The Alphas Mate

8.

Layla'h

I wake sometime in the early hours of the morning. Lexi's in bed next to me snoring, it takes me a couple minutes of wondering what she's doing there before the events of yesterday come back to me. Chris, some she-wolf I don't know, them making out, me racing home, I faintly remember Chris commanding me to shift but after that not much else. I'm not 100% sure now I got to bed or who dressed me. It's really not that important, just remembering what happened yesterday has tears running down my face again. I try to keep quiet so that I don't wake Lexi but it doesn't work as another sob rips from my throat, she rolls over to face me wrapping her arms around me holding me tight while I cry. My tears start to slow down and I can finally get words out.

"Lexi, he... he.... why Lexi, why did he..." Okay words not a whole sentence but Lexi seems to understand what I'm trying to say.

"I know babes, I saw him too after you run passed me at full speed. It's going to be alright." She tries to comfort me.

"But why Lex, do you know why?"

"I don't know, with everything that happened yesterday with getting here and then Mazie and the fight and cleaning up and you passing out and them leaving I haven't talked to any of them so I don't know." It sounds like she doesn't know anything either, it doesn't help me feel any better. Neither of us have any answers, it doesn't help me decide what I should do and it doesn't help the tears from falling. By the time I stop crying I think I've run out of tears, I don't think I have any left, I'm just confused. It's just about time to go to training when Lexi tells me she's not going before reaching for her phone on the bedside table.

"Hey Luke, we're not coming to training this morning and can you let the ladies know that self defense isn't on today either. Umm not really, yeah about 3 this morning. Yeah probably a nap. Ah hah. So....." this is Lexi's half to the conversation she's having with Luke, I only understand the first half of it after that nothing so instead of lying here listening to her I decide to have a shower hoping that it might magically make me feel a little better. Here's to hoping right. I let the hot water rain down on me until it turns cold. I don't know how long that took but I spend the whole time trying to push away the images of Chris making out with the she-wolf in his office. I don't want to think about it any more. Turning the shower off I climb out and dry myself off wrapping the towel around me before heading back into my room to try and find something to wear. I manage to find some panties, sleep shorts that just look like really short, short shorts and another one of Chris's tshirt, no bra but this is the best I can do. All the rest of my stuff is at the pack house because that's where I've been for over a month now. Lexi's still in bed but sitting up leaning against the headboard.

"Sorry I used all the hot water." I say weakly to her. She just waves me away.

"It's fine, I can go home later and shower and change. Luke said he will get someone to cover the self defense class for us today. He sounds dead tired, apparently they were up all night with an over the phone meeting with another Alpha that they couldn't get out of." She looks away from me and shifts around on the bed nervously. "So umm.. Luke said some things.. and ummm..." she continues on after a bit. s**t this isn't going to be good if she's this worried about telling me whatever it was the Luke said. "Just spit it out Lex, I'm sure it really can't be any worse." I tell her waiting to see what she says as I sit down at my dresser to brush my hair.

"Well I asked Luke what the hell happened yesterday and well apparently Alpha Wade showed up for the meeting yesterday morning just as Luke and Rhys where getting home from training and he brought his daughter with him, his daughter Jenny." she trails off for a minute giving me a little time to think. Jenny, Jenny. Mmmh I sort of faintly remember someone saying the name yesterday but I'm not 100% sure.

"Anyway Luke said that when they all walked in yesterday Chris had just come out of the kitchen and was on his way up the stairs when Alpha Wade called out to him, he stopped and turned around to greet them and that's when Jenny and Chris saw each other for the first time. Luke and Rhys intervened when they worked out what was going on and kept Jenny out of the pack house all morning and Chris in meets until lunch. They all thought it was safe to leave him for a couple of minutes because Jenny was supposed to be out with the Omega and you would be home soon and then Chris could talk to you. None of them knew that Jenny had discussed she didn't want to hang out with the Omega anymore and had gone to find Chris instead until they heard me yelling." She spits all this out as fast as she possible can, while I look at her confused at what she's getting at here. Is it supposed to make me feel better to now know the name of the she-wolf who was making out with Chris or that yesterday morning was the first time they had meet or that the boys had tried to keep her away from Chris by getting one of the omegas to babysit her. It doesn't change the fact that I watched Chris make out with her like I didn't even exist. She must noticed how confused I am by what she's trying to tell me.

