Beloved Alpha Mated With My Best Friend, I Turned To Mate With His Rival Chapter 09
I held his gaze without offering a single explanation, every sharp remark letting out months of bottled-up resentment. “Bonnie’s waiting for you at the pack house. Stop throwing a tantrum here and go back to your mate.”
“You know tonight was supposed to be our marking night with her.” He was testing me, gambling I’d grow jealous and beg him to stay. I responded with a detached, empty smile.
“You two are officially bonded mates; every part of your ritual is rightfully yours.”
“Eileen!” Barnett’s frame trembled, caught somewhere between unbridled anger and wounded desperation.
Mom watched their tense exchange helplessly and tried to mediate. “Alpha, Eileen speaks the truth. Your Luna waits for you at home; it’s improper lingering here.”
“I don’t care how long she waits!” Barnett threw caution to the wind and latched onto my wrist again. “You’re my girlfriend, and your feelings are all that matter. Say the word, and I’ll annul my bond with Bonnie first thing tomorrow.”
“Nonsense!” Mom flew forward and shoved him away, stunned and furious. “Have you completely lost your senses? Word of this would brand Eileen a homewrecker across the entire pack! You already have a legal Luna in Bonnie.”
“That isn’t true!” Hurt and helplessness clouded Barnett’s features. “Mrs. Sable, Eileen’s been my partner all along—I was the one hiding our relationship from your family.”
A sharp, ringing slap cut off his words across his cheek. Mom’s hands shook violently, all usual warmth vanishing from her features. “You’re exhausted from the day’s celebrations. Go home and rest.”
“Mrs. Sable…”
“Get out of my house!”
I’d never witnessed my mother fly into such a rage before; always poised and gentle as a high-ranking she-wolf, now consumed by anger and sympathy for me.
Barnett left eventually, yet refused to return to his pack house with Bonnie.
Later that night, Bonnie called me in tears. “I lost again to you, Eileen. Are you satisfied now?”
I struggled to parse her meaning as she rambled through hiccuped sobs. “You’ve always been perfect—beautiful, brilliant, everyone adores you while I’m stuck playing the plain sidekick beside you. Barnett’s gaze never drifted away from you, not once. Every time you gushed about loving him, I ached to admit I loved him too. So many suitors line up for your attention; why did you have to steal Barnett from me? I thought I’d finally beaten you at the mating ceremony, yet his eyes never left your form. Do you have any idea how terrified I’ve been all along?”
Her broken weeping laid bare years of simmering resentment, yet none of this was ever my fault.
“Bonnie, everyone has a right to chase their own happiness. I never barred any she-wolf from pursuing Barnett, and his final choice belongs solely to him. Years ago when you asked what I’d do if we fell for the same man, I already gave you my answer.”
Back then, I’d told her I’d step aside. I’d always cherished our friendship above romance, but she’d never trusted my word and instead turned our bond into a blade meant to stab me deep.