The Beta and His Runaway Werefox / ✔️

Three days.

Three whole days of Xenia training Bella like her life depended on it. Although Bella had to admit that she loved every second of every day, her muscles still hurt. From learning how to stance yourself for an attack to learning how to hold a sword, she has finally figured it all out.

She felt better, she felt stronger, and even though it had only been three long days, she could not wait to see how she would feel after a few weeks. Xenia was focused and refused to allow herself to get distracted, and Bella loved that about her. Liam would train her for ten minutes and then somehow get distracted by a cloud or a person but not Xenia.

Bella smiled to herself, cleaning the sword that Xenia had given to her as a gift while she sat on the deck. This house was slowly feeling like her own home as she secretly enjoyed hanging out with the grown adults more than she did with their own children. The group were okay, but they were more interested in talking about mating and actually mating than they were about the pack and training. Only Harvey and Byron kept up with the pack’s issues, but even Harvey seemed distracted lately.

She did not mind, but seeing Harvey so stressed made her worried. She wanted to ask, but she also did not want to prey on his business. He will tell her; eventually, she just knows it. It was just the waiting that sucked.

“Hey!”

Bella jumped, turning her head to find Kyra pecking from the back door. “Hi, Kyra!”

Her face formed into a cringe from hearing her name before she shook her head and came over. Her dark eyes stared at the blade in Bella’s hands before she sighed. “I am bored.”

“Why? You have friends you could play with, right?”

Kyra shook her head, her small face falling as she sat down next to Bella and hugged her knees to her chest. “Nobody in school likes me. I am always on my own.”

The sadness in her voice caused Bella to stop what she was doing. Her grey eyes turned to stare down at the small girl in surprise. “What! Why!? You are the coolest person I know and the second scariest.”

Kyra rolled her eyes. “It is because I have Beta parents. My mum is the most feared in the pack, and that has also made me the most feared. I just want friends to play with... I just want to be normal.”

Bella did not miss the small tear that ran down the girl’s cheek as she felt herself get angry. Her eyes frowned in disapproval while she tightened her grip on the sword. “You are the most normal person I know. You are smart, beautiful, and terrifying; you are the small version of Xenia, but you are still you. Just because you are in your mother’s shadow does not mean that you are exactly like her. Those kids need to grow up and realise what they are missing because you are the best kid I have ever met, and I am glad to be your friend.”

She groaned, her face flushing red as she wiped her tears in embarrassment. “When did you start getting smart?”

“I have been here for a while.” Bella shrugged with a grin. “Plus, I was never stupid, to begin with. I just never got the chance to experience the world outside of the walls I was kept in.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Bella placing the rag that she was using to clean the sword down before placing the sword on top of it. “Let us go for a walk!”

Kyra’s eyes spiked up at that idea. “I saw Harvey walking towards someone’s house not too long ago. He never goes into this area unless Alpha has told him to, but Alpha has not said a thing about any pack troubles.”

She had no response as they began to walk. Not because she did not know what to say but because she felt a slight burn in her chest. He was acting off; he was quieter than usual, and she kept finding him in his own head. Sometimes she would wake up and wonder if he had slept as he would be staring up towards the ceiling in his thoughts. It was bothering her, and as much as she did not want to prey on or annoy him with her questions, she also wanted answers.

“Should we-”

“Track him down and see what he is hiding?” Kyra cut her off with an evil-looking grin. “Of course!”

The girl took her hand, dragging her along the rows of houses as if people were doing their own thing. Some couples were cuddling on their lawn, and some were doing the gardens. Some were cooking, and others were playing games with their kids.

The pack was happy and content, and for some odd reason, she felt content knowing that. It was as if some part of her felt responsible for each and every person, and it was odd how natural that feeling had placed itself upon her.

Kyra tugged at her hand, her eyes moving to see what Kyra was looking at just as she saw Harvey enter a house. “A woman just let him in. Her hair looked like yours...”

“Nobody has hair like mine, right?” She questioned aloud, but it was more for herself. She did not feel comfortable with Harvey visiting a strange woman, but to know from Kyra that this very lady had the same hair colour. That did not sit well in her gut.

Hesitate, she let go of Kyra’s hand. “We should get closer and see if we can find anything.”

“Find what malady?”