Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 12: The Invitation

Drake POV

    After discussing the incident with Alpha Richard, Drake had headed to the mess hall just in time for dinner. He’d received a few stares as he’d walked in, some disapproving, some just plain curious, which told him word had gotten around, so he wasn’t surprised when his beta, sitting next to him at the table reserved specifically for them while they visited, looked at him with a devilish grin, his eyes practically glowing with interest.

    “So,” Jackson began, settling in his seat and grabbing his fork and knife to start cutting into the tender, juicy, medium-rare steak that sat on his plate, surrounded by mounds of mashed potatoes with gravy and a small serving of corn. “I heard you and the alpha’s son got into it.”

    “Yeah,” Drake answered simply before taking a bite of his own steak.

    “And that it was over a certain sexy female commander,” Jackson said, grinning wider as he wiggled his eyebrows at his alpha. When Drake didn’t respond, seeming suddenly all the more interested in the delicious food in front of them, Jackson continued, “You know, the one you pretended not to seem at all interested in. The one you were found making out with by her mate.”

    At that, Drake shot Jackson a murderous gaze. “He’s not her mate,” he growled. “He rejected her.”

    “Yeah, I heard about that,” Jackson nodded. “His loss, in my opinion, she’s hot.” When Drake growled again, Jackson laughed, saying, “Hey, I’m just stating the obvious. And she must be quite something to have you so interested.”

    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

    “Really? ‘Cause I’ve seen you with women. Ever since she-who-will-not-be-named left, yeah, you’ve slept with plenty of females, but you’ve never looked at them the same way you look at her. Just sayin’.” Jackson winked at him, happily enjoying his food while watching for his reaction to what he’d said.

    Drake didn’t respond immediately. Of course he didn’t want a relationship. He hadn’t wanted anything like that since Jessica left him for that rat. But he couldn’t deny there was something about Layla that called to both the wolf and the man in him. It wasn’t a mate bond, they both had found their mates, and lost them, and it didn’t quite feel the same. But it was something, he just hadn’t figured out what, yet. He did know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he wanted more than he’d gotten so far. That kiss did nothing more than tease him, and ever since then he’d been itching to find her to satiate the need she’d created in him.

    “She’s not here,” Jackson said, interrupting Drake’s thoughts with a chuckle.

    “What?” Drake asked, confused.

    “You were scanning the room the entire time you were sitting there playing with your food instead of eating,” Jackson snickered.

    “So I can’t just be looking around a room now without you thinking I’m looking for her? I’m not you,” Drake scoffed, irritated that Jackson seemed to be able to read his mind. Not that he’d ever let the grinning i***t know it.

    “Yeah, I know the difference between looking around casually, scanning for enemies, and trying to find a particular lady,” Jackson winked.

    “Whatever,” Drake grumbled, picking at his food. As good as the food was, he wasn’t interested in eating at the moment, which was a rarity for him. Normally, he could easily put down a hefty amount of food, especially with how much he trained. But today, even his stomach seemed preoccupied.

    “Anyways,” Jackson began, changing the subject, “How’d it go when you met with the alpha to explain the, er, incident?”

    Drake shrugged. “Alpha Richard actually apologized to me. Seems he agrees that his son is an i***t for rejecting her, and even more so for trying to fight me over her. I don’t know how this pack is going to do when he steps down. He’s a good wolf, very intelligent, and while he’s a bit too soft for my taste, I know he could kick some ass if it came down to it. His son, on the other hand, is just a f*****g i***t. If he doesn’t get his head out of his ass, this pack is screwed.” His statement earned him a few hard stares here and there, as wolf hearing ensured everyone in the room could pick out his voice if they wanted, or if there happened to be a lull in the conversation around them, but he didn’t give a damn. He knew Zach would certainly have his supporters, but surely there’d at least be a few wolves, Layla and Alpha Richard aside, who could see his shortcomings and would likely agree with his assessment.

    “I haven’t actually met him yet, but considering he wasn’t there to welcome a visiting alpha, I’m inclined to agree,” Jackson nodded somberly. “At least Alpha Richard isn’t like some of the alphas out there. We’d have been kicked out at the very least, and some alphas would challenge you over that. Which is stupid, but some alphas don’t have much more than brawn to their name.”

    Drake nodded his agreement. “This is a decent pack. Hopefully it stays that way.”

    “By the way, when is their training tomorrow?” Jackson asked curiously.

    “Seven is warrior training, three is pack training,” Drake said. He sighed and set his fork on the plate, filled with his half-finished meal.

