Friday Night

It was Friday night. Friday night meant a lot of things to people but to the Mountain Coast Pack's adolescents, it meant parties. The type where you could feel the booze flowing in your bloodstream and it would put your mind into a temporary haze. The type where the music controlled your movements and nearly burst your eardrums. 

The type where the squeaking of beds above, the moans, the groans and the grunts didn't bother anyone. Why would it? It couldn't simply because it was Friday, and Friday was the one day when you could forget.

Bree fell into the one percent of the pack's adolescent population that didn't enjoy these parties. Maybe she was the only person that didn't enjoy these parties. She never needed to forget anything, and she didn't want to forget anything. 

Now it was a different story though. She needed to forget the fact that in exactly two weeks, she would be turning eighteen and could possibly find the person to whom half of her soul belonged to.  

Presently, she was in front of the full-length mirror in her room, inspecting her appearance before she went out to a party in an attempt to forget. She wore a red dress that hugged all her curves. Her boobs were pronounced and her butt was even more prominent than it usually was.

As she walked into the party, she was hit with the smell of weed, sweat, and alcohol. All around the room people were just dancing, grinding, kissing, and partying. Some couples looked like they wanted to find a room and tear at each other's clothes.

"Bree!" she heard a screechy voice say.

"Oh. Hi, Sarah," she replied.

Sarah Kayes was the definition of mean. In her whole high school experience, she'd had only one boyfriend, but Sarah Kayes broke them up. She walked in one both of them having sex, and she had since stayed away from males from that time.

Most of her anger was aimed at Ryan Nelson because he was the one she had been dating. He had made a commitment to her and he went back on it. She wasn't really heartbroken over anything. She even wanted to break up with Ryan soon anyway. She just didn't expect it from him because before he was her boyfriend he was her best friend. 

She also knew that Sarah and Ryan continued to see each other after then. Even if it was just sex, it hurt to know that Ryan had once been her best friend and now he hardly looked at her. On the rare occasions that they made eye contact, he would give her an awkward smile, look down, and walk away.

"So what are you doing here? You don't seem to be the party type."

"I'm not," she answered, turning around.

Bree walked away from her, making sure to bump her shoulder on her way. She grabbed a drink from the closest stand and gulped it down at once. All of a sudden she felt free.

Wow! This alcohol is good, Bree thought.

It took some really good alcohol to get a werewolf drunk and she had taken only a sip and now she felt like she was on top of the world.

I'm totally going to regret this, she thought.

She felt the music take over her body and guide her to a crowd of people dancing, who were just as lost in the music as she was.

When Reece walked into the party, he didn't expect to find his girlfriend's sister dancing in a sexy way as if she was some sort of temptress. All eyes were on her, but she didn't even notice that.

Why am I staring at her? Reece asked himself. I love Ariana. Ariana Connor is my one and only true love love. Though there is no certainty she is my mate, I love her still.

You don't know what love is Reece, his wolf, Ray, said to him.

I think I do, Ray, Reece answered him.

The only love a wolf can experience is with their mate, Ray said.

That's bullshit, Reece said.

Blocking out his wolf's thoughts, he focused on Breeana. As he watched her body move to the beat of the music, he noticed the differences between her and Ariana.

Ariana's eyes were a chocolate brown color while Breeana's were a type of blue that looked like the waters of the ocean. 

Ariana was mature and sassy but had a certain authority to her that pulled her to Reece in the first place. Breeana was quiet and she kept to herself but demanded respect. She was definitely the strongest young female in the pack. Reece seeing her like this right now was different. He knew that for sure.

The relationship between Reece and Bree was complicated. They could stand each other but they didn't like each other at all. Reece thought she was too reserved and always had a sarcastic reply to everything. He always felt bad for Breeana's mate anytime he thought of her.

The people around him were shifting from their positions and Reece looked up to see what was going on. Everyone had formed a circle around the middle of the dance floor and as he walked closer, he could see what was happening.

