**Athena’s POV**
The door slams shut behind me as my anger increases. Venus is howling in pain inside my head, fuelling my anger even more. I may not be ready to ascend the throne but that doesn’t mean I don’t want my mate at all. As much as I am dreading this new change, I still want it with all my heart, especially my mate.
Just not yet.
Seeing my one true love with that human girl made me see red. My heart ached watching her touch my mate. Watching her talk to him the way she did. I could see he clearly didn’t want her, but it was beside the point. He is my mate. No one can touch him besides me.
And he just let her!
I fall backward onto my bed and just stare at the ceiling above me. The little sunlight entering my room, bounces off of my hair pins and creates small patterns across the ceiling. They almost look like small clusters of stars. The patterns are distracting and beautiful, managing to help clear my mind just a little.
I take in a deep breath before getting comfortable on my side and curling up into a ball. Why does my life have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t I be like everyone else? Just a normal wolf who finds their mate and lives happily ever after. Instead I have to find my mate, be accepted, and then leave my family behind. I know most wolves already do that last part but they at least still get to keep in touch. I’m going to be too busy trying not to be overthrown and/or killed, to keep in touch with my family. I’m going to have no one.
“Athena? Your brother said you were up here. Are you alright?” My best friend’s voice sounds through the wooden door. I sigh before rolling off the bed to let her in. As soon as the door is open wide enough, Charlotte’s arms wrap around my body in a death grip. “What happened?”
I sigh before pulling out of her grip and pulling her inside. I close the door behind her before sitting on my bed. She follows me onto the bed before waiting intently for my reply.
“I found him.” I lay back down and continue to stare at my ceiling. The light outside is fading so the patterns reflected off my pins are becoming weaker with every passing moment. I look over at Charlotte when I get no reply. She seems lost in her own thoughts, which is unexpected, I thought she would be excited and want more details.
“Char? Are you alright?” She snaps her attention back to me, her eyes as wide as saucers. I raise my eyebrows at her which she just blinks back in return. “Are you ok? You look like a deer caught in headlights. Is something wrong?” She shakes her head before looking at her fingers.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Her voice sounds small and defeated. She clearly has something going on in her life that she needs to talk about and get off her chest.
“Come on, Char. You know you can tell me anything.” I observe her body language as I wait for her to reply. She’s not as confident as usual. She seems less sure of herself. More closed in.
“He did it again. Slept with Amy. He doesn’t know I know. And you want to know what’s worse?” She looks at me, tears brimming her eyes. I nod my head, not wanting to speak and ruin her confidence in confiding in me, her best friend since diapers. “I can sense my mate. I know he’s here. What if he’s just like Chad?” The tears escape her and quickly turn into sobs. I pull her into my arms and hold her as she cries. She’s always wanted her mate but got herself stuck in a dead-end relationship that just continuously screws her over. This is the third girl this month that Chad has slept with.
“Well, I guess that means we are getting drunk tonight.” I say, causing her to laugh. She nods before getting up and drying her tears.
“Is my make up ok?” I nod my head before pulling her in for another hug.
“You look gorgeous as usual. Now let’s go raid my parent’s alcohol stash.” She laughs before taking my hand and allowing me to pull her downstairs.