Once Best Friend, Now My Bully Mate

AMANDA'S POV

I woke up quite early, my heart filled with anticipation. Tomorrow was my birthday, and also the day I was supposed to find my mate.

It's my eighteenth birthday, and as a she-wolf, that was the day I was supposed to find my mate. But I already anticipated who my mate would be.

Donovan Reed.

Donovan was the Alpha's son and the future leader of Silver Moon Pack. He had been my best friend since we were kids. And he was the only boy who had ever made my heart beat way too fast even when he was just breathing next to me.

So yeah. I prayed to the Moon Goddess to confirm my expectations tomorrow.

While I showered in the bathroom, I hummed like some Disney character. I came out of the bathroom, got dressed and practically floated down the stairs.

The smell of bacon was the first smell I heard as I descended down the stairs.

Mom already had breakfast ready. "Morning, sweetheart," she said, a wide smile on her face. She was also eagerly expecting me to find my mate tomorrow.

"Good morning Mom," I responded and took a seat at the dining table.

Max, my little brother who usually lived to annoy me, didn't look like his mischievous self today as he lifted his eyes to mine and said, "Happy early birthday, Mandy."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Max, what changed?"

He shrugged. "Tomorrow's important for you. I'm just trying to be nice."

Mom chuckled softly. "We're all happy for you, Amanda. I honestly pray the Moon Goddess blesses this family by giving you a good mate. Preferably Donovan."

Just that statement alone left me blushing. Mia, my fifteen-year-old sister noticed how my cheeks turned pink and rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Can we please stop talking about the mate ceremony? Amanda already has Donovan. Everyone knows that."

Mom frowned. "Mia, don't be mean. It's your sister's eighteenth birthday tomorrow. The least you can do is wish her well."

I leaned over and ruffled her hair. "Don't be salty."

"Please," she muttered. "I don't know what you see in that Donovan. I just hate how everyone treats him like he poops gold."

I grinned. "You like him, Mia. Admit it."

She scoffed. "Never."

We all laughed, until Mom shushed us and reminded us about table manners. Of course, we obeyed.

Breakfast ended quickly, and soon I was out the door, heart racing. Donovan promised to meet me at the willow tree before school. He said he wanted to spend the whole day with me, just the two of us, before my birthday.

But when I got to the willow tree.he wasn't there.

I waited from 7:10 a.m to 7:35 but he didn't show up.

So I decided to send him a text. "Hey, Donny, where are you?"

A few minutes passed with no reply.

Then I called him but it went straight to voicemail.

My excitement twisted into worry. Donovan wasn't the type to leave me waiting. He never missed my calls. He always answered me on the first ring even when he was in the middle of Alpha training, just because I'd had a bad dream.

He wouldn't do this to me. Especially now, on the eve of the most important day of my life.

I called a dozen more times, each ring echoing emptily before cutting to voicemail. Torn between waiting and going to his house, I finally called his best friend-and future Beta-Deven.

After my fifth relentless call, Deven finally picked up. "Amanda. Stop calling."

"Deven, where is he? Is he okay?"

"He's. fine. Look, he's not coming. Just don't wait for him, alright?" There was a strained edge to his voice, a hesitation I was too panicked to dissect at that moment.

My heart hammered against my ribs as I jumped on the bus, desperate to get to school and find my boy. Something must be wrong, and he's shutting me out to protect me?

But the situation at school was even worse.

People stared at me with unfamiliar glances. Whispers trailed me like shadows. Some even snickered as I passed. I tried to ignore it all, clutching the straps of my backpack.

By break time, my anxiety had spiked. Donovan was still nowhere to be seen.

I was heading toward the cafeteria when I overheard a group of girls huddled by the lockers.

"Did you see Donovan and Gloria together this morning?" one girl asked, her voice buzzing with excitement.

"Oh my goddess, they look so perfect together!" another gushed. "Gloria told half the cheer squad."

"Wow! I'm so jealous of Gloria. It's Donovan," a third sighed. "How many girls dream of getting close to him?"

