Rejected by my Best Friend (Book #1 in the RBMBF series)

Perfect for Him

Emeli

Tomorrow is Derek's birthday.

What the hell was I going to get the guy that had everything?

Everything might be quite a stretch, but maybe it's damn near close. He already had whatever teenage boys desired in life: money, girls throwing themselves at him left and right, and an extremely loud beamer.

What else could he ask for?

I looked at the time on my iMac, and reading 7:00 AM, I groaned. I was currently supposed to be getting ready for school. Instead, I was pacing around my room like a madwoman. Derek, my soon-to-be Alpha best friend, was a guy with expensive taste. He liked his things big and bold, and it was getting pretty hard to top that when I had competition.

In other words, I had to tackle the two-headed demon that latched herself onto Derek's back with a death grip, Gianna.

Derek and Gianna had been dating ever since freshman year. He'd been too blind to see how disgustingly rude she'd been to half the pack and I, and she'd been basking in the glory of possibly being the new luna. She'd even sworn up and down that when Derek's 18th birthday ball came around, she'd be the one he picked out to be his mate.

A mate.

My mother had told stories about mates. The whimsical stories of seeing my father and just knowing she was meant to spend the rest of her life with him; it just couldn't be beaten. As she would go into depth about her experience, I would imagine for myself what it would feel like.

In my little made-up love story, my mate would come to swoop me up into his arms like Prince Charming. We'd fall in love at a majestic ball after dancing the night away to something tender and slow. The room would feel comfortably empty; only our two heartbeats occupying the atmosphere. Then, if I had to flee before the clock struck midnight, he wouldn't stop until he had me in his arms once again. When the mini typewriter in my head conjured this tale up, it stuck with me to this day. I mean, every little girl wants to find her one true love eventually.

Now, you didn't really pick your mate, but fate did. Humans usually call something like this your "soulmate", but it's much deeper than that. Your souls are tied together for eternity; even once you reach the afterlife. Up until your late teen and early adult years, you won't know who your mate is, and it could be anybody. Your wolf, however, will develop a strong calling to their scent once the time is right. It's never a bad scent, either. It will smell like your favorite thing in the whole world, and it'll make you fall in love with them instantly. So much so, that it will be nearly impossible to reject them. I've been waiting for my mate ever since my mother told me those beautiful tales.

I hope I find him soon.

I finally jumped in the shower, making the water scorching hot before washing up and pondering on Derek's gift for a bit longer.

I don't understand what could be so hard about finding a gift for a friend that I've had since we were in diapers? He was always the yin to my yang, literally. Despite always having different friends and hanging with different people, we were always inseparable. Maybe I'm scared of being overshadowed by his wench of a girlfriend, even though I know he would never pick me over her.

Shaking off the thoughts, for now, I ended my daily shower thinking session and finished getting ready for school. I pick out a sky blue lace sweetheart dress, wedges, a bow necklace, and a ring Derek got me for my 16th birthday. I glanced at myself one last time before feeling satisfied and walking downstairs.

I lived in the packhouse with my parents. It was pretty huge and more isolated than most, but it was home. Only the top members of the pack resided in the house, while everyone else lived in houses scattered around the community.