The Runaway Mate Novel – Sierra “C-Can you please just give me a ride home?” I sighed in defeat, staring at my feet and blinking rapidly to keep the tears from slipping. “Whatever,” my brother sighed, annoyance dripping from his tone. “Just make sure you don’t weigh down the car too much.” He added nastily and quite audibly under his breath. Was that really necessary? The betraying tears started to leak out. No, I told myself. I will not cry now, not in front of them, not again… To cover it up, I leaned my head over and let my bangs slip down and shield my face. Before I tell you what happened next and you think I’m hopelessly clumsy, just know that I had tears in my eyes, blurring my vision and my long bangs pulled out to cover my face. So naturally, I did not have the best awareness of my surrounding environment. As I stumbled to my brother’s car blindly, I tripped (It remains a mystery to this day on what specifically, although Deanne Saunders’ foot is my prime suspect) and catapulted forward, only to fall into some guy’s arms. Great, just great. As if public humiliation wasn’t enough.
I glanced down at the arms that had gone around me and blanched. There was a tattoo on his wrist, a sideways ‘S’ with an arrow going diagonally through it, making it look like an infinity sign. There was only one person at our school with that tattoo, and that was Cody Rogerson. Of course I would fall into Cody Rogerson’s arms. Cody Rogerson, the equivalent of my brother in social status and alpha role. The universe must’ve decided verbal abuse wasn’t enough. I weaned myself out of his arms, looking up and preparing myself to apologize and- One word echoed repeatedly in my mind: Mate. Again, and again. Oh, for moons sake. Of all people, him? My blue-hazel eyes met his blue-hazel ones, and two thoughts scattered vaguely across my shocked mind. The first was: He has the same eye color as me, weird. The second was: He is insanely attractive.
I’d seen this boy hang around my brother for years and years, but never before had I actually taken the time to observe his features-why would I have? He was out of my league, anyway. Until now. Maybe it was just my wolf overreacting (probably was), but in a nutshell, he was hot. Very, very, hot. What happened next was completely unexpected. Somewhere between my chest and my stomach, something was stirring, churning inside me. Oh, my moons. My wolf was awakening. This could not be happening. All of this happened in about five seconds, but it was long enough for me to realize that he was feeling this too. His eyes (did I mention they were the same color as mine?) widened just a bit, and his mouth opened wider in shock. And then, I made the biggest mistake I had probably ever made. My mouth opened of its own accord and I whispered, “Mate.” I am such and idiot. As soon as the word slipped out of my mouth, I knew it was a horrifying mistake.
And that was before Deanne Saunders decided to step in. Cody opened his mouth, no doubt about to say something, but I would never find out because Deanne chose that moment to express her disgust. “What did you say?” she asked in disbelief. There was a moment of shock, and then suddenly I was ripped from Cody. I turned and saw Nolan quickly dragging me to the car. “No,” Deanne said, grabbing my hand and pulling me back. “I want to hear if she said what I actually think she just said.” Dubious murmurs filled the little bystander group around us. I turned and met Cody’s eyes, and I knew, I knew it was real. He was still staring at me, his mouth slightly open. Someone grabbed my shoulder and suddenly I was looking into the incredulous green eyes of Deanne Saunders. “You just said ‘mate’,” she confirmed, her mouth twisted into half a smile. “Didn’t you?” I nodded. Did she actually believe me? Maybe she couldn’t hate me if I was mated to someone from her group of friends. Maybe she would actually start to- Deanne threw her head back and burst into laughter.
“Classic!” She leaned over and gave Cody a playful shove. “I always knew she had a crush on you, Cody, but I never thought she’d play this card to get you.” “Are you insane?!” Nolan spluttered, looking at me like I’d suddenly grown a tail and wings and decided to declare undying love for tap dancing. “What?” I asked, staring at him blankly. It wasn’t my fault Cody was my mate. It wasn’t something you could control. “Look,” Nolan said, shaking his head, his expression one of disbelief and pity, “I’m sorry if you feel like a loser, but that doesn’t mean that you can…you can…just make up some lie about a mate! Sierra, this is going too far. Even for you.” Cody’s head whipped to my brother, and back at me, his eyes wide. And suddenly it all made sense. I never thought she’d play this card. Are you insane? Make up some lie about a mate. They thought I was lying. “Are you kidding me?” I spat. I yanked my hand out of Nolan’s stronghold and glared at him.
