The Runaway Mate

ARIELLA.

It all started with a simple game of truth or dare. Who would have thought that from there, everything between me and Eli would change? I didn't, especially the part where Eli, my childhood friend, would suddenly become some sort of love interest to me. Two years ago, Eli and I were simply friends, both young members of the Moon Shine Pack, the biggest werewolf pack in the country. But now we have this weird but surprisingly familiar sexual tension between us and it was all because of that dumb teenage game.

That night two years ago, we were just sixteen, me a tall girl with red hair and green eyes. People my age in the pack would call me pretty but also cheeky and brave. Eli was a lot taller than me, a shy yet confident boy in his appearance. Well, he was always good-looking, with his light brown hair and his hazel eyes making half of the pack swoon over him.

He had these softer features on him that only made him more handsome. And he would always have this smirk on his face that made him look snobbish and a little haughty, giving him the image that he was quite unreachable. But that only made the girls want him even more. In short, he was unbelievably super hot and everyone liked him, which made him become one of the most popular boys in our town. And that popular boy was my friend, tapping my window earlier that same night.

"Are you ready?" he asked as soon as I opened my window and he climbed in stealthily. There was a wide grin plastered on his handsome face that disappeared as soon as he saw that I was already in my pajamas. "Why are you not still dressed? No, Ariella, you're not going to bail on me."

"But we could get caught!" I whispered to him dramatically.

"Both our parents went out, Ariella."

"They could get back home early, you silly! I already told you I'm not going. Maybe next time."

"Next time? There might not be any more next time, Ariella. This is the closest party we can get into. Next time they might do it in some other town and we could no longer go because it's too far."

I sighed because he had a point. But still. "What'll you do if your parents find out that we snuck out?"

He shrugged. "Let's worry about that later. Now, get dressed. We're going. I'm not leaving here without you." Those were the magic words. Worry started evaporating from my brain as soon as he pushed me gently to my drawer. "We always wanted to do this, right? It's just this one time. There's no point in going there alone. I want you to be there too."

"Okay." He smiled and patted my head as I said that, and then went to my window and climbed out after telling me that he'd be waiting for me outside. So there we were that night, we both sneaked into a human party like we always wanted. As werewolves living in a werewolf-only community, we grew up watching movies and TV shows of teenage humans partying, and that had always made us curious and want to go to one.

It was just like in the movies. We arrived to some loud music and a lot of young people were hanging out even outside the house. It was a full house. Quickly, we found ourselves sitting together with a group of humans our age that we instantly made friends with. Though I suspect that the only reason they quickly befriended us was because Eli was attractive, I couldn't care less as I was having the time of my life at that very moment. I managed to befriend two humans, one a girl and the other a boy and they both sat beside me asking me random things.

"Drink! Drink!" Everyone cheered as they poured my glass of beer. Even Eli cheered for me too. I drank the whole glass and they applauded. It wasn't bad, but wasn't good either. Our group played a lot of games until a game of truth or dare started. It was super fun, and of course, when the bottle finally pointed at Eli who was seated opposite to me, he was dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room amid the cheers of everybody. It was obvious that they just wanted to find out if Eli was interested in any of the girls.

But Eli seemed hesitant with the dare. He even looked at me as if asking for help, to which I responded with an encouraging nod, silently telling him to just do the dare to get it over and done with. But his stare felt a little bit more intense than usual, and in that moment I could no longer figure out what he was trying to tell me with just his eyes. He seemed to be trying to toughen up as the loud cheers from everyone made me feel nervous somehow. Or maybe it was from his glance, I don't know.

All I knew was that I think my heart skipped a beat when Eli finally stood up, then walked briskly towards me and before I could even move, planted a kiss on my lips. It was like time stopped when what he did had finally sunk in my head. Amidst the shrill voices of people cheering and yelling for us to kiss once more, I looked at him and I saw his face was beet red. He was looking at me and by the looks of it was stunned by what he did too.

"Ooh... were you two a couple?"

"You look good together!"

"I'm jealous!" squealed the girl next to me and she shook my shoulders with delight. The cheers we got from them only made me even blush more. And to be honest, I couldn't remember now how the rest of that party went after that kiss. All I could recall was how my heart felt like it was about to explode as he took my hand and we started walking away from the people.

Or how my face felt as we walked through the corridor into the main door. It felt as if my whole face was on fire. We were both quiet on the way to his car in the parking lot and I realized that I was holding my breath as I walked so I took deep breaths as soon as we reached his car and got inside. I wanted to say something to him but it felt like my tongue just melted and my brain felt so blank. All I could feel was this weird tension between us. Well, I only called it weird since that was the first time that I became aware of that feeling. But I think it has always been there and I just didn't know it yet.

