Romantic relationships never really were something I was interested in.

My parents had told my brothers and me about mates from an early age. They explained the importance of them and while some of my siblings got stars in their eyes and heads full of dreams where they'd finally met their mates, I wasn't like that.

It wasn't that I despised the idea of mates, I'd just never been interested in them. My brothers Jenson and Tyson were the opposite in that sense. Jenson liked to present himself as a no-nonsense type of guy. He was, in his own words, "married to his work", but I wasn't stupid. It wasn't hard to see the way his mind wandered and his eyes lit up whenever the topic of mates came up. He was a hopeless romantic; a lot like someone else I knew.

Tyson was different in the sense that his longing for a mate came from watching those around him. While Jenson was in love with the idea of mates from the stories our parents had told us and the old textbooks in the pack library, Tyson fell in love with the idea of mates due to watching our parents growing up. Though he had never truly said it, I knew that was what he wanted. He wanted a relationship like our parents, or like our eldest brother's.

It was always strange to me how one glance or one spark was all it took to convince one's self that they were in love.

From an early age, I had decided that I didn't want a mate and yet, here I was, agreeing to meet up with Eli to talk about the very same topic. I'd spent all night tossing and turning, debating on whether or not I was doing the right thing. I wasn't going to meet up with him in order to take my rejection back, but rather just the opposite. I was going to put the final nail in the coffin and in some ways it bothered me.

Perhaps it was because the first time I rejected Eli I was able to blame someone else. I was able to blame the jealous-eyed gamma who clearly wanted him. So much so that he was willing to throw around threats to get his way.

But this time? That wasn't an option. If I was going to reject Eli then I couldn't pass the blame off to someone else. I'd have to face the fact that his sad eyes were the result of my own actions.

I checked the clock and saw that it was eleven-forty. The library was within walking distance so I wasn't worried about being late, but the feeling of unease spread throughout my stomach.

The sound of my phone ringing caused me to jump and my eyes darted to the screen where Arlo's name appeared. A frown fell on my face. I hadn't spoken to him since last night and I wasn't sure I wanted to just yet. Maybe it was a bit petty of me, but I was partly upset about the Cronan situation from last night; more specifically, the way Arlo had left with him. I knew he liked the guy, but I needed to know where he'd draw the line. How far along would he follow Cronan before he finally realized that the guy was bad news?

I ignored denied the call and finished getting dressed before leaving my apartment and beginning to head toward the library. As I did so, I once again tried to figure out what I was going to say to Eli. I could give him the classic "it's not you, it's me" speech, but something told me that Eli, being Eli, would counter that with his own speech about accepting me for who I was—not that he knew who I was.

I could potentially use what happened last time as an excuse, but if he was here and still chasing after me then that obviously meant that whatever the gamma had said to him didn't work and that wasn't really my style anyways. So that left one option—being upfront about it which I'll admit was the best choice out of the three, but it would also be the most painful and awkward one and on the contrary, I didn't actually want to hurt Eli.

"Just say what you need to say and go, Reu. You got this," I muttered to myself.

The walk to the library wasn't nearly long enough. I took a deep breath and mentally hyped myself up before stepping inside the ancient building and taking a look around.

Eli wasn't here yet.

I walked towards the corner of the room and took a seat while I waited. A quick check of my phone told me it was only five minutes past twelve so maybe he was just running late.

So I waited.

I waited as five minutes became ten, ten became twenty, and twenty became thirty-five.

Maybe he was running late or maybe he just wasn't coming.

I started to stand up, just as the doors were roughly yanked open causing the librarian to glare daggers at the culprit. Clearly, they didn't care about the librarian's anger as their head darted around until they finally met my eyes and relief filled them. Eli was here. He quickly made his way to my table and took a seat.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I got—"

"Shh!" The librarian harshly called out.

Eli shot her a sheepish smile before turning his attention back to me and in a significantly lower voice, he said, "I got lost on the way. I haven't been here for long and these streets are still confusing the hell out of me. It's like a maze! I'm used to the easily navigable pack, you know? Even the Silver Night's woods weren't this hard and there were hidden paths all over—"

"Eli," I cut him off. "You're rambling."

His face heated up and a blush overtook his face. "Sorry."

"It's fine. The late thing too," I easily dismissed. To be honest, I actually preferred his tardiness in a way. It was far less daunting.

An awkward silence fell over us and I mentally cursed whoever said that it was easy to talk to your mate.

"You'll just click and before you know it, you'll have been talking for hours," they said.

Bullshit.

"So—" Eli and I both started to say at the same time.

"You go first," he told me and I shook my head.

"You go," I insisted because I knew that after he heard what I had to say then his mood would be ruined.

"I just..." he sighed. "I don't know, I wanted to talk about everything. You know, the...the rejection, us, Fen—all of it."

My eyes raised at the mention of Fen, the gamma I'd met. I'd suspected it, but I was told that Eli wasn't to know about Fen and my meeting if one could even call it that. After he spewed out his threats he had specifically told me not to tell Eli why I'd rejected him and yet, here we were.