This group of kids may be able to ruin my social life, fine, but they sure weren’t getting ahold of my relationship with my mate as well. “Why on earth would Iie about this? I’m telling the truth!” Deanne snorted. “She’s actually going with it. I can’t believe it.” I rounded on Cody. “Tell them!” For someone who was my brother’s best friend, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d talked to him directly. Cody’s expression hadn’t changed from the one of shock. “Tell them I’m not lying!” “Oh, man, I’m sorry, Cody,” my brother said, shaking his head. “I didn’t know she would steep this low.” I was still staring down Cody, waiting for him to defend me. To tell them that I wasn’t lying, I was his mate. But he wasn’t saying anything. I pleaded with my eyes. Tell them. Come on. You’re my mate! Tell them. But he made no reaction but close his mouth. Cody swallowed, and glanced around the circle, his expression now guarded. “Get in the car, Sierra.” My brother’s voice was laced with anger and fury at me for embarrassing him in public. But I made no movement. I continued staring at Cody.
Why wasn’t he saying anything? He had to. Maybe he was still in shock. Yeah, that must be it, he was still in shock. That must be why he wasn’t talking. “Get in the car, Sierra. Now.” Now my brother hissed, his words were laced with the alpha authority, something he rarely used. Torn between resisting the command and waiting for my mate, I acted on one, final, desperate measure. Which was really just very, very, stupid of me. I blame it on my newfound wolf instincts. “Tell him!” I shrieked, grabbing onto his arms and shaking him. The minute I touched him, I felt goose bumps explode all over my skin and something within me (3 guesses on what it was) churned deep inside me and purred. He flinched from my touch —probably because I was acting the slightest bit senseless— and stared at me with those huge exactly same colored eyes as mine. “Sierra!” my brother shouted. Suddenly there were arms on my shoulders, yanking me back from Cody.
Nolan spun me around and shook me, hard. “What the heck is wrong with you? Are you on drugs or something!? Get in the car, now!” And with that, he shoved me toward the passenger seat in his car, effectively shoving past Deanne (who got shoved out of the way and stumbled as my brother pushed me towards the car; half a point for me, yay). Nolan turned around one last time; his ears and face were red—he was actually blushing. “Hey, man, I’m sorry, Cody. I…I don’t know what’s gotten into her…she’s not normally like this.” For some reason, that irritated me. What would he know about my normalness? It wasn’t like he spent any time with me. Cody cleared his throat, seeming to regain his senses. I smiled smugly, ready for him to accept me, tell everyone I wasn’t lying, and proclaim his undying love for me. Finally. It was about time, I was getting kind of worried. It had to be Cody Rogerson, the infamous player of an alpha, but he would do. “It’s okay,” Cody said cautiously. “I, um…look, Sierra,” he said, directly looking me in the eye. “I’m sorry, but…” I wanted to die.
This couldn’t be happening. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we could ever be mates.” A faint smirk was playing on his lips now. “Look, if you really want to be with someone like me, we can be…uh… friends, if you want,” he said cautiously, watching my every reaction as a few laughs echoed around the circle. “But, um, don’t you think the ‘we’re mates’ is kind of taking it a little too far?” he asked, raising one eyebrow; a corner of his lips raised to form a smirk. I was so shocked, I couldn’t move. My body completely froze. In that same place, between my chest and abdomen, where my wolf was, there was a small pang of pain. And then it grew. It quickly spread throughout my body, and I could hear a howl echoing in my ears, a howl filled with sadness and pain. I didn’t need anyone to tell me what that was, I knew it was my wolf. And if my wolf was feeling pain, then I would, too. The aching sadness spread throughout my body, numbing my arms and legs. Oh, gosh, I couldn’t breathe. So when my brother pushed me into the passenger seat, I simply sat down, hard. I didn’t fight.
I didn’t have it within me. Oh, god. I could feel the tears coming. I knew I would break down any moment now. No! Had I not heard that small voice in my head, I would have burst into tears right then and there. You don’t even know him! Are you seriously going to shed tears for a guy that you’ve never talked to till today? My rebellious conscience was furious with Cody, not hurt. But he’s my mate, my wolf whimpered. And he’s a jerk. He doesn’t deserve you. If you show how much you’re affected, then he’ll win. Show him you’re stronger than that. And so I did. Regaining feeling in my body and recovering from the shock, I swung my legs into the car and slammed the passenger door shut behind me with a little more force than necessary, startling my brother in the process, who had been reaching for the door himself. Nolan maneuvered around to the driver’s seat, mumbled another apology towards Cody, who shook his head and said, “Hey, it’s cool, man.”
