Chapter 143 – Fighting His Emotions

Jacob kept punching at the bag that was in front of him until it broke. All his emotions were getting the best of him, and he wasn’t sure how to cope with them. In the past, he would run away from his fears and worries, not knowing how to face them head-on. With his businesses, he quickly learned what he could handle and hired people to handle the things he couldn’t. In business, feelings and emotions were left at the front door, and he didn’t deal with them when making business deals or transactions.

Raymond walked up, placed a new bag on the hook, and held it with his strength for his friend to punch.

Jacob nodded as he put up his fists and continued to punch out his frustration.

Raymond stayed quiet while he let his friend take out his frustration; he knew Jacob would talk when he was ready. It gave Raymond time to think things out for himself, especially since he couldn’t get the blonde assistant off his mind.

“Jacob”

“What?” he growled.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

Jacob sighed. “Now isn’t a good time right now. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

Raymond didn’t back down. He needed to talk, and Jacob was the only person he truly felt comfortable talking to about this. Plus, he knew the girl.

“I … I found out who my mate is.”

Jacob dropped his fists and tilted around the bag with wide eyes, and his mouth dropped. “Did you just say...?”

Raymond nodded.

“Who is it?”

“Before I tell you. You have to know that I had no intention of meeting my mate. My life was fine before I found out who she was. I didn’t expect this to happen,” Raymond explained as he stepped back from the bag and began to pace the room.

Jacob stood there watching his friend tramp back and forth as he got the nerve to admit who his mate was. Jacob realized that he needed to be a supportive Alpha/ friend to Raymond, putting his own emotions and drama aside to listen and be there for his friend.

Jacob lifted his hands in surrender as he stepped away from the bag and moved over to take a seat on the bench to show Raymond that he had Jacob’s undivided attention. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. I know you hadn’t had a desire to find your mate, and fate can sometimes punch you in the gut when you least expect it. But you’ll learn in time that having a mate will help keep you balanced and possibly in more control of your moods and temper depending on the mate,” Jacob offered.

Raymond huffed; he had a feeling that his hands were going to be full when it came to his mate.

“So, is it someone within the pack?” Jacob inquired.

Raymond shook his head as his heart started to palpitate. His hands became clammy because of how nervous he was about admitting who he was mated to. He ran his hands through his dark hair, trying to dry his hands to keep him calm. He took deep breaths as he bent over, placing his hands on his knees to calm himself. “I didn’t think it was going to be this hard for me to say,” he confessed.

Jacob’s brows furrowed.

“Ray, come on, it’s me. I’m not going to judge you on who your mate is.”

Raymond lifted his head and stared at his long-time friend and Alpha of his pack. He sucked in a breath and finally got the nerve to spit out the words he had been trying to get to come out for the last five minutes. “Kaitlyn is my mate,” he blurted out.

A rush of relief flowed through Raymond as his shoulders slumped, and he dropped his head toward his knees. After taking a few cleansing breaths and not hearing a reaction or anything coming from his friend. Raymond lifted his head back up to see what kind of reaction he was going to get from Jacob.

Jacob’s eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open. He was utterly dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say about this situation. “Did you say Kaitlyn as to my assistant Kaitlyn at my company?”

Raymond nodded his head.

A smirk slowly formed on Jacob’s face, and he started to laugh uncontrollably.

Raymond’s eyes narrowed as his defensive walls started to go up. He stood back up to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for his friend to stop laughing.

Jacob continued to laugh as he bent over from how hard he was laughing.

Raymond rolled his eyes, “I don’t think it’s that funny,” Raymond stated.

Jacob tried to control his laughter, “You would if you knew Kaitlyn. Oh man, I’ve known Kaitlyn for years. You’ve got a firecracker with that one,” Jacob admitted.

Raymond let out a low growl as he walked over to the bag and started punching it himself to let out his aggression.

Jacob sighed as his fit of laughter quieted down. He needed that good laugh; it seemed to help take some of his tension away, and for a little while, he was able to forget everything that was going on with him.

“Hey, I’m sorry for laughing, but I do have to thank you for it. I needed that laugh to get out of my own head space,” Jacob admitted.

Raymond stopped punching and wrapped his arms around the bag. “Are you ready to talk about it?”

Jacob pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to clear his thoughts and focus on what really mattered. “To sum it up, my mate doesn’t remember who I am or anything that has happened between us these last few months.”

Raymond scratched the back of his head and admitted, “Oh damn, and here I thought admitting to you that my mate was your assistant was going to be bad.”