Chapter 38

When the incredible smell of freshly baked cakes hit her nose, Eva licked her lips and clapped her hands in happiness. Upon reaching her room, she was greeted by her best friend lying on the bed, like a huge cow.

Lex usually bought pastries for their Monday night gatherings. Since Eva was constantly missing her mate and her wolf wanted to cut her veins in frustration, sugar was the key to their happiness. Forgetting love problems by dipping into cakes always worked.

Most importantly, Mike, their fight and all his (ex) harem momentarily forgotten thanks to the sight in front of her.

"Hey, don't touch it! The chocolate and raspberry cake is mine!" She barked at his friend who already had a mouth full of sweets. That beast never waited for anything or anyone.

"Hdbwj wkjdj" He tried to say, impossible to understand. It looked like he had a whole pie in his mouth.

Eva laughed at this sight of Lex, so familiar and comfortable, reminding her of her childhood.

"I have more!" He repeated, after drinking some milk noisily.

"Now sit down! The film is about to begin," Lex ordered, patting the spot (on her own bed) next to him.

"Oh, I needed this sooo much!" She dropped onto the mattress and hugged him. Feeling his inquiring gaze on her, Eva quickly stole a huge piece of cake.

"Look Eva, I know you're hiding something"

As usual, straight to the point Lex!

"You have been different..." He couldn't have been more direct.

"What?" She played dumb, biting her lips.

"Come on, don't make excuses, like Martin’s accident or Lord Skull's attack," He grimaced, almost expecting that Eva would lie to him shamelessly.

His large mole was lazily lying down occupying almost the entire bed, white sugar stuck on his face and a sly grin filled his eyes. Eva would have laughed at him if it hadn't been for the hot topic of their discussion.

"Violent mood swings, insomnia, constantly distracted and, well, it's like you have the, uh, female thing all the time!" He said with a hysterical giggle, hesitant to mention the girl's period.

How boys could talk about sex in such a free and shameless way, and then turn into shy children when it came to girls' menstruation, was one of the strangest contradictions of the male species.

"Hey!! It's not true at all! I sleep perfectly well and I'm not violent" It happened that she hit Lex on the shoulder at that moment, as if to contradict her statement about being violent.

"Besides, how come a big man like you still can't utter 'menstrual cycle' without blushing like a pepper (capsicum)?" She teased, enjoying his silly reaction.

Shaking his head, Alex grabbed her hands and turned to face her.

"Listen Eva, why don't we cut to the chase and deal with the elephant in the room?"

"Only if you say 'menstruation' four times in a row!" She replied, hitting his cheek repeatedly.

"Argh, ok let's compromise." He offered, with a calculating smirk. Suddenly all of Eva’s senses went on alert.

"I won't be offended, for now, that you have kept a huge secret all to yourself and, in return, you stop pestering me with the, err, uhm, monthly female thing." His compromise sounded fair. Although Eva will make sure to notify Martin about Lex’s fear of the menses.

Uff, fine." She gave in, well-aware there was no point in delayed the inevitable.

"So ... what's going on with you, little Eva?” He insisted, pinching her nose. The intensity of his glare suggested that he already knew something...

With a deep inhalation, she decided to drop the bomb, to unleash the Craken, to open the Pandora's box ...and to reveal the best thing that had ever happened to her in her entire life.

"I found my mate!" She blurted out, checking her nails with sudden interest.

"Whaaat? When?" Lex semi-yelled with a high-pitched voice, kind of pretending to be surprised in an exaggerated way.

Yes, he had already realized...but when?! Why?!

Patting her head as if she were his personal pet, Lex chuckled at her stunned face.

"I just don't get why you didn't tell ME!" He exclaimed, pointing at himself.

"I'm your best friend, or at least I thought I was!" He continued with an expression of false betrayal, placing a hand on his chest dramatically as if she had pierced him with a sword.

Such a drama queen...

"Well, I was going to-" Her sentence was interrupted by his eager, bouncing friend.

"And most importantly! Who is the poor guy!?" His fake initial shock was quickly replaced by a malicious grin.

A promise of pure evil was written all over his face.

"The poor soulmate doesn't know in which wasp nest he fell into!"

Here we go! The part that Eva had feared most of all had started.... Torture and teasing, as expected, had begun...

"Or I should say 'nest of vipers thirsty for blood'!!!"

Eva sighed, rubbing her face.

The Unstoppable Lex was drawing up a nice list of what awaited her 'naïve mate', also called 'martyr', 'saint' and 'prey'.

Then he pretended to think before asking:

"Wait, your mate is a him, right?! Because I always thought you might like pus-"

"Are you done?!" Eva squealed, all flushed and exasperated.

"Not yet! But I can continue later!" Lex clapped his hands happily, as if he had discovered the funniest game in the world.

What could be better than making fun of your best friend and embarrassing her relentlessly?! Nothing!

"Ok so, the reason I didn't tell anyone is related to his identity..."

Eva took a deep breath. "He's Mik-"

"I already know who he is!" Lex announced, extending an arm on the bed frame with nonchalance.

"Do you!?" Her eyes almost popped out of her sockets. "Are you s-sure?!" Then she asked with some hesitation.

'Why hasn't he had any kind of reaction?! ′

After all, her mate was The Black Devil himself!

"Look Eva, I understand perfectly why you kept it to yourself. Having a Black Devil mate isn't the easiest thing in the world, considering our history, the spilled blood and everything else. But, in the end, our people will learn to respect him, and Alpha Gedon will understand too..." He paused, as if he were not so sure whether her father would actually accept a Black Devil as a mate.

In the meantime, Eva’s heart had stopped. The girl stood open-mouthed, staring at her best friend as if he had grown three extra heads.

Unbelievable!

Alex didn't faint, didn't scream, didn't hit his head against the wall, didn't turn pale, didn't get mad, didn't convulse, didn't shout her secret from the rooftop.

Whatever possible scenario she had imagined in her mind, this was the last she would have expected ...

"Anyway! I'm so soooo happy that you won't have to move to live in a different pack!!"

Eva frowned.

'Naïve Lex thinks Mike would simply leave his pack to move here at Full Moon and live under my father's rule... who had no intention of giving up his Alpha position for many years to come.'

Her mate was the perfect stereotype of the proud Alpha male. He would never, ever take orders from anyone ... The sky would turn green, the hell would freeze, and the pigs would start flying before that would happen!

"And I'm sure Alpha Mike together with Martin and Christian will help you sort everything out." Lex statement was odd.

"Wait what!?" Why would...

Oh!

'My dear Lex has no idea that my mate is Mike!' Eva chuckled to herself before breathing a sigh of relief. That explained his lack of reaction!

Meanwhile Lex continued with his senseless theories.

"Yeah, I mean, they already know you are mated with a Black Devil werewolf, right? This would explain their strange behaviour and why they were so protective of you!"

And he called himself a genius?! Pts!

'Seriously, who could think this twisted way?! Mike is protective of me because he knows I'm the mate of one of his werewolves!?!? Come on!' Eve mentally scoffed, shaking her head. In the Full Moon Territory, folks had always claimed that Lex was too busy focusing on girls to have extra brain space for other things. Well, it was very true!

"Damn, I'm a genius!!! I knew you had found your mate!" The fool even patted himself on the shoulder, as if to self-congratulate himself.

"Why did you say I wouldn't need to move to Black Devil?" Her grin went unnoticed; Lex was too busy feeling like some kind of highly qualified detective.

"What do you mean WHY? Your mate will have to move here with you, since you're an Alpha daughter and he's just a commoner. "