Chapter 5- A Night with a new friend.

Chapter 5- A Night with a new friend.

                I can feel my world shatter as Devin releases me and rushes into the arms of Rebecca, the one female in our pack that I hate the most. I watch in disbelief as my heart contracts in pain. My stomach begins to hurt, and tears spring to my eyes. “Briar, are you OK?” Judith’s sweet voice calls from behind me. “Hey, Judith. I was going to come to find you and let you know that Devin found his mate.” I try to sound confident and apologetic that it has happened, but I simply cannot. My heart is broken.

                Judith looks over my shoulder, seeing the pair embrace, frowns, then looks back at me. “Of all people, why her?” She asks. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? Such a wonderful guy with such a horrible-mannered girl.” I shake my head. Per usual, the sound of midnight rings through the room. The last chime brings a scent of unbearable sweetness, much like standing in a candy shop with fans blowing all the different sugar sweets into your face. Immediately I cover my nose with my hand. “Do you smell your mate?” Judith asks, getting closer to me. Nava sees the reaction and immediately springs to my side. “Is it your mate?” She asks.

                I can only shake my head no. It smells so overwhelming that I must get out of here. “I was going to head home if you want to go?” Judith asks sweetly. “I can’t ask you to leave with me.” I counter. I know she doesn’t want to leave, but she will for me. “My date found his mate, and his friends are, well, they are his friends.” Her sadness is evident. “What about your friends?” I ask. “I don’t.” Tears swell in her eyes and topple over the edge of her lashes, falling to the floor. Memories flood me of her sitting alone at lunch reading, under a tree doing schoolwork, and running alone during full moons. How did I not see it before? She has no friends. “I can come too,” Nava states looking around the room. “Nava, you stay here and have fun. I will see you tomorrow, party it up for us, will you?” I ask her. She agrees instantly and heads back onto the dance floor once again. “Ready?” I ask Judith. “Ready.” She sighs.

                Stepping outside, I can finally breathe without feeling sick. “What happened back there?” Judith asks. “I turned 18, and everything smelt sweet. Does it get better?” I ask. Judith turned 18 last week and hasn’t found her mate just yet. “I don’t think it is that bad. The way I smell it is if you had an open pack of gum in the bottom of a purse. Nothing overwhelming.” She shrugs. “That’s weird. I hope that my mate doesn’t smell like that.” I wrinkle my nose, and we share a laugh.

                We walk three miles home as we carry our shoes. Stepping inside, we are the first to arrive from the group that left. My parents and a group of other parents greet us. “Sweetheart, are you OK?” Mom asks, then proceeds to hug me. “Devin found his mate tonight,” Judith answers for me as I begin to weep silently. “Who is it?” Beta Gary, Devin’s dad, asks. “Rebecca,” I state harshly. “Damn, that girl is awful. I had pitied the family who got saddled with her, and it turns out it was me.” His response changes my mood instantly, and I begin laughing alongside Judith. “Can we get you girls anything?” Dad asks us. We both loved Devin, and both lost him tonight. “A snack would be nice. What do you think, Judith?” I ask her. “That would be nice, thank you.” I can see her excitement about being included in something so simple. “Want to do snacks and a movie?” I question as we follow Dad to the kitchen. “Really?” Her disbelief saddens me that I didn’t notice how badly off she was. I always try and be inclusive, but I missed her completely. “Yes, really. I have some great choices in my room if you want?” “Sounds great!” She agrees.

                I watch Dad pull out a large tray and fill it with different snacks. “What are you doing?” I ask, slightly horrified at the scene before us. “Broken hearts need to be mended in different ways. Tonight, you need to munch on some snacks, watch a good movie, cry, have a slumber party, or whatever you need to do. I can handle the snack part, at least.” He states. Who wants to deny an Alpha of feeding snacks to two broken-hearted young wolves? “I am going to run up and change fast. Thank you, Alpha, for the snacks.” She bows and takes off at a jog towards the stairs. “Meet me at my room!” I call after her. “OK!” she giggles.

                Dad walks over to me and hugs me tightly. “I am sorry, sweetheart. Your mate is out there. I know it.” He whispers. “Yeah, it will take some time to get over. I just hope I find my mate soon so the pain doesn’t last as long. You know?” “I know what you mean.” He kisses me on the forehead and heads to the freezer for ice cream. No sooner does he get back when Mom walks in. “How are you holding up?” She asks. “From five minutes ago?” I laugh at her. “You know what I mean.” “Yeah, I know.” I shrug. “I know you don’t want to discuss this, but tomorrow?” She gives me a half smile. “A birthday party would be nice. But can we do it outside?”

