Best Friends to Mates

Chapter Seven

I was shocked at my mother's words. Thatcher and Amy weren't together any longer? My mind spun with confusion. Why hadn't anyone told me before now?

"W-what?" I stuttered out. My eyes fell to the floor as I tried to process what my mother was saying. "Since when?"

My mom sighed, "Amy broke things off with Thatcher right before his birthday."

My eyes snapped up to look at my mom, widened in surprise. "Amy broke up with Thatcher!? Why didn't anyone tell me?" I squealed, hearing my voice rise.

My mom sighed again and turned her eyes to meet mine.

"We didn't tell you because we didn't want you to be upset. We knew that you would stress out over not being able to be here for Thatcher, and we didn't want that, sweetheart. Thatcher didn't want that, either." My mom trailed off at the last part of her sentence.

"What do you mean? Thatcher didn't want you to tell me?" I asked in a low voice. My heart was beating wildly in my chest.

My mom shook her head. "No, sweetheart. Thatcher didn't want anyone to tell you because he knew that you would have fought to get back home, and he knew you couldn't have left. You know the rules, after the blood bond was completed with your Alpha at the center, you weren't allowed to leave until it was over." My mom reminded me.

"So that's why Thatcher quit calling me and answering my calls?" I questioned, but I already knew the answer.

My mom just nodded her head. I could see the sympathy in her eyes. My heart felt as if it had been sliced open, and anger began to boil within me. How dare that b***h break my best friends heart!

Adira growled loudly as she felt my anger flaring up. I badly wanted to find Amy and rip her throat out, but I knew that I would be exiled for it. Unlawful murder of any pack members is grounds for exile, even if I am the current Alphas sister.

I felt my mom put her hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, sweetheart. I know you're angry, but we didn't tell you for a good reason." My mom spoke up, almost pleading for me to understand.

"I know, mom, and yes, I am upset that no one told me; but I'm furious at Amy!" I growled out as her name slipped from my lips. "How dare she hurt my best friend!" I hollered loudly.

I suddenly heard the thunder of footsteps bounding up the stairs and into my parents' room. My father's tall frame appeared in the door after a few moments, worry and alarm on his face.

"What's going on?" My dad asked, his eyes searching for any signs of danger.

I could feel my pulse beating through my chest and anger flaring within me higher and higher. I couldn't get the picture of Thatcher heartbroken and alone, out of my head. My heart was breaking with each passing second that the picture filled my mind.

My dad grabbed me and pulled me into him. My parents had been talking, but it only sounded like murmers.

"Shh, calm down, baby girl, it's okay." My dad tried to calm me down. "Thatcher is okay, babydoll."

My dad's comfort began to calm me down, and the anger was slowly beginning to dissipate. Adira was calming down and no longer growling in my head.

I felt warmth spreading down my face and knew then that I was crying. I hadn't even known that I was crying until now. I wiped my eyes, but more tears replaced them. My heart was aching for Thatcher, and I felt so much guilt that I wasn't here for him during all of this.

I finally understood what his text messages were about, and that broke my heart even more.

My dad was finally able to calm me down, and the tears stopped flowing. I excused myself to my room to clean myself up, especially since we were having guests over.

I wiped my face off and applied a little bit of foundation to cover up the redness and puffiness of my eyes and face. I didn't want anyone to notice that I had been crying, but I couldn't say for certain that it wouldn't happen again when I saw Thatcher.

I felt incredibly nervous to see my best friend again, though I didn't quite know why. I felt a little better to know why he had ignored me for the past few months, but I still felt bad about the reason why. I absolutely hated that I wasn't there for him when he needed me.

After cleaning myself up, I took a look in my full-length mirror. The light wash jeans I chose to wear hugged my figure perfectly, paired with a regular black t-shirt and sneakers. I wasn't trying to dress up and impress anyone; I mean, everyone that will be there is most likely people I have known my whole life and have seen me at my worst.

I was confused about who the extra person was, though. I knew that it would be the four of us in my family; mom, dad, Levi, and I- and I was pretty certain that Thatcher, his parents and his little sister would be the other four, but who would be the ninth person? Mom said that it wasn't Amy, so who could it be?

As I wracked my brain, I heard my mother's voice call from downstairs. I sighed and glanced at myself in the mirror one last time before making my way out of my room and downstairs.

