A simple trailer made by little old me for this book above. [Matt Lanter as EZRA, YAY!] I had very little time so I couldn't add some scenes. But still, I hope you like it!

Dedication: hazzaloveyah :)

~

Ezra Harland's PoV:

"Ah, the man of the hour!"

I was roaming around aimlessly in-between the throngs of people on the outskirts of the dance floor when the vaguely familiar voice pulled me out of my conflicting thoughts. I turn around to see the widely grinning face of Angier Wellington—a guy I'd known all through my childhood through our trips and vacations and numerous parties. He was neither an heir, nor did his parents hold consequential ranking, but since he was the best friend of Alpha Karas' only daughter, he was like a son to their family and always tagged along with them to these occasions.

Despite me feeling confused and overall puzzled as to everything that's going on in my life, looking at the face of a friend I hadn't seen in so long pushes away all those muddled thoughts and brings a huge grin to my face, "I hear someone is gonna become Beta!" I exclaim as I rush forward and pull him into a short hug, still grinning as I turn to his best friend, extending a hand, "Ms. Karas."

"Beta Harland," The dark-haired Grecian future-Alpha returns just as formally with a small smile, seemingly very amused at the look of comical shock on Angier's face.

Thing is, Alpha Karas' daughter, Tatum Karas, had woken up one night when she was twelve in unbearable pain that had confirmed that her Mate—wherever he was—had died. Ever since that incident, she'd closed herself off completely and had stopped attending all events and unfortunately for our friendship, we hadn't seen much of each other after that.

When I'd called to confirm their presence at the party, Tatum had informed me that she had picked her best friend to lead beside her due to the fact she would be utterly alone without a Mate as it is, and since she and the actual Beta's heir have some bad-blood, she figured that this choice would be much better. I completely agreed because if I wasn't Seneca's best friend, things would've been way more complicated around the Mordecai pack.

According to Tatum, Angier seemed to be very reluctant to challenge for the position. Now looking at his face, I can tell that she was right about it, "I was informed about it only last week! How did you . . . ?" His flabbergasted expression morphed to one of even more surprise as he turned to Tatum with accusation in his eyes, "You told him!"

"Guilty." The Alpha-heir replied in a cool tone as she simpered and the way she was so closed-off and controlled reminded me so much of how Seneca used to be, that at that moment, my heart hurt for the girl.

Because Seneca had found her Micajah, who'd managed to bring back the happiness she'd buried.

But who would do that for her?

Maybe as friends, all of us could try and fill the void of one person.

Decision made, I clear my throat slightly to void it of any emotion, appraising Tatum quickly, "So, Ms. Karas, how have you been? It's easily been a handful of years since I last saw you."

She nods politely, her expression so neutral that I don't have a single clue as to what she might be thinking, "Yes, I've been fine, thank you. And just call me Tatum, I'm not Alpha yet."

"Good to know," I smile and something about the way I did must've tipped her off to the fact that I was just thinking about her Mateless status. "And as for the other thing, I'll do it only if you promise to call me Ezra," I say quickly, hoping not to offend her with any unnecessary pity or sympathy.

"Sure." She acquiesces, "So . . . Had any luck finding your Mate?" She looks at me expectantly and the reminder of my Mate brings back an onslaught of confusion and utter hopelessness. I smile quickly in hopes of covering it up, but her observant gaze lets me know I wasn't as successful as I'd liked to have been,"Yes, I met her last week. It's Alpha Nyah Pineda."

I see a shadow of sadness pass over her eyes, and instantly can't help but feel bad again. Because being a nobody without a Mate in itself would be a task that's unbearably painful.

But, being an Alpha who has to lead an entire pack alone?

That's on a league of unbearable of its own.

She flashes a quick smile that's genuinely happy anyway as she extends her hand, and at that moment I gain new respect for her, "Congratulations. So, I assume you're gonna leave the Mordecai Pack and become her Aleph."

Her statement throws me off completely in a second. "What?" I mumble in confusion as I accept her proffered hand weakly, and I realize that that's the first time the thought has ever crossed my mind.

If I want to lead a happy life with Nyah, then I'd have to leave my pack and go live with her.