“Sure, but why outside?” She asks. “The second that midnight hit, I could smell everyone around me. Werewolves smell so sweet that it is overwhelming for me. So outside, where there is a breeze and fresh air, may help me a bit.” “Everyone smells sweet?” Dad asks, walking up to me again, this time concerned. “Yeah, is that normal?” I ask. “Everyone has their smells, but collectively sweet is not often heard of. I would like to take you to be examined by the Doctor tomorrow to ensure you are OK.” Dad insists while touching my face to see if I have a fever.

                I quickly escape from my parents and bring the large platter to my room. Judith is already waiting at my door with a bag of gummy worms. “I brought these.” She excitedly holds them in the air. “Awesome! I love gummy worms.” We push open my door, and I head directly to my small table in front of the couch at the foot of my bed. Carefully, I place the food down and head into my closet to change. When I come out, I see Judith going through my movie stacks. “Thanks for inviting me to watch a movie with you. It means a lot.” “Thanks for accepting. What kind of movies do you like?” I ask before taking a handful of popcorn off the tray. “It’s kind of a sad night; mind if we watch something funny?” “Sounds good to me.” I agree.

                We land on a comedy and find ourselves laughing even harder while laughing at each other’s reactions. At the end of it, we ate nearly all the snacks, and we found a new friendship with each other. “Tomorrow, or I guess today, make sure you come to the party. See if you can find your mate.” I insist before she heads off to her room at nearly 4 in the morning. “I will as long as I am on the list.” She confirms. “Here, take this. Just to be safe.” I run to my desk and write up a short note. -This is Judith’s personal invitation, written by Briar. She is my personal guest at my birthday party. Briar- I rub the back of my wrist on the paper, place it in an envelope and hand it back to her. “Just in case you have any problems. They can smell that it was from me if they can’t figure out the handwriting.” I smile.

                She hugs me tightly before scampering off to her room. I close my door and begin cleaning up all the snacks and drinks that we had tonight. Most higher ranks have a maid that cleans for them, and I refuse such treatment. I can do it myself unless I am sick, then I accept any help I can get.

                I have successfully made my way down to the kitchen to throw away the trash and have just started washing the dishes when the kitchen door is slung open, slamming hard against the wall. “Seriously?” I call out behind me to whoever did it without looking. “Sorry, Briar.” Devin giggles. I can hear Rebecca giggling with him as they enter the kitchen with their arms wrapped around each other. “Hey, Briar! It looks like Devin is my mate after all these years. Did you know we have almost everything in common?” Rebecca’s tone is irritating. I don’t know whether to be angry or upset.

“Babe, why don’t you go on up to my room, and I will be right there.” He asks her sweetly before planting a kiss on her lips and making my heart tighten in my chest. “No, I want to stay here. There is no reason for you to be alone with her ever again.” She tries to pull off a sad look, but she looks like she is constipated to me. “She is my best friend. I can talk to her whenever I please.” Devin counters with a little more assertiveness than I was expecting from him. “Well, I am your mate and do not approve of such interactions.” She pops her hip and places her hand on her hip, giving a ‘try me’ look.

                Hating Rebecca before was easy. The situation will be harder to deal with because she is with Devin. I must respect that. I know that more than anything, even more so because of my position in the pack. “Why don’t you two just go to bed, and we can talk later in the day,” I suggest a different solution to get them away from me. “You don’t have any power here. This conversation is not about you. Why don’t you just leave?” Rebecca’s comment pushes me farther than I care to admit it did. I bite my tongue and finish washing the dishes before me, dry my hands, and walk towards the hall past them to go to bed myself. “That’s right, you little bitch, run off to bed. You are nothing more than a worthless piece of wolf hide. You deserve never to find a mate.” I made her stop there and didn’t let her say anymore.

                With one quick jab, I punch her square in the nose. The crunching sound tells me that I broke it. “If you ever speak to me in that tone again, I will see that you are banished from the pack, but I will not just let it end there. I will keep tabs on you, and the second you get comfortable in a location, I will be there to raise havoc and destroy everything you have. Do you understand me!” I bark into her face. She holds her nose as blood gushes down her face, into her hand, and pools on the floor. “Clean that filth up before you go to bed,” I demand as I walk away from them.

                “What the hell, Briar!” Devin calls after me. “Excuse me?” I ask, turning around to face him. “Why would you do something so malicious?” He demands. “Did you hear how she was speaking to me?” I counter, taking significant steps back toward him. “She is my mate, Briar.” He steps up toe to toe with me, his nose inches from mine. “You were my best friend; she spoke to me in a disgusting manner. If my father had heard that, or if she spoke to him that way, she would have died instantly. I simply gave her temporary discomfort and a reminder of her place here.” “If you were my best friend, you would understand. You apologize to her right now.” He demands. “Absolutely not. If anyone owes anyone an apology, it is her.” I state, not moving on my decision.

                Dad clears his throat behind me. “What is the meaning of this?” He demands.