"Layla'h, Jenny is Chris's mate. They are mates. The boys were trying to keep Jenny awake from Chris so that he could talk to you about what you guys were going to do so that he had a decision before he talked to her so that if you two had decided to choose each other then he could explain it to her and reject her. They explained it all to Alpha Wade and Chris and your history together everything was going fine until we got home. I don't know what happened yesterday and why we found them making out together Luke didn't know he hasn't had time to ask Chris about it." she finishes with a shrug looking like she wasn't really sure what she should be doing.

They are mates. Chris found his mate and now he's leaving me. They are mates. It just kept bouncing round in my head. Mates, mates, they are mate, Chris is Jenny's mate, Jenny is Chris's mate. Over and over as we sit there in silence. Lexi so unsure of what to do or say so probably choosing the say and do nothing until I give her some sort of hint. Me not doing or saying anything because I have know no idea what to do or say or even think. They're mates. Chris isn't my mate he never was, we have known for months now. He found his mate and I haven't and now I don't have Chris either. He has a mate.

Suddenly all I have the urge to do is get out of here, get as far away from here and Chris and Jenny and what happened yesterday as possible.

"Lexi can you do me a favor?" I ask slowly as I think it all through in my head. I can go, I only have two weeks until I was leaving anyway, I'm 18 now Chris signed control of my trust months ago, so I have money. I to drive to collage find a hotel for the next two weeks, get my books while I'm there and that way I don't have to spend a second watching Chris with her, I don't have to see him or watch as he feels bad letting me know he has a mate and is choosing to be with her instead of me because it's the right thing to do and we had already discussed that if either of us find our mates we would let the other know and call off whatever this was between us. I really don't want to have to see them together not even for a second more then what I already have.

"Yeah, what do you need me to do babes?" Lexi questions.

"Can you get all my stuff from the pack house please, I don't really feel like going back there at the moment and I don't have any clothes or anything here. Can you bring it all here for me please." I ask almost pleading with her to do this one thing for me. I don't want to have to go myself but I will if she won't do it for me.

"Sure thing. I'll go now that way I can have a shower and none of the boys should be home right now and I should be able to get everything and be back before they finish training." she says as she climbs out on bed. Oh thank the goddess, she is the best friend ever. She's not making me go there and she's not questioning why I want all my stuff. I think she knows I don't want to see them, I don't think she knows that I'm currently planning in my head to leave pack lands today and maybe not come back. Lexi gives me a hug and says goodbye as I watch her leave using my car to get back to the pack house for my stuff. I finish brushing out my hair as I wait and think. I have breakfast, I collect any of the things left in my house that I want to take with me that Lexi and I were supposed to pack up last night before every thing went to s**t and I wait. It's after 8am before I hear my car coming down the road so I already know that Lexi got court by the boys at the pack house. I just don't know if she got court getting my stuff or just being there and I ideally wonder how bad it was. Did she see Jenny, was Jenny with Chris, where did Jenny sleep last night. Did Chris ask about me, does he care. These are just some of the stupid thoughts running through my head as I sit at my dinning table listening to the sound of my car get closer and closer. It finally pulls into the driveway and I continue to wait. It's going to suck saying goodbye to Lexi, we both knew it was going to happen but nether of us planned for it to happen today, and before we both knew I would be coming back to visit on weekends and holidays and right now I'm just not sure that I can do that. I just need to get out of here and get some space to heal and hopefully move on away from Chris and away from Jenny.

Lexi walks through the front door freshly showered and all smiles.

"Did you get caught before, during or after you got my stuff?" I question, genuinely wanting to know.

