I was cut off by the sound of a scream and it made my wolf stir. It wasn't until I heard the scream again, did I realize it was Noah. My wolf went on auto pilot and ran out the house and towards the woods.

I walked down the dirt path, the rocks crunching under my feet. It was a beautiful Saturday, the sunshine raining down on my shoulders and nourishing the green Earth beneath my feet. The whole school week, Ryder and Riley were gone. I was worried but I tried not to think much of it. Ryder was just a king stranger to me so there was no reason to worry about him. That was my mantra of the week. To get my mind off of things, I decided to take my dog for a walk through the forest that was close by.

"It smells exactly the same it smelled 30 seconds ago. Just pee!" I yelled at my dog, Boo. She sniffed the tree once more before moving on to another. I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face. I felt like I haven't slept in days and I probably haven't. I couldn't stop thinking about Ryder and that little scene we had. Not to mention his eyes and the way they changed colors. That was not normal but I didn't have the slightly clue on what could be the explanation. I tried to think of human explanation but nothing made sense.

I heard a distant bark and snapped my head up. I then realized that I couldn't find Boo and the bark was probably hers. "Boo!" I screamed her name over and over but I only got silence in response. "Dumb dog." I muttered under my breath as I continued walking down the path, searching for my dog.

I heard another bark and ran towards it, losing track of the path. I went past a couple of bushes, dodged some branches, and continued to call her name but still no response. I eventually became tired and rested my hands on my knees. I calmed down my breathing a little and looked around me.

I was in the middle of no where and I had completely lost the path. Great, so now I'm lost and I have no dog. I thought to myself. I turned to go the direction I came from but the sight in front of me cause me to stop and I froze. A huge white wolf was standing a few feet infront of me, snarling and growling. It wasn't the size of a normal wolf. It was alot bigger and almost taller than me. It was nothing like I had ever seen before, probably because wolves weren't common in my area of living. That was what scarred me. He watched me, with a hunger in his eyes that made me weak in the knees, as I took a step back and just for my luck, I tripped over a rock. I fell onto my back and screamed when the wolf ran towards me.

I grabbed a branch that was next to my arm and held it infront of me, the same time the wolf decided to snap his teeth near my face. "Help!" I cried as I tried to push the wolf off of me so I could make a run for it. I continued to scream for helps as the sharp canines came closer and closer to my face. Tears were falling from my eyes at this point. Dying was not on my todo list today. In a split second, the white wolf was attacked in the side by another wolf. I got to my feet as fast as I could and almost made a break for it until I saw the wolf.

He had sandy brown hair but what caught my attention the most was his yellow eyes. I automatically felt safe and for some reason, instead of running for my life, I hid behind a tree and made sure the wolf was okay. The brown wolf faced the other and attacked it, pinning it to the ground. I watched as they growled and pawed at each other, battling for dominance. Soon after, a black wolf came out from behind the trees and assisted the brown one in what seemed like a fight to the death.

The black wolf started chasing the white one and I observed as they disappeared. I turned my attention towards the brown wolf as it took cautious steps towards me. For some reason, I didn't back away. I dropped to my knees when it was close and held out my hand to touch it. I shut my eyes tight and awaited the feeling of it's soft fur between my fingers. It saved my life after all.

To my surprise, the wolf pushed it's head into my hand, allowing me to touch. I ran my hand through the fur on his head and scratched behind it's ear. I stood back up and the wolf took a couple steps back but what surprised me the most was what happened next.

The wolf sat down and I watched as the fur started to disappear, being replaced by human skin. The sound of bones cracking and fur shedding was loud and rang through the forest. When all the fur was gone and the bones were done cracking, a nude human sat in front of me. Werewolves aren't real. You're dreaming. This can't be happening. I kept telling myself but I knew I wasn't dreaming.

The person looked up and my heart flipped some more. Ryder looked into my eyes like he was expecting me to react but I couldn't. I was too shocked, too confused, and flushed with adrenaline. Everything started to become fuzzy before my eyes shut and I met the cold ground that was beneath me.

"Dad, how long can a wolf reject their mate?" I asked suddenly as I stood next to one of the many dining tables. My parents looked up and stared at me.

"Why would someone do that? Having a mate is a wonderful thing and besides, it's too hard." he stated as he took a sip of his coffee.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I shifted uncomfortably. I knew what he meant since I was rejecting my mate. I knew it was wrong and I finally accepted the fact that I might be gay. But apart of me still didn't want to disappoint my pack or ruin my reputation. I knew I sounded like a jerk but if I got banned or shunned from the pack, I didn't know what I would do.

"Well for one, your wolf wouldn't like it. He finally found his other half and all he wants to do is mark, protect, and love the mate. And by you rejecting them, your just causing yourself and your wolf pain. It's like having a constant empty feeling." He took another sip of his coffee, reminding me of the pain in my chest. I had missed school every since the rogues attacked and it was becoming extremely difficult being away from Noah.

"Honey, it really depends on the person. Eventually that person will give in and accept their mate but since they waited so long, they might not be able to hold back their wolf." my mother added. "Besides, having a mate is beautiful." She glanced over at my father and they exchanged heart warming smiles. "You experience something not everyone can experience. You have a special bond, a connection. Just promise me, you won't reject her when she comes."

"I promise." I sighed. That was the unspoken problem, it wasn't a 'her'.

"It's actually more than just that, Ryder," Hunter stated, exchanging worried looks with my mother. "The bond between mates is stronger than you can imagine. It grants you amazing abilities and a soul connection that is unimaginable."

"Yeah, I know."

"What your father is trying to say, dear, is if that bond is not created or broken, it could lead to death- almost like dying from heart break," my mother finished. Her words struck me deep. I had no idea of these consequences, these risks. I suddenly began to rethink my whole sexuality.

I thanked my parents before running up to Riley's room and flopping onto his bed. I watched him play video games and completely ignore my presence. I sighed deeply but he made no effort to pay attention. I sighed once more, louder this time, and still no response. I was about to do it again before he cut me off.

"Sigh one more time and I promise, I'll rip out your throat." he snapped before pausing his game. "What's up?"

"I don't know what to do." I said as I made room for him to sit down.

"Yeah, I heard your conversation with your parents." he sighed. "You can't reject Noah for long- I mean unless you want to . I think you should forget about your stupid reputation and just accept that your Noah's mate."

"But I'm not ga-" I was cut off by the sound of a scream and it made my wolf stir. It wasn't until I heard the scream again, did I realize it was Noah. My wolf went on auto pilot and ran out the house and towards the woods. I didn't bother taking off my clothes. Instead, I jumped and shifted in mid air, landing on all fours and running towards the scream.

I stopped when I saw a white rogue trying to kill my Noah. He screamed again and my wolf whined. We ran towards the wolf and rammed him in the side, removing him off of Noah. I looked over to make sure he was okay, but only to find him already looking at me. I held my wolf back the best I could and continued to fight the rogue. I pinned it to the ground, growling and snapping my teeth. I heard Riley come near and backed away as he chased the rogue away.

I looked back and was surprised to see Noah hiding behind a tree, his eyes wide from fright. He looked I walked towards him slowly, making sure not scare him anymore, and was schocked when he got down on his knees with his hand outstretched. He wanted to pet me. My heart flipped in excitement and joy that my mate was pleased with my actions. I put my head in his hand, wanting to feel his touch so bad. He was so gentle and I loved every second of it. He stood back up as I took a couple steps back. I began to shift back to my human form and looked up to meet his eyes. His eyes grew huge and right when I was about to say something, he fainted.