weary from playing both sides of the debate team, arguing this same topic for months with herself and now others.

Reece sighed.

“But… she’s my soul-mate,” she reminded him quietly. “And emotionally, I’m chained to her.” Her throat began to tighten, a swirl of emotions rising inside of her. “It hurts, Reece.” Her voice cracked on his name and her eyes began to sting. “I tried so hard to stay away, I swear I did-”

“Hey, hey.” He pulled her in close. “Don’t get upset, you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone.” She let him hold her, clutching her hands into his t-shirt. “I’m sorry, Darce. I know you wouldn’t have picked her. I just need a bit of time, but I can be happy for you if you’re happy.”

“I’m happier and happier, Reece. It scares me. I used to hate even the air around her, and now it’s all I want to breathe.”

“Fucking soul-mates,” he grumbled. “I hope I never find mine if this is the drama that comes with it.”

Darcy laughed.

They continued to moan and gripe and cuddle on the velvet seat until they heard Melody’s chipper voice getting louder in approach.

When Melody and Luna returned, laden with sparkly items, Darcy was almost entirely in Reece’s lap. Luna gave the pair of subs a one-over with her golden eyes but refrained from commenting.

Melody was first to break the tense atmosphere. “You guys okay?”

Reece and Darcy looked to each other, smiled, and nodded.

“I really am sorry,” Luna repeated. “But I’ll understand if I’ve already ruined any chance at a fresh start with you, Reece.”

“What we need are some understandings,” Reece replied stiffly.

“An alliance agreement?” suggested Luna.

“Exactly.”

Melody rolled her eyes at Darcy. But Darcy couldn’t share the feeling, she was excited to see even a mite of progress between the two.

Luna placed her hand over her heart. “I swear to treat Darcy with nothing but love and kindness and respect.”

“You’re not allowed to make her cry, or tell her ‘no’ either,” added Reece.

“I swear to only cause her to cry tears of happiness,” Luna said carefully. “And I will only say ‘no’ in instances that I feel I’m protecting her.”

“I will be the judge of those cases,” Reece warned her with sharp eyes.

Luna nodded obediently. “Understood.”

“I swear not to send a hitman after you unless you break those promises,” said Reece, patting his own chest half-heartedly. He didn’t crack a smile. “You don’t get three strikes, either. This is your one and only second chance.”

“Thank you. It’s a deal.”

“I want that in writing, too, an official treaty.”

“Of course, I want this alliance to be legit.”

Darcy pouted and interjected, “So, when Reece cuts a deal with you, he gets it in writing. But when I cut a deal with you, I get double-crossed!”

Luna shrugged with a gentle grin. “There’s a lot more on the line than t-shirts here, babe.”

“I want a signed copy on Monday,” said Reece, all business.

“Yes, sir.” Luna saluted cheerfully.

Melody huffed and the glittering metal in her arms clinked. “I can’t believe I’m about to be the one to say this,” she said irritably. “But can we cut the melodrama and get back to what’s important?

“Food?” Reece answered hopefully. Luna nodded in agreement.

“The dresses!” Melody exclaimed.

An idea came to Darcy like a dart. “Why don’t the two of you hunt down lunch and we’ll come join you once we’ve got our dresses?”

Reece was trying very hard not to glare, but Darcy caught his eye twitching when she looked at him. The alliance was still early days, but Reece would need to get along with Luna even for short amounts of time.

“We could finish a ten-course meal by the time you narrow down your options to the final three,” said Luna.

Darcy laughed. “Twenty minutes and we’ll be done - promise.”

Melody appeared flabbergasted. Twenty minutes was a third of the time she would need to make a decision. Until Luna held out a small plastic card to her. She snatched it and gave Darcy a maniacal grin before tearing away to fill her arms with options.

“Have fun,” said Luna. “Keep your phones off silent, and we’ll let you know where we settle.”

Reece nodded beside her and Darcy gave them both her warmest smile, split between the two.

Two dresses, one Italian feast, and a traffic-slowed car ride later, and Darcy was showing off her new green sundress to her parents. Her mother loved it, her father loved everything but the number on the price tag attached. When she admitted that Luna had bought it for her, her parents’ eyebrows raised in sync.

“I thought you weren’t going to that beta girl’s birthday party?” her dad recalled.

“I wasn’t going to. But then some things changed.” She fiddled with her skirt nervously. With less than a week till the party, she knew it was time to finally come clean. If she didn’t tell them, someone else would. The news was already spreading around the school after Luna’s outburst in the hallway over titles. After the party, where all the dominant gendered wolves of the local packs would be invited, it would become common knowledge that The Charred Crescent’s omega was the soul-mate of The Pearl Claw’s beta. “I need to tell you something about her,” she began.