6 - Joey

I was fuming as I left the house. Who did Cale think he was? He had rejected me, there was no need for him to look after me, or give me orders about what I could or couldn’t do with my life. And what was with all the kissing? He seemed confused, and I wasn’t going to be a part of his games. As much as it hurt to lose a mate, I knew that in a couple of years I would be able to find love for myself. 

Joey Knighly was my closest friend in the world. We had known each other for years, and even though he lived in a different state, he came here often to meet his family. His house was only five minutes away from mine by walk, and there was nothing more convenient. 

I rang the doorbell, and even though I was still waiting for him to answer, there was already a huge grin on my face. I heard his standard grumble, footsteps down the stairs and he flung the door open. 

“Joey!” I exclaimed, almost jumping onto him. I didn’t even give him to see that it was me. 

“Shorty!” he replied a second later, his arms wrapping around me tightly. It felt like there was nothing in the world that could harm me right now. 

I pulled back from the hug and narrowed my eyes at him, “Joseph.” He hated the name Joseph, always introducing himself to everyone he met as Joey. We had agreed to never call me Shorty, and call him Joseph. But if he did it first… 

“Okay, okay,” he raised his hands in surrender, moving away from the door so I could go in, “How are you? I’ve missed you.” 

I sat down on the couch, “I’m great, as always. I missed you too, boo.”

“How come you’re here? Don’t you have classes and assignments?” He handed me a can of Coke. 

“It is, but I just needed a break. I thought I’d come down, annoy mom and dad a little,” I smirked, then before I could stop myself I continued, “And then Cale showed up. To my house.” 

“Cale?” Joey frowned, “Your Alpha?” 

“And my mate,” I mumbled, knowing very well that Joey would definitely hear me. His eyes widened, joy filling his face before he finally noticed the look on mine. I was not going to cry, and I was going to rip the bandaid off, “He rejected me.”

“He what?!” Joey shouted, making me flinch. “He’s a fucking moron.” 

“It’s fine,” I waved my hand in a ‘whatever’ fashion, “I’m over it.”

Joey sat down, pulling me into another hug. “You sure?” 

“Mostly,” I whispered, “It’s going to be hard, but I’m coming to accept it. And who knows, maybe I’ll marry a perfectly normal human in a couple of years.” 

“It’s going to be harder for him,” Joey said, pulling back, “There isn’t anyone who can top you.” 

I smiled at him, thankful that he wasn’t going to push more. That way, Joey knew when to push and when to just let me be. He always understood what I was trying to say, and I was the same with him. Before I could say anything else though, the doorbell rang, making both of us look at each other. 

“Go open the door,” he said. 

“It’s your house, dummy,” I replied, “You go.” 

“Liseeee,” he said, dragging out my name. I rolled my eyes, and got up to open the door. I opened the door to an angry Cale. What? 

“What are you doing here?” 

“What are you doing here, Lisa?” he asked, venom dripping from his voice. 

Before I could answer, I felt Joey’s hand go around me, pulling me to him, “Shorty, who is this?”

“This is Cale, my Alpha,” I said through gritted teeth. Had he followed me to Joey’s house? 

“And you are?” Cale asked before I could say anything else. 

“I’m Joey, Shorty’s best friend,” Joey grinned, ruffling my hair. I glared at him, not liking what he was doing one bit. “You want to come in?” 

Cale nodded and I cursed internally. Why? What was I being punished for? I sat down on  the couch next to Joey, leaving the single seater open for Cale. Joey went into the kitchen to get Cale something to drink. 

“What are you doing here? I told you not to leave,” Cale hissed at me. 

“You don’t own me,” I replied, “And I’m visiting my best friend.” 

“Do you ever listen to anybody?” 

“Yes, people who don’t reject me,” I smiled a sugary sweet smile at him. His face got angrier than it was, something I didn’t even know was physically possible. Before he could say anything though, Joey walked back in. 

He had three bottles of beer in his hand. He handed one to Cale, one to me, and opened the third one for himself. Before I could take a sip of my beer, Cale spoke. 

“She’s not drinking that.” 

Joey raised his eyebrows, “Why?”, then he looked at me, “You don’t want it?” 

“No, she does not,” Cale said, using his Alpha voice. This was going to get ugly. 

“Okay, dude,” Joey said, and I could see that this was getting on his nerves now. Games aside, he didn’t like people who were arrogant. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it, trying to calm him down. 

He took a deep breath, “Let’s let Lise decide, shall we? We don’t get to tell women what they can and cannot eat, drink or do.” 

I could kiss Joey right now. He had put Cale in his place, and he wasn’t being a bitch about it. 

“One beer won’t hurt anybody,” I said, taking a gulp. I could feel eyes on me and I refused to look his way. 

“Of course not,” Joey laughed, “That’s what you said at camp.”

“Camp?” Cale finally entered the conversation. I knew he wasn’t comfortable with how close Joey and I were, but he couldn’t say anything about it. 

“Oh, we met at camp,” Joey smirked, “And let me tell you, Shorty here made quite an impression on everybody there.”

“Joey,” I groaned, not wanting to relive this story. 

“C’mon, it was fun,” Joey said, then looked at Cale, “So, we were at camp for the second year, and she was bunking with two other girls. She did not like them.”

“They kept hitting on you!” I protested. 

He ignored me, continuing, “And one night, Miss Lise decided to get creative. She found alcohol in one of the counsellors rooms, and mixed it with the juice they gave us. She got so drunk she tried to sneak into bed with me, because, and I quote - ‘You’re mine, Joey boo.’”

I laughed, remembering how possessive I was of Joey back then. I genuinely did feel like he would be my mate. We just got along right off the bat, and to be honest, I had the tiniest crush on him. 

As Joey and I laughed about those days, I noticed that Cale was visibly silent. If Joey noticed, he didn’t let it show. It was when my phone rang that I noticed how late it was. 

“Hey mom,” I said, answering the call. 

“Hey honey, your dad and I are going to be a little bit late. You and Cale can lock up the house, we have keys,” she said, the music in her background making me think they were at a bar or something. 

“Sure, have fun!” 

I cut the call and looked at Joey, “I got to go, my dearest. I’ll see you for lunch tomorrow?” 

“Done,” Joey said, standing up. 

Cale put his beer on the table, and walked out first. I hugged Joey hard, thankful for him. 

“He’s so regretting his decision,” Joey whispered to me and I laughed. 

“Can we go?” Cale cut in, “It’s unsafe to be out so late.”