Bestie’s Alpha Brother – On New Year’s Eve, I found out my dear husband and supposed best friend were having an affair. The evening started well enough, though looking back I’m not sure how I was so blind. I remember walking down the gray-on-blue hallway to Ethan’s hotel room while looking forward to surprising my mate on his business trip and making some happy memories, the kind that had been scarce with us lately. I was really hoping Ethan would be glad to see me. I thought we might resume our discussion of having children. At thirty-five, I was still in my prime for such things, but time was getting on. Ethan was only two years from forty himself. I put on my brightest smile and knocked on the double doors of Room 1893. The door swung open to reveal Ethan wearing nothing but a white, hotel bathrobe and an expression of anxious surprise.
Keeping my smile, I looked down to his exposed neck and collar bones, ready to make a joke about his answering the door naked, when I heard a woman’s voice call out. “What’s wrong, dear?” Olivia, I thought, and my stomach went cold while my face flamed red hot. “What in the world?” I demanded, shoving past my husband and a cloak of Olivia’s perfume she was wearing. Inside the decidedly luxurious suite, I saw an opened bottle of champagne and two crystal flutes, clothing scattered about the room, and, yes, a pair of Olivia’s signature, red-soled Louboutin pumps on the floor near the blue velvet sofa. Olivia walked out of the bedroom wearing nothing but a white sheet wrapped around her sari-style, and all I could do was stare at her. She had always been so much prettier than I was, and now so many years my junior at twenty-eight with flawless skin and thick blond hair. I had always thought of her as my adorable little sister. So, what was she doing here with my husband? “Ava,” she said, her voice and expression sneering. I felt my heart start to pound. I turned to Ethan, who looked a little frightened. But then his perfectly dimpled chin went up.
He steadied those broad shoulders I’d long admired, and his wedding ring disappeared into his dark hair along with the fingers of his left hand. “I realize how this looks, and I’m sorry,” he said. “I assure you this began with an attraction we both tried to fight. Neither of us is to blame for—” “That’s not true,” Olivia said. “You’ve taken everything from me, and now I’m taking it back.” “What do you mean?” I shook my head, feeling dizzy. “We are friends. I would never take anything from you.” “I am the daughter of the late Alpha Adam,” she snapped, her eyes glittering with a hate so thick I could feel it pressing against me like some unclean beast. “But you! Acting as the Beta’s wife like you were my mother, making everyone think you’re some saint while they ignored me, and marrying the man who should have been mine from the beginning.” I was so confused. I never realized Olivia was interested in Ethan, who was ten years older than she was. I also thought Olivia didn’t care about anything that wasn’t shopping or going out with friends. The few times I had tried to talk with her about pack affairs, Olivia looked positively bored.
I tried to explain what I could. “Ethan and I only took on the pack’s administrative duties because Chris left. You had no desire to rule our pack. You told me it was too much trouble.” “I said that as a child!” she growled. “Now I want to be Luna.” “I don’t understand,” I said, working hard not to cry, not yet. “Your brother is coming back soon. He holds the Moonstone and will take over as Alpha. You can’t marry your brother. You can’t be Luna.” “You are so stupid,” Olivia said with a laugh. “Chris left years ago and has no intention of keeping the Moonstone. Now Ethan and I will be the Alpha and Luna.” Helpless, I looked to my husband. His face was now oddly blank, and he shrugged. “Olivia has convinced Chris not to inherit a title he’s never wanted. As Olivia’s mate, I will rule the pack with her.” “Never wanted?” I looked back at Olivia. “Just because he’s been studying abroad—” “Chris was never going to be Alpha,” Olivia snapped. “Chris has found all the success he wants in the Human World, while the rest of us bring Moonstone Pack to its full dominance.” I tried to process everything. Ethan said, “Tomorrow, Chris will give me the Moonstone. We’ll set him up with whatever financial means and apolitical title he prefers, and with my new mate, I will become the Alpha of Moonstone Pack, and Olivia will be Luna.” “But why?” I could only ask, my voice very small.
