Stealing My Best Friend’s Mate

13- Pack Run

Sloane’s POV

Xavier didn’t leave my side for a single second throughout the night's celebrations. His hand rarely left mine as well.

While I know Xavier is a handsome guy, I never actually paid much attention to detail before, as I was always admiring Kai. But these days, Xavier’s physical presence was nearly always on my mind- which is strange to me because Kai is still my moon-chosen until one of us rejects the other one.

I should have had Zia do it now- should have had her do it the very night he showed me who he truly was… but we can’t. The bond between Kai and me is- who am I without him? We practically grew up together. Even without the mate bond between us, he is part of who I am.

Yes, there are moments when I want to tear the bond out of me with my bare hands because I don't want the memories anymore. I don't want the ache that settles beneath my ribs every time Kai walks past me with Judy's hand in his. I don't want to feel him existing somewhere beyond my reach, like a wound that refuses to close simply because he's still breathing.

I want silence. I want peace. I want to wake up one morning and not wonder if he slept well, not catch myself searching for him in every crowded room, not feel my stupid heart hesitate every time our eyes meet.

But the bond doesn't care what I want.

It doesn't understand betrayal. It doesn't understand humiliation or broken promises. It only understands that somewhere out there is the wolf the Goddess of the Moon chose for me, and every instinct inside me keeps reaching for him even when every piece of my heart begs it to stop.

Sometimes I think that's the cruelest part. People believe rejecting someone is a single decision. They imagine you waking up one morning, deciding you're done, and walking away. They never talk about what comes after.

About grieving someone who's still alive. About fighting an invisible thread every single day because cutting it feels like amputating a piece of your own soul.

I know I'll have to do it eventually. I know I can't spend the rest of my life tethered to someone who chose somebody else and thinks I will forgive them eventually. Yet every time I imagine the moment the bond finally breaks, my chest constricts.

Because there is one thought I can't outrun.

Never again will Kai instinctively be mine. After the bond is severed, the possibility of finding our way back to each other is gone.

And then there’s Xavier. His alpha aura confuses me. I know It has to be his Alpha aura.

That's the only explanation that makes any sense. To the way I allow him to kiss me and the way I answer it. The reason why, even when I am mated to another, I think of Xavier’s touch. Future Alphas carry themselves differently. Every wolf knows that. They're born with a presence that commands attention before they ever speak. It settles restless wolves, earns respect without asking for it, and makes every instinct want to listen.

Zia is only reacting to that, which means... I am too. Somehow, I've mistaken instinctive obedience for attraction. Every time my heart threatens to forget, I force myself to remember that he is best friends with my cheating ex.

Xavier agreed to this. He knows Kai cheated on me and is still cheating. He knows I'm being strung along by a lie, and he still plays his part without hesitation.

Good people don't do that. No matter how much Zia tries to convince me of it.

Currently, Xavier is holding my hand, his fingers laced naturally through mine as if we’d been doing it for years, yet he was unnervingly quiet. I steal a glance up at him, studying the firm line of his jaw as we head towards the forest. Was he just exhausted after the game, or was something deeper pulling at him?

My chest tightened as my mind betrayed me, drifting back to the heat of his lips against mine, the unexpected softness, the way he tasted. I squeezed his hand slightly, but before I could process the sudden flutter in my stomach, a sharp spike of tension cut through the crowd.

Kai was staring at us again.

Even with his girlfriend, Judy, standing right beside him, her arms tightly crossed over her chest, huffing in blatant irritation, Kai couldn't stop looking like he wanted to rip Xavier away from me. Most of the elders- including the alpha and luna had already headed to their own private things, leaving mostly high schoolers and university students scattered around the edges of the forest. Without the adults around, the atmosphere had shifted into something raw and volatile.

"Come on, guys! Tree line!" someone called out.

It was time for the run- a pack tradition to burn off post-game adrenaline. Around us, clothes were discarded, shoes kicked into the dirt as wolves prepared to shift. Zia squirms beneath my skin, eager as always. We've spent so long running alone that she's learned to restrain herself, yet the sight of an entire pack preparing for a run still awakens a longing she can never quite bury.

Xavier gave my hand one last reassuring squeeze before stepping back toward the shadow of the trees. "Stay close to the bonfire," he said quietly, his eyes lingering on mine, already deciding he knew I would not shift and join them, before he turned and disappeared into the treeline.

Moments later, a massive, midnight-black wolf stepped out from the shadows. Moros.

As soon as he emerged, a sudden, magnetic pull thrummed against my skull. It wasn't words- Xavier didn't even consciously know my wolf’s name- but through the atmosphere, his wolf called out to Zia. It was a soft, undeniable summons, an unspoken come here.

Inside me, Zia stirred, her head snapping up in recognition. But I forced her down, pretending I felt nothing. ‘We can't answer that,’ I told her silently. Remember, he's just playing a part.

"Look at her, still standing there in human skin," a voice snickered nearby.

I didn't need to look to know who it was. Three university wolves were leaning against a truck, making sure their voices carried just far enough for me to hear. All deltas- one was a cheer and also in Kai’s car tonight.

"Silly, weak omega can't even transform," the girl sneered, taking a sip from her cup. Eileen.

Walking away from me, Xavier paused and glared at them, but they didn’t stop.

"What is Xavier even doing with her?" her friend, Nate, a boy with jet-black hair, replied with a lazy laugh. "He's just toying with the help because he's bored. Just tonight's entertainment."

"Shantell will rip her eyes out if she sees how she looks at him," another added, going up to them, holding a slice of pizza in her hand. She had only taken one bite and was sniffing it more than eating it. Possibly one of those rules the cheerleaders had to follow.

Ridiculous since I think we can barely ever be overweight as we burn calories too quickly. In fact, we tend to eat more than regular folks.

Zia folded inward, her spirit shrinking under the weight of the shame. She hated being trapped in human form while the rest of the pack ran free. And then, before I could catch my breath, Kai caught my eye from across the clearing.

Intentionally, deliberately, he grabbed Judy by the waist, pulled her flush against his chest, and buried his mouth in hers. It wasn't a sweet kiss; it was aggressive, possessive, as if he were trying to swallow her whole just to prove a point to the entire clearing. Several wolves whistled and cheered.

Naked. They were naked and making out in front of me. How cruel of Kai, knowing he was my mate and doing this.

I couldn't look away, even as a sharp, agonizing ache bloomed behind my ribs.

And just like that, my legs gave out.