The Chosen One

Chapter 6

Friday

The day at work was a complete drag for Francine. He didn't show up. She was irate all day. Angry at him. Angry at herself. Just generally furious. She needed to vent, get intoxicated, and find a distraction. That was all she was certain of.

Every Friday night at 'Slither', a local band performed, so they all congregated, ready to get slightly inebriated and have a good time. Starla had invited Mina again, and she was quickly becoming someone Francine would like to call a friend.

Dave arrived late, looking every bit the rock star as he strutted through the crowd, appearing all brooding and moody, even though he was secretly a big softie. His good looks weren't lost on the ladies who practically swooned as he passed them and wrapped his arms around Francine, lifting her up playfully.

She saw the envious glares his admirers shot her as he lowered her and kissed her cheek, his lips lingering there just a few seconds more than necessary. He was doing it on purpose to rile up the jealous women who were currently plotting her demise.

"i***t," she chided him, laughing while trying to look stern and angry. She failed miserably because he just laughed at her. She loved that they could just laugh together, no stress, no craziness. Being around him was just easy, unlike with a certain someone else she could think of. He truly was an i***t.

"I'm gonna grab a drink. Does everyone want refills?" Dave asked, surveying the half-empty glasses at the table they were sitting at.

They all nodded in approval at the prospect of more alcohol, and Nomer offered to go help. She hoped he went with him to try to get to know Dave a little better so that they could become friends one day. Maybe their little discussion before the movie night did sink into his thick skull.

"So Dave... is he your boyfriend?" Mina questioned curiously with a frown as if she was trying to piece the puzzle together and coming up short.

"No... no, we are just friends," Francine lied. Well, she kind of lied. He wasn't her boyfriend, but they weren't exactly just friends either. The truth was, she had no clue what they were, and now things were even more complicated.

"He is so hot," Starla perved, staring at Dave's ass as he stood at the bar. Francine rolled her eyes at her, thinking how badly she needed to get laid!!

"How are you liking it here so far?" There was no way this topic was going any further, so she steered it far away from Dave and her tangled web.

"It's quaint... cute. I like it. I just wish Brent wasn't quite so busy, but our alpha is adamant on straightening out your pack again and building bonds between us," Mina explained, clearly having some insider knowledge since her mate was the pack beta.

"You miss him," Francine read between the lines and couldn't help but hear the sad tone in her voice.

"Oh goddess, is it that obvious?!! I miss him so much it hurts," Mina stared sadly into her empty glass.

"I know it doesn't help much, but my dad is so grateful for the support your pack has offered us. The way Brent and your alpha have begun to train the warriors is next-level impressive. My dad might not show it, but the attack on the pack impacted him a great deal," Francine admitted, hating the feelings that stirred inside her at the very thought of why they had needed Mina's pack to help them in the first place.

"Brent loves what he does, and he is so amazing at it. But I can't help but miss him. I know he is just doing his job, but if I had it my way, he'd never leave the bedroom if I'm honest," Mina's sadness suddenly drifted to a lighter mood as she winked at them and threw her head back laughing at her own bold admission.

"Okay, that's a little bit too much info, Mina," Starla scoffed, turning her nose up, not wanting to hear any more about Mina's s*x life. But apparently, that wasn't possible.

"I'd tie him to the bed and ravish him all night long... I really wanna f**k his brains out right now!" she continued, pressing her thighs together at the thought.

Starla and Francine looked at each other and then at Mina, cringing as they wondered how she'd feel in the morning when she realized what she'd told them. She'd clearly had too much alcohol already, she was a total lightweight, and she'd shared a bit too much information.

Mina seemed like a fairly quiet, private kind of person, so Francine had a feeling that she would regret her actions in the morning when the hangover hit. She knew Mina would begin to recall what she'd told them about her s*x life and getting all aroused, which was really kind of awkward since they had only met her the day before. Mina would be extremely embarrassed.

"Wow, it's true what they say about the mate bond then?!" Starla desperately wanted to find her mate. Francine knew she was keen to feel that bond.

"Maybe your mate is in the Sacred pack, Star," Francine suggested. Perhaps he was out there just waiting to find her on the other side of the forest. She hoped he was for Starla's sake. Starla put on a good show of being happy, but Francine knew her too well to be fooled by that act. She was lonely. She craved her mate.

Francine hated knowing she felt that way and there was nothing she could do. "We could visit Mina at the packhouse over the weekend and maybe you'll find him."

"That's a great idea," Starla perked up, smiling excitedly.

"Umm, no, you can't visit. We aren't really settled in yet. There are boxes everywhere. The alpha is pretty stressed out right now," Mina sobered up fast at that as she started to list off excuse after excuse as to why they couldn't visit her, leaving Starla shrugging back into her chair defeatedly.

"Ok, fine," Starla sighed sadly.

"Just give us a few days to sort ourselves out first, yeah?!" Mina sensed Starla's mood change and compromised, with a distinct look of reluctance in her eyes. Francine watched her curiously, wondering why she didn't want them to go to her pack.

Nomer and Dave returned with their drinks, and Mina insisted on dragging them up to dance. As Francine went to stand up to follow the others toward the dance floor, Dave reached out and wrapped his hand around hers, pulling her so she was facing him as he sat in the chair.

"Stay here... keep me company," he pleaded, gazing up at her like a lost puppy.

"You could come dance with us?" she countered, trying to avoid falling for his pouting lips and the faux sad lonely look on his face.

"I can think of much better things we could be doing," he said suddenly, yanking her by the hand. Before she knew it, she was on his lap, and his lips were on hers.