[GABE]
"See you at the assembly. And clean up well, will you? You smell worse than your bullshit," Tamiko said before he roughly opened the door, making sure to bow to Gabe as he left the room because he knew people were watching.
It was so obvious and if Gabe hadn't had his werewolf's speed, his people would have seen him down on the ground and how helpless he had been against Tamiko. Gabriel was more than just hopeless with Tamiko and slowly, he was realizing that, though he was in serious denial.
He had never expected that anyone wouldn't want him. He was the perfect poster boy for the wolf packs. He was strong, and powerful. He was handsome and a heartthrob. He was the man women wanted and the man that men wanted to be.
Hell, even parents wanted him for their children regardless of their gender and yet with all that at his disposal, they didn't mean shit to him. Instead, he was desperately yearning for the approval and love from the man he had broken more than once.
He knew it was all crazy, especially given how he had been cruel and rude to Tamiko earlier. But then he was sure that Tamiko wouldn't fold easily, and maybe that was what made it all interesting.
"Yho bro, are you ready for your announcement? I am still shocked you didn't get your mate. Or are you twenty-four?" Zakhar asked as he walked through Gabe's bedroom with Judd following closely behind.
They looked happy, something that came with having mates, and it was something that was painfully evading Gabe and he couldn't do much about it.
Tamiko was different from all the wolves in every sense. Gabe had felt the strength of his mate and he knew that Tamiko was like an alpha wolf, one that was definitely stronger than Gabe himself.
Perhaps he was a rogue alpha kid who had been saved by the Grealor pack, but why would his father let everyone step on the poor boy? It just didn't make any sense to Gabriel, not that he would try to dig and get answers.
He was too lazy and very uninterested in that. Instead, he was desperate for Tamiko to embrace him, or even look at him without anger or any scorn.
However, Gabe knew he would really be hoping for gold from the skies if ever the time came for him and Tamiko to even look at each other with love. It seemed impossible for him though he was a man who still hoped. Oh, how hopeless he already was even then.
"Yeah, I'm ready. Is it time already?" Gabe asked as he instinctively sniffed himself, a sight that got his best friends looking at him like he was going nuts. Well if it was any consolation, Tamiko had told him he reeked of bullshit, but was that enough for now?
Unknown to Gabe, it had been more of a command than a statement which was why he had done that to himself. It wouldn't even be surprising if he went on to take a shower, because Tamiko was a lycan and in every way, lycans were always going to be better than wolves.
At everything.
"Not yet, but we should start making our way there. Besides we will have more time to torture the freak today, right?" Judd said excitedly though he had seen how fast Gabe's face had changed from the smiley one to an angry one, back to the smiley face.
It was almost like their friend was suddenly delusional or he was experiencing paralysis on his face. Then again, Judd was smart enough to not ask any questions about what he had seen.
If their best friend wanted to talk, then they would always be available for him, but until then they would lead the lives they currently were, in the hope that perhaps the fates hadn't made any mistakes, right?
"Actually, I kind of feel tired. I want to be alone. I'll meet you guys out there. Do whatever you want," Gabe said as he plopped on his bed, face first, making his friends worry for him. It was clear that not having a mate was fucking with his brain.
But then he had a mate, one that seemed too dangerous and unbeatable from afar. Gabe knew he would have to find a way to get Tamiko and him on the same page, but what would the price be for that? What would he have to part with? His sanity perhaps?
"Gabe—"
"I won't die of a broken heart, Zakhar. I just need to gather myself to face the whole pack and let them know that I'm twenty-five, and mateless despite being the first-born son of the alpha, or even the fact that the beta's dumb son already got his mate.
"I just need to sort my thoughts for a moment, please. I'll be fine, besides, when am I never okay, right?" Gabe said tiredly to his friend who just sighed in understanding. They all had heard the stories of the mateless alphas and it was safe to say that their friend was in deep shit.
It would be a little too hard for Gabriel to manage himself, and his impulses, not to mention the fact that he would have to practice complete control when he was around Tamiko, something that bothered the hell out of him.
"Alright then. Get some rest. Also, your room is dirty, I already sent someone to call the freak to do the cleaning," Judd said and Gabe sat up so fast that his friend looked at him wondering why he was being weird with them.
"I don't need that outcast near me today. I'm not in the mood to see him. So make sure he doesn't show up here. As for the room, there are enough servants in the pack house for that. Just go be with your mates for now, I'll be fine," Gabe said, shooing his friends.
Even that didn't make them worry any less for him. Instead, they wondered whether the world would change completely for him, especially now that he looked like a rejected wolf rather than a wolf who didn't get his mate.
Or perhaps it was because Gabe had always been hopeful that he would get a mate. Maybe that was what had fucked him up a little more than he had anticipated, yeah? But hadn't he been the one who had screwed up first?
"Damn, you're acting like he is your mate. Anyway, we'll get going and don't sleep for too long. You just have an hour left before the alpha comes to find you himself.
"We both know it would be a little too hard to explain to him why you are in that state," Judd said like he knew something that they didn't know, but did he, or was he just trying to press his lucky buttons with his best friend who looked a little too devastated?
"Go away, I want to sleep," Gabriel said and his friend just sighed, as they walked out the door, with Gabe shutting the door behind them. He wanted to make sure they didn't come back to disturb him or even flaunt their mates to him.
"Tamiko, Tamiko. What should I do with you? Damn, love can be lonely at times, fuck," Gabe defeatedly asked himself as he plopped back onto his bed.
Maybe he would be able to get some answers and find a way to get the outcast to warm up to him, but would he win where he had already lost more than once?