Chapter 6 : Advice From a Friend

*Henry* The sun was shining brightly and pouring in warm light through Henry's windows. He could feel the gentle breeze and hear the soft songs of the birds. It was the perfect morning, but Henry could see nothing wonderful about it. As far as he was concerned, the whole day was gray. He opened his eyes and huffed. He had no reason to move or get out of bed. All he could think about was Circe's crooked smile as she insisted they were mates and the idea of Mae with Nathan. He could hardly stand it. Henry turned over in his bed and stared at the wall. He could hear his family downstairs starting their day, and he did his best to shut it all out. He grabbed a pillow from the other side of the bed and put it over his head. Henry still couldn't believe that the ritual was over, and he wasn't mated with Mae. The events from that night played over and over again in his mind. He tried to find an error, some logical explanation for it all. But he came up with nothing. The only reasonable answer he could see was for some reason he and Mae were not meant to be. Henry groaned out of despair and frustration. His heart still beat only for Mae. His whole body and soul yearned for her. How could she possibly not be his mate? No, he couldn't see the error, but there still had to be something wrong. He felt certain of it. "Henry, dear? My goodness are you still in bed? It's after ten a.m.... Are you not feeling well, darling? Your mate is here. She was hoping to speak to you," Henry's mother called from the door to his room. Henry lifted the pillow off of his face and scowled at her. "If it's Circe, tell her I have no desire to talk to her or see her," he grunted out before slamming the pillow back over his face. "Please dear, your father is insisting. Please don't make me go back downstairs without you. Your father won't stand for it." His mother lifted the back of one hand up to her face, trying to stifle the worried tears that were already building behind her eyes. Henry rolled his eyes and threw the pillow aside with another loud grunting objection. Sitting up in bed, he stared ahead at her. She forced a weak smile through her perturbed expression. "Oh, Henry, I hate to see you like this. I'm so worried about you. Can't you please try to make things work with Circe? For the sake of the pack? Things are already so on edge now that… well, now that the ritual didn't go according to plan...." His mother turned her eyes to the floor and avoided Henry's grimace. He needed no reminder that things did not go 'according to plan'. "Just let me get dressed, Mother, and I'll be downstairs, okay?" Henry grumbled. He waited until she was out of the room and had the door closed behind her before he threw off his covers. Pushing himself out of bed, Henry stood and stretched his arms above his head before shaking off his boxer shorts. He pressed his hands down against the dresser and looked up at his reflection in the mirror. No wonder his mother was so worried–he looked like sh*t. Henry grunted again before pulling open the drawers and grabbing fresh clothes. Once he was dressed in semi-reasonable attire, Henry opened his door and begrudgingly made his way downstairs. He knew he couldn't avoid Circe forever. She'd want to move forward soon, as would his family. But he needed more time to figure things out, to figure out how to just be with Mae and get things back to how they belonged. He dragged his feet across the tile floor and into the dining room where everyone was waiting. His mother was standing over his father with a teapot in her hand, while his father and Circe sat drinking their tea with a shared plate of cookies between them. It looked like a picturesque moment from a different time. Henry sighed and took a seat across from Circe. "Good to see you up and about son," his father stated while slapping Henry on the back. Henry could tell from his father's tone that lingering for days in bed and sulking around the house would no longer be tolerated. Henry grumbled to himself but otherwise kept his feelings about that to himself. No need to cause another scene now in front of Circe. "Well, I'm sure you two love birds have a lot to talk about. Your mother and I will be just in the other room if you need us or have anything you want to, you know, announce." Henry rolled his eyes at his father's candidness. Everything in him wanted to get up and march right back up to his room, avoiding both Circe and his parents. Circe waited until his parents left the room and were reasonably out of earshot before letting her mischievous smirk return to her face. "Well, at least I'm getting along well with my in-laws," she giggled, reaching over for a cookie. Henry's face remained blank and unamused. "Why are you here?" he asked flatly. Circe's crystal eyes bore into him, and he felt like she was trying to dig a hole into his soul and nestle in with him. He shuddered at the thought. "It's been four days since the mating ritual, Henry. You haven't so much as talked to me, much less kissed me or talked about our future together-" "We have no future together," Henry barked. Circe flinched at his words, seeming genuinely hurt. Part of Henry felt a little bad. It was true she wasn't making things easier, but it wasn't her fault they matched, and he wasn't with Mae. "I'm sorry, this is just… this is difficult for me," he muttered. "I understand. I realize this isn't what you planned, but I promise I can make you happy, Henry. I will be the best mate and wife, you'll see." Henry's eyes snapped forward at the word 'wife.' He knew the natural order of things, once two wolves were mated. He had been prepared and planned so much with Mae. But the thought of doing it with someone else made his stomach turn. "What?" "Well, since we are mated, obviously, we'll get married. That's part of why I'm here. I wanted to talk to your parents and you about starting our wedding plans," Circe admitted. She sounded so meek and innocent like she hadn't been cruel and snarky to him just