Damnnnnn.

"I . . . I don't think so. Nuh-uh, no way." I deny vehemently, shocking myself and the two of them. Only after I say those words do I realize that that's the reality of the situation. I'd be able to give up almost anything in the whole world for the sake of my Mate's contentment.

But, my pack? nope.

I would never be a happy man if I do.

"Oh," Tatum says in bafflement and Angier looks confused too, "Well, it's either that or she has to step down. Maybe you can get her father to accept the brother who was thrown out." He suggests with a careless shrug, not knowing the importance of the point he just made.

Goddess, why? Why can't I just have gotten a normal Mate with whom I don't have a history of fights with?

This is just making this situation a million times worse.

"Yeah, I guess so," I mumble distractedly, not wanting to open that can of worms right now. I'd have to sit in a corner somewhere and overanalyze this situation some other time when this whole fiasco is over. Just as I'm about to suggest another stronger drink, I catch sight of Seneca and Micajah along with Alarice DeVega and Anders Larzelere—the Alpha of the DeVega pack and her human Mate—in the crowd.

Phew, thank Goddess for that little distraction.

"Oi! Seneca and Micajah! Oh and Alarice and Anders, you too! Come here!" I holler over the loud music, making them turn to me in surprise. I wave them over and they push people out of the way politely, finally joining the three of us.

"Oh, Tatum, it's you!" Alarice DeVega is the first one to talk as she throws her arms around Tatum and pulls her into a surprise hug, and I sigh quietly to myself in relief.

Now that the focus is off me, I can finally mull over what I'd just been informed about.

But no matter how much I think, I can't find a solution where everyone can win.

It seems like a lose-lose situation overall.

Fuck, what am I going to do?

~

A while later, all of us had moved to the basement as the music here is much lower and I'd made sure to put in lots of couches in here so that people can sit around and talk if they wanted to.

And thanks to my thoughtfulness, that's exactly what we're doing.

The drinks have been flowing endlessly for the past hour, and it's safe to say that I'm in that comfortable state of tipsy where everything is soft around the edges and just all around perfect.

Everyone is talking over each other, while I'm just reclining on this comfortable-ass couch, in the mood to just sit back and observe silently. Tatum's raised voice reaches my ears and I turn my head to the side to see that Micajah is having serious a whisper-conversation with her.

The few phrases and words I catch in-between let me know that they're discussing our biological mother, Victoria, who had gone batshit crazy after my stupid Beta of a Dad had rejected her and taken me back to the Mordecai pack. The reason for his rejection is a long list of bullshit that I don't want to get into. But apparently, the main one was the fact that the two packs were at war at the time and people were forbidden from interacting with each other.

Even Mates?

Yep, apparently.

Basically, Micajah was telling Tatum about it to let her know how proud he was of her for not losing her sanity like the egg-donor had—and abused had him physically for most of his life by beating him up and treating him with zero respect.

I see Tatum's face cloud with emotion—a bit of bittersweet happiness, and feel happy that Micajah was thoughtful enough to do tell her all that, knowing that I'm nowhere near as thoughtful and kind as he is.

And it took him and Seneca long enough to get over themselves and love each other.

If that's the case for a guy like him, I wonder how long it'll take before I reach a happy compromise with my Mate.

Or if I'll ever make it.

The thought is not happiness-inducing.

I'm lost in my head for a while, having no idea what the fuck I'm doing with my life.

"This is Alpha Marcus Blythe." Anders introduces from beside me and I sluggishly look up to see that a familiar-looking muscular man is standing at the edge of the couch, "He used to go to school with me. Marcus, this is . . ." Anders goes on, introducing everyone seated along with their titles, and gestures for the man to take a seat. I sit up straighter and nod in hello when he looks at me, but Angier, who's a bit distracted fails to notice his presence as he seems to be looking around fervently in search of something.

Alpha Marcus Blythe ignores the guy's lack of response and goes on. Tatum elbows her best friend to drag him back into the convo, and Angier jumps slightly, interrupting Marcus with the suaveness of a bull in a china shop. "Oh yes! Nice to meet you, Alpha Blythe!"

