Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 32: Unexpected Pain

Layla POV

She leaned back against the wall of the building that housed the Blue Moon, her mind swirling. She certainly hadn’t expected her best friend to suddenly inform her she had not only found her mate, let alone that it was Jackson. But what was really screwing with her now was what she’d overheard Drake saying when she’d stepped out of the bathroom to go back to the table, and, worse, the sharp pain that had cleaved through her heart the second she’d heard it. Unable to truly hide her pain, she’d mumbled to Chelsea, who’d come out just after the boys had finished talking, that she needed some fresh air before beelining for the back door and stepping out into the alley to get a hold of herself.

Apparently, she’d fallen for Drake a lot harder than she’d thought, and certainly more than she’d meant to. They’d both promised, at the beginning, to keep emotions out of it and treat it as just a good time while it lasted. And yet, somewhere along the way, she’d dropped the ball and actually felt something for him. Damn it. She should have never started this stupid “friends with benefits” bullshit. She’d thought she could deal with it, thought that it would be easy enough considering Zach had stomped her heart into nothingness with his rejection. She’d thought she was safe from ever loving anyone.

She clutched her heart as traitorous tears slipped from her eyes and down her cheeks. God, this hurt so bad. She could take endless punches, kicks, claws tearing through her skin, but this was something else. This was a pain her mind couldn’t help her escape from. How could she be so stupid? Would she never learn? No one wanted her like that. No one ever had, no one ever would. She wasn’t enough for Zach, so how in the hell could she be enough for a man far better than him.

Releasing a shaky breath, she tried her best to calm down, but the pain wouldn’t recede. No, she’d have to simply suck it up, pretend to be okay, and deal with it all when she was alone.

Shit, what was she going to do tonight? She knew they’d planned on one last night of “fun”, but how in the hell could she possibly go through with that now. Of course, she wanted to. That part of her that had been so stupid, that had fallen for the idea of love again, craved him like a drug addict. His touch, his voice, his body, the way he looked at her like she was actually worth a damn…no, apparently that had been only a fantasy. She must’ve misread the look in his eyes. Even if she didn’t, it was obviously a look not reserved for her, and her alone.

She hated this, so much. If there was one thing she hated about herself, it was how f*****g weak she was. Yeah, she could put most shifters in their place, but she’d only developed that skill in order to hide the fact that, in reality, she was fragile. She cared too much about people who didn’t feel the same way for her.

A sob wracked her body as she slowly lowered herself to the ground. What was she going to do? She couldn’t go back in there like this. She couldn’t let him see how he’d hurt her. She certainly couldn’t show him that she’d broken their one big rule. Hell no.

She took in a deep breath as she wiped the tears from her face. No, no more weakness. No more asshole males making her feel unwanted. She would calm down, make sure no one could tell she’d lost her head for a minute, then go back in there and be okay. Then she’d make an excuse to go straight to bed, making sure to stay the f**k away from Drake so he couldn’t melt her resolve with his body. She just had to make it until he left tomorrow. She could deal with it all then, by herself.

Mentally picking herself up by the bootstraps, she stood up and used her phone’s camera to check her face. It was still a little blotchy, but she could fix that really quick with some cold water from the bathroom. No biggie.

Steeling herself, she opened the door and walked back inside, stopping off in the bathroom to wash her face before making her way back to the table, keeping her emotions off her face and replacing them with a fake smile.

“You okay, Layla?” Chelsea asked, looking concerned. Damn her friend for being able to read her so well.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Layla responded, giving Chelsea a look. Chelsea’s eyes widened slightly as she understood Layla’s clue. No, nothing was alright, but she certainly didn’t want to talk about it.

“Oh, nevermind, I must be a little more drunk than I thought,” Chelsea said, taking another sip of her drink.

“It’s cool,” Layla said, her fake grin widening. “Um, I do have to get going soon, though. I got a message while I was outside that my warriors need me to check something out.”

“What happened?” Drake asked curiously.

“Oh, nothing much, they found a backpack in the woods that they think might be Isaiah’s, but since it smells like rogues, they want to make sure it’s actually his and not an indication that we have more rogues passing our territory that we may need to keep an eye on, just in case,” she explained. Thankfully, it was actually true, so she wasn’t really lying, just upping the time frame. She was actually supposed to check it out tomorrow, and it wasn’t something they were very worried about since it was mostly a bunch of ratty clothes. She only needed to check it out to be on the safe side, but it was a convenient truth that could help get her out of a very awkward situation.

“Ah, okay,” Drake nodded in understanding. “Just wanted to make sure my rogue situation hadn’t spread. Shall we go now, then?”

“Yeah, sure,” she replied lamely, desperately wishing they’d all taken separate cars. Instead, all four would have to ride back together in the boys’ SUV. And didn’t that just sound like fun?