by Nora Phoenix
Betas Strength
Irresistible Omegas Book Five
Nora Phoenix
Beta’s Strength (Irresistible Omegas Book Five) by Nora Phoenix
Copyright ©2019 Nora Phoenix
Cover design: Vicki Brostenianc
Edited by Jamie Anderson
All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced, or transmitted in any form by any means without the written permission of the copyright holder, except in case of brief quotations and embodied within critical reviews and articles.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The use of any real company and/or product names is for literary effect only. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
This book contains sexually explicit material which is suitable only for mature readers.
www.noraphoenix.com
Contents
Character and Acronyms List
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Meet Nora Phoenix
Acknowledgments
Also by Nora Phoenix
Character and Acronyms List
Meet the men of the PTP Ranch/the Hayes pack:
The Pack Alpha and his men
Lidon Hayes (alpha, pack alpha)
Palani Hightower (beta, second-in-command)
Enar Magnusson (beta)
Vieno Hayes-Kessler (omega)
Hakon Hayes (alpha-heir, newborn)
Grayson and his boys
Grayson Whitefield (alpha)
Lars Magnusson (beta, Enar’s younger brother)
Sven Whitefield-Magnusson (omega, adopted younger brother of Enar and Lars)
Bray and his men
Bray Whitefield (alpha, Grayson’s oldest son)
Kean Hightower (beta, Palani’s older brother)
Ruari (omega)
Jax (alpha, Ruari’s newborn son)
Bray’s team (the ones who are part of the pack):
Adar (alpha)
Isam (alpha)
Bray’s team (not part of the pack):
Brett (alpha)
Farran (alpha)
Jay (alpha)
Workers:
Ori (alpha, Lidon’s cousin)
Jawon (beta, Lidon’s cousin)
Servas (omega, Lidon’s cousin)
Urien (beta, Lidon’s cousin)
Other pack members:
Maz (alpha, OB/GYN resident, coworker of Enar’s)
Rhene Hightower (alpha, Palani and Kean’s youngest brother)
Lucan Whitefield (beta, Grayson’s middle son, Bray’s younger brother)
Sando Melloni (omega, Prof. Melloni’s son)
Not on the ranch:
Professor Ricardo Melloni (beta, Sando’s father, discovered the Melloni gene)
Naran Watkins (alpha, private investigator hired to find Melloni)
Duer Hovart (beta, union lawyer, helped Lidon in his suspension hearing)
Dane Whitefield (beta, Grayson’s youngest son, brother to Bray and Lucan, physically and mentally disabled)
George York (alpha, Prime Minister, leader of the CWP)
Bennett Wyndham (alpha, “Big Bennett”, notorious crime boss, leader of the militant wing of the AWC, Ruari’s father)
Karl Ryland (alpha, second in command of the white collar division, former coworker of Lidon’s, involved in the militant wing of the AWC)
Morton Baig (alpha, the doctor who administered the fertility drug to women, including the McCain women, sit on board of Lukos)
Jeffrey Ortner aka Jeffrey Baig (alpha, Morton Baig’s brother, director of polling company that committed election fraud)
McCains (Abby, Rosalind, and Gillian, three omega women with sons who had the Melloni gene)
Abbreviations/terms:
AWC: Anti Wolf Coalition, political party that also has a militant wing, determined to stop the shifters from returning
CWP: Conservative Wolf Party, political party that wants to restore the old ways and bring shifters back. Leader is Prime Minister York
Lukos: pharmaceutical company that produces medicine that counter the effects of the Melloni gene. Formerly known as Maiitsoh and Ulfur.
X34 aka Mollison: heat suppressants that are stuck in clinical trial, developed by Lukos
X23: fertility drug that caused the Melloni gene, developed by Maiitsoh
Prologue
1902 - PTP Ranch
Darkness was falling over the PTP Ranch, and the men gathered in the meeting barn. The day had been long, and the sun had burned mercilessly, but they’d made progress on building log cabins for the new pack members. Inside the barn, food awaited them on long tables, prepared by the inside crew that had worked just as tirelessly in the kitchens. This autumn’s harvest had been bountiful, and they were still preparing jams, butters, pickled vegetables, and more that would last them through the winter.
Michon Hayes looked around the barn, stretching his aching neck and back, satisfied with what he saw. Lanterns were being lit, the food was ready, and the men were spreading out with their mates at the tables that were set out. Dinner time was always special, but even more so on Saturdays, when the whole pack came together for a celebratory meal and a pack meeting.
