The Mate Deal

Chapter 13

Matt couldn’t sleep much that night.  Or actually, it was morning.  He couldn’t get away from the party until three o’clock, so many people congratulating him, and wishing him luck.  He lay, tossing and turning for forever.

He should have been thrilled.  He was finally Alpha.  Everything was paying off.  But instead, he could only think of how he had messed up.  He had no chance of being with Renee.

Renee who he thought was beautiful.  More than anyone he’d ever seen.  Her pale features had looked so fragile, but she still looked bold.  Her dark hair wasn’t natural, obviously, because her blonde roots had been showing, and her almond eyes were nearly black.

Yes, he was sure no one could ever be as beautiful as she was.  Not Stephanie, not any of the girls he had hooked up with in high school, not anyone.

Could you lose it all?  Everything you’ve ever known and wanted in five minutes, for a girl?  A human girl no less.  The question came into his mind, like the little voice that kept insisting “a lot can happen in just a week,” and he was taken off guard.  No, he told himself.  It didn’t take five minutes.  Just five seconds.

He kept regretting the whole time he lay awake that he hadn’t spoken all night.  He just couldn’t clear his head.  He was mad at the universe at first for making his mate human, and then at himself for not caring.  Then, he had been nervous.  He laughed at himself.  Matt was never nervous.  It just wasn’t how he lived.  He wasn’t the nervous type.  But this girl, Renee had him tongue tied for hours.  He had been rambling.

Eventually, when the sun came up, Matt found solace in sleep medications, and fell under, into a dreamless sleep.

The next day, Matt was asleep when I went in to talk to him, so I decided to let him rest.  But not before I took note of how distressed he looked, even in his sleep.

I need to forget about that kiss, I thought.

I was a little disturbed at the thought that I was into my best friend’s mate.  I felt like a bad friend, and I knew I wasn’t going to go after him anyway, so I didn’t know why I felt the way I did.

Sure, Matt wasn’t ugly, and he was really, truly good in his heart.  And he woke me up from that dream before things turned for the worse.  Maybe that was it.  I just felt gratitude for that.

I decided to go with that for now.

I went down the stairs and poured a bowl of cereal, too distracted to notice it was raisin bran, which I hate, and ate it anyway.

My phone in my pocket vibrated, and I rushed to answer it hoping for a distraction.

“Hello,” I greeted before I even checked the caller ID.

“Hey, Stephie, Renee said cheerfully.”

“Hey Ray Ray,” I imitated her tone of voice.

“So, I was thinking we ought to go searching for our gowns.”

“Gowns,” I questioned, obviously confused.

“For the wedding, duh!”

And right then, I realized I could have cried.  The wedding I remembered.  Not only did I have feelings for my best friend’s mate, but I was marrying him.  “Right,” I squeaked, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“So, I’ll swing by and pick you up in an hour?”

“No,” I nearly yelled.  If there’s anything the pack wouldn’t like, it was a human showing up.  “I mean, I’ll meet you wherever.”