"Don't even fantasize. We all know how possessive Gloria is. Rumor is they kissed! A hot, steamy make-out session! Gloria said once they confirm they're mates at the ball tonight, they'll mate. Donovan will mark her! She'll be our future Luna."

My feet froze to the spot, heavy as stone.

"What did you just say?" I blurted out, my voice shaking.

It couldn't be. Donovan had told me I was the only one he ever wanted as his Luna.

The girls turned, their smiles sharp and knowing.

"You didn't know?" the first one asked, feigning sympathy. "Gloria and Donovan. They're probably fated mates-"

"That's impossible!" I cried out, cutting her off. "Donovan wouldn't... he would never just..."

"Guess he would. No one can fight a mate bond. You've lingered around him long enough, you stinky Omega. It's time to give him back to the one he truly belongs to."

They walked away laughing, their words coiling like a serrated blade in my gut.

Was it true? Had Donovan found his mate early, and that's why he'd cast me aside? But what about all the sparks between us? I had been so sure we were destined. He promised me. he promised he would mark me as his Luna, mate or not.

I needed answers.

I ran, sprinting across the courtyard, my lungs burning, straight toward the open practice field.

And there they were.

My breath seized. My hand flew to my chest, clutching at my shirt as if to hold my heart together.

There, under the stark morning light, stood Donovan Reed-my best friend, the boy I had sworn the Moon Goddess made for me.

His arms were wrapped around Gloria. His closest teammates stood around them, cheering and whooping.

And he was kissing her, deep and claiming, as if I had never existed at all.

The world didn't just stop-it shattered into pieces. "Donovan.?" His name escaped my lips, a broken whisper, and I felt my heart crack wide open.

As if finally noticing my presence, Donovan slowly pulled away from Gloria. His gaze was cold, devoid of any guilt. Gloria leaned lazily against him, a smug smirk playing on her lips.

"Well, well. Look who decided to show up. The little puppy finally caught a whiff."

Laughter erupted around them, but I hardly heard it. My eyes were locked on Donovan.

An explanation. I needed to understand why everything had changed overnight. If he would just speak, I would listen.

"Donovan-"

He cut me off, his voice sharp and merciless. "Don't call me that. You lost that right."

The anger in his tone confused me as much as it hurt. I wasn't certain, but it felt like he was glaring right through me.

"What were you doing just now?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"Are you blind?" he sneered. "We were enjoying ourselves. Something you wouldn't understand."

"Enjoying yourselves?" My voice cracked. "You promised me."

"I don't recall promising anything to an Omega like you," he retorted, a mocking glint in his eyes. "You're all the same-full of sweet lies. Only a fool would believe a word you say."

The way he looked at me shattered what was left of my heart. The contempt in his voice was something he had never shown me before. I had never felt less in his eyes.

"What's wrong with you-" I choked back tears, stepping closer, my hand reaching weakly for his sleeve. But he shoved me away, hard. I stumbled and fell, my knees scraping against the rough ground. A faint twitch flickered near his eye, but he only took a step back.

"I'm done with Omegas like you. Stay out of my way from now on, Amanda. Or I'll make your life here a living hell."

With that, he turned and walked away with Gloria, not once looking back.

My knees were bleeding, but the pain was nothing compared to the sting of their laughter echoing behind him. This isn't the Donovan I knew. I remembered when I fell during training as kids-how he panicked, rushing me to the medic as if my scraped knee were a life-threatening injury.

Now, he looked at me like I was nothing.

What had happened?

Before I could even begin to process it, my phone rang, pulling me abruptly from my grief.

I swallowed hard and answered. "Mom?"

Her voice was tense, urgent. "Amanda, you need to come home. Now."

"What's wrong?"

"Something's happened. Just get home. Quickly."

AMANDA'S POV:

I rushed home, only to freeze in my tracks at the scene before me.

The front yard was in chaos. Our clothes, boxes, blankets, and even kitchen utensils were strewn everywhere like trash.

"What in the world.?"