There was Breeana, in the middle of the dance floor, dancing with reckless abandon, and surrounded by many people.

If Reece didn't know any better, he would have thought she took dancing lessons. Her hands were touching her body erotically but in an innocent way. 

How the hell was that possible? Reece asked himself.

Maybe it's only erotic to you, his wolf said in his head.

Ray, just shut up, Reece replied exasperatedly.

He could smell the lust coming from all the males in the room. He was fairly certain that they could smell his too, but could they blame him? 

Before he even knew what was happening, he was already standing behind her. He placed his hands on her hips and her ass moved against his crotch. They started moving together to the beat and his hands went to her neck. It was like he was possessed. He couldn't help but bring her closer to him.

She had to be intoxicated because Breeana Connor would never dance with her sister's boyfriend even if her life depended on it. Hell, she wouldn't even dance with anyone like this. And she also hated Reece.

Fuck! I'm her sister's boyfriend. I have a girlfriend, Reece thought. 

He walked up the steps of the gigantic house, and used his hearing to find Allen, the future Gamma.

"Allen! Get your ass over here!"

Allen walked in with a drink in his hand and Reece almost rolled his eyes. That was typical of him.

"So I heard you've been doing some dancing, huh?"

"Shut up."

"What? Come on, man. You're going to be the Alpha soon! When do you think you're going to have time to party with the hottest girls around again?"

"I've got a girl, man."

"A girl that isn't your mate. So what do you plan on doing once you find her?"

"Reject her," Reece answered coldly.

This was what he hated about werewolves. They placed this importance on mates and unless the person you were with was your mate, no one really respected your relationship. To him, he and Ariana actually had a real relationship unlike most of the other people their age who just slept around.

"You can't reject her, man. If you were anyone else z then maybe it would work. But as Alpha you have a responsibility and rejecting your mate will do nothing but bring this pack to its knees."

"Ariana is more than fit to be a Luna."

"No doubt there, but can she be your Luna? Can she handle you like your mate would? Not to mention a heir can only be produced by two mates."

"My heir will be my problem, not yours." Reece was seething now.

"No, your inability to produce an heir will be the pack's problem and I'm not sure if they'll handle it well, Reece."

"They will stand by their Alpha!"

"They wont stand by a weak one. They wont stand by an Alpha who rejected the most sacred blessing of the moon goddess."

"Everything will be fine! Damn it!" Reece growled.

"No, it wont. You know it, I know it, your father knows it, hell even Ariana knows it," Allen said.

"I love her, Allen. She is my life."

"Wait till you meet your mate, Reece. Trust me, your love with Ariana won't compare to the one you will have with your mate."

"I won't love my mate. She will never be Ariana."

Gulping down the bottle of beer, he thought about what Allen said. He was right about some things but the fact that Reece loved Ariana didn't change. He couldn't give up someone he had spent his whole life with because of someone he didn't know.

I know I shouldn't have fallen in love with her, I know that. But now, I'm in too deep and I don't think I can escape, Reece thought.

You don't love her. You know that, his wolf told him.

I care about her, he answered defiantly.

Then stop lying to everyone by saying you love her when you don't! Ray said, seething.

I do love her, Ray, and I always will.

Wait till you meet our mate, Ray countered.

I will only ever love Ariana and only Ariana.

Really? Then why were you dancing with Breeana? Why did you feel the need to be with her if you really love Ariana? Ray asked.

It was a mistake, Reece answered with a little guilt.

You and I both know that if you go in there right now, you will take her to your bed faster than you can blink, Ray challenged.

That's not true.

You're lying to yourself, Reece. Just wait till the time comes.

After that statement, Reece tuned him out. He needed to see Ariana.

She was the only one that relieved his stress and made his worries go away. She listened to him and didn't think of him as an Alpha but as a regular person.

Goddess, I love that woman, he thought.

He rushed over to his car and drove to her house as fast as he could.

We will prove them all wrong, Ariana, all of them, he thought.

He used the key that the Connors had given him to open their front door, and then he stepped into the house. Then he started hearing some strange sounds.