“If you loved Olivia more than you loved me, why would you marry me in the first place?” His expression momentarily softened. “I am sorry, Ava. We had something meaningful together, but I could never be Alpha while married to you. Surely, you can see what I have done for the pack. I deserve this.” My mouth fell open. I wanted to ask, “What about me?” I thought of the years we’d been waiting for Chris to return and claim his place without a real position in the pack, and without any real love, I was starting to realize, not if he could act like this. In that moment, I resented not only Ethan and Olivia for being like this, but also Chris, the boy I had helped raise along with his sister. I envisioned the young and skinny fifteen-year-old who had left the island with his favorite tutors over a decade ago. Why hadn’t he stayed and taken up our Moonstone Pack like he was supposed to? My mental image of Chris was replaced by the bright, callous sight of Olivia, standing there with triumph in her bright green eyes. Was this truly the girl who had been my friend? Years of helping to raise her, of looking out for her, of taking care of her, and now this? Olivia turned on Ethan. “Now, do what you agreed to do.
Break your bond with Ava and prepare yourself to bond with me.” She looked back at me. “I want to see you do it.” “Surely, tomorrow would be better,” Ethan objected faintly. “The pain involved—” “Break it now!” Again, I saw a glimmer of fear in Ethan’s eyes, but it was quickly gone. Then he steadied himself, looking at me coldly. He brought up his hands, closing his eyes to pull the power to the forefront of his mind, and then opened now-blazing eyes to intone, “You are no longer mine. I am no longer yours. We are nothing to each other. The bond is broken.” Pain like I’d never felt before flooded my mind, and the world went dark. At that moment, I felt I had been abandoned by the world. Until the most unexpected people came to my rescue. #CHAPTER 2: Meeting Ava POV I woke up to find myself lying on the sidewalk at the entrance of the hotel, discarded like a vagrant and chilled to the bone with a throbbing headache. I was almost completely numb, but I somehow could still feel pieces of the broken bond with Ethan inside me, slicing at my heart and stomach like shards of glass. A few people passing by gave me odd looks, the way Humans do. That’s right. I was in the Human World. I couldn’t even go home at this moment. There was a sea strait in between the Human World and Werewolf Territory.
Ethan said he had to spend his new year’s eve here because of some business with humans. So I was here for Ethan tonight on a ferry. Now I needed to wait for the first ferry tomorrow to go back to my home. I managed to sit up, and then, very slowly, I stood. I put my right hand against the metal frame of the hotel’s front door and let my head fall forward. The pressure behind my eyes beat in time with my heart, and I felt vaguely betrayed that it was still working, still pumping blood to a body that felt damaged beyond repair. I looked around. The street was a skyscape of colored lights. Christmas and New Year’s decorations merrily colored the thin layer of white snow on the sidewalk and streets. I scowled at it all for being so damn cheerful and looked down for my bag. There. As I unsteadily reached for my bag, I saw that my wedding ring was missing from my finger. Olivia must have taken it from my unconscious body like a grave robber, and the image that thought brought to mind almost made me vomit. After putting the strap of my bag over my shoulder, I leaned back against the entrance and let my head rest against the freezing gold-colored plate. It eased my headache slightly. Better yet, right across the street squatted a bar: all cozy wood, leaded glass, and neon signs promising IPAs and Bacardi.
I knew I should probably find myself a hotel room first. However, betrayed by my husband and best friend on a cold New Year’s Eve, I couldn’t resist a drink from a warm bar like this. I made it to the doorway, and a tall young man brushed past me. He smelled like expensive cologne, and something oddly familiar struck me about his stance and smooth blond hair. I looked up, but he was a stranger. His green eyes softly met my gaze, taking in my tear-streaked face. Snorting at his pity, I turned away and strode up to the uncrowded bar. The bartender, a well-groomed young man with colorful tattoos up and down his toned arms, nodded at me and put down a coaster as I took my place on a barstool. “Blue Sapphire on the rocks with lime,” I ordered, noticing the place was quiet for New Year’s Eve. There were only two other patrons at the bar, all nursing their drinks, and a few couples at the scattered tables. By the time the bartender returned with my drink, I was staring at my naked finger and trying to figure out my new life. What was my future without Ethan in it? Without Olivia? The thought of losing them hurt equally, as did my rage at their betrayal. I was blaming him, but had I ever loved Ethan, really, if I could feel that way?
