My Beta who is also my...mate?!

Chapter 9

Mike's POV

'Then he walked away, just like that?' Blake shouts incredulously, earning us a few unwanted curious looks. Great, more gossips, exactly what I need right now.

'Can you please be quiet, we're in the main hall.' I whisper tiredly. He simply glares at me like I've just said something mental.

'Are you kidding me?! Please tell me that's not the only reaction I'm getting. You have to be fucking absurd!'

Maybe if I weren't exhausted from not being able to sleep all night I wouldn't have made the mistake of telling Blake. I know I don't regret it though. If I had continued to keep it all in I might have exploded.

Then again, I should have considered how he was sure to react.

'Blake, dude, listen. It's not that big of a deal. I'm not some clingy chick, I'm fine.'

'The hell you are! No you listen to me Mike. That bastard is treating you like a whore, the only thing he hasn't done is throwing you fifty bucks on the nightstand before he went!'

I wince at his words, not just for the offence, but the mere truth in them. 'Blake, man, just drop it, please.'

'No I'm not going to drop it! You can't seriously be defending him after that! Not to mention he's gonna be our future leader!'

'Okay, first of all,' I cut the raging lad off hastily before he says something stupid. 'I'm not defending George. And I really don't need to be reminded how humiliating it was.' Blake's face softens and turns into what looks like guilt, but I refuse to see the pity in it. 'Secondly, how he treats me has nothing to do with his capability as Alpha. This whole mating thing is a lot to handle. George has to think about the bloodline, how accepting the pack will be...'

'There! You're defending that prick again!' Blake yells exasperatedly.

I sigh in defeat, 'Blake-'

'When are you going to stop fooling yourself and realize that he doesn't give a damn about you! You're allowing yourself to be hurt for nothing, and I can't stand-'

'I can't help it!' I finally snap and scream, spinning to glare at the boy behind me. Eyes wide in surprise, Blake takes a step back, hands thrown up in defence but still I come at him predatorily, my anger and frustration nearly burning me alive.

'You think you're so smart don't you? You don't know anything! You think I like being used? You think I want to feel numb all the time?'

Thank goodness we're out of earshot, I can't hold it in anymore. I'm sick of keeping things together, because that's what I do, I keep calm when everyone loses their head around me, to give them some reassurance that everything will be okay. For once in my life, that role seems too much for me.

'It fucking hurts! It hurts that I have to give my heart and soul to that fucker just to have him stomp on them that easily! It kills me that I don't have a choice! It wrenches my entire being to remember so vividly how close we used to be, and now I don't know who he is anymore! Do you think it's easy to just 'walk away'? I love him Blake, as long as we're both alive, no matter what happens, I'll always love him. That's how much it fucking sucks!'

My back hits the locker, and I start sliding down, unable to help myself up. I can only imagine what I must look like: definitely not a composed leader one would expect. I'm seriously breaking down, in front of a pack member no less. The sad part is, I can't find it in myself to care what he'd think of me. I can't do this anymore, I just can't...

A figure sinks to his knees before me. In my teary vision I can just make out Blake's ocean blue eyes with his lashes dropped in concern and sympathy and a hint of sadness. Without a word he throws his arms around me and pulls me closer. I allow him to maneuver me into his embrace, resting my head on his shoulder as we sit in silence.

This is why my subconscious told me it's okay to fall apart in front of Blake. Deep down I know he will be there to pick up the pieces.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

George's POV

When I wake up that morning, though hungover as fuck with a pounding headache, the first thing that appears between my ears is Mike and what happened the night before. The memory makes me feel even more like shit.

I can't believe I treated him like that! Yes I was drunk, horny and jealous like I had never been in my life, but nothing can justify my actions. I fucked Michael! And what's worse, I left him without a second glance afterwards, as if he were one of those nameless bitches I couldn't care less about. But he's not! He means more than just a hook-up, he's my best friend, my... mate. I can't do that to him, it's wrong and unfair on so many levels, but I did. He didn't deserve to be caught in this fucked-up situation with me, but he was. And now not only is whatever-it-is-we-have destroyed but so are our friendship and mutual trust.

I have to fix this. Even I can't imagine my life without him, let alone the wolf seething inside my body. We have to work this out, I can't lose him if there's a chance I haven't already.

I arrive at school around lunch break, not giving a damn that I've missed a total of four or five periods. His delicious scent hits me as soon as I get out of the car, making my wolf whine in desire. I start running towards him, but halfway there I get slammed, quite brutally I might add, into a wall, a hand around my neck. Instinctively I aim a kick at my assailant that has him double over in pain, but somehow he still has enough strength not to release me.

'Stay away from him.' A familiar voice sneers as the face of Blake Westwood is shoved into mine menacingly. If looks could kill, I should have been dead ten times already.

'Get off me.' My wolf growls inside me, not used to being defied or, dare I say it, overpowered. I start to panic a little. If he doesn't cut it off soon, we're both going to lose control of our animal instincts and expose ourselves to the other human teenagers here.

The look on his face tells me Blake doesn't give a flying fuck.

His grip tightens, choking me. I can already feel the control slipping away, vision turning black and white as my wolf prepares to pound the moment he is released.

'Stop!' A voice- Mike's voice- screams through my ears, breaking my wolf's concentration. The transformation is interrupted as his presence calms us instantly. Neither me nor my wolf wants to hurt our mate.

'Blake, it's okay, I can take it from here. See you in class.' The guy seems extremely reluctant to let me go, but it's obvious how much influence Mike has on him. He gives me a last glare and whispers just loud enough for me to hear,

'I should have let you die.'

Then he leaves without looking back.

Mike sighs heavily, running a hand absentmindedly through the thick mop of his hair. He must have done that a lot today, it's all messy and even though his eyes are closed I can guess from the red nose that he's been crying. He's deeply hurt and I'm the reason why.

'What do you want George?' His voice is rough and scratchy, but in my ears still sounds melodious. There's a slight tremble to it, as if he's scared of me. The idea makes me want to sink to my knees to beg for his forgiveness. Although if that's what it takes, I will.

'I'm sorry.' I rush out, grabbing his hand to prevent him from running away, and also just for the sake of touching him. 'I'm so sorry. I hate myself so much, you have no idea. I shouldn't have raped you, or hurt you in any way. I-' I take a deep breath. 'I'm just so, so sorry.'

Mike stares at me for a moment, then shakes his head. 'Look, I understand that this mating thing is fucked up and it isn't what you want, so we-we'll figure out how to fix it. Meanwhile, can we try going back to being friends? I miss how things were before. Can we ignore all this and get on with our lives?'

Pretend this never happened. Hang out as friends again. Go back to normal, before that birthday changes everything. He's offering me a truce. Shouldn't this be what I want? I won't have to be confused all the time. We don't have to act awkward anymore. I should be glad.

Then why does my heart feel like it's being stabbed?

'Sure.' I plaster a fake smile and stick out my hand for Mike to shake. Sparks fly immediately at the contact, but we both pretend we don't feel anything.

It seems we've got ourselves a deal.