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

The Treaty

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

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

“Darcy-”

“He’s right. Reece is completely right about the way you treated me,” he continued. It was his 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.” His heart ached as he spoke. He felt partly responsible for their pain. “You’ve caused them stress and pain, and they deserve an apology.”

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

“I’m sorry,” he said. His 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 shirts and shorts?” Reece drawled.

Luca’s jaw twitched, but he managed to speak semi-politely through his gritted teeth. “By proving that I can treat Darcy well,” he 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, he announced, “I think we should call it a day.”

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

“There were some options you hadn’t had a chance to try on,” Luca 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 a guilty frown. “Sorry, Darce. I’m not trying to ruin your princely moment.” He hadn’t been attempting to make Reece feel bad, he just wanted to check he was okay. Going head to head with a beta was scary, his friend had some big balls on him.

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

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

He dropped onto the seat beside Reece and tried to ignore how much of his chest was exposed by the half-buttoned shirt. Or how much the formal pants Melody had given him were digging into his tummy while sat down.

“Thank you, Reece,” he 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,” Darcy laughed quietly. After a silent pause, he added, “I really appreciate you sticking up for me.”

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

“He wouldn’t do that.”

“Would he 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 himself and now others.

Reece sighed.

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

“Hey, hey.” He pulled Darcy in close. “Don’t get upset, you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone.” He let Reece hold him, clutching his hands into his t-shirt. “I’m sorry, Darce. I know you wouldn’t have picked him. 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 him, 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 Luca returned, laden with sparkly items, Darcy was almost entirely in Reece’s lap. Luca gave the pair of subs a one-over with his 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,” Luca 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 Luca.

“Exactly.”

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

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

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

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

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

Luca 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!”

Luca 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.” Luca 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. Luca nodded in agreement.

“The outfits!” 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 he looked at him. The alliance was still early days, but Reece would need to get along with Luca 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 Luca.

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 Luca 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 Luca. “Keep your phones off silent, and we’ll let you know where we settle.”

Reece nodded beside him and Darcy gave them both his warmest smile. Split between his two favourite boys.

Two outfits, one Italian feast, and a traffic-slowed car ride later, and Darcy was showing off his new shirt and shorts to his parents. His mother loved them, his father loved everything but the numbers on the price tags attached. When he admitted that Luca had bought them for him, his parents’ eyebrows raised in sync.

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

“I wasn’t going to. But then some things changed.” He fiddled with his shirt nervously. With less than a week till the party, he knew it was time to finally come clean. If he didn’t tell them, someone else would. The news was already spreading around the school after Luca’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 him,” he began.