Chapter 53: Beta Talk

River

The sun was going down when River heard a car pull to a stop behind him. He'd been sitting there for hours, looking out at the land as it spread in front of him, his mind oscillating between thoughts of Ellie and reflecting about his own life in general. He wished his dad was around so he could get some advice from him, but that wasn't possible.

So now he was going to have to talk through this with Allen instead, and while his Beta had been married for a few years and knew a thing or two about women, it wasn't the same as confiding in his dad.

Allen sat down beside him, his legs dangling over the ledge as River's were. He didn't say anything for a long time, only sat there, waiting. River had nothing to say, so he could stay silent for hours if that was the way Allen wanted to play it.

Eventually, the Beta broke. "How long you gonna sit here?" he asked.

"I don't know. I was thinking about going home," River admitted. "Don't really want to see my mom, though. I take it she's gone