The guys were in my room later that night. I didn't want to see anyone, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. "He did what?!" Jaxson yelled as he paced back and forth. "That's not possible. How can he just reject you?" He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Guys it's fine, honestly." I lied. "Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?" Maybe I could block out what happened today and just like I said, pretend it never happened. My wolf laughed at me. Guess not then.

Ray snorted, "Yeah, you said everything was going to be fine and look how it turned out Carlie. That ass treated you like trash." His body was beginning to shake, but the soothing touch from Emma calmed him down in seconds.

"He's right Carlie. You'll never be able to forget what happened today." Emma said before giving me a small smile. Jeez, sometimes I think those two have morphed into one person since finding each other. "Things aren't going to get any easier for you, but there are people everywhere who have their mates deny them for a little while. I know you're going through a tough time, but-"

"Do you?!" I tried not to yell, but I couldn't help it. Her 'tough time' crap was annoying. She didn't know how I felt, she had her mate. A mate who loved her and at this very minute stood next to her with his hands on her shoulders. "I think I missed the part where your mate rejected you. Oh, maybe that has something to do with the fact he didn't!"

Jaxson took a step towards me. "Come on Carlie, she's only trying to help. None of us know what you're going through babe, but what Em's trying to say is that we're all here for you." Taking another step towards me, I noticed he was wary about getting closer. I would be too, I knew by now my eyes would be as black as coal.

My breathing was ragged and as I spoke it came out as nothing but an angry hiss. "And what's that gonna do Jaxson? Is that going to make my mate want me? Is that going to take away the pain and shame of being rejected by the one person who is designed for you and you alone? No it's not, is it? So just back the hell off and stop trying to 'be there' for me. Just leave me alone, all of you!

Even once I'd finished speaking I couldn't believe I had said those words to my friends. I could feel the heat in my cheeks as my body starts to shake with anger. It wasn't even anger directed at Emma for what she said it was directed at him for being such a jerk.

My wolf was close to taking over and I knew if I didn't get out of there she would have. Pushing past Dera, who had stood silently with her mouth slightly ajar, I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. My destination? The woods.

Feeling every bone morph into my wolf's form was exhilarating. As my limbs changed and my hands became paws, I couldn't help but smile. My ears pricked at the slightest sound and my vision instantly became even better than it usually is. My ash grey fur began to spout and cover my entire body. By the time I had reached the clearing in the forest, I had fully shifted. My wolf wanted to run and run until our paws ached and I had no objection.

Ever since I became a wolf the one thing I have enjoyed the most is the ability to run and keep going wherever I wanted, to be alone and be able to shift into my true self. Running always helped. I don't know why because I knew the problems would still be there when I went back, but for those hours I was alone with my wolf those said problems didn't exist.

I ran until I found the cabin. Even the sight of the large weeping willow that stood by the pond brought a wave of happiness to me. It was a place we all used to hang out when we were kids. The place where we all met up once we had shifted for the first time. The place where we used to have sleepovers and tell ghost stories. It was our home away from home and right now it was everything I needed.

Walking up to the dark wooden cabin, the scent of wild flowers hit my nose. It brought with it a familiarity that I had loved and missed. Giving one last look around to be sure I was alone, I shifted back into human form and unlocked the door. Even the echoing creek of the door hinges caused a smile to creep onto my lips.

To my relief there was still a pile of logs by the fire place so I wouldn't have to get them myself. That was something Ray always did. He and Jaxson would fight their way through the overgrowth, axes mounted on their shoulders, looking for the thickest logs to cut. It made us laugh how they would always come back with the thinnest, most useless ones. The fire normally lasted half an hour before they would have to go out and get more.

I grabbed the spare clothes we kept here, though they were now considerably smaller, and set to work on lighting the fire. I ended up in a pair of Jaxson's sweatpants and an old tank which no longer covered my stomach so I grabbed the blanket and pulled it tightly around me.

Sitting on the worn out, tan leather couch my mind wondered to everything that happened. Was it possible to have a second mate? Did they even exist? From the stories my mother and father used to tell me, the answer was no. I hadn't even begun to think about what my pack were going to say. To have your mate reject you is bad enough, but for him to be future Alpha is even more of an embarrassment, even if he wasn't my future Alpha.