"Yes, Ariana! Just like that!"

What the fuck?

He could hear the bed squeaking, the floor shaking, and the moans of Ariana and that of a male. As he walked up the stairs, he hoped that this was all in his head and that the girl he spent years loving wasn't making love to another man. A man that clearly wasn't him because here he was walking toward her room.

Reece reached Ariana's room. The room that they had spent so much time in, talking about the future. The future they had planned so well together.

Opening the door, the smell of sex instantly hit him in the face. Ariana was on top of a man, riding him and looked to be having the time of her life if he was judging by the expression of pure bliss on her face. Her eyes met his and a sad expression took over her face immediately.

Reece pushed her off the man and started punching him. His fist struck the man's face multiple times. Soon his face was red and covered with nasty bruises. Blood dripped from his nose and Reece was pretty certain that he knocked a tooth out.

"You dared to disrespect your Alpha!" he growled.

The man struggled to keep his eyes open and flashed a cocky smile because he knew that there was no way he would live through this.

"It was worth it," he managed to get out through his swollen lips.

"You bastard!" Reece said, lunging toward the man.

His fist continued to connect with his face, and the color of his face morphed from a pale white to dark purple mixed with the crimson red of blood.

"Reece!" Ariana yelled from behind him.

The rage took over him completely and not even Ariana's desperate cries could make his wolf stop. Her eyes were glossy and her knees trembled in her naked state. She looked at him like he was a monster. The disgust in her eyes was clear but what stuck out more was the smell of fear.

"How could you? You nearly killed him!" Ariana raged.

"He knew what he was getting into when he slept with you, and stop it with all the drama, will you?"

"You're a monster!" Her words were filled with pure hatred and shock.

"Ariana, I'm an Alpha. I don't take this shit lightly."

 

"You aren't even the alpha yet! I can't believe I ever loved a monster like you!"

"Maybe you didn't know me at all, because l've always been this way," Reece said.

"I hate you! I fucking hate you!"

"Don't talk to me again, Ariana. Don't even breathe near me!"

"This is all your fault, Reece! If you would have just been faithful and didn't go around dirty dancing with some random whore then this would never have happened!

"I was faithful! Reece growled with anger. "And don't even talk about loyalty with me, considering I walked in on you riding a man just now!"

"I did it for revenge!"

"What fucking revenge do you want? I didn't do anything! I barely even danced with her!" He was trying to explain himself now.

"I bet she seduced you, huh? And you just couldn't resist getting your hands on her! Wait till I get my hands on her!"

"That is enough!" Reece growled.

"Or what, Reece? Are you going to kill me like the monster that you are?"

"I loved you! I wouldn't hurt you Ariana!"

"If you loved me you then you wouldn't have danced with some dirty slut. But of course, you did. You showed your true colors as the man whore that you are!"

Somewhere inside of Reece, rage bubbled as Ariana called Breeana, her own sister names, though she didn't know that it was her sister.

"Dancing and fucking aren't even on the same level, Ariana!"

"I don't regret it! He sure made me feel so good!" Her eyes glimmered with victory as she said that.

He couldn't believe her and the look in her eyes. Ariana Connor was the sweetest person he knew, so how was she capable of doing something so hateful? It was like looking at a stranger.

"If you don't want to me fucking kill you right now, Ariana, you better shut your damn mouth!"

His wolf pushed forward, taking control and demanding respect but Ariana was not giving it. The look in her eyes was the epitome of fear. The fear that was instilled in others was like a drug for Alpha. It gave them a sense of power and fed their need to be superior, and Reece loved it.

"You are not my mate and you will never be my mate because mates don't do things like this. And you know what? l don't give two fucks about who you sleep with because I don't care about you any more than a regular pack member!"

"I... I..." Ariana was stuttering now, trying to form words that wouldn't come out.

Reece felt himself regaining control of his body and he pushed forward. He was livid.

"I'm going to make your life a living hell, Ariana!" With that, he stormed out.