Best Friends to Mates

Chapter Five

The driver woke me up by shaking me gently. I quickly sat up and looked around. Once I remembered what I was doing, I calmed down a little.

I glanced outside, noticing that it was still dark outside. I checked the time on my phone, and my eyes widened. 2:45 am. I quickly opened my door and slid out of the car.

I trailed my eyes over the large, three story house that belonged to my parents. I felt excited to be home and wasted no time running up the porch steps. Thankfully, the door was unlocked, so I slipped inside quietly.

The house was pitch black inside, making it harder to see where I was going. I slid my fingers along the wall next to the door and grinned widely when my fingers brushed against the light switch.

I flicked the lights on and gasped as a person came into view. My heart almost jumped from my chest when I noticed the person laying on the couch. Tears welled in my eyes as my dad opened his eyes and looked at me. Once he saw me, he jumped up from the couch and rushed over to me.

I wrapped my arms around my dad and squeezed tightly. More tears were falling freely as I hugged my dad. I truly missed my family so much, and seeing them for the first time since my birthday four months ago was overwhelming.

"Welcome home, sweetheart!" My dad said, hugging me tightly. I buried my face into his shirt and cried silently. I heard my dad chuckle, feeling his chest bounce as he did. "Whats with the tears, darlin? Aren't you happy to be home and see your old man?" My dad asked.

I pulled back slightly to look up at my dad. He had a grin on his face as usual, and it made me smile widely. "Of course I'm happy to be home, dad. I missed you guys so much!" I exclaimed.

Dad pulled back from the hug after a few moments and took a look at me. I knew that I looked slightly different from when he saw me last; my hair was shorter, and more platinum blonde than before. I grew slightly taller, and I was more powerful than then, too.

I heard footsteps thumping across the floor upstairs, and I quickly looked over at the stairs. I saw my mom rush down the flight of stairs in a hurry, stopping at the bottom. Our eyes connected, and I watched as tears welled in her eyes.

I ran to my mom, meeting her halfway. We embraced each other tightly, tears flowing down both of our faces. I missed my mom so much, and being away from her was hard.

"My baby girl! You're home!" My mom cried. I squeezed her tighter, afraid that I would wake up and still be at the center if not.

After a few moments of my mom and I hugging, we pulled back from each other. My mom looked me over. "You look different, Pryntess." My mom said.

"Different, as in a bad or good way?" I asked teasingly. My mom grinned but shook her head at me.

"In a good way. You just look, more grown, I guess." My mom shrugged. Dad walked over and wrapped his arm around my mom's shoulder. "Look, Liam, doesn't your daughter look more grown up?" My mom asked dad.

"She does. I can feel your power more, too. It has risen significantly." Dad added in, making me feel proud. I could sense the smirk on Adira's face at dad's compliment. Great, just another boost to her ego.

"I trained hard, dad." I answered back. Every day we trained at the center for hours at a time. We got one day of rest a week, if we were lucky. I don't regret the hard training, though. It has only made me stronger and more knowledgeable with my fighting.

"I know you did. Alpha West updated me regularly about you. I'm very proud of you, Pryntess. Being at the top of your training class is a very hard thing to do. Not only did you manage to get up there, but you stayed up there consistently. I couldn't be more proud of you, sweetheart." Dad complimented, making my heart swell with happiness and pride.

My dad, who was an amazingly strong Alpha, praised my training skills. It made all of the restless nights, sore body parts, and the constant push of my limits well worth it.

"You must be exhausted sweety, why don't you go on up to bed? Dad and I will grab your luggage." My mom said, squuezing my hand. As if on cue, I yawned. I was extremely tired and beyond ready to sleep in my bed again.

"I will bring your things upstairs in the morning, kiddo. Go get some rest." My dad added. I nodded and gave them both a hug before walking to the stairs.

"See you guys in the morning!" I called back over my shoulder. I began to climb the stairs when my dad called out to me. I stopped and turned slightly in his direction. "Yeah, dad?"

"Get some rest because I fully expect to see what kind of training you truly had up there. Tomorrow afternoon, we train." Dad grinned. I grinned back, happy that I would get to train with my dad again.

"I wouldn't expect anything else, dad." I giggled before climbing the rest of the stairs. I made my way to my room and walked inside after switching on the lights.

My room was just as I had left it over a year ago. Not a single hair out of place, or anything missing; from what I remember, anyways. My large queen sized bed still sat to the left, up against the corner of the room, with a bedside table on the left of my bed. The bookshelf, filled with all of my favorite books, sat up against the far right wall, and my dresser sat up against the wall to my left, across from my bed.

I looked over and noticed my computer desk, sitting next to my bookshelf, with my old desktop computer still sitting on top of it. A framed picture of Thatcher and I sat on the desk. I smiled as the memory floated into my mind; Thatcher had come to the human town with my family and I, and we all went to the movies that day. In the picture, Thatcher is sitting beside me, with his arm draped over my shoulders and his head leaning against my own.

I walked over to the photo and picked it up, running my fingers over it. A light coating of dust layered the top of the glass, wiping off when my fingers slid across it.

My eyes stared at Thatcher, and a small smile spread on my face. The wide, happy smile on Thatcher's face in this picture made me want to cry; I truly missed my best friend so much. I can't help but feel terrified about seeing him after so long. I just keep going over a scenerio in my head, where Thatcher and Amy are mated, and he no longer wants anything to do with me.

I know that would absolutely crush my heart, to lose my best friend of so many years. I only hope that he still cares about me and doesn't forget our friendship.

I sat the photo back down on the desk and walked over to my bed before kicking my shoes off. After pulling the covers down, I slid under the sheets and immediately closed my eyes. It didn't take long for sleep to overcome me again.