    “Ugh, I hate getting up early.”

    “Too bad. You miss enough early trainings at home. If you weren’t up to par, I’d physically throw you out of bed and drag your happy ass to every single early morning training we have,” Drake said with a grin. “Which is the plan tomorrow if you aren’t up in time.”

    “I’ll be up,” Jackson said with a groan.

    “Good,” Drake replied, standing up and grabbing his plate. “I’ll see you later.”

    “See ya later. Don’t have too much fun,” Jackson winked.

    Drake rolled his eyes, throwing out what was left of his meal and setting the plate on the counter that was already half full of dishes. He thanked an omega who’d come out from the kitchen to grab some of the dirty dishes, then turned and exited the mess hall, ignoring the stares and glares as he went. He walked to his room, thinking about taking a cold shower when he got there to ease his unfortunate tension.

    Just as he got to the hall that led to his room, her scent whispered past him and he stood stock still, looking down the hall to the door across from his own. His c**k had responded to her scent as if it was a siren’s song, and, before he knew it, he’d walked the length of the hallway until he stood in front of her door, his back to his own room. He knocked on the door, breathing a sigh of relief when she responded with, “Come in.”

    “Hey,” he said as he opened the door to find her digging through her drawers of clothes. “What are you doing?”

    “I’m looking for any clothes that could work for Isaiah,” she replied, looking up at him briefly.

    “Isaiah?” he questioned, confused.

    “Oh, the boy,” she replied. “He finally woke up and told me his name.”

    “Ah,” Drake nodded. “Well that’s good, I know you were worried.”

    “Yeah. I know I shouldn’t have been, he’s a shifter, after all,” she said, tucking a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail behind her ear as she searched.

    “You know, I might have something that could work for him,” he said as he leaned against the door jam.

    “Really?” she asked, pausing her search to look at him skeptically. “I mean, you’re…bigger than he is.”

    Drake shrugged. “It isn’t much, but I have a shirt and a pair of sweats I wear sometimes when there’s a risk that I might have to shift suddenly. They’re a bit small on me these days, and the sweats will tighten pretty far, so I’m sure they’ll work, at least for the moment.”

    “Oh, okay, thank you,” she smiled, before turning to put away the clothes she’d tossed out in her search. After she was done, he led her into his room and rummaged through his suitcase until he found them.

    “Here you go, should do for the moment,” he said as he handed her the clothes.

    “I appreciate it,” she smiled. She turned to the door as if to go, then stopped and turned back. “Um, by the way, did you need something?”

    “What?”

    “Well, you knocked on my door. Kinda figured you’d done that for a reason,” she chuckled quietly.

    “Oh, yeah,” he said, rubbing his neck. “About earlier-”

    “Hey, Layla!” a voice called down the hallway.

    “I’m in here,” Layla called back. At his inquisitive look, she explained, “It’s Chelsea.”

    A few seconds later, Chelsea sauntered into Drake’s room, looking between him and Layla. “Well, I guess the rumors must be true,” she said, grinning at Layla. “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

    Layla blushed a little, prompting Drake to answer for her. “I was just giving her some clothes for the boy she brought back.”

    “Oh, okay. Anyways, Layla, I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the Blue Moon with me. You’re free to come to the bar with us as well, if you bring that delicious-looking beta of yours with you,” she said, winking at Drake.

    “Sure,” Drake said nonchalantly.

    “Great! Layla, you in?” Chelsea asked.

    “Um…” she hesitated, looking at Drake. “Yeah, I guess, just let me get these clothes to Isaiah, and then I just have to get ready.”

    “Here,” Chelsea offered, holding out her hand. “Give them to me, I’ll take them to him so you can get ready.”

    “You sure?”

    “Yeah, we both know you’ll take longer because you probably haven’t had time to shower yet.”

    “True. Alright, he’s down in the pack hospital. Just be careful, he’s not used to people yet, he was abused and his pack didn’t help him, so he’s not exactly trusting. But if you tell him I sent you, it should be fine. I hope,” Layla said, still looking uncertain as she handed over the clothes. Chelsea nodded and walked out the door. She turned back to Drake. “What were you saying?”

    “Don’t worry about it,” he said, waving it off.

    “You sure?”

    “Yeah. Besides, you should probably go get ready and I have to go find Jackson.”

    “Okay. Well, I’ll see you soon, then,” she said, smiling at him before turning to go. He stood there for a minute, enjoying the view of her ass. After her door shut, he sighed. Now he had to go look for his miscreant of a beta. Joy.