Two Pack enforcers stood stiffly near the porch, faces grim. Mom was on her knees, sobbing. Max clung to her, his small frame trembling. Mia stood rigid, her eyes burning with a fury that looked ready to explode.

I sprinted forward. "Mom! What's going on?!"

One of the enforcers turned. "Amanda Porter?"

"Yes," I gasped, breathless. "What is this?"

His expression was hard. "Your father. Beta Nathan Porter. did not die in the rogue attack three years ago, as reported."

I stared, uncomprehending. "What-"

Everyone knew my father had fallen in battle three years ago. I remembered that day-the crushing grief, the hollow void it left in our lives. He'd died protecting the Alpha, falling from a cliff, his body never recovered.

Father and I were so close; it took me years to piece myself back together. Donovan had been my rock through it all. Mom told me to hold my head high, that my father had died with honor, that he was the Pack's pride, and that I must carry that pride forward.

If what they said was true. if he was alive. did that mean we.?

The second enforcer stepped forward, shattering that fragile hope before it could fully form.

"He didn't die. He deserted. He fled the battlefield and joined forces with the rogues."

My blood turned to ice. Denial surged first, hot and immediate. "That's a lie! My father would never-"

"Believe what you want," he cut me off, his voice cold and final. "The Alpha has passed judgment. Former Beta or not, your father is branded a traitor. And the punishment extends to his bloodline."

"Punishment?" I whispered.

The first official gestured dismissively at our scattered belongings. "Your family is stripped of all privileges. Your Beta rank is revoked. You are to relocate immediately to the Omega tenement."

"Honestly," the other sneered, "the Alpha is being too merciful. Traitors like you should be stripped and hanged in the square as slaves for life."

Mia exploded. "You can't do that! We're not traitors! My dad isn't a traitor!"

She lunged at the man who had spoken-the one who had insulted the father she had always idolized. But a young girl was no match for a grown wolf. Without thinking, I threw myself in front of my sister just as the official aimed a vicious kick.

Mia screamed. "Amanda!"

Max rushed toward me. "Mandy!"

It took me a moment to find my voice. I wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of my mouth. "I'm okay," I lied, though my insides felt shattered and shifted.

"Amanda..." Mia looked up at me from where I held her, her eyes brimming with tears. She was never a girl who cried easily. But I had protected her. That kick would have broken her.

I forced a weak smile. "Really, I'm fine, Mia."

Mom hurried over, pulling both of us behind her as she faced the officials. "How dare you treat children like this! The Alpha would never condone such brutality! I demand to see him!"

"You think scum like you still has the right to an audience with the Alpha?" the cruel one spat. "Stop stalling. If you're not in the omega dorm by tonight, you can sleep on the streets."

"Mom," I interrupted, stopping her before she could argue further. "It's no use. Arguing with them won't help. We need to find shelter first. We can figure out the rest later."

The guard laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Now you're talking. Know your place, rats."

I didn't answer, just held his gaze with a cold, steady stare until he began to falter. "What are you looking at? You think I'm wrong?"

"Whether you're wrong remains to be seen," I said, my voice low but clear. "But if the day ever comes when I prove my father's innocence, you will regret every single word you've spoken today."

He snarled, raising his hand as if to strike me. "You little bitch-"

The other official pulled him back. "Don't waste your time on trash. The Mating Ball tonight is what matters."

Once they confirmed our eviction was complete, they sealed the door with the Pack's insignia.

I felt Mia trembling behind me. Mom wept softly. Our lives were crumbling before our eyes.

I watched it all, my hands curling into tight, cold fists.

This would not be our end. I would find the truth. I would clear my father's name.

---

The fading sunset found us hauling our meager belongings into the designated Omega tenement.

The air was thick with the smell of damp and decay. Cracks veined the walls, the floorboards groaned underfoot, and a cracked window in the corridor was haphazardly patched with yellowing tape. Eyes followed us from cracked doorways-some held a flicker of pity, but most were hard with open contempt. A sneer echoed from a nearby doorway, "The traitor's whelps think they can live here?"

