Fate's Eclipse *Book 2* FREE READ

Mate's Best Friend

::Sarah's POV::

    I didn't know what to think of it, but I blamed myself for not expecting it to happen. It was just so obvious that the meeting meant bad news. But there is also another conundrum , why was Veronica here? Even though she was said to be his best friend I couldn't shake away the feeling of suspicion. 

    ''Can I be your best man?'' she gleamed at Drake.

    ''Uhhh...'' Drake couldn't look more confused.

    One word, she was blunt. I don't think she had a filter between her thoughts and her mouth at all. I don't even know this woman, but was she sincere about her request? 

    ''Awe come on Drake!'' she pleaded.

    Once again Drake didn't know what to say except, ''If the luna accepts you.''

    Her attention quickly shifted to me, eyes still gleaming of course.

    ''I-'' why's he put me on the spotlight like that?

    ''It's okay if you don't answer right away,'' Veronica assured, ''I would be just as confused if I was put in your shoes right now.''

    ''But,'' she smiled, ''This gives us some time to get to know each other before the 20th.''

    ''I dunno how to feel about that,'' Jen narrowed her eyes.

    Neither did I.

    ''Where will you be staying at?'' Drake folded his arms.

    Veronica was gulping down her last bit of her beverage, ''Well, maybe at your place?''

    Aw hell no.

    Drake shook his head, ''This isn't like before Ronnie.'' there's that name again, ''All rooms are occupied at the mansion.''

    So she's been there before? Silly me, of course she did, they were ''child hood best friends'' after all.

    ''What are you here for anyway?'' I wanted to end this night.

    ''Oh,'' she rifled through her purse and pulled out a scroll, she showed it to us, ''I'm going to be your escort to the meeting!'' she shut her eyes and smiled.

    I could feel like Jen was about to take over my body with the amount of stress she was enduring. Drake carefully examined the document and then looked over at me.

    ''It has been ordered.''

    The only thing that caught my attention was the words Megan instilled into me with that call. Only Alpha bloodlines can attend the meeting, which meant she had alpha blood coursing through her veins!

    ''Check please.'' I announced.

    ''Baby-'' Drake tried to put his hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it off.

    ''Save it!'' I stormed away from the table and made my way out of the restaurant, leaving the two behind.

    I used to have internal dilemmas all the time, but tonight was unbearable. Too many emotions have exhausted Jen and I. There was nothing we could do about how the way things worked with alphas. The fact that I couldn't attend but Veronica could made me feel envious of her. She was extremely beautiful, carefree of her actions, and privileged since birth. And now she was permitted to stay within territory and catch up with Drake. I don't think catching up with Drake was a bad thing, but we have to expect the unexpected.

    I took a cab home and received a text from Drake reporting that he was heading home as well. He included that Veronica has settled to stay in an accommodation in one of the territory's hotels. It was called ''Prowler's Inn''. 

    I settled myself into the bedroom and automatically had that dreadful feeling like I was being watched. I closed the curtains and made sure everything was locked. Melody knocked on the door and delivered me food, despite my tummy still being full from earlier I could not resist the dessert she presented. It was a homemade cinnamon roll quite similar to cinnabon's. It's aroma filled the room and I set it down by the bed side table.

    Drake came into the room about 20 minutes after, we barely talked but we were so exhausted we found ourselves falling asleep anyway.

    ''Was today ruined?'' Drake mumbled underneath his breath.

    ''Well- not entirely, but it did have its cons.'' I truthfully answered.

    ''Yeah- I wasn't expecting that to happen. I'm sorry love.'' he cooed.

    ''It wasn't your fault.'' I reassured him.

    ''So your answer was yes?'' he snuggled closer to me. Inching like a puppy who didn't feel its mother nearby.

    I couldn't help but chuckle at his childish actions, ''Yes, it was a yes.''

    I felt him sniff the back of my neck which sent chills down my spine. He sent those shivers right back up with his finger gliding along my back, ''I can't wait for our honeymoon.'' he deadly whispered, ''But you can always ask for a preview anytime.''

    The thought thrilled me, and some parts of me were beginning to jolt awake, but he gently flung his arm over me, cupping me close to his chest.

    ''I know baby, I will restrain myself.'' he mumbled before instantly falling asleep.

    ''You're such an ass.'' I giggled before joining him in slumber.

    The next day came, and Veronica was up and at our door bright and early. She joined us for breakfast in the dining hall, shamelessly inviting herself in.