"I know Fen said something to you," Eli blurted out, his eyes hesitantly meeting mine. "He told me. He told me that the two of you had 'talked' before you rejected me. I know that you didn't just do it on a whim. I know there's more to the story—"

"You don't know anything, Eli," I sighed.

Not about me. Not about what happened between Fen and I. Nothing.

"I know that he's the reason you rejected me," Eli challenged and I raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know that he didn't come there with good intentions? Do you think that the rejection wasn't my own idea? What makes you think that I wouldn't have rejected you even if Fen hadn't shown up?" I retorted.

Eli frowned deeply and I mentally sighed. I knew this wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Maybe you would have," Eli said, his voice barely above a whisper. "You're right, I can't know that for sure, but I refuse to believe that you would've done it like that if Fen hadn't been involved. You aren't a cruel person, Reuben."

"You don't know me, Eli," I reminded him.

"Look at us now. You agreed to meet with me despite originally not wanting anything to do with me. There's no way you would have rejected me in such a cold manner."

His eyes met mine and I could see the certainty shining within them. I directed my gaze elsewhere.

"It doesn't matter, Eli. What's done is done. You shouldn't have bothered trying to get in touch with me. Maybe I would've rejected you that way, maybe I wouldn't have but at the end of the day, I did it. I rejected you. You should be trying to move on with your life. You didn't do anything wrong so there's a possibility you'll get a second chance mate."

"What if I'm not ready to move on?" His eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. "I'm so fucking tired of hearing people tell me that I deserve happiness or that I'll eventually get my second chance at a happy ending. If I deserve happiness then I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place! I don't want a second chance mate, Reuben. I just want you to give me a chance."

Give me a chance. Those were the same words he said the first time I rejected him and walked away. I could still hear the pain in his voice.

"You don't want that," I shook my head. "Not with—"

"You don't know what I want," Eli cut me off. "Not you, not Fen, nobody. The only one who knows what I want is me and I'm tired of people trying to tell me otherwise. I know what I want, Reuben. One chance to prove to you that you jumped the gun too fast. To prove that there's a reason we were bonded together."

"And if I say no?" I asked him. "Better yet, what if I say yes? What if I say yes and this relationship you're so desperate to have with me falls apart? What if it only confirms what I told you before? What if we aren't compatible and it only proves you wrong? What if it confirms that me rejecting you was the right choice after all?"

Eli inhaled shakily before meeting my eyes. "Then I'll leave you alone. I'll stop pursuing you and let you live your life. I'll stop moping around and you won't have to see me ever again."

"And if I say no?" I repeated.

Eli fell quiet and I patiently waited for him to think of an answer.

"I don't know," he quietly said, his head tilted down and his eyes stared at the ground like a kicked puppy.

Neither one of us said anything, but I stared at him with a million-and-one thoughts racing through my mind. This wasn't what I agreed to meet him for. I didn't want to hear his pleas, but here I was. I came here specifically to reinforce my previous rejection and now...?

Now my mind was split in different directions. Part of me desperately wanted to leave and never look back. Eli and I were two different people and I was convinced that we wouldn't click. He was a pack wolf through and through whereas I was a pariah. He was loud, cheerful, and the center of attention while I was quiet, more often than not pessimistic, and preferred to blend into the background. I liked to be alone while he thrived with others around him. We truly were opposites and we wouldn't work.

Then there was the other side of me that was actually considering giving him his one chance. I'd play the long game, go along with it and prove to him that this wasn't going to work. I'd prove to him that we weren't meant to be and get him off my pack once and for all.

I could get up and walk away, or I could agree with him.

"I'm not expecting you to just immediately fall head-over-heels in love with me, Reuben. Trust me when I say I know better than anyone how unrealistic that is. In fact, love isn't even what I'm after right now. I'm willing to put in the effort and try to show you another part of me—of yourself—where we can work in the end."

Another side of me...?

Hearing that was almost laughable. It reminded me of what everyone had said when I was growing up; what they said when they heard I didn't want a mate.

"Wait and see, Reuben. You may say that now, but when you meet your mate and feel the sparks then it'll be like someone flipped a switch and they'll be all that you want and can think about."

A bitter smile formed on my face.

"Okay," I finally said, causing Eli's head to raise slightly.

"'Okay?'" He repeated wearily.

"You can have your 'one chance'" I told him.

Eli's eyes immediately lit up. "Are you serious?" I nodded. "Thank you, Reuben! Just wait, I'll prove to you that we can make this work!"

"Will you?" I questioned. "Because I'm determined to prove to you that we won't."

Eli's eyes met mine, but neither one of us said anything. I could practically see the cogwheels turning inside his head.

I wasn't agreeing to this because I was convinced that we were meant to be. I wasn't agreeing because his words had changed my mind. I was agreeing to this for one reason only.

To prove to Eli that he was wrong.

"Okay," Eli said, but there was something different about his tone. "I'm determined to prove to you that I'm right."

His dark eyes met mine and I could see a new fire had been ignited inside of them. He shot me a smile and I returned it with one of my own.

Challenge accepted.