His eyes sought his own mates until he found them, and as always, his heart did that familiar softening. Jasper, his omega, was standing behind one of the tables, his hands wrapped around his belly, swollen with child. It would be his alpha heir, Michon knew it, and he couldn’t wait to meet him. The baby would come soon, perhaps in another two weeks, and Jasper was often tired. But despite his visible fatigue, he was still glowing with happiness.
He shouldn’t be on his feet, Michon thought, but before he could speak up, Killian was on it. The beta always took such tender care of their mate, and this time was no different. He gently led him to one of the tables and urged him to sit down, and Michon breathed easier when he saw Killian gather food for Jasper.
“Alpha.”
Ah, there was his other mate. Michon turned around to greet him properly, reaching out for Conroy and pulling him close for a slow, unhurried kiss. Michon worked hard, as life on the ranch and leading a pack this size required, but he always took time for the important things in life. And making his other beta yield to him was of the utmost importance and also a pleasure like no other.
Jasper and Killian, they loved easily, their affection freely given without much prompting. But Conroy, he was different. He fought it, that submission to his alpha, every single day anew. But when he surrendered, he did so beautifully, and it never failed to satisfy Michon.
Conroy’s body stayed hard and unyielding against his, the beta’s resistance to being claimed in public only marginally less than two years ago, when they’d met for the first time. But Michon always won, and this time was no different. It could take a few seconds o
r a few minutes, but in the end, Conroy always softened, giving in to his alpha.
And so Michon kissed him, snaking his arm around Conroy’s waist and pulling him close, their groins pressed together. His hand possessively splayed across Conroy’s ass, clad in those jeans that sculpted his curves so beautifully. Ah, there it was, Michon thought as he slowly made love to Conroy’s mouth, feeling him get pliant and open up for him. It was a soft sound he made, more a sigh than anything else, but it was enough.
Michon broke off the kiss, breaking out in a grin when he saw the slightly dazed expression on Conroy’s face. He gave him a last, harder kiss. “What’s the news from the Hightower pack?”
Conroy needed a moment to regroup. “They didn’t shift.”
“Damn it,” Michon cursed, his brows furrowing. “How was your father?”
“Worried. But there’s more.”
As Conroy relayed what he’d learned, Michon’s heart grew heavy. These were troublesome times, and no one knew what was causing it.
“Let’s eat and then we’ll share with the pack,” he told Conroy.
The food was delicious, as always, and conversation between the members of the pack—now about eighty people, including children—flowed easily. There was laughter, joy, the easy familiarity between people who knew each other well.
The most recent additions to the pack were integrating well, Michon thought. The Hayes pack had always been strong, but with these recent developments, they had gotten a lot of new people who wanted to join. They were strict, not deviating from the principles they’d always used and that had served them well. Michon’s father had led the pack with a fair and honest rule, and Michon strived to follow in his footsteps and make him proud.
After dinner, he walked to the front of the barn, all heads turning in his direction. “Pack,” he said simply.
Every head bowed low and their respectful “Alpha!” thundered though the barn.
“We have word from the Hightower pack. Conroy’s younger brother turned fourteen this week, as did another boy in the pack. They did not shift.”
Murmurs traveled through the pack, Michon’s own worry reflected on the faces in front of him.
“We don’t know what is causing this, but the phenomenon is growing. Conroy’s father is worried for his pack, as are we. But he discovered more worrisome news.”
Michon nodded at Conroy, who rose. His voice was steady as he spoke. “My father sent couriers to the fifty largest packs in the country, wanting to know how widespread this problem was. Only eight packs reported back that all their younglings had shifted by their fourteenth birthday. In every other pack, they’ve had younglings who could not shift.”
This caused a gasp to ride through the pack.
“Do we have any insights, any theories as to what is causing this?” Tal, the pack’s unofficial physician, asked.
Michon shook his head. “None.”
“So what do we do, alpha? How do we stop this?” Arios, his second-in-command, asked.
That was the dilemma, wasn’t it? Michon was supposed to have the answers, but he had none to provide here. It worried him, this news, but even more the heaviness in the air, in the earth, even in the moon. It felt darker, somehow, oppressive. How did he turn back that tide? How could he even try? He was but one man, and this trouble was far bigger than him. But he would try. He would stand his ground, like his pack had always done.
“We hold on to the ancient ways,” he said. “We follow the traditions of old, even if they buck our society’s conventions.”
“They may soon outlaw our poly marriages,” Tal said. “The government wants to limit marriage to two partners.”
The pack’s reaction was angry, and no wonder, since all but a few were with three mates in a union, Michon the exception as pack alpha with four.
“Yes, despite our efforts to convince them of the error of their ways,” he said. He’d always believed in being open and honest with the pack, sharing the good and the bad, like his father had done before him. “And if they follow their foolish and erroneous path, we’ll deviate from the law. Pack law supersedes all.”
That got him a resounding round of supportive nods and exclamations.
Michon looked at Esam Whitefield, the pack’s storyteller. He’d held that honorable position for many years, far before his hair had turned gray and his body frail, though his brown eyes were as sharp as ever. When Esam spoke, you listened, because his words carried the weight of the ancient ways.
“Do you have any wisdom to add, Esam?” Michon asked him.
Esam rose, and a hush fell over the barn. Michon felt something, the stirring of his alpha wolf. Something was coming. A slight breeze traveled through the barn, and the hairs on Michon’s body stood on end. He sat down near his mates, needing their presence.
“Troubled times are coming,” Esam said, and the room grew so quiet you could only hear the soft breaths of the assembled pack. Even the babies were silent, the toddlers subdued on their parents’ laps. “Troubled times indeed, for others more than for us, but they’ll find us too. Hold on to the ancient ways. Listen to the earth, the moon, our wolves. Trust your instincts. Don’t deviate from your true path.”
Michon could barely breathe, the weight of those words too heavy for his soul. How could he lead his pack in times like this? “Is…is there hope?” he asked, his voice cracking.
Esam smiled. “There’s always hope. Our hope lies in you, our pack alpha, and those who will follow you. Our hope lies in the strength of the alpha’s union, in the strength of the pack. But above all, our hope lies with the True Omega.”
Michon swallowed. The True Omega? That was a term he’d never heard before. The True Alpha, yes, because his father had been the True Alpha for his generation, and Michon hoped with the force of a thousand moons that he’d be the one for his. But a True Omega? He’d never heard of such a thing.
He didn’t need to ask, because Esam turned toward the pack, his eyes seeing something far beyond the physical realm. “Many years from now, when the times are at their darkest, the True Omega will rise from this pack. He will carry the child who will be the vessel to bring back our powers. He will unite his mates and use their power to enforce his will, to heal, and even to bring back life to what was dead.”
Michon’s hands found those of his mates as if on instinct, and the deep force of their connection traveled through him. Change would come, trouble would come, but they’d survive. The Hayes pack would survive. The storyteller had spoken. And he had never been wrong, not once.
1
Bray had slept for maybe two hours when he woke up, a little disoriented at first since he seemed to be in bed with two people who were pressed up against him on either side. Right, Kean and Ruari. He’d ended up in the middle with both of them curled up against him, as if seeking protection. No wonder. The events of the day before rushed back to him, making his soul weary and heavy.
He wasn't sure what had awoken him, but then again, he had never intended to go to sleep in the first place. How could he, when he was supposed to do his job after the horrific attack on the ranch? Lidon and Palani counted on him, and he was well aware of that, but Kean had needed him more. Bray had wanted to stay with him until he’d fallen asleep, make sure he was okay.
He’d never seen the usually strong and resilient beta so broken. Not just physically, though he had taken a hell of a beating. Bray had barely been able to hide his horror when he'd been in the shower with Kean. It had been crystal clear every small move had hurt him, and seeing the bruises and cuts all over that perfect body had enraged Bray all over again. And he had been pretty damn furious to begin with.
No, going with Kean and Ruari had been the right priority, and Bray was grateful that Palani had spotted it too. He had insisted Bray go with them, and Bray suspected he'd seen how close his brother had been to falling apart. He'd needed Bray, and while what had happened was horrible and heartbreaking, Bray couldn't deny it had felt affirming and go
od to be needed. That, of course, was not something he intended to share with anyone else, seeing as how it would paint him as an alpha-asshole all over again.
But they were okay for now, safe, and so he needed to do his job. He carefully extricated himself from them and climbed out of bed. Kean stirred, moaning softly, clearly in pain. Ruari opened one eye, then rolled over to Kean and snuggled against him. Kean instantly calmed, and the two of them were asleep again, as close together as if Bray had never been there to begin with. If that didn’t speak volumes about their relationship, Bray didn't know what did. The three of them might be mates, but he still had a long road ahead of him before he was on equal footing with the two of them.
Right now, harsh as it sounded, that was not his priority. He'd taken care of them, ensured they were both okay, and now he needed to do his job. He quietly got dressed in the dark. How he wished he was in his own room where he had clean clothes, rather than these dirty ones that still carried blood on them, but they would have to do for now.
He carried his boots in his hands till he was outside, then laced them up quickly. The lights in the main house were still blazing, which didn't surprise him. Hell, they had multiple dead bodies all around the house. They had some tough decisions to make.
He found everyone in the kitchen, as he had suspected. Almost all of them looked like Kean, with visible injuries sustained in the attack. His stomach did a wild swirl before settling again, and he swallowed down the nausea.