"Ahhh after, the boys got home while I was having a shower and well I still got caught. Chris saw your car parked in the drive and thought you were home so he went straight to his room and noticed all our stuff gone. By the time I finished having a shower and got downstairs he was already freaking out and he had pretty much ripped the pack house apart trying to find you." she says cringing so bad it looked like she needed to use the toilet, I couldn't help but laugh at her.

"Okay, so what did you tell them when the saw you?"

"Well" she starts dramatically dropping into the chair across from me. "Chris pretty much interrogated me, about where you were, why your car was there, where all your stuff is, why you didn't come back with me, if you were alright, did you know what happened yesterday and about Jenny. On and on that fucker went, took him ages to shut up long enough for me to be able to answer even just one of his questions. And it just got worse when I told him that you were still here and that I borrowed your car so I could have a shower and get changed and you asked me to grab your stuff while I was there because you had no clothes or anything here." she stops long enough to take a big breath before she starts again. "Then he just about loss it because why didn't I just get you a change or clothes and he really needs to see you to explain everything, and why couldn't we all just get out his way. Man I'm telling y'all if Dad hadn't shown up for another lot of meetings with Alpha Wade Chris would have been here before I even made it back. So after what I saw you can guarantee he is going to show up here at some stage today." she finally finishes sucks in a huge lung full of air before letting it out and slumping back in her chair like she can finally relax.

"Woo, umm okay. That all sounds like it was a lot."

"Yeah, don't worry about him showing up here. I'll stay so I can deal with him so you don't have too." her tone is gently like she's trying to reassure me everything is going to be fine.

"It's alright Lexi you don't have too. I decided while I was waiting for you to get back that I'm going to leave early for collage. I have my trust fund now I can get a hotel for the next two week and finish getting everything sorted."

"No, what. You can't leave me early like that. What am I going to do without you?" she cries.

"I was always leaving Lex, we both knew it was about to happen it's just it's going to be a few days earlier then planned. I can't stay here and see them together Lex, I just can't. There would be no way I would heal and move on if I had to see them every day." I plead with her hoping she will understand the pain I'm in. How automatically I feel alone again, maybe even more alone now then I did when I lost my parents because at least when they died I had Chris. Now I don't have him, he's not mine and really never was.

"I get it Layla'h, I do. Doesn't mean I'm happy about it and you can bet every cent you have that I'm gonna let my stupid brother know that I lost my best friend early because of his dumb ass." she pouts while still being able to look pissed off.

"Can you maybe not tell anybody until like tonight or tomorrow that I've left, you know give me a head start." I ask hoping she agrees but at the same time I'm not going to be mad at her if they get it out of her as soon as she goes back to the pack house, the boys can be assholes like that when they want to be. Neither Lexi or I were able to keep a secret from them growing up.

"Just you know at least give me enough time to get cross the pack boarder before you spill the beans."

"You know I will hold out on all of them for as long as I can girl. When are you going to go?"

"I was sort of thinking now. I need to change clothes first but I think the sooner I go the more of a lead I will have. You said they are in a meeting now. So I can leave and you can go home and it will still probably be a couple of hours before they realize your home again and not here. A win for both of us that way if you can't hold out for long after the work out somethings up at least I won't be on pack land any more." I explain my plan to her thinking it makes lots of sense to me. Luckily Lexi's sitting there nodding her head so I know she agrees even though she sad I'm leaving.

"Yeah okay, I think we could work with that. Maybe I could go home, pick up my car and go shopping to buy you even more time. Of course I'll be walking home from here so that gives to at least 30 minutes if we leave at the same time. I could hang here for like an hour then leave, walk home, quietly get my car, going shopping, maybe get a mani, pedi. Go home mid to late afternoon which gets you almost a whole day. If I can hold out on them until at least after Chris as come here then made it back to the pack house it'll be dinner time." nodding her head to herself as everything she thinks instantly comes out her mouth while all I can do is watch in amazement, I was just trying to get two hours head start, she's over here trying to work out how she can get me a whole day. "Yep this will work." she agrees with herself. I can't help it, I jump from my chair pulling her to stand with me so I can hug her. She is the greatest friend a girl could ask for, I don't know what I'm going to do without her with me everyday.