I resist the urge to face-palm, and from the look on her face, so does Tatum, "You'll have to excuse him. He's a bit drunk."

"Oh yeah, it's fine," Marcus says, throwing Angier a mocking grin, "Not everyone can hold their liquor like us with the Alpha blood."

An awkward silence befalls the group at that insult, and Marcus looks around with an expectant look to the other Alphas, who have no choice but to agree politely.

Tatum looks pissed-off at the rude Alpha, and at that moment I have a glimpse of a memory of Tatum defending Angier when they were kids, during one of the events when a pompous Alpha kid had asked why he was there if he wasn't a high-ranked Wolf.

Looks like after all these years and after everything she'd been put through by the Goddess, the one thing that hasn't changed is their iron-clad bond.

"Excuse me, but he's gonna—" She starts to say but is interrupted mid-sentence by a high, feminine cry, "Brother, there you are!"

All of us turn to look at the newcomer, a petite blond girl with big blue eyes who looks like an animated character come to life. She grins widely as she flashes her pearly whites at everyone, "Oh! Hi, Alphas, Alephs. I'm Francesca Blythe."

Ah, another pompous second-born Alpha kid. Explains the fact that she ignored the Beta—me—present.

Everyone mumbles their hellos and so do I half-heartedly, but a low growl from Angier makes me turn to him with interest. I watch in fascination as his blue eyes flash a bright gold, and just as I glance at Francesca, I realize that her surprised wide eyes are no longer the blue they were, instead, having turned into a dark brown.

"Mine," Angier claims with another growl, making his Mate purr in response. Everyone lets out gasps and shocks of surprise and happiness, but all I can think about is the fact that my own Mate hadn't been even a fraction of the happy Francesca is now, to have met Angier.

And I'm hugely to blame for that fact.

Marcus stands up to pat his sister's back in congratulations, pulling the shocked girl out of her reverie. Her eyes shift back to its normal blue and she nods in response to her brother, not tearing her eyes off her man, "Wow . . . I'm quite surprised. I definitely didn't expect that."

"So am I," Angier stands up as well, giving her the biggest grin ever. "I'm Angier Wellington, Francesca Blythe."

The returning smile she gives him is blinding.

"Would you maybe prefer to go outside for some air?" Angier asks with hope in his gaze and Francesca nods eagerly, grabbing his proffered arm. He steps out of the circle of the couches, leading the away happily for his Mate and the two of them disappear in the direction of the stairs to the ground floor.

Once they're out of earshot, everyone bursts into an excited conversation about how beautiful it is to watch people find their other half. No matter how much I try, I can't muster up the same happiness or the thrill to join in on the chatter.

Because my brain is stuck on one thing.

On how Francesca seemed to have been utterly swept off her feet at the moment she'd laid eyes on her soulmate.

While my Mate, on the other hand, couldn't have waited two seconds to leave the room.

"Excuse me, I think I drank too much," Tatum mutters in a choked voice as she stands up all of a sudden, placing her bottle of beer almost blindly on the coffee table as she rushes to leave the place. As I watch her pain-filled eyes and heart-broken expression, I wonder just how much of the bond between her and her best friend consisted of platonic love.

She stumbles out quickly and leaves the room, and my heart aches for it all.

For the fact that there's an Alpha who's destined to be alone.

For a guy who seems to be absolutely clueless about the feelings, his best friend has for him.

For Nyah who's no doubt torn about the fact that her Mate is the guy who made her life hell.

And for me, because I was the most stupid asshole on the planet.

At that moment, I vow to myself that I'm gonna do my best to turn this lose-lose situation into a win-win.

~ * ~

Question: Now that Ezra has had THE realization, what should he do to make things right?

Any other thoughts that you'd like to let me know?

Do check out the people I've cast as Tatum, Angier, Francesca etc. It's in a separate chapter with media before the prologue.

TRAILER OF TATUM'S TEARS BELOW:

https://youtu.be/v6qFGRgXEb0

P.S. Man, I loved writing Tatum's part from another person's point of view. For those of you curious, this scene happens in Chapter 3 of her book.

NEXT UPDATE: July 5

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