    ''So what's your plans for today?'' she muffled through a full mouth of pancakes.

    Drake chuckled, ''I see you've never changed that habit of yours.'' 

    ''Oh shut it you love it!'' she swallowed.

    Wait. Didn't he find that trait of me cute? Was he finding it cute in her too? 

    ''Well I have leader duties to catch up on so I won't be available today.'' Drake scooped his bacon.

    ''What about you?'' she directed to me, ''Wanna hang today?''

    That was an instant shot up for a red flag. 

    ''Sure.'' wait- I did not say that! Jen!

    ''This would be a good opportunity to pry her out.''  she calculated.

    Drake was surprised by ''my'' instant response but maybe I needed to know if she was being genuine. 

    ''We won't leave the mansion if you feel uncomfortable, and if you do you can also have someone come along.'' she offered.

    Why did she offer all the counters to my suspicion yet, I still couldn't settle with it. I agreed to have someone come along.

    I texted Billy, who agreed happily. It was still nice to know he would be there for me. As the day shifted to noon, Drake disappeared into his office but before he did, he told me to not hesitate to contact him if anything went down. He said he trusted Veronica, but times have changed and he hoped she didn't.

    Billy offered to drive us to wherever we wanted to go, so we decided to go to the mall. I never been to this pack's territory mall and if I thought the one back home was huge this was beyond compare! It looked like a hotel from the outside. 

    ''This is the Crescent Mall.'' Billy said while eyeing for a parking spot, ''It holds over 1,000+ stores inside.''

    ''This is where Drake and I first met,'' Veronica half smiled, ''Looks like it hasn't changed much over the years though.''

    Luckily, Billy found a spot near the entrance of the mall. As we entered through the automatic doors a whirl of different aromas hit me at once! The scent of fresh clothing, shoes, high end perfumes, and much more was absorbed into my nose. The ceilings seemed to touch the sky, there were escalators trafficking the shoppers in every floor. The main court was a huge circular shape with a crescent moon symbol in the middle of it. 

    The mall was bustling with customers. There were some locals, some wealthy looking ones, and tourists of all kinds! I was getting filled with excitement until I heard a squeal coming from behind us.

    ''Hey baby!'' Janet ran up to Billy and was scooped of her feet then twirled around like a princess.

    ''Hello love. Thanks for joining us.'' Billy's words were happy yet it stung me.

    ''Uh...'' I awkwardly blurted out.

    ''Janet knows the mall best.'' Billy put her down and gave her a cute smooch to her forehead. She received it with sparkling adorable eyes, ''She actually shopped at each store at least twice that I know of.'' he joked.

    ''No it's true,'' she redirected her attention to us while holding his hand, ''This is like my second home.''

    s**t.

    I thought it was only going to be Billy who was going to accompany me, but having Janet there was going to make things harder. I can't tell them I was hunting that night either, that would have given everything away. But, I felt uneasy to the maximum. With Billy fully acquiring the mate bond with her he basically sold his soul to her demands. She was marked as well, but even I barely knew who she was. And the way she once treated Billy before all that was horrible. 

    ''You gotta see the clothing lines first.'' she begged, and started going to the north wing of the mall.

    Usually most clothing stalls in malls were similar, they would sell resembling seasonal clothing. But not here, no sir-ree. Every store had their own specific theme from trendy, to holiday, to cultural, and much more. It wasn't until then when we were passing by a wedding dress shop. There was a model in there promoting a prepossessing ballroom gown. It was elegant and twirled around easily. The glitz and glamour on it along with her jacked up look made me feel like she was actually getting married.

    ''Early window shopping huh?'' Veronica called behind me.

    I didn't say anything.

    ''You know,'' she eyed the shop in interest, ''I dunno if he's changed, but he used to love ball room gowns too,'' she winked at me.

    I still didn't say anything at all. I was trying to focus on the dresses and that alluring dress model. It was the perfect excuse for the distraction.

    ''Sigh,'' she actually said the word, ''I wonder when I will meet my mate.'' and scurried off to join Billy and Janet.

    Oh, that's right. I hadn't noticed that she was not marked this whole time. I know she was of age, but why hasn't she found hers yet?

    ''Don't be sympathizing for her.'' Jen glared at me.

    Right. We had to stay focused.

    As I caught up to the group Janet seemed thrilled to be a tour guide, explaining the ins and outs of the shops, who were the good workers and the bad. She outta just be the CEO of the mall with all her knowledge. There was one thing currently on my mind. Who exactly is my mate's best friend?