We found an empty room at the end of the hall. Mom collapsed onto a rickety couch, her face ashen. The stress had triggered her old ailment, and she curled in on herself with a soft, pained sound. Max clutched my sleeve, his small voice trembling. "Mandy. can I sleep with you? It's so dark in here."

Mia sat beside me on the thin, newly-bought mattress we'd spread on the floor, her knees drawn to her chest. "We can't stay here," she whispered, her voice frayed. "We are not traitors. we can't."

I rubbed her back, my own throat tight. The memories of our old life-my spacious bedroom, the bookshelf my father built, sunlit breakfast nooks-clashed violently with the damp, mildewed reality of these peeling walls.

"Amanda," Mia looked up suddenly, a desperate hope in her eyes. "Donovan will help us. You're his best friend. And if he's your mate. he wouldn't let this happen."

My stomach twisted into a cold, hard knot. I hadn't told them about what happened on the field. How the boy who used to wipe my tears and fight my battles now looked at me like I was something rotten. Maybe he'd known about my father's alleged treachery all along. Maybe all those years of friendship meant nothing.

Donovan Reed was just like the rest of them, born to look down from a height I could never reach.

"You have to talk to him," she insisted, her grip tightening on my wrist. "You have to. As the Alpha's son, he has influence. He can fix this."

A coughing fit from my mother cut through the tension. She shivered on the couch, and Max tried to tuck the thin blanket tighter around her. Pale moonlight filtered through the broken window, glistening on the unshed tears in my little brother's eyes.

I looked at the crumbling ceiling, at my mother's pain, at my siblings' fear.

My nails bit half-moons into my palms. I didn't want to see him. I couldn't bear to watch the stars in his eyes turn to ice again.

But the cold night wind whistled through the cracks, stirring my mother's graying hair. I closed my eyes, the taste of ash and defeat on my tongue.

"Okay," I heard myself say.

---

The path to the Alpha's estate should have felt familiar and easy, but my heart was a leaden weight in my chest. Whispers and pointed stares followed me the entire way, and I had to concentrate to keep my chin raised. The path was decorated with silver lanterns and moonstone crystals, festive and bright, a stark contrast to the hollow dread consuming me from within.

My thoughts churned, torn between the Donovan I'd known my whole life and the one who'd shattered me on the field. Would he help at all? What if he refused? What if he humiliated me again, here in front of the entire Pack? Could I survive that?

The clock tower chimed midnight, signaling the height of the Mating Ceremony and the official start of my eighteenth birthday. The distant sounds of celebration felt like a mockery. All the dreams I'd once woven for this moment lay in ruins at my feet.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing myself to remember my purpose: Find Donovan. Help your family.

And then I saw him.

My heart fractured all over again.

He stood across the terrace, wearing the formal attire I'd helped him choose last month. Gloria was draped on his arm, laughing up at him as if they'd just left the dance floor. He leaned down, pressing a tender kiss to her temple. A scene that should have been ours. A future he'd given away so effortlessly.

I wanted to flee. But in the very next second, his eyes snapped to mine across the distance.

And something. shifted.

A strange, dormant power stirred awake inside me, cutting through the heavy fog of my despair. His scent-really his scent, deep and wild like a storm-lashed forest-wrapped around me. The rhythm of his heart seemed to echo in my own chest. And a current, potent and undeniable, crackled in the space between us.

"Mate-" The word was a breath, a realization, torn from my lips before I could stop it.

He moved like lightning. In a blur, he was before me, his hand locking like a vice around my wrist. He dragged me into the shadowed alcove away from prying eyes before anyone in the crowd could even notice.

"Don't dare say that word!" he snarled, his voice low and venomous.

The raw hatred burning in his eyes was a final, brutal blow.

The boy I'd loved for life was killing my heart again.

DONOVAN'S POV

Something cold and vicious had taken root inside me, twisting around my heart like thorned vines, squeezing the air from my lungs.

Just two days ago, my world had been whole. Two days ago, I'd been counting the hours until Amanda's eighteenth birthday, anticipating the moment the Moon Goddess would irrevocably tie her fate to mine. Two days ago, she was still the girl with the pure smile whose eyes had always followed only me.

