Beta Bully (F/F) - Epilogue (Early Access) (Patreon)

Epilogue

The office was silent when Oli invited herself inside. Nico was sat at her desk with her eyes glued to her computer, loose hair framing her flawless face. Darcy’s mini desk beside her was empty, and the speaker that balanced on the corner was off. The perfect moment for a private conversation.

“Hey, we need to finish last night’s talk,” she announced, kicking the door shut behind her.

Nico grumbled to herself, but sat back a little from the glowing screen. It wasn’t that she was skilled in the art of avoidance, but stubborn as a mule. Lying together in bed last night, she had simply rolled over when she didn’t want to agree with Oli.

In the last few weeks, however, Oli had noticed how much more receptive Nico was to her dominant displays of behaviour than her normal tone and actions. She had been testing her theory more and more. Now, she was going to try and power play her own soul-mate into admitting to being her soul-mate.

“No more hiding.” She balanced her butt on the corner of the desk next to her, letting her hand slide along the wood to where Nico’s were resting beneath the keyboard. “We’re not teenagers screwing around behind our parents’ backs.” Anymore, she added in her head.

Nico shrugged non-committally.

“Nico.”

She took the side of her neck in her palm and squeezed it once in warning, feeling her pulse push back against her. Nico stiffened.

“I want your agreement.”

Nico tried to nod, but Oli’s grip on her throat kept her head still.

“Answer me,” Oli ordered.

“Yes.” Breathless. Eyes misty. Her lips remained agape after she said the word and Oli knew exactly what that expression meant. They did not have time to sate that need right now.

Alpha Marshall would be arriving in an hour, and they still had so much to do to prepare.

The alpha of Charred Crescent was everyone’s friend, but rarely in writing. The Pearl Claw had a chance to pursue a formal alliance with Alpha Marshall and his pack thanks to a good word from their good omega. It was not an opportunity to be fucked up. They needed a clear-headed alpha of their own to lead the negotiations.

It would never have been Nico’s choice to take over the pack at the age she had. Freshly twenty-three when her dad had died without a single health condition. A stroke out of nowhere. And now she had a few hundred wolves relying on her leadership. She had just about hated every moment since.

If she could just get an alliance on paper, Oli could manage the relationship from there. Piece-by-piece, she would unload her soul-mate’s plate of debilitating responsibility.

“We need to be a united force from now on. Facing things together.”

Nico nodded in her hand. It felt like a nuzzle. Oli dropped her face in close and kissed both her cheeks.

“Brutal honesty, remember?” she reminded her.

“I only want to be that honest with the titled members,” Nico grumbled.

The four of them spent more and more time together since their honesty talk, and it meant everything to Oli to see her soul-mate opening herself up to Luna and Darcy. With Riley having been banned from the main pack house, she was acutely aware that Nico didn’t have other friends to spend time with. As introverted as Nico was, Oli still wasn’t comfortable to see her alone without her. She and Riley had taken Nico’s friendship by force as kids. Now that she was the alpha of the pack, no one had the balls to approach her to be best buds. And, as had happened with Darcy initially, once she feels she has ruined a relationship, Nico’s back is up and her frown down.

“This is something we need to be honest about with everyone. There’s no good reason to hide.”

Nico’s signature frown slipped back onto her face. “You mean except all the scrutiny it’s going to bring, all the people that will think we’re faking it as a power play-”

Oli silenced her with a messy kiss. Nico drew up from her chair, following the pull of her lips. Their bodies squashed together against the desk. Writhing muscles reminded Oli of their teenage years, wrestling out in the forest. Pretending it was only wrestling. She snatched Nico’s neck in her hand again, pulling her up the extra inch she had in height, drawing her up onto her toes and tying their tongues together.

The office door creaked open, and they ripped apart just in time to catch a red-faced Darcy backing out of the frame, hair clip bouncing atop her head with her hurried steps. She had matching cups of coffee in her hands but managed not to spill a drop in her retreat.

“Darce!” Oli called after her, laughing. “Before you escape, answer me one question!”

Darcy paused at the end of the corridor. “I prefer riddles,” she replied.

“Did that look like the kiss of a couple faking their relationship for power?”

Nico glared at her with her frown pulled all the way down. It was one of Oli’s favourite things in the world. That, and the laughter she let loose when they were alone. Two sides of a perfect coin.

“No, it looked like you were checking Nico’s teeth for gold,” Darcy answered with mild disgust.

Somehow, Nico’s glare became more intense. How dare Oli embarrass her in front of her friend? It only made Oli’s grin wider. Nico’s soft spot for Darcy had been deepening with every passing week.

Their wolf forms had been the game changer, though. The first time they ran together as wolves, Oli felt something bond the four of them together. More than title. Nico hadn’t been able to switch off her puppy vision since. Now Oli was more worried about cuteness aggression than anything else.

“Sorry, Darcy,” Oli said without a hint of remorse. “I was only coming by to grab Nico before our big meeting.”

Darcy returned to the office, although she gave the pair a wide berth when walking to her own desk. She placed the mugs down carefully and hopped onto her wheelie chair. Her wavy hair bounced with her.

“Don’t make Nico nervous, it’s not a big meeting,” Darcy scolded lightly. She pushed Nico’s mug towards her and they sipped their coffees in sync. Darcy two-handed around the large mug, Nico using only her thumb and forefinger. “Alpha Marshall is a genuinely nice guy and really easy to get along with. You’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure it isn’t appropriate for you to join us?” Nico groaned.

Darcy shrugged apologetically. “It might seem like we’re ganging up on him in the negotiations to have three of us. He’s only got one beta so far, and they had to stay home to watch the pack.”

“You’re right, but I wish you weren’t,” Nico said with a sigh. After a few more sips of her drink, she announced, “Oli and I are going to tell the pack that we’re soul-mates.”

Darcy’s surprised jolt mirrored exactly how Oli felt inside. Her plan had worked.

“That’s great!” Darcy’s face exploded in a bright grin. Sunshine in omega form. “Congratulations! I’m so happy for you guys.”

Nico hid her face in her mug, taking a snail-slow sip, and shrugged. Oli thanked Darcy for the kind wishes on both their behalf.

Darcy giggled into her own mug, tucking her feet up under her. “Now we can go on double dates out on the pack lands!”

Oli laughed. “That sounds like exactly what we’ll need after this meeting. A chill evening with our friends.”

Nico smiled nervously. She polished off the last mouthful of her drink and stood suddenly. Oli couldn’t tell if she was feigning determination for Darcy’s sake, but she wasn’t fooled.

They said goodbye to Darcy, and made their way downstairs to meet Alpha Marshall at the bottom of the drive.

Before they passed through the front door, Oli caught Nico’s fingers, squeezed them for a moment, and stepped out ahead of her.