Nolan stepped into the car and sped out of the parking lot. We spent at least two minutes in complete, heavy silence, the engine of the car racing. It may have been silent, but it was one of the loudest silences I’d ever heard. After Nolan’s grip on the steering wheel had lessened a bit, he turned his furious light brown eyes to me. “I cannot believe you.” He said in a low voice. “And you should keep your eyes on the road.” I said back. I mean, I’d already done enough emotional damage to myself today, what could be worse? I might as well take advantage of the fact that I could get all my humiliation done today. I could feel Nolan’s glare on me, but I kept my face turned firmly towards the window, eyes locked on the passing scenery. “Look. I get that you’re jealous of Deanne and her friends, but that doesn’t mean that you need to act like a—” “That’s what you think this is about?” I hissed, suddenly irritated that even he didn’t believe me. My own brother. “I…well, isn’t it?” he asked, thrown off by the abrupt venom in my voice. I wasn’t usually like this, this attitude was new for him.
Honestly, I couldn’t remember that last time I’d argued with him. But I was tired. Having a mate practically reject me in front of the most popular people in school was enough, but to have my own brother not believe me was too much. “I wasn’t lying,” I hissed. “I looked into Cody’s eyes and I knew he was my mate. I looked into his eyes and I felt it, I’m not lying.” My brother’s hands tightened on the wheel, his face hard. He still didn’t believe me. “Sierra…” he said, trailing off, disbelief clear in his tone. “You know what?” I said, annoyed. “Forget it. If you don’t believe me, fine. I don’t care. You wouldn’t believe me even if I was telling the truth—” “That’s not true!” He spluttered. “I would believe you but if you were actually telling the truth for once—” I snorted a laugh. “Really? You’d believe me? When was the last time you’d stood up for me, Nolan?” And at that, he’d had no answer. With all our fighting, I didn’t notice that we’d come to a stop and we now parked in front of our house.
Taking advantage of his silence, I flung open the door and slammed it, stalking up the lawn to the pack house. Cody I knew she was here before Deanne called her out. Her scent was so intoxicating, but in a good way, like smelling brownies when you came home. It was this mix of soap and rose. Her blue-hazel eyes swiveled to mine, and suddenly it took all my willpower to stop the urge to throw myself her. She was waiting for me to defend her, to stand up for her, to do something, and I couldn’t feel my limbs. I couldn’t do anything but stare at her and watch as my brain completely flipped any negative thought I’d had about her. If I’d ever thought she was ugly, I couldn’t remember for the life of me why I’d thought that. She wasn’t that overweight. She was no longer Nolan’s loser younger sister but Sierra, my mate, and I didn’t know what to do.
Her eyes – now glassy from tears, great – were staring at me in a way that sent my wolf into fits of fury. I stood, dumbfounded and at war with myself, trying to control the freakish urge to step forward. It was like the animal was rolling around in there, screaming it’s head off. Which in turn, made me want to scream my head off. There was a dull ache in the higher abdomen area of my body, and it hurt. Was this mating thing always so complicated? I wanted out. What I would do to just talk to her…but I couldn’t. Why had it been me to get stuck with the weakest one of the pack? Weren’t alphas supposed to get Luna’s that were strong? If she hadn’t had such a low rep in the pack, maybe there would’ve been a chance for us. Maybe we could’ve been happy, but this…how was I supposed to accept her as my mate? “Hey Cody, ya still up for your offer to hang out with Sierra?” Nolan’s voice broke through my train of thoughts. “I think that’s why she’s here.”
I could feel the blood rush to my face. Sure, Nolan had teased her his whole life, but it only occurred to me now how…how wrong that was. Wasn’t that his own sister? This had to end now. The longer we stayed like this—the whole ‘mates, but not really’ game—the worse it would get. I had to stop this. And if this is the pain she feels— I let out a breath of air as the dull ache became a sharper yanking feeling—I should just end it for the both of us. As she ran away, hand rising to cover her crumpling face and hair swishing to cover it, I knew what I had to do. The thing was, I could never accept her as my mate, not in the position I was now. An alpha and a girl like her just couldn’t be together—ugh, my name would become the laughingstock of the pack. I needed to end it now, for both of us. I yanked my backpack off the floor and started down the hall where she’d gone. “Uh, Cody? Where are you going?” Nolan’s voice interrupted my train of thoughts again.
I turned to see all my friends staring at me in confusion. “I, uh…I gotta take a piss. Be right back.” And with that little white lie, not waiting for their reactions, I turned on my heel, and headed down the hall, following the flash of dark brown hair that flashed around the corner. There was this secret stairwell under the stairs. I’d seen it as I walked around, but I’d never actually gone in there. Rumor had it that it was now some ghost janitor’s closet. I saw a flash of brown hair go in there, so ghost or not, I would have to go in there too. The first thing I saw was that no, it was not some ghost janitor’s closet. It was an actual stairwell. Weird. You’d think I’d notice something like this after two years. The second thing I saw was her. And she was crying. Great. That would make this so much easier. And as much as I hate to admit it, seeing her like that hurt, man. Somewhere inside me, underneath my chest, my wolf was hurting, which meant I was hurting too.
Her shoulders were shaking and she was on the ground, against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest. Did I mention she was crying? And those sobs weren’t I-scraped-my-knee sobs. They were real, heartbroken ones. Oh, moons. This would not be easy. In that weak moment of mine, my wolf lashed out inside me, making me act without knowing. I was halfway to her, my arms outstretched, when I realized what my wolf was doing, and struggled to contain it. Thank god she was crying, because it probably looked like I was having a mini-seizure. I yanked my arms to the side and gritted my teeth. Either my wolf was strong, or my power over it was weak. Or you really want to give her a hug deep inside, my wolf suggested slyly. Shut up, I commanded it. The last thing I needed was him to chastise me, as if having her around wasn’t enough. And before my wolf could pull anything else, I cleared my throat, trying for her attention.
Her head snapped up immediately, her red eyes wide and still dripping from tears. But still that cute baby blue-hazel color that now that I’d really looked at them, looked eerily familiar. Urgh, why was I noticing this all now, of all times? I’d practically grown up with her and Nolan, you’d think I’d have noticed. For a single moment, we simply stared at each other, and then she stood up, stood up so quickly I was afraid she’d hurt herself. And then we continued the staring match for a few more awkward seconds, as I fought my wolf the whole time. When the urge to go over to her and hug her and wipe the tears away began to get increasingly painful and strong, I spoke first. “Look.” I said. My wolf rebelled again, this time making my hand shoot forward towards her shoulder, and I caught it half way. This had to stop. Not knowing what else to do, I shifted forward awkwardly and shoved my hands in my pockets, hoping to tie them down. Take that, wolf. “It’s not you, okay?” I tried again. “It’s just that you and I…we’re completely different people. We…we don’t belong together. We—we can’t belong together. You know I can’t be seen with you. I’m an alpha. And you…you’re…well…Look: I don’t think it’ll work out—sorry. I just can’t risk being seen with you.” My throat went dry, and my hands started to shake, but that wasn’t my wolf’s doing.
Moons, this felt like a breakup. But were breakups all this bad? And I hadn’t even touched her yet. “A Luna for me has to be strong, you know?” Just say it, Cody, I pushed myself. The gnawing pain inside me was growing, oh, moons. “Yeah, so anyways…um…I’m really sorry, but…I, Cody Rogerson, reject you, Sierra Brimingwall, as my Mate.” With that last word, it was like someone took a knife to my stomach. My knees almost crumpled, and my head spun, and the most painful sadness I had ever felt washed over me, making my vision go hazy, and Sierra went blurry in my vision. My wolf was going insane with pain too, and he jumped on my weakness and I found my arm shooting forward, again. But I wouldn’t let it, not now, not after all that effort, no way. Oh, moons. I had to get out of here, before I did something I’d regret.
I forced myself to turn around and walk out, my knees shaking, down the hall. The lockers and doors swam in my vision, and all I could really make out were the doors at the end of the hallway, which was my goal. Screw class. It would have to wait. I shoved past the doors and out into the grounds, my breath slowly hitching up, but it wasn’t because I was tired, oh, no. This was something else, something worse. This could not be happening. Not to me, the future co-alpha. I shoved myself into the woods behind the school and walked to the first tree and collapsed against it, landing on my knees. My breath hitched again, and the stabbing pain in my abdomen increased. I knew it was useless to try and stop it, but I tried to force myself to stop the tears anyway. And just like I’d predicted, it was useless. So I cried, for the first time, in a long, long time. Sierra You know, at first, it didn’t really register. What he said. But when he did? Oh, my, moons. It hurt.
It felt like someone had tied a sash around my body and tightened it, continuing to tighten it, so much that it hurt, and I couldn’t breathe. My knees gave way, and I felt myself fall to the floor. Out of the corner of my blurry vision, I saw a flash of shoes, his shoes, and the door slammed shut. And with that final bang of the door, the pain engulfed me, my blurry vision was blanketed in black, and I passed out. How I ended up in my bed, I honestly don’t know. But I’d bet my miserable little life on the fact that it had something to do with Casey, who was sprawled on the floor of my room, her head using my Calculus textbook for a pillow. Slipping out of bed, I yanked my blanket off of it and covered Casey and glanced outside.
The sky was a beautiful shade of the dark blue, blending into the brown of the hills on the east of our town. A pair of blue-hazel eyes flashed in my memory. I, Cody Rogerson reject you, Sierra Brimingwall, as my mate. And just like that, the pain shattered my peace, and I found myself clutching the windowsill for support, the constricting feeling back in my body. I don’t remember falling to the floor, or the tears that stained the carpet, or when exactly Casey’s arms were around me again, but they were there, and they were the only things that held me down to earth.