"I love you Lex, you are amazing and I'm going to miss so you so much but I promise I will call and text you everyday."

"I love you too Layla'h. Now go and get some clothes so we can get this show on the road while I make myself a nice big breakfast. Oh and don't worry, I'll clean your fridge and cupboards out for you tonight or tomorrow."

Letting go of each other I run outside for some clothes while she head to the kitchen, grabbing clothes and my makeup bag I head back to my room change and do my makeup quickly so I can go. After another long hug and promises of phone calls I grab the rest of my stuff and leave.

Almost two hours after I've left I've cross over the boarder out of pack lands before Lexi calls me to let me know she got home, got her car and is currently driving into town to do some shopping and none of the boys saw her so we are still all good. We walk until she gets to where she's going. It's not until 2pm that Lexi's next call comes in. She shopped for a couple of hours and then got the mani/pedi she was talking about which killed 4 hours of the day and she just wanted to let me know she was on her way home. The girl is insanely amazing she has giving me a 6 hour head start so far and is even giving me a warning the we could be found out in a matter of minutes. We both laughing your ass's off, I think she is secretly enjoying herself specially bring able to keep a secret from the boys for the last 6 hours. We taking guesses on how much longer she's going to be able to hold out for when I hear.

"Oh s**t. Why are they all standing around outside for. f**k! I gotta go babes. I love you but Chris is heading straight for me." she hangs up on me before I can even say goodbye. 6 hours I mean it's a good head start and Alpha Wade is still there so it's not like he can come after me right. I only have 4 more hours to go.

I only get another 30 minutes of peace and quiet before the first phone call comes in. I'm not sure if it's because she's cracked or because Chris went to my house either way it doesn't matter I don't answer his call. The phone rings, goes to voice mail, rings, goes to voice mail over and over again. I think he's rung me 10 times already. I finally get sick of listening to the ring and spot a gas station up a head. I need fuel any way and a couple minutes away from my phone would be nice. Fueling up I then go to the bathroom before getting a cup of coffee and some snacks for the road. All up I'm able to drag the stop out for 20 minutes. That's 20 minutes between Chris's last call and Luke's first call which comes through just has I'm getting back in the car. Which can only mean Chris went to my place and was ringing me while he was there. It takes him 20 minutes to get back to the pack house where he looses his s**t again and Luke tries calling. Just as I hit ignore on Luke's call a text from Lexi comes through.

Lexi: holding strong. this is so much fun, just heard Chris get home. Hiding in the bathroom 'having a shower' to buy some more time xoxox

Me: Only you would get kicks out of something like this. Love you xxx

Dropping my phone in the center console I hit the gas and get back on the road.

Chris

"Where the f**k is Lexi!" I rage as I storm back into the home slamming the front door behind me. I fucken knew something was up the second I saw her pull up the driveway saying she went to get a mani/pedi while Layla'h was sleeping. I knew there was no way Lexi would leave Layla'hs side after what went down yesterday but I choose to believe her wasting time racing over the Layla'hs house to check on her, wasting time banging on her door calling to her even though her car wasn't in the driveway, wasted time standing around there trying to ring her, wasted time having to come all the way back here to try and get some answers. When I should have known from the start something was up. She gone and I don't know where she is, if she's alright, when she left, how far away she is, is she coming back. I need all of these questions answered. I need to talk to her. I need to make things right. I need to fix it. Where the f**k is Lexi!

"LEXI!" I yell at the top of my lungs storming through the house. Rhys and Luke come out of the kitchen to see what the hell is going on, closely followed by Dad, Jenny, Alpha Wade and Alpha Xavier. s**t when the hell did he get here. Luke's the first to speak up.

"What the hells going on now man?"

"Where is Lexi I need to talk to her." I can't keep my anger to myself, they must all feel it rolling off me in waves, Jenny watches me for a couple of minutes before she steps towards me she must decide she's going to try calm me down. I've been avoiding her all day, with s**t still a mess with Layla'h I just can't deal with Jenny at the moment.