I certainly thought I had. I sipped my drink, which went so warmly down my throat. “Blue Sapphire on the rocks with lime,” said a man’s deep voice as the young man from the doorway took a seat to my right. Huh. I thought he’d been on his way out. Again, I looked up to meet his green eyes and was struck by how familiar he seemed. “Hope you don’t mind,” he said with a calm smile. “It sounded so good when you ordered it. I thought I’d have the same.” The sense of familiarity intensified. “Have we met before?” His smile broadened, and I realized it had sounded like a come-on. “Are you a Human who lives around?” Embarrassed, I asked quickly to change the topic. “I’m a Werewolf.” “Oh.” I was surprised. It was rare to see another Werewolf wandering alone in the human world on New Year’s Eve. “Are you going home to visit family for the holidays?” “I haven’t been home for a long time. I prefer living here by myself in the human world,” he said, smiling as the bartender gave him his drink. He looked at it for a moment, took a sip, nodded, and set it back on the bar. “But I will go home tomorrow.” I guess he was one of those young Werewolves who decided to stay in the Human World, like Chris. “I have some family business to attend to,” he said next.
He looked over at me, and the lights hanging over the bar cut into his high cheekbones and across his straight nose. He had pale, soft-looking skin, and I wondered what he’d look like in his fur. “It isn’t something I’m looking forward to,” he admitted. “But if you don’t mind my saying, I’m guessing it’s not as bad as what you’ve been through today.” I was oddly charmed at his directness after the day’s lies and betrayals. “Betrayal?” he asked. His eyes were curious and kind even as I realized I’d voiced the thought aloud. I shrugged, realizing the pain was already a little less, though because of the alcohol or the company, I wasn’t sure. “I’ve been mated for years to a man I have to accept never really cared about me.” I held up my bare finger and showed off its little tan line from the ring. “Seems he prefers my best friend. Ex-best friend.” “Sounds like he had lousy taste,” the man said quietly, and though it was obviously a quip of off-hand charm, I felt my eyes pickle. I shook my head. “She’s beautiful and young. His preferring her to me actually makes sense. I just never thought he could discard our mate bond so easily.” I rubbed my forehead, which still ached, and smiled over at the man wearily.
Without really thinking about it, I found I was filling in a few of the details including the bottle of champagne for two and Olivia’s comment about taking her life. To my surprise, he started looking angry. “Are you saying your husband broke your bond? Just like that?” I nodded, a little worried about his vehemence. But his eyes turned soft again, this time with wonder. “And here you are, still standing. You must really be strong, enduring something like that and not having to spend the next week in bed.” I shrugged. “I fainted. Woke up outside the hotel. Dumped like a bag of potatoes.” I downed the rest of my drink and signaled the bartender for another. “Incredible,” he said, shaking his head. “Your exes are both idiots.” My mouth opened to thank him and tasted salt as a tear rolled over my top lip onto my tongue. His eyes followed its trail, and his gentle fingers brushed the wetness away. I closed my eyes, but the tears didn’t stop. Despite the fact I was talking to the most attractive man I’d ever met, I felt wretched and haggard, empty and brittle. An odd warmth came to my cheeks, and I opened damp eyes to see the man’s face was only an inch away from my own. He paused, then closed his lips to mine with a gentleness that made me gasp. Unlike Ethan’s commanding and aggressive kisses, this kiss offered deep comfort and such plain, honest-seeming desire I almost couldn’t think. I felt the day blur in my mind, and I welcomed it.