Page 61 of Just a Beta (Betas in Waiting)
They were in the car when excited sounds happened from the house.Emhara looked at him.“Drive.”
He put it into gear, and they got on the road.
“So, what did you put on those walls?”
“Fairy tales, books, with all of Myrtle’s guys as the princes.Toros got to be the prince under a curse for one of them, and they weave one into the other.I also included as many of Myrtle’s friends as I could.Keres, Achilles, and Dante were there as the wizened wizards.”
Echel laughed.“And Myrtle loves stories, so she will be able to sit with the little one and read the walls.”
“Yup.”
“That’s beautiful, Em.”
“Thank you.I was very impressed with myself.”
He held her hand all the way home.
Her phone began blowing up two hours later while she was sketching Persephone’s den or pack from memory, with the babies held by their fathers.Em looked at her phone warily.She looked and started smiling.
Duran was making dinner, and he looked at her.“Good news?”
“They like the mural.”
She giggled.“The guys are all posing next to the character versions of themselves.Thankfully, not naked.”
“Myrtle wants me to make a mural for her office so she can get back to work after the baby arrives.”She blinked.“Oh, shit.They paid me for the room.”
Echel was working at the table.“Of course they did.”
She frowned at the payment.“How do I send it back?”
Duran smiled.“You don’t.You keep it and buy something that you want, or donate it somewhere you think it can do the most good.”
She paused and nodded.“That is an idea.I will talk it over with Mik and Meritha.What happened to me should not have happened.This money is a way to start assisting.Mik has mentioned Roane’s link to the recovery centre, but I want to get in before things need to be recovered or repaired.That will require some plotting.”
“Do you need help?”
“I think the ladies will help me find the right thing, and I will know it when I see it.”She smiled.“I can tone down my perception a bit when it comes to drawing it.”
She finished her pencil drawing of her brother and his family and smiled.Samsor came in and grinned at them.She asked, “What do you think?Persephone wants a family portrait but not one that scares visitors.”
Samsor smiled.“It looks perfect and only vaguely creepy.Is Armand a horse?”
“Zebra.”She looked at the image and pointed to the stripes on Armand’s face.“See?”
He chuckled.“I see.”
Echel leaned back and said, “Now that we are all here, did you get my texts?”
Duran set his knife down and paused.“I missed that.”
Samsor got his phone out.“Me, too.”
She smiled.“Oh, that.I think I will meet my magic tonight.If there is anything left of me, we can fool around a little.”
The three guys jumped as if electrocuted.
She snorted.“Just a little.Duran, how long until dinner?”