He started driving but all I could ever think about at that moment was our kiss. It was my first and it caught me off guard. I was having a hard time staying still on my seat and I could feel my knees becoming weak. I don't even know that time if I could still stand up without having anything to hold on to and that was all because Eli kissed me. It overwhelmed me so much that I could feel my heart beating loudly inside my chest to the point that it was slightly painful.

Meanwhile, Eli was already driving quietly for about five minutes when he finally said something. "Aren't you going to ask me about the kiss?" he asked, making me more nervous than I already was. Before that kiss being alone with Eli was no problem with me. But the kiss had changed that and made my teenage heart so excited for every second that we were alone.

"W-Well... what about it?" That was my reply because I wanted to play it cool.

"I meant it. Just in case you think I was playing around with you."

I swear at that moment I could no longer breathe. "You meant what? That I was the prettiest in that room?"

"Not only in that room but also that whole house party. Probably this whole town, if you ask me."

That made me laugh but my brain and my heart were already doing imaginary somersaults. Sitting right next to him as he drove made his confession more tense for the both of us. I could tell that he was also nervous as he wouldn't even look at me. His eyes were glued on the road. And his right hand was shaking as he maneuvered the steering wheel.

"You are the prettiest, Ariella."

"Thank you... But I... I don't know how to respond to that..." I told him honestly.

"You don't have to... yet. I just wanted to let you know that I was serious in that game."

It took me almost forever to reply to that. "Okay... I believe you."

"I have always liked you, Ariella," he then said. "I like you so much that I don't think I can bear it if you don't become my mate once we turn eighteen."

My heart beat faster than ever when he said that, and it made me happy to know that Eli actually wanted me to be his mate. And I realized that it was the same for me. I didn't think that I'd ever be happy without him as my mate. I was young but I wanted Eli.

And then I became speechless as I got lost in his eyes because he finally looked at me. He then decided to pull over and leaned his head towards me to give me another kiss. I closed my eyes in anticipation, but then both of our phones rang like crazy and the moment was lost and until now I would regret that that special moment was stolen from us. But that was two years ago. Right now, it was finally my eighteenth birthday and Eli and I were on opposite sides of a crowded room, looking at each other and probably wondering if we really were going to become mates.

ARIELLA.

"No. It's not going to happen," I said softly to myself as I looked away from Eli. "There's no way it's him," I muttered under my breath. Because even if there was a 0.01 percent chance of Eli becoming my mate, it was not going to work out. Not with everything that has happened between us and our families over the last two years. I needed to drop the idea because it would only traumatize me. After all, Eli and I were barely more than strangers right now.

And I preferred it that way. However, I couldn't deny that he still had this 'pull' on me no matter how hard I tried to fight it. Just like now, it's like there was this weird magnetic pull between us that made me glance again at him. But that was a mistake because I immediately looked away again when our eyes met. I walked towards the staircase as blood rushed into my face because he just caught me staring at him.

"There you are, babe," said a sweet voice and an arm wrapped around my shoulder as I reached the second floor. Kayden, my boyfriend, planted a kiss on my cheek as he led me to the corridor and my room while we waited for the clock to strike twelve. "Are you excited?" he asked nervously as I sat on the edge of my bed. The noise from the party outside became muffled as he closed the door and then sat right next to me.

"Yeah, I am," I said, nodding to his question. "We have been waiting for this moment to come. This is it, Kayden. Our mating bond will be finally revealed." As I said that I had already cast away the doubt that seeing Eli earlier made me feel. I even wanted to slap myself right now from thinking of that dreadful possibility. I love my boyfriend and he's the only mate that I want.

Kayden was the son of the beta of our pack. He was tall, and lanky and had the boy next door vibe with his black piercing eyes. Just like his father to mine, he was loyal to me even when we were still just friends. He never abandoned nor distrusted me despite the bad reputation my family got two years ago.

"As soon as you turn eighteen, we'll find out if we're really destined for each other. O-Or not." Kayden gave me a warm smile that made me smile too, taking away the fear and worry in me that was created by just seeing Eli again. Then he held my hands tightly and I felt how cold they were. It pained me to see that he was just as nervous as I was but had to suck it up because he's the man. That's why I hugged him tightly and I could feel him relaxing as he sighed while he caressed my hair. He rested his head on my shoulder, burying his face on my neck. "Was it so obvious that I'm scared?"

I chuckled. "A little. But you don't have to feel that way. You're my mate, Kayden. And I don't want it any other way."

"T-That's how I feel too, Ariella. But just in case I'm not—"

"That's not going to happen. Couples tend to become mates eventually, remember? It's rare for young couples to actually not become mates as they turn eighteen." I said that because it was the truth, but it's also true that lovers who became a couple before their mating bond revealed itself to them are not guaranteed to become mates. There were a few cases where one of them became another person's mate and for me, that's the most terrifying thing that could happen to anyone. "Nothing like that has happened to our pack in decades, so I'm not that worried Kayden," I said not only to calm down my boyfriend but also me.

