Joshua

"You left without telling him?" Mark asked me in disbelief, giving an exasperated look.

"Oh come on, how could I tell him? He's heartbroken right now. I didn't want to drop the bomb and make him even more upset," I defended with a sigh, letting my head drop into my hands.

Mark sighed, taking a sip of his drink. We'd decided to head out for one more night before we had to leave. Tomorrow morning, we would be packing up and making our way back to our pack. Peering into my drink, I let out a sigh of my own. He was right, of course. I should've told Wren that I was his mate. That would've meant I could stay longer and figure something out with him. Instead, I was going home knowing my mate is here, completely oblivious. It stung quite a bit. In fact, I began to rub at my chest a bit at the thought of leaving Wren like this. But what else could I do? I didn't want to bring his world crashing down on top of him.

"Joshua, you know I love you, man, but you have to tell him before we leave. If I have to make it an official order I will," Mark threatened.

I shook my head, not wanting him to force me with an alpha command. Deep down, I knew he had my best interests at heart as my best friend, but he didn't understand. Wren deserved more than a half-baked explanation as to why I never told him we were mates and waited until then to say something. He deserved to be swept off his feet.

My frustration continued to boil in my chest as I threw my drink back, letting the alcohol burn a slow path down to my stomach. Maybe it could distract me from the ever-growing pain in my chest. "You don't have to force me, Mark. I'll try to tell him I swear," I answered him, my eyes focused up at the ceiling.

When I looked back at him, he gave me a smile and a pat on the back. "Let's relax for now. No need to get worked up just yet."

We drank for a few hours as the pain in my chest slowly became numb. After paying, Mark and I both supported each other as we stumbled to the packhouse. The night air clung to our skin as we trudged along, but all I felt was the dull buzz that spread throughout my entire body.

"I wanna' see him so badly," I whined, my voice slurred slightly.

Somewhere in the back of my head, a voice chastised me for drinking so much. I could get into serious trouble for presenting myself like this, but I couldn't help it. It took specially-brewed alcohol for werewolves to get properly drunk because of our naturally higher metabolisms and I definitely had enough to do the trick. My thoughts faded in and out, jumbled about as I tried to keep up with Mark.

Mark laughed, shoving me lightly. "You could've been with him right now but you chickened out," he said with a lazy grin.

"Shut up! I know," I replied, letting my head drop.

He didn't have to rub it in my face. I knew I messed up so I didn't need Mark to remind every moment he could. Just the thought of what could've happened cut through my buzz and the aching in my chest flared up again. If I had told Wren, what would he have done? Would he have accepted it? Accepted me? Would he have rejected me right then and there? It already felt like he rejected me. He rejected the idea of a fated mate, so that meant he was indirectly rejecting me right?

The realization of that stopped me in my tracks. He told me he'd given up, told me he didn't think he'd ever get a fated mate. And did he seem to really care? The tightening in my chest told me no, he didn't care about that. My hand flew up to press against my chest, right where I'd been feeling that constant pain for so long. How had I not noticed it had been growing worse, how hard it had suddenly become to breathe properly?

"Josh?" Mark asked, his voice laced with concern.

"I-" The moment I tried to explain myself, my throat tightened up, the backs of my eyes burning as I realized it was true: I was being rejected, slowly but surely, and it was my fault.

My knees suddenly went weak, my body collapsing to the ground as the pain spread out across my body, my ears beginning to ring. Panic seized my body along with the pain as I realized I was going into shock, the rejection was finally catching up to me. I'd continued to hope for so long but it finally dawned on me that this was it, Wren would never accept me even if I did tell. He'd reject me and go back to his alpha boyfriend. How could I ever compete?

"Josh, holy shit!"

The voice of my best friend echoed around in my head, but it didn't help the pain that pulsed throughout my entire body. A groan slipped from my lips as I began to lose feeling in my entire body, my brain slowly giving up on the fight. The ringing continued, growing louder as Mark's sudden cries for help grew fainter.

The last thing I felt before slipping away was warm arms lifting me up from the ground.

.

.

.

Mark

The moment Joshua dropped to the ground, my mind cleared of the alcohol-induced haze I'd previously been in. I had tried to go a little lighter on the drinks since I knew Josh would need me, but I didn't expect him to suddenly fall to the ground, clutching at his chest as if he were in immense pain.

I quickly picked him up after he lost consciousness, knowing he needed to get help fast. Right before he passed out I felt his wolf howling in pain through our link. It shocked me, especially since Joshua's wolf didn't usually push through like that. That just meant something was very wrong with my best friend.

Could it be his mate?

Was that it? Had something bad happened? I mean, it wasn't like they were a normal pair of mates. I couldn't worry about it now, though; I had to get help. Adjusting my unconscious packmate in my arms, I began to hurry back to the packhouse, sending a message to my mother to tell her I needed a medic. The moment I did, she began to panic.

Mark, what's going on? Why do you need a medic? Where's Joshua? Her voice filled my head, her worry not helping me to stay calm.

Joshua passed out and I don't know why. We were drinking but he couldn't have drunk enough to pass out like this. And he kept clutching at his chest like he was in pain.

I let my mind fall silent as I continued to walk, deciding to tell my mother what I thought it could be. She deserved to know as Joshua's alpha. I think it's rejection. He met his mate.

A sigh of relief escaped me as I neared the packhouse and I could see my mother standing in the front door, her face hard with worry. Beside her stood a man who I assumed was the pack doctor. I quickened my pace, hurrying to them. The moment I neared them the man started to speak.

"Bring him over here," he said, walking into the packhouse and making his way to the back of the building where his clinic seemed to be set up, or at least some sort of mini-one.

He gestured to a place I could set Joshua down and I did so carefully, standing back right after. The doctor quickly took my place, beginning to examine him. At one point he turned to me, his brow furrowed in concentration. "What exactly happened? Can you tell me the events that lead up to this, please?"

"We went out for drinks and on our walk back, he suddenly clutched at his chest and collapsed. I..."

The doctor looked at me carefully. "You what?"

Should I tell him about Joshua's mate? Was that my place to admit? I didn't want to make trouble for Joshua when he woke up, but at the same time, he needed to heal. The best way to do that was by being near his mate. I could give him that.

"I think it's his mate," I finally admitted. "He met them our first day here but they're going through... complications. Joshua might be experiencing some form of rejection."

The man nodded his head in understanding. "It makes sense. Do you happen to know who his mate is? Perhaps I can sit down with them when he wakes up," he offered, but I quickly shook my head.

I couldn't tell him who Josh's mate was. That seemed to be crossing some line. Joshua didn't want to involve his mate apparently, even if it brought him pain. I didn't understand it, but I would respect his wishes. "Uh. no, he hasn't told me yet. I just know that it's someone from this pack."

The pack healer went silent for a moment. He was about to speak again when the door to the room opened, my mother and our host walking inside. My mother frowned when she saw Joshua on the bed. He'd gone pale and I could really see the dark circles under his eyes now. How long had he been silently suffering and he never thought to bring it up? How had I not noticed as his best friend?

"Alphas," the man greeted formally, bowing his head.

"Hello, Dr. Milton. What happened?" The alpha asked while my mother moved forward to look at Joshua.

"The young beta found his mate in our pack but they seem to be having troubles. He seems to be showing signs of extreme fatigue, coupled with rejection effects and a bit too much alcohol for his body to handle at the moment. He will have to rest here for the rest of the night and we can discuss further tomorrow once he wakes up," the doctor reported, surprising the alpha male.

"Mark, how long have you known that Joshua found his mate?" My mother spoke up, crossing her arms casually.

I could tell from her stance that she was anything but casual, though. Her shoulders were slightly tense. I knew she was worried about Joshua, but she also had to be calm and collected as an alpha. The only time she could truly express her emotions was around her family, her beta, and Joshua since she considered him to be family as well. "Well, we've known since the first day of the visit-"

"An entire week has gone by and Joshua never showed any other signs?" She interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"No... at least I don't think he did." I sighed in frustration, bringing a hand up to rub at my face. "Joshua didn't start having problems until after the run. Before that, he seemed to be fine. He got worse today and I don't know why."

"Perhaps he and his mate had an incident today. Did he mention anything?" Dr. Milton spoke up, looking to me.

I felt my stomach drop a bit in realization. "He had a chat with his mate but something went wrong. That's all I know."

Joshua didn't just chicken out today with Wren, he was probably also indirectly rejected. I didn't know how or why, but now at least it made a bit more sense. Glancing over at my unconscious best friend, I felt my heart lurch a bit for him. He was going through so much and I didn't even realize the gravity of it all. Right then and there, I promised to help Joshua out as much as I can. He of all people deserved to be happy with his mate.

"Alright, well, we'll let him rest for now and when he wakes up we can figure out what to do from there," the doctor concluded before leaving, probably to go and do something real quick.

"I'll stay with him," I piped up. "I... I don't want to leave him."

My mother smiled lightly, nodding her head. "Try and get some sleep, Mark," she told me before leaving the room with our host.

I pulled up a chair by Joshua's bedside, looking at his sickly face. "I'll make it up to you, Josh. I promise."

~~~

Surprise! Since today is both Valentine's Day and my birthday, I decided to post another chapter for y'all. 

Thank you so much for reading <3

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