days before. "I'm not ready to think about this yet," Henry answered quickly. "Henry, every other couple that matched is already planning their weddings and spending happy time together. Couldn't you at least try to be civil with me?" Henry sighed. He instantly thought of Mae and wondered how she was handling the situation. Was she making plans with Nathan? Had she given up on them so soon? No, of course not; she loved him. He was certain of it. "I'm not ready to talk about this yet, Circe," Henry growled. "I can't think of being with someone else like that." Henry pushed away from the table, and Circe's expression instantly changed to one of anger and malice. "You have no choice, Henry! This is happening, whether you want it to or not!" she screamed after him. Henry ignored her and walked straight out his front door. He made a beeline to the last house on the left on their main street. If he couldn't talk to Mae, there was only one other person he could stand to be around right now. Henry balled his hand into a fist and banged it harder than necessary against the front door of the large house. The lawn looked freshly manicured, and the sprinklers were lightly watering the flower beds lining the front of the house. Henry looked forward again when the door swung open to reveal the only person he wanted to see. "Henry, are you okay? What's up, man?" Levi asked, stepping aside to let Henry enter the house. Thank goodness for his best friend. Henry didn't know what he would do without him. Levi had always been his support system and listened whenever he needed to vent. And now was one of those times where he needed him the most. "Circe came over to the house. She wants to talk about wedding plans," Henry answered in an irritable tone. He stomped over to the dining room and threw himself down on the first open chair. "You still haven't talked to her about things?" Levi asked after shutting the front door and following Henry into the other room. "How can I? What about Mae?" "Look, man, I don't know how or why this happened, but it did. There's nothing you can do to change that you didn't mate with Mae. But you can't keep avoiding Circe and punishing her for it. Sooner or later, you're going to have to talk to her and make things right," Levi stated in a gentle voice, watching Henry through the strands of dark curly hair falling over his forehead. Levi walked into the kitchen and poured two cups of water. He placed one down in front of Henry and took a seat, pulling the other glass toward himself. "I know you're right, and I hate that I'm hurting her or making her feel bad. It's just, every time I talk to her, she just… makes me so mad. I don't know how to let go of Mae. I still can't believe I'm not with her right now," Henry admitted. "I know, man. It's a sh*t deal, but you guys knew there were no guarantees. You both have to just move on." Levi took a sip of his water but kept his eyes on Henry like he might act out and do something crazy if he wasn't guarded. "I don't know if I can, man. The thought of being with someone else makes me feel dirty and awful like I'm cheating on her. The thought of her with someone else… it makes me physically sick." "F*ck, I'm sorry man. I wish I knew how to fix it. Have you talked to Mae at all about this? How is she dealing with it?" Levi looked at Henry more seriously and concerned now. Henry shrugged. "My father won't let me leave our lands. He's got all our guards watching out for me. No one would betray him to let me see Mae, especially now that she's not even my mate. I have no idea how she's doing. Everyone talks about the couples from that night as a group, saying that everyone is doing well and starting wedding plans. I don't know if that includes Mae or not," Henry answered, his voice barely above a whisper now. He reached out and took a sip of his water. "This was supposed to unite our packs. I'm supposed to take after my father. But I don't think I can bring myself to do anything without her. My father seems on edge about Mae and I not mating. I think he's worried it'll lead to war. Part of me thinks he wants that." "Well, that's not good. We can't afford a war with Mae's pack. Besides, does your father really think you would fight in such a war?" Levi asked in a more demanding tone than Henry felt was necessary. Henry shrugged. "It's been a long time since my father really thought about how things affected me or what would be best for me," Henry replied with a scoff. Levi gave him a look of pity which made Henry that much more irritated. "I'm sure your father cares about you and what's best for you," Levi offered. His statement did nothing to change Henry's mind on the matter. "I know it might be difficult right now, but I think the best thing to do is to talk to Mae. Find some closure between you two so you guys can start figuring out how to move forward." "You mean move on," Henry corrected. Levi sighed. "Potentially. I wanted to believe as much as you do that this is a mistake, but I don't see how it could be. You two might not have any other choice besides figuring out how to move on from each other." "We could run away together," Henry said lowly. Levi's eyes snapped toward Henry. "Please, tell me you aren't seriously considering that?" he replied sternly. "Why not? I'm sure Nathan and Circe could find other people to be with." "You think your father is itching for a war now? Imagine what he'd do if you ran away with Mae. Her father would be just as ready to take up arms! You'd doom both of our packs." "We might be doomed anyway," Henry muttered. Levi reached a hand across and gripped Henry's arm tightly. "You need to get a grip and talk to Mae. Think everything through. I know this sucks right now, man. But this doesn't have to be the end of the world or the end of our packs, okay? Just think about it." The pleading tone in Levi's voice gave Henry pause. He knew that Levi was right, and he didn't want to cause more destruction and pain than was necessary. He nodded and took another sip of his water.