Then it happened. The thing that shattered everything, the thing we could never come back from.

I was supposed to hate her. This girl who had shattered something inside me. But I hated myself more for the way my blood still heated at the feel of her warm skin beneath my grip. I had turned 18 two months before her, and from the moment my wolf awoke, I'd known. She was mine.

And then she had ruined it.

"Mark her! She is our Mate!" my wolf roared, a primal demand I had to forcefully shove down.

"Donovan..." The way my name fell from her lips, trembling and tear-laced, was a cheat. If things were different, I would have crushed my mouth to hers, carried her to my bed, and made her moan my name until dawn.

But fate is cruel. I had learned the truth. I would not claim a female destined to be my ruin.

"Listen," I snarled, my gaze hard and unyielding. "I will never acknowledge you as my mate. And you will not dare breathe a word of this to anyone."

I saw the light in her eyes gutter and die. A part of me, the part that remembered, ached at the sight. I buried it deep.

"You," I hissed, "are an Omega now. A traitor's daughter. The very thought of you near me makes me sick. Don't forget my warning."

"So... this is really what you think of me..." Her lips trembled, but she stubbornly held the tears at bay. Damn her. A part of me was still captivated by the act. I clenched my jaw so hard I thought my teeth would crack, just to stop myself from closing the distance between us.

I released her arm as if burned, putting cold, deliberate space between us. "Yes. You were never worthy of me. Now, get out of my sight."

I felt her flinch. The wave of despair that rolled off her was palpable. My wolf thrashed inside, howling to comfort our mate. I strangled the impulse.

I expected her to break. To beg. To weep and plead for me not to cast her aside. We were mates. She was mine. Instead, she just wrapped her arms around herself, as if holding her body together, as if building a wall between us.

"Donovan, whatever is between us... that's one thing. But my family is innocent. My mother is sick; she can't survive in that place. For the sake of our past, I'm begging you. Just this once."

I shouldn't have let her words sting. This was the real her. Cold. Manipulative.

I let out a cold, derisive laugh. "Our past? What past? You didn't actually take all those childhood promises seriously, did you? If I could do it over, I would have never wasted a single moment on you."

She stared at me, stunned for a moment. Her hands curled into fists at her sides, and a familiar, stubborn fire flashed in her eyes. "But you said-"

"I don't care what I said!" I roared, the sound tearing from my throat. "You are dead to me, Amanda. Do not seek me out again. Or I swear, I will destroy what's left of your life."

I turned and strode away without another look. If I stayed a second longer, I couldn't trust myself not to fall for her lies all over again.

---

AMANDA'S POV

Watching Donovan walk away, I had never felt the cruelty of fate more sharply.

His retreating form was both familiar and alien. The bond between us still throbbed, a silent, aching wound, but it seemed I was the only one bleeding.

Donovan.

My best friend.

My mate.

The one person I told everything.

Had truly abandoned me.

That truth cut deeper than any blade. I could feel the newly awakened wolf inside me whimper in agony. Today was supposed to be the happiest of our lives. Instead, it had become a living nightmare.

I don't remember the walk back to the tenement. It felt like someone had ripped my chest open and left me to bleed out on the street. By the time I stumbled into our tiny living area, my whole body was shaking, my teeth chattering.

Mom looked up the moment I entered.

"Amanda? Sweetheart, you look terrible. What happened?"

The fragile dam of my composure shattered. A torrent of tears spilled over.

"He. he doesn't want me, Mom."

"What?" Her expression was confused, but her arms were already reaching out, pulling me into her embrace.

I inhaled her familiar, comforting scent, but it did nothing to thaw the icy void inside me. "Donovan." My voice was a choked whisper. "He said he would never acknowledge me as his mate. He said he would never claim me."

Mom gasped. I felt a tremor of anger run through her, but it settled into a weary calm. Her voice softened, taking on the same tone she used to sing me lullabies. "Oh, my baby. Come, sit down. It's alright. Everything will be alright."

