Better Beta

Sage

I stepped out of Eve’s room and shut the door behind me, locking the heat of the moment where it belonged. Nothing about me looked shaken, but the taste of her still lingered on my mouth like a challenge I wasn’t done with. I rolled my shoulders once, easing the tension that had pushed too close to the edge. If I had stayed a second longer, I would have taken more than a kiss. That was the simple truth, and it simmered quietly under my skin.

I walked to the car, checked my watch and saw it was 6:28 p.m. Looking up, I saw as the darkening sky suited me. It was easier to breathe in the cold.

I unlocked the car, sat inside, and pulled the door shut, letting the quiet swallow me whole. The person that had called me was none other than Alex. He called me again, except now, I didn’t answer it.

He almost never called me twice in a row unless something was wrong. And earlier, he told me to come to the bar near the edge of town. He didn’t explain why. He just said he needed me there. I didn’t like the sound of his voice. It was tight and tired, the kind that only comes from real pain.

I started the engine and drove.

The bar came into view, its neon lights flickering against the darkening sky. I stepped inside and immediately spotted him. Alex sat at the counter, shoulders slumped, head hanging slightly forward, a half-empty bottle in front of him. Another two sat near his elbow. Three bottles already. My chest tightened a little because Alex didn’t drink like this. Not unless something had shattered him.

The only time I had seen him drink this heavily was the night he lost his daughter two years ago. That night broke him in ways he still couldn’t say out loud. It destroyed him and his wife. It changed everything.

I walked closer and was about to speak when my phone made a small sound. I glanced down. It was a message from Eve.

I couldn’t stop the smirk that crossed my face. She really messaged. After all that fire and attitude, she still reached out. I opened the text, read her angry words, and felt a slow heat spread through my chest. She was adorable when she was pretending not to care.

I was about to reply when Alex’s voice cut through the air.

“You came?”

I looked up and saw him trying to smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He lifted a hand in a weak wave and sighed again, his whole expression collapsing right after.

He still hadn’t told me what happened. He didn’t have to. The pain in his face said enough.

I slid my phone into my pocket and walked toward him, ready to sit beside him and hear whatever had pushed my beta and closest friend into this place again.

I took the seat next to him without a word. Before he could drag the glass toward his mouth again, I pulled it from his hand and drank it instead. The burn hit me hard. It was strong enough to make even my vision sharpen for a second.

“What the hell is this?” I asked, setting the glass down. “What’s going on with you?”

He didn’t answer. He rubbed his face with both hands like he wanted to peel something off himself, rubbing so hard I reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Talk to me,” I said. “What happened?”

His breath shuddered as he exhaled. “We had a fight. A very big one.”

“With whom?” I asked. “Who did you fight with?”

“My wife,” he whispered. “She just… snapped. I tried to calm her down, but she wouldn’t listen. She packed a few bags and left the house. I’ve been calling, texting, begging. Nothing. She hasn’t replied once.”

Then it happened. His voice broke, and his eyes filled. A tear slipped out before he could wipe it away. Alex crying wasn’t something you saw twice in a lifetime. The last time was two years ago when he held his daughter’s tiny body for the last time.

I watched the tears trail down his cheeks, not out of pity but out of curiosity. It always looked strange to me. Water falling from the eyes. Emotion turning into something visible. I had never cried. Not once. The sensation was foreign. I wondered what it would feel like, having your chest tighten until moisture forced itself out of your eyes. Would it sting? Would it feel warm? Or was it just another human defect?

Alex sniffed and wiped his face. I kept watching, trying to understand the mechanics of it, how a feeling could escape the body like that. A part of me almost wished I could try it once just to see how it worked, but there was nothing inside me that could create something so soft.

He cried, and I stayed still, steady, and unmoved, the same way I had always been.

“Tell me everything,” I said quietly, turning toward him. “From the beginning.”

Alex nodded, voice trembling as he tried to gather himself, and I waited, calm as ever, while he broke apart beside me.

By the time Alex finished talking, the bottles around him were empty and his words had started to blur together. He had reached the stage where his emotions spilled faster than the liquor he kept pouring. I paid the bill, lifted him off the stool, and walked him out of the bar.

Night had already settled over the city. The air was colder and quieter, the kind of night only wolves appreciated. I helped him into the car, closed the door, and began the drive back to his apartment. He mumbled something halfway through the journey, but I didn’t answer. He was too far gone to understand anything I said.

When I parked in front of his building, I got out, opened his door, and carried him inside. The moment I stepped into the apartment, I knew the argument had not been a small one. The place looked like a storm had ripped through it. Plates broken, frames shattered, pillows torn open, clothes scattered everywhere. It smelt like anger had lived here long before they ever started yelling.

I sighed once, rubbing my jaw as I looked around. I hated chaos. Mess had always bothered me in a way emotions never could. Disorder felt offensive, like my eyes didn’t know where to rest. My wolf didn’t like it either.

I placed Alex on the couch. He let out a soft groan, rolled over, and immediately fell asleep. I stood there for a moment, watching him breathe heavily, cheeks still damp from earlier tears. Then I turned away.

I didn’t have to clean. No one asked me. No one would even know I did it. But the longer I stood in that wreck of a space, the more irritated I felt. My body simply moved. I picked up everything. Plates. Clothes. Corners of shattered glass. I put the apartment back in order like I had done it a thousand times before.

I was never taught to clean. I just hated mess enough to want it gone.

By the time I finished, the apartment looked normal again, and Alex was still snoring softly on the couch. I checked the clock.

Eleven past something. Close to midnight.

I straightened, wiped my hands on my jeans, and finally let out a slow breath. The night had been long, and the taste of Eve’s lips still lingered on mine in a way I had tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore.