Caught Between a Mate and Love

Chapter 5: Time Off, Ruined

It was finally my day to be the cunning fox instead of the worried wolf. I hated not being able to contact him in any way, but somehow Zack managed to send me a sign to see him without me even being near him. What a good boyfriend.

It was a work day, a few days after my first run, and I'd been bugging Debbie all day about her and Mickey.

"It's happening for you two, isn't it?" I asked, holding a bin of dirty dishes behind the counter, going down it as more dishes piled up. "Have you looked into his eyes?"

"Oh don't start this again!" She whined and  tried to walk away from me, but she couldn't leave that easily. "Ritz, I'm serious!"

"So am I! This is serious business Deb!" I hopped excitedly next to her while the rest of our customers slowly left the diner. Someone accidentally bumped me on the way out, but didn't cause any real damage. "You could become an Alpha!"

"Impossible!" She slightly smiled, trying to look away. "Only men can be Alphas."

I hip bumped her. "You know what I mean! Come on, you and Mickey would be perfect together!"

It was true, not only because nature destined them to be. They were both assertive people, well... Deb's more aggressive and loud. But they always flirted with each other and could call each other out when one was being stupid.

"Damn it Ritz," she'd accidentally dropped a glass. "Quit shouting at me."

"I will when you cave in to nature's course!" I laughed and headed to the kitchen to drop my dishes in the washer and grab a broom. Debbie never blushed, but her smile told me everything. I knew she and Mickey were mates, but jeez it took long enough to feel the connection. This could have happened years ago, in high school. I wondered why it happened so late when they had enough times for nature to run it's course. Maybe God just wanted to be sure no one else was better for them.

When I came back she was sitting on the booth, eyeing me warily. I took a chair and sat across from her, locking the diner on my way over.

"It's a good thing, you know," I said quietly. She chuckled.

"Us three were supposed to stay unmated forever, remember?" She sniffled. "We haven't said anything, but I know he feels it."

"Well at least he's not a stranger. Can't you see yourself loving him in twenty years?" Debbie looked at me with shining eyes. I didn't understand why she was crying, shouldn't she be excited to be with someone she trusted?

"Rita, we're all going to war soon," her voice cracked. "This is the worst possible time to be mated."

I sat back and thought for a moment.

"No," I replied stubbornly. "No, because we're not gonna die, we're last resorts and we have strong men Deb. We can't lose."

She chuckled darkly. "Ritz, this isn't a fight with some rogues or even with another pack. These Irish, they're dangerous. Do you know what they do to their own traitors? I can't imagine what they would do to us if we lost."

"We're joining with several other packs, Debbie, it's in our favor," I tried to persuade her. We couldn't lose. At least, I hoped we couldn't. I knew the McClellans were evil in all ways, but we had more fighters, demon strength or not they would lose. "Wouldn't it be better to be happy together for as long as you can? To experience it before nature changes things?"

"I don't know, Rita. I'm only twenty-two! And yet I'm getting ready to either mate and have a family or fight to the death. We shouldn't have to make these decisions, it's just not fair!" I felt immensely sorry for her in that moment. One of the toughest, best friends I had was finally breaking down, and I could clearly see the hurt. I got up and scooted next to her to rub her shoulders.