I could almost imagine the look on my parents faces when I spoke those dreaded words. I mean, what was I supposed to say to them? Oh by the way guys I've found my mate and we're completely in love with him, but yeah he rejected us. Not sure that would go down too well.

What if I didn't tell anyone? If I kept it a secret from anyone who mattered? My friends knew of course, but they wouldn't say anything. I tried not to think of what happened in the cafeteria, but like the traitors they are, my thoughts kept going back to that moment and replaying it to me.

That full, perfect smile he gave me and the way his eyes held an emotion that made my heart beat a thousand times a minute. The image of Adan I wanted to keep, the face I wanted and wished he would give me every day of our lives. However, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't keep the real image of him away. His narrowed eyes and scowl that masked his perfect features, the emotion of hate and disgust he wore that made my heart break and my wolf howl in pain. That would be the memory I would always have of the first meeting with my mate.

The orange glow of the sky had turned inky black and the stars where beginning to pear through. I knew it was time to leave the cabin and head back to reality. As I shifted and let my wolf reign over me there were two things I was certain of, I owed a big apology to Emma and the rest of my friends, and school was going to be hell tomorrow.

* * *

By the time I had reached my house, I would have thought the guys had left. Not surprising considering I was gone for nearly three hours. With a bottle of water and a bar of chocolate in one hand, and my cell in the other I headed to my room to make the much needed 'I'm sorry' calls.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked as my eyes wandered over the four bodies that lay like starfish on my bed.

Dera was the first to bounce up. "We weren't just going to leave you, not the state you were in." She pulled me in to a hug. "Besides your house has more chocolate than mine does. Mom's on a detox again." She pulled a face and I laughed. It sounded just right for Julie to be on another diet.

The fact the other guys didn't move an inch didn't go unnoticed. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened. I tried to hold her back, but I couldn't. You guys were only trying to help, especially you Emma," I looked into her brown eyes and smiled. "And I was such an ass to all of you. I officially suck."

Emma was the first to get up. She walked over to me and wrapped her arms around giving me a tight squeeze. "It's not your fault Carlie. We- I shouldn't have said what I did about knowing how you feel. Of course I don't and it was stupid of me, I don't even know why I said it. It was a case of runaway mouth." She gave me a sheepish look.

"No need to apologise to me Carlie, just tell me you think I'm the sexiest man alive and all is forgiven." Jaxson kneeled on the bed and flexed his muscles.

I scrunched up my face. "I'd rather apologise."

He covered his mouth with one hand and his heart with the other. "I'm hurt." He said giving a dramatic sigh. "How can you not admit my downright hotness?

"It's actually pretty easy. You have to be hot for me to think it and then for you to be told it by me." It took him a few seconds to work out what I had said. I knew the minute he had because a pillow was sent flying in the direction of my head.

Picking it up from the floor, I threw it back before running over to the bed and jumping on top of him. As we wrestled with each other and the bed covers, I could hear everyone laughing. "Dude, I hid in a closet for you." Jaxson said, but the last part of his sentence was muffled thanks to the pillow I held over his face.

"Why were you in a closet?" I asked confused.

A clearing of the throat interrupted our bed brawl. "Ah, that would be my fault. When you mom came home we didn't know what to tell her and we guessed you wouldn't want her knowing about you-know-what." She whispered the last part. "So I told her you'd gone on a run with Jaxson."

That lie actually wasn't that bad. Normally Dera would could out with some crappy, unbelievable excuse like how an overgrown rat kidnapped me or that I'd run away with the Nerd Society. "You did me proud with that one Bell." I said laughing.

"See? So because I had to get in and then effectively come out of the closet." I opened my mouth, but was stopped when he raised his hand and covered it. "Yeah thanks, the jokes have been taken by Ray." Ray, Emma and Dera dissolved in to laughter. "I think you should remind me of just how damn God-like I am." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Hmph." Was the only sound I managed to make. Jaxson pulled his hand away from my mouth and sat on top of me. "Yourethesexiestmanalive."

He cupped his ear and moved an inch closer. "What was that Carlie?" Arrogant jerk!

"You're the sexiest man alive." I huffed. "Now get the hell of me!"

Jaxson winked. "I sure am, baby." He said before pushing himself up.

My mate might be a jerk, but I have awesome friends. I felt myself smiling for the first time today, though I had the knowing feeling in the pit of my stomach that my smile wouldn't be in place tomorrow.