"Y-Yeah. As long as we both love each other, our wolves will follow suit."

"That's right," I replied. "I may not have my wolf in me yet, but my heart could tell that you're my mate, Kayden." He smiled at that. It was my turn to kiss him, but this time on the lips. But when I was about to do it, Kayden moved backward as if trying to avoid my kiss and that surprised me. He was shocked too. I guess he was surprised that like it was his instinct, he tried to avoid my kiss which was a first. "Kayden? Is there a problem?"

"N-Nothing... This is nothing," he replied laughing nervously, but I knew that he was lying. I know because he had been this way since morning. For some reason, he is more nervous than me, when it should be me since this is the first time my wolf will manifest itself to me so it's my wolf that needs to accept Kayden's. Kayden's wolf had already manifested and was just waiting for its mate. But werewolves' mating bond is only revealed when they turn eighteen, so Kayden had to wait a year for me. Perhaps the long wait had put a lot of pressure on him.

"Are you sure? You look so pale. Did something happen earlier?"

He looked away from me. "Nothing happened," he replied and stood up. "You know what, why don't we join the party downstairs?" He looked at the wall clock behind us and saw that it was just fifteen minutes before midnight. "Come on. I bet your father is already looking for you."

"Yeah. I guess we better get back to the party." We shared a passionate kiss first before we left my room. But to be honest, I didn't want to come out of my room because that meant I would see Eli again, but I had no choice. Kayden was right. My father would definitely look for me.

And that's because as the Alpha of our pack, he had to give his blessing to me once my mating bond was revealed. As his only daughter and the Omega of our pack, I grew up with the duty of bearing my future mate's children and continuing our bloodline. It wasn't something that I really liked as a kid, but since I had no choice I kind of just accepted my fate.

"I still don't know why they're here," Kayden muttered under his breath but still loud enough for me to hear. We headed back downstairs where the party was. "They don't even try to mingle with any of us so what's the point in showing up?" Kayden was referring to Eli and his pack, who used to be members of our pack two years ago. "Look at them. They just talk to themselves. I bet you my life they're all silently judging us right now with the way they gather like that."

"Shut up, Kayden. They might hear you."

"Should I tell them to just go home?" I knew that he was kidding but also kind of meant it as he personally disliked Eli.

"Don't do anything foolish. You know that having them here is just part of our pack's tradition. They believe that the Moon Goddess will be displeased if they don't attend important occasions like this."

"Well, everyone in our pack is displeased at their presence. You included. Right?"

I paused before I replied. "Yeah. But let's just ignore them."

"Hard to ignore rude people..." Kayden said. I had to agree with him on that though. Both of us saw Eli's group just hanging around near the main door, not even trying to greet any member of our pack who passed by their group. Eli was talking to his Uncle, their Alpha, and at that very moment, I stopped moving when I felt this sudden jolt of twisting pain in my stomach as if it was churning. "What's the matter?" Kayden asked when he noticed. We were still in the middle of the stairs when I stopped. Clutching my stomach, I wanted to go back to my room, but Father finally spotted me and immediately called me.

"Ariella! Come here!" Father called out to me.

"But you just looked like you were in pain. What happened?"

"Nothing. Come on, Father is waiting." Holding hands, Kayden and I went to the dining hall where Father was. He was talking to Kayden's father. The house was packed but I could sense someone following me with their gaze which made me shiver a little.

"Ariella! My daughter! Come. It's only a few minutes. Sit beside Kayden, we'll give you our blessings as soon as your mating bond gets revealed!" I noticed that my father was already drunk. He was in his celebratory mode. Just like everyone else in our pack, he already assumed that Kayden was my mate. And I hope that Father is right.

"Did you and Eli fight?" Kayden whispered in my ear, as he was seated next to me. "He's looking at you like you did something bad to him."

"What? No? I don't even talk to him. Not even at school."

"Then why is he looking at you like that?"

I shrugged, controlling myself from looking back at Eli too. "I have no idea."

But I was distracted by the loud voices of the people around me including my father's. It turned out that they were shouting the countdown to midnight as we were only a few seconds away from twelve o'clock. And as the time got nearer and nearer I started getting dizzy so I stood up, mouthing to Kayden that I needed to go to the bathroom. He was about to walk with me but the countdown had already stopped and just in a few seconds, a lot of things happened.

I saw that people began clearing away for someone. And then a hand suddenly pulled me away from the table and then I found myself climbing up the stairs with someone amidst the loud voices of everyone. The next thing I knew, Eli was pressing my body into the door. We were up in my room and all I could notice was how strong his scent was before our lips met.