My dad and Levi were huddled together at the table looking through a giant stack of paperwork, and my mother was running aroune frantic. Large platters of food were lined up on the counter, and the sight made my mouth water; my mom really went all out for breakfast today.

"Honey, will you grab the pitchers of lemonade and tea from the fridge, please?" My mom called out to me.

I done what she asked, and sat the two large pitchers on the kitchen table, followed by grabbing nine glasses from the cabinet. The table was fully set after my dad grabbed the extra kitchen chairs from our basement.

"They're almost here." Dad spoke up, informing my mother that our guests were about to arrive. She sped up even faster, if thats even possible, and hurriedly grabbed a tray out of the oven.

"Jesus mom, more food?" I teased. My mom shot me a glare and nodded to the platters of food on the counter.

"Take these over to the table, Tessa." She ordered. My father helped me to grab the humongous amounts of food, and we struggled to find a place for everything at the table.

We have quite a large dining table, and for us to run out of room was insane. Dad and I opted to leave some of the platters on the counter and pass them around once everyone was seated.

Levi finally put the paperwork away, but only after our mom scolded him. I couldn't help the giggles that erupted out of me, but immediately stopped when mom's glare turned towards me.

Even though Levi is the Alpha now, our mother will always be in charge; she loves to use the famous quote that I'm sure most other mothers use, too -

"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it!"

I've heard that famous quote a dozen times during my childhood and teenage years. Knowing my mother, there was a slight truth to her teasing threat.

A knock on the front door brought us all out of our thoughts. My mother finally finished grabbing all of the food and turned towards my dad. "Okay, Liam, answer the door, please." Mom stated.

Dad glanced around the room, stopping on me briefly. After giving me an encouraging smile, he walked out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

I felt my pulse quicken as my dad drew nearer to the front door. I knew that in just a few moments, I would see Thatcher, and I was nervous about how I would react when seeing him. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that I didn't burst into tears when my eyes landed on him.

I heard the front door open, followed by my dads deep voice greeting whoever was standing on our front porch.

"Hey everyone! Come in, come in!" Dad boomed in excitement. The sound of murmered voices erupted through the house, though I couldn't hear them good enough to know who it was.

My heart thudded in my chest as Thatcher's younger sister, Talia, entered into the kitchen. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in curls, and she was a lot taller than the last time I had seen her. Of course she had; it had been a year since I last saw her.

My mother immediately greeted Talia when she walked into the room, pulling her in for a small hug. I stood back by the table, training my eyes at the open doorway. I felt incredibly nervous to see Thatcher, and I hated it. I've never in my life felt like this about seeing my best friend.

Next, my dad walked into the kitchen while talking to Thatcher's dad, Tritan. He stood just as tall as my own father, with the same dark brown hair as Talia and Thatcher. He looked the same as he did a year ago, which wasn't a shock.

When werewolves turn 26, their aging process slows way down, and they remain youthful looking for decades. That is why werewolves live for so many years, because we don't age very fast at all; we also don't get many sicknesses or diseases like humans. It is incredibly hard for a werewolf to get sick, unless we are exposed to wolvesbane.

Thatcher's mother, Portia, followed after her mate into the kitchen. She had a darker blonde colored hair that stopped a little ways past her shoulders and curled around. She was incredibly beautiful.

I knew that at any moment Thatcher would walk through that door, and I would run to him. I missed my best friend beyond words, and I couldn't wait to see him.

I heard him before I saw him. My mother greeted Thatcher before he even walked through the open doorway, and his deep, rough voice echoed through the kitchen.

My entire body stiffened at the sound of his voice, causing shivers to erupt down my spine. His voice sounded like a beautiful melody to my ears, and I felt as if I could listen to it for the rest of eternity.

His smell hit me next, like a punch to the gut or a freight train smacking into me. A manly pine and honeysuckle smell wafted into my nose, and it took all I had to hold back a moan. My eyes closed briefly as I took in as much of the scent as I could.

I hadn't noticed when Thatcher's voice cut off suddenly, or when he walked into the kitchen and froze. Only when my eyes opened again did they land on his. Electric blue eyes bore back into my own, almost drowning me in them; I couldn't bring myself to look away.

"Tessy?.."