I needed a run to clear my head. There was just too much I had to sort through. Cassie was still passed out and the whole house was quiet, so pulled my hair back, slipped on my running shorts, tank top, and tennis shoes and went out the door.

I began jogging down the road. The one good thing about being in a town full of night animals was that no one was up early on a Saturday morning. I felt like I had the whole town to myself.

I passed the Nightcrawler and kept going until I reached the woods. I stopped at the edge of the trees, listening to the sounds of life as the animals went about their day.

I stripped down and let go, slipping into my wolf, letting her break free. We had been together for three years now, and I tried to let her out as often as I could. I knew that she would want a say in what was going on, though I also knew I wasn't going to like what she had to say.

We must go back to him, tell him you weren't in your right mind, Aurora pleaded with me.

But I was in my right mind. I shot back.

You were drunk, even I could feel it.

That doesn't mean it wasn't actually what I wanted to do. Now that other guy? That wasn't me in my right mind.

Aurora grumbled as we ran through the woods. The leaves were just a blur of color as we made our way.

That is our mate. We have to go back.

That mate is a jerk.

So you admit it then, she said with a smile in her voice.

That he's a jerk? Yeah, I never denied that.

That he's our mate, she snapped. I could tell her patience with me was wearing thin.

I don't think I can deny what he's supposed to be. It doesn't change the fact that I want to stay as far away from him as possible. He isn't good for me, he isn't good for us.

Yes he is, and you're a fool if you don't realize it.

No he isn-

Something ran in front of us, causing us to skid to a halt. I wanted to snap at whatever had gotten in our way, but Aurora wouldn't let me. Our eyes fell onto the black wolf that had crossed our path.

I knew this wasn't going to end well, Aurora and I had completely different stances on what to do with Alarik, and at the moment, she was the one sitting at the controls. Everything had been given over to my animal instincts and they wanted to be with him.

I could see the knowing smile in his eyes. And I screamed at Aurora to turn around, but she wouldn't listen. In fact she was taking us closer.

You can't do this to me. You can't trap me like this, I screamed at her.

I knew he could hear me, he could hear me shouting with my wolf, arguing with myself. And he found it absolutely hilarious.

Are you trying to tell me you want to reject him? She asked.

Was that what I wanted to do? I suppose it was. I knew I didn't want to be with him, that would mean I would have to reject him.

But it seemed so final. Like there was no way back if I did.

I could feel her laughing, she knew she had won the small battle, but it was a far cry from winning the war.

Alarik's black wolf stepped closer, his fur nearly brushing against mine. Aurora sighed at the close proximity and I heard the low rumble in Alarik's chest.

He thought he had me. He couldn't fathom anyone ever turning him down. Well it would be a big rude awakening for him.

I commanded Aurora to turn us around, to leave the woods. We'd had had our talk, and now I was even more confused than I had been before. Why couldn't this be easier, why couldn't I just feel one way?

I wished my body and mind would work together, to either completely fall for him, or to completely hate him. I obviously wished for the latter.

I shifted back at the tree line, putting my clothes back on, and jogged the rest of the way home. When I walked through the door my dad poked his head around the corner of the kitchen.

"There you are! Where did you go? You left Cassie here all on her own," he accused.

"I needed to get some air, go for a run."

"It's fine, Mark, you know I don't mind hanging out with you guys," Cassie said with a grin. She looked back at me and I followed her up the stairs.

I was thankful to her for saving my hide. I was so not ready to tell my parents what was really going on. I knew they would be thrilled, it wasn't every day you found out your daughter was the mate to the soon to be Alpha. I was sure they would jump for joy if they found out.

And if I revealed my concerns to them, I knew they would just lecture me. They would say how selfish it was of me, selfish on so many levels. There wasn't just myself to think about, but my wolf and the pack. My mom may be on my side though, she was hard to feel out in that situation.

Wolves became depressed if they weren't united with their mate. Aurora would become weak, which would ultimately weaken me. That also meant the same would happen for Alarik.

I didn't really care what happened to him one way or the other, he wasn't good news. But it would be detrimental for the pack. If we had a weak Alpah, then we had a weak pack. Anyone could invade, they could do whatever they wanted. Raid us, kill us, take over. Essentially we wouldn't be any better than rogues.

"So what did she have to say?" Cassie asked as the door closed to my room.

She knew I had gone out to run with my wolf, and she knew Aurora would have something to say. She was like me, and I always had something to say.

"She obviously wants me to accept him," I said as if it were obvious. Which it was. There was rarely a wolf that didn't want to accept their mate. Those damn animal instincts.

"Then what's the problem here?"

"Him!" I shouted. "He's insane, he's creepy, he's a sleeze, he's even stalking me now!"

"Stalking you?"

"Yes! He found me when I was out running. Aurora almost gave me away to him then and there. But really, he followed us to Nightcrawler and beat up that guy, and then he followed me out into the woods."

"Maybe he just wants to make sure you don't get hurt, or get into any trouble," she offered.

"Cas, why are you trying to find the good in him all of a sudden? We don't like Alarik. And if you dare try to say it's because he's my mate I will storm right out of here."

Cassie looked at the ground. I huffed and stomped around. "I can't believe it, they have everyone brainwashed to think that having a mate is the best thing in the world. They even have you forgiving Alarik of all people. That family is bad news, and you're perfectly fine with it because he's your bestfriend's mate."

"You really shouldn't be saying all of this bad stuff about the Alpha's family," Cassie said quietly.

I knew she was right. As much as we hadn't liked the Alpha and his family, neither of us had been careless enough to rant about it out loud. Even if we were in my home, I knew it wasn't a good idea.

After a long moment of silence Cassie's face brightened up.

"We're still going to that party tonight, right? The end of summer bonfire?"

I cringed.

"We have to go! We're the juniors now! We practically run the palce, well, behind the seniors of course."

"Yeah we're still going," I said with a sigh. Another party with alcohol. Only the adults actually let this one happen. Everyone knew about the end of summer bonfire; it was impossible not to know about it. They let it happen as long as nothing got too out of hand. Though I was curious what 'too out of hand' meant for a pack of werewolves.

Cassie jumped up and down excitedly.

"Oh I just can't wait. Tonight's going to be amazing, this whole year is going to be amazing!"

I just nodded, hoping she was right.

*****

So Allison is pretty set against the idea of mates. Seems odd when her parents are mates, who appear to have faired well.

Thoughts so far?