"No!" I put my hand up making her stop before she gets anywhere near me, then I turn back to Luke. Lexi is his mate he must know where she is.

"She's upstairs having a shower." he finally answers me.

"f**k!" Raking my hands through my hair. I grab the strands between my fingers pulling trying anything to release the pressure building behind my eyes.

"What's going on Chris?" Dad asks me.

"She's gone. She's fucken gone and I don't know where she is or how long she's been gone or if she's alright. She's not answering her phone. She's fucken gone Dad. Gone." It's like saying it out loud it finally hits me and my legs wont keep me upright anymore as I sink to the floor dropping my head in my hands.

"f**k, she didn't answer my call either." I hear Luke say.

"No, I wouldn't do that. Just leave him alone for a minute." comes from Rhys, I have know idea what's he's talking about or who he is talking to and I really don't care at the moment.

"Jenny I thinks it's best if you go upstairs." this from Alpha Wade.

"What a fucken mess." that's Dad's two cents.

"I'll have a word with Jenny and try to keep her away from him until this is all sorted out." Wade again.

"Yeah, probably a good idea." Luke and Rhys agree with him. I do too really even if I don't say it out loud. I don't want to talk to any of them I really really badly need to talk to Layla'h so that I know she's okay. It feels like I need it to be able to function properly. I pull my phone from my pocket and try calling her again and again it rings out before I hear her sweet voice for her voicemail greeting.

"I'm almost 99% sure I'm not busy I probably just don't like you but if you're sure I do then I'm busy and you should leave a message." beep. I'm not sure she likes me at this point in time so I don't leave a message.

"Right well I'll be upstairs if you need my help with anything." Wade says before turning and heading upstairs.

"I'll head home and talk to your mother and see if she's there. I'll ring if I find out anything." Dad pats me on the shoulder as he walks out.

"Come on dickhead, get off the floor lets go to our office and try to fix this s**t fight." Rhys pulls me from the floor by my arm, pushing me down the hallway to my office. I collapse in the closes seat while the others file in behind me, taking seats around the room.

"She's my best friend. I've seen and talked to her every day for the last 18 years and now I don't even know where she is. What am I supposed to do?" I ask the group at large hoping someone had an idea.

"I fucken told you to be carefully from the start, I warned you something like this could happen specially after the state she was in on her birthday. It goes both ways you were all she had after her parents. Yes we're all friends with her but you were the one she went to when she needed someone. All this s**t has got to be killing her. What a fucken mess. I warned you Chris. I fucken warned you." Luke finishes with a defeated sigh.

"I don't want to make this worse but she could be in danger too." Rhys throws out there.

"f**k!" I slump over in my chair rubbing my hands across my face I had forgotten about Mazie. "I think I'm gonna be sick." I breath out.

Xavier

I've stood by quietly watching s**t unfold having no idea what the hell is going on round here or what's gotten Chris so worked up but as I look at him now he looks like a man on the verge of cracking.

"Does someone want to share with the group what the hell is going on?" I ask to no one in particular.

"It's a really long story man." Beta Luke speaks up.

"I don't mind. I'm here it's already 7:30pm I'm obviously not going home tonight because we still have business to discuss and we wont be able to do that until this is sorted." I say waving my hand in Chris's direction.

"True. So Layla'h and Chris have been together every day since the day Layla'h was born. We all grow up together and she is technically Lexi's best friend but we all knew it was Chris for her and her for Chris. They were close, when Layla'hs parents died Chris was the only one who could calm her down, she would have nightmares in the middle of the night and Chris would have to go hop in bed with her to get her back to sleep or if she couldn't sleep she would go and curl up in Chris's bed. If you couldn't find her during the day she would be curled up as a little blob in his bed. Even after she was older and she convinced Dan to let her buy a little one room house on the edge of town, she would have dinner here at the pack house then go home. 30 minutes to an hour later Chris would be gone from the pack house too. Chris got her throw her first period, helped her buy her first bra, taught her how to drive. Everything and anything you can think over Chris did with her."