The Chosen One

Chapter 8

"Umm.. the Sacred pack.. no, I don't think I can. I'm busy. Real busy," Nomer said, flustered for some reason as his ears turned red like they always do when he is nervous, and he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously.

"Nomer, why are you being such a weirdo? Don't you want to help Star find her mate?" she snapped accusingly, raising her eyebrow at him menacingly.

"Of course, I do," he sighed as his eyes gazed at her full of confliction and something else she couldn't figure out.

"So come help us."

"I can't go to that pack," he stated firmly.

"Why not? I know the alpha is a hardass, but I promise I'll protect you from the big bad wolf," she joked, trying to get her tense friend to relax a bit.

"It's not the alpha. I just can't go, Icy," there must be something pretty huge going on to stop him and make him this stressed about it. Nomer never kept secrets from her or shied away from things. The two of them charged head-on toward danger, they always had done, regardless of the trouble it got them in.

"Nomer, you need to tell me what's going on because you are making me worry right now," she demanded, taking his hands in hers and squeezing them encouragingly.

"I found my mate in the Sacred pack," Nomer admitted in barely a whisper as if he could barely acknowledge it had happened himself, let alone to anybody else.

"Oh wow, Nomer, that's amazing... it is amazing, right? Why'd you keep it a secret then? Why do you look so sad about it?" Finding your mate was a joyous occasion that most people screamed from the rooftops, so something major must have happened for Nomer to look so defeated.

"I didn't tell anyone because everyone will be so disappointed," he uttered, clinging to her hands for dear life at this point as he stared at the bed covers.

"Hey, nothing you can say or do could ever disappoint me," she placed her fingers under his chin and lifted his face until he looked at her in the eye. His eyes were welling up and glassy with tears.

"My mate is a man, Icy. A man," Nomer blurted out between heavy sobs as he wrapped his arms around her and sunk his head into her hair, wetting it as the tears poured from his eyes like rain.

"That's nothing to hide or be ashamed about. I mean, you knew there was a chance of it happening anyways," she stroked his hair and placed a gentle kiss on the side of his head, trying to soothe the sad cries that were causing his entire body to shudder against her. Her heart broke hearing the pain he was in. Finding your mate was supposed to be the best feeling in the world, and right now, Nomer was just mortified.

"I know, but my mom will be devastated," Ahh, so there was the problem. Iris.

"Iris just wants you to be happy, she won't care who makes you happy as long as they are a good person," she leaned back and cupped her best friend's cheeks, making sure he could see the sincerity in her eyes. She knew in her heart that his mom wouldn't care that his mate was a man.

"She wants grandpups, Icy," it was obvious all he could see were negatives and obstacles that were standing in the way of him being truly happy. So, it was very clear her job was to destroy those damn problems and make Nomer see things more positively.

......

"Nomer, there are too many pups that end up with no parents for some reason or another. It's tragic, but those pups need someone to adopt them and cherish them," adoption was one of the most selfless acts a person could do, and it was true that their pack alone had pups that had lost their parents in battle or in rogue attacks and they were in need of loving people to care for them.

"What would I do without you?" Nomer questioned, moving back a little in the bed and stretching his long lean legs out in a more calm manner.

"Be miserable and die alone?!" she joked, smiling happy to see her best friend relax slightly.

"More than likely."

"So tell me everything about your mate. I need every dirty detail and I need it now!!" she said it jokingly, but half of her really did want to know all the juicy details!

"Well, his name is Devon, and he is one of the pack doctors. He was at training this morning to assess our fitness and suggest ways of improving it medically, I guess," Nomer's eyes glistened as he spoke about his mate, and it was so clear how smitten he was already. It was absolutely adorable to see.

"Oh, a Doctor, very fancy, nice catch, my friend!" she swooned. Doctors were highly respected members of the pack and held a similar rank as the beta, so everybody obeyed doctor's orders.

"So, is he hot?" she added, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"He is incredible, so hot. I freaked out the moment he approached me, but he was so kind and said he understood and he'd give me time to think things over. He gave me his number and asked me to text him once I was ready to talk."

"Oh my goddess, Nomer, he sounds perfect. That's so sweet how he totally got how you were feeling and just gave you space to think and process what's happening. What was it like? How'd you realize he was your mate?" she had so many questions and she was so excited by Nomer's news that she knew they wouldn't get a wink of sleep now.

"It was weird, I could smell this scent as soon as I got out of my car. It was like the forest mixed with expensive men's cologne, my mouth watered the more I inhaled it. The closer I got to the training field, the stronger it got. My heart started racing and my wolf was screaming at me more than I'd ever known before," Nomer closed his eyes and smiled as if he was reliving the moment in his head. She watched him in awe of the emotions he was feeling and how quickly the mate bond had consumed him.

"Wow, that sounds insane," she gasped, grinning at her happy friend, but then something he said hit her. 'My mouth watered the more I inhaled it' his scent??? No. No. No. She cringed internally and pushed her worry aside, hoping that tiredness was making her overthink things.

"Then there he was in the midst of everyone else, but all I could see was him like my eyes were blinded to everyone else. We just stared at each other. Then I realized and I lost it. I ran inside the pack house to look for you. I forgot you were at work early. He followed me and we talked for a little while."

"Oh, s**t, I'm sorry I wasn't there, but it was probably better that way because you got to chat and find out how