"No, it won't," I sobbed, another wave of tears shaking me. "Everything is ruined. Everything is broken. He hates me now. And I don't even know what I did."

She rubbed slow, soothing circles on my back, just like she did when I was scared of thunderstorms as a child.

"He doesn't hate you," she murmured. "He's confused, fed lies about our family. He's young, and he's under pressure. Fear makes people do foolish things."

I pulled back, wiping my wet face.

"Really?" A flicker of hope sparked, only to be extinguished by the memory of his eyes-looking at me like I was garbage. My voice turned raw again. "No, Mom. He hates me. My mate hates me."

Her eyes dimmed. She placed her hands on my shoulders. "You're too young to understand the ways of fate," she said gently. "The Moon Goddess paired you for a reason. But if. if Donovan truly cannot see your worth, then perhaps the Goddess has a different, greater plan for you. You have always been a good girl. She sees that."

I didn't answer. After the cataclysm of this day, I didn't know if I could believe in a fate this cruel.

"Rest tonight, my love. Cry if you need to. But don't let this break you."

I cried until my throat was raw and my eyes burned, but it did nothing to ease the ache in my soul. I tried everything to fall asleep, but each time I closed my eyes, I saw Donovan shoving me away, heard his cruel rejection. I pressed a pillow over my face to muffle the sound, but it was useless.

I had a math test tomorrow. With my father branded a traitor and everything taken from us, school was my only lifeline now. If I wanted any chance at a scholarship, any chance at a future, I needed perfect grades.

So I sat at the small, rickety desk, wiping tears from my practice test as I reviewed quadratic equations. Fate might be cruel, but I refused to just lie down and take it.

My grandmother used to tell me that time was the greatest healer. Given enough of it, maybe I would get through this. Maybe.

---

The morning light did me no favors. My eyes burned, and a dull throb pounded behind my temples. Still, I forced myself through a shower, dressed, and made my way to the bus stop.

I had just stepped into the school hallway when I spotted my two best friends, Lila and Brinley, ahead. I tried to straighten my posture, hoping to mask the mess I felt inside.

"Hey, good morning!" I called out, forcing a bright tone as I quickened my pace toward them.

They sidestepped my approach in unison. The looks they gave me were ones of pure disgust, as if I'd rolled in mud and then waded through a sewer.

Brinley crossed her arms. "Don't talk to us."

A cold dread trickled down my spine.

Lila snorted, tossing her hair. "Are you really that clueless? Your dad's a traitor, Amanda. Everyone knows."

My stomach churned.

"Please. don't. You both knew my dad. He wasn't like that."

"Who knows?" Brinley rolled her eyes. "He faked his own death. Maybe the 'devoted Beta' was an act, too."

"Exactly," Lila chimed in. "The daughter of a traitor needs to keep her distance. We don't want any of that filth rubbing off on us."

Anger, sharp and hot, finally overrode my hurt.

I stepped forward, glaring at them with fution, "Really? That's it? After everything? Lila, when your little brother fell into the ravine during the winter hunt, who was it that rappelled down and carried him back up, risking his own life? My father! And Brinley, when your family's house caught fire, who organized the bucket line and ran inside twice to save your grandparents? My father! I considered you my closest friends, and you turn on me like this?"

Their faces flickered with a hint of shame, but their resolve held. "We can't afford to be associated with you," Lila retorted, though her voice had lost some of its edge. "Weren't you always boasting about being Donovan's best friend? Where is he now that your family's in trouble? Too scared to confront him, so you take it out on us? Pathetic."

The blow landed with brutal precision, draining the color from my face and silencing my retort.

As they drew breath for another verbal strike, a calm, steady voice cut through the tension. "The final bell for the exam rang twice already. If we don't hurry, we'll all be dealing with the proctor's wrath."

I turned to see Steven, a transfer student from last semester. He offered me a small, gentle smile-the first person today who didn't look at me as if I carried a plague.

I returned a grateful, if wobbly, smile and hurried toward the exam hall.

What I was missing was the sight of Donovan around the corner, his hand clenched white-knuckled around a steel handrail, bending it out of shape.