During downtime, Valerie came out from the back and asked me, “So how are things going? Things are good with Mr. Hot Beta now?”
“Yeah.” I thought for a moment and asked, “How’s Lucy doing? I haven’t seen her since that day we fought.”
“She’s not great, but don’t worry too much about her. The beta’s your mate and she has no right to him. She’ll eventually get over it.”
I sighed, wondering if we’d ever be friends again, wondering if I should try to reach out to her, but also fearful of her reaction. On the surface, it seemed like everything turned out the way it was supposed to, but I couldn’t help but feel like everything was still wrong.
Luke surprised me by coming in at lunchtime. He ordered a couple coffees and said hi to everyone. I made the coffees and came around from the counter to hand them to him.
He placed them on a table behind him and put his arms around me, pulling me in for a hug. “I was grabbing some sandwiches for lunch from the sub shop next door and wanted to stop by and say hello to my mate.” He smiled at me.
I inhaled his scent, instantly wishing I didn’t have to continue working for the rest of the day.
“I have to work tonight, but I will text you so we can get together again soon. I hope my family wasn’t too crazy for you yesterday.”
“No, I enjoyed it. I have a really small family, so it was nice being around so many people. I like how your family’s so much more open with each other. We can’t talk about anything in mine.”
“Okay, good. My parents and sisters loved you.” He took my hands in his and kissed me on the head. “I’ll see you again soon.” He picked up his coffees and we walked to the door together so I could see him out.
I walked back around to the other side of the counter. “That beta’s one fine man. You’re a lucky girl,” Valerie said to me. I nodded my head, a smile on my face.
Chapter 42
Lucy
Iwasstillinshock. I couldn’t believe that I had lost both my boyfriend and best friend in a matter of weeks. Even more shocking was that the Moon Goddess had both shoved a dagger into my heart and then turned it until she could draw every last bit of pain out of me. It’s one thing to lose the man you want to spend the rest of your life with, taking with him your whole future, but the fact that he’s now with your best friend? I wanted to vomit every time I thought about it. It was so heartbreaking that I didn’t think I could ever be friends with Jasmine again.
When I told my mom, she held me while I cried. But everyone knew there was nothing I could do except move on, if such a thing was even possible. Both my parents kept reassuring me that I’d eventually find my mate, and then I’d forget this ever happened. But I didn’t believe that either. Luke had been my life—he was the reason I got out of bed in the morning. The fact that he didn’t fight for the two of us still hurt me. I always felt like we were closely connected—like we could tell each other anything without judgment. He got me better than anyone else. And we just fit together, as if our bodies were molded for each other. But perhaps I’d just always felt our bond more strongly than he did, which was even more painful to think about.
On Saturday, my mom forced me out of bed. I had Saturdays off from work since Jasmine normally took that shift. Valerie had separated our shifts so we wouldn’t have to work together, something I was very thankful to her for. I didn’t think I could ever look at Jasmine’s face again. She was my best friend, and she didn’t even hesitate to take my boyfriend from me after knowing, for so many years, how much I loved him. It felt like the ultimate betrayal.
That afternoon, Kyle and Emma came over to spend some time with the family. After lunch, the men all went outside to play football while my mom cleaned up. Emma and I were seated in the living room together.
“How are you doing, Lucy?” Emma looked at me, pity on her face.
“Horrible,” I replied. “I still can’t believe what happened.”
She pulled me in for a hug, “It’ll be okay. You’ll meet your mate soon and you’ll forget about him. Having a mate’s the most incredible thing, better than just a boyfriend.”
“How do you know? You never had a boyfriend.”
“I guess that’s true. But mates come from the Moon Goddess so no one else can take them from you. They’re meant to be yours. You won’t have to worry.”
“Can we please talk about something else?” I asked, feeling sickness in my stomach all over again, especially at the thought of Luke finding his new mate to be better than his long-term girlfriend.
“Okay, I have some news for you. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you because of what you’re going through right now. But you’re my sister now, so I want to tell you.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I’m pregnant.” She smiled. “We’ve only told family so far since it hasn’t been two months yet.” I looked at her glowing, making me feel more despair at my situation.
I forced myself to say, “Congratulations. When did you find out?”
“About a week ago. My boobs were hurting so badly. I kept telling Kyle not to touch them during sex. And I just felt really weird and realized I’d missed my period. So, I took a test and got the two lines! I took another one because I couldn’t believe it.”
An even sicker feeling came over me after what Emma said. My breasts had been extremely sore for the past few weeks. I thought it was just my period coming, but it never actually came. And my breasts just got more and more sore. Now, with Emma sitting in front of me, I realized I had been feeling off and not like myself. I thought it was the depression, but it could have been more than that.
“So how do you feel?” I asked, keeping the conversation going.