The Alpha Next Door ✓

Chapter 21- "Hungry, tired, and utterly hopeless"

He chuckled and then walked over and ruffled my hair and goosebumps trailed over my arms at his touch. Before he left, he said,

"Thanks as usual, Dest," with a soft smile.

It took everything inside of me to not run after him. He wasn't mine. And I was okay. . . Was what I told myself.

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And so it took all of my willpower to not break down in front of Alex or in front of anyone in that case. It was hard not to stare at him while he drove, or smile at the thought of him. Although I was acting like a total creep, my mind was just all over the place right now.

Every time I was alone with Alex, whether it was in the kitchen in the early hours or in his truck, breezing past packs, I struggled to act normal. On some days I was so close to saying "Fuck this" and kiss his tempting lips, while other days I wanted to run away as far as possible as I could from him. Obviously, I couldn't really do any of those things.

The worst days though were when my mind decided to think back to Dominic. As much as I scolded myself that I was done thinking about him, I still wandered off back to that crevice full of our memories together in my head.

I often found myself wondering if he had a mate or a new best friend by now. Even though I didn't care that he never saw me as a love interest, I hated to let go of such a big part of my life. It was hard to let go of a childhood friend who was literally one of the only people who didn't choose to abandon me. But nothing gold can stay.

I silently thanked him though, as if it weren't for him rejecting me, there would be a slim chance that I'd ever get to meet Alex. I thought what it would've been like, if Dom decided to accept me and we became more than friends. What would've happened if I'd bumped into Alex then? Probably nothing. I never would've befriended the tall, bookish, handsome dork-- Nevertheless fallen in love with him.

Thus in a way, I was grateful for Dom. My heart still lurched at his name, but not as much as before. Shivers still went down my spine with thoughts of him as my mate, but those thoughts were drowned out with Alex's presence. I loved Dom, and hell, I still did. But I wasn't in love with him. I was just designed to feel that way.

I had found out what it really meant to fall in love with someone without knowing you would. It was cliche to say that what Alex and I had was "true love", but it was realistic to say that we'd never end up together simply because we weren't bonded together by a mate link. Even if he tried to mark me, the chances that the mark and bond would actually last would be zero.

So I didn't talk to Alex as much as we used to and I avoided him whenever I could. I told myself repeatedly that in the end, it wouldn't hurt us. But in this moment, it fucking hurt like a bitch.

" 'Ello, Destiny?" Alice yelled in my ear. I jumped and then blushed a deep red. "Whatcha' like me to make for ya'?"

"Uh, a coffee and toast please. Thanks," I replied, sinking back into the stool. Alice furrowed her brows, her bright blue eyes were full of confusion.

"Sweet pea you've really lowered your appetite. . ." She mumbled. I didn't know what to say, everything tasted so bland now.

A few minutes later she handed me the toast and black coffee. I gave her a side smile and then went for the coffee.

"That boy's got ya' hooked onto that coffee too now, eh?" She laughed heartily.

Hooked onto his heart too, I thought.

After finishing my so called breakfast and then chatting with Vivian for a bit, I went down to the office as usual to begin working. Nothing like a good eight hours of staring into a cold monitor and replying to emails. In all honesty though, the extra work that I'd been loading in had kept my mind off of things for the past few weeks.