ust one word could bring my world crashing down. Just one word could stir my wolf from deep slumber. Just one word could change my life forever.

"Mate," He murmured before grabbing the back of my neck to inhale my scent. I dropped the posters and tape in my hands, wanting to touch him.

"Mate." I whispered back and clung onto his arm, breathing in his scent.

We must've looked really strange, just the two of us, hugging onto each other for dear life in the middle of the supermarket.

Yeah, real strange.

"I'm Drake."

"I'm Lia."

We finally detached from each other and I saw an older woman look at us in disgust. But neither of us cared.

"Nice to meet you, little mate," He smirked and I looked him over.

Tall, dark, and handsome seemed to accurately describe him.

He was pretty tall but he would be considered average since he was a werewolf. He was pretty handsome, too, but there was something almost ominous about him. Like he'd been through Hell, I couldn't really name it.

But the thing I noticed most about him was the fact that he had a commanding presence.

"How old are you anyway? Thirty?" I asked, not expecting him to be so old. I'd always imagined my mate to be the same age as me, maybe a little older.

"Twenty-seven."

"Seriously?" Wow, he's old.

"I heard that."

"Huh?"

"The mind link," He tapped his forehead with his index finger, "Anything that passes through your mind, I can hear,"

"Oh." Whoops.

I almost forgot about the mind link, I'd never used it before.

I crossed my arms and he looked straight into my eyes.

"Look, I'm leaving the country." Wow, slow down there.

"Where are you going?" I instantly wanted to be by his side.

"North. Maybe Iceland," He shrugged and then grabbed my hands, interlacing our fingers, "Come with me."

I looked at our intertwined hands, "What?"

"You're my mate, we need to be together."

"But my family is here, my friends are here. And I have school, I can't just leave." Everything I knew was here.

Drake reached out and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Think about it."

"O-Okay." And just as quickly, he took a step back and our hands fell back to our sides.

But secretly, I craved to be touched.

Drake stiffened and looked at his watch, "I have to go."

"Wait! Where are we going to meet?" I demanded frantically as he rushed away. He turned around and gave me a small smile. Wow, his smile alone could bring me weak in the knees.

"Don't worry, I'll find you,"

Drake left before I could say anything else.

I didn't even get a last name.

.•*•.

"For the last time, I have no idea where she is." Jesse said through gritted teeth.

"Why do I find that I don't believe you?" I crossed my arms, completely relying on my instincts. I knew Jesse had something to do with Stella's disappearance.

Jesse scowled, "I already told you everything."

My patience was wearing thin.

I grabbed Jesse by the collar of his shirt and shoved him against the door.

"Tell me where she is! I know you've been killing werewolves and the only reason why I haven't killed you yet is because I'd lose all of my self control. Now start talking or I'm going to hurt you in ways that haven't been done yet."

Jesse looked slightly shocked about what I'd just done but immediately regained composure.

"If you really want to know, why don't you ask Principal Galante?"

"What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Put me down and I'll tell you." I obediently unhanded him and waited impatiently.

I couldn't believe what he was telling me.

.•*•.

Apparently, Principal Galante had been blackmailing Stella about her and Matt Hudson's relationship.

"You did what?" I asked furiously, ready to snap her neck in half. But Taylor grabbed my arm before I could get to her.

"Lia, calm the hell down." Taylor said and I almost forgot she was here. I called Taylor and Nicole after what I'd learned.

"No, I won't calm the hell down!"

Taylor and Nicole looked at each other, not saying anything.

I didn't want to believe Jesse but I had no choice. But everything he'd said turned out to be undeniably true.

"Who told you?" The principal asked and I snorted.

"None of your business." Although I was insanely curious as to how Jesse found out. And why Stella hadn't told me about all of this, then maybe we wouldn't have been in this mess.

Why didn't she tell me?

"I swear, I didn't think she'd run away. I only wanted them to stop seeing each other. I never meant for her to run away." Principal Galante's voice quivered.

"Do you know where she went?"

"No."

Oh, Stella, where are you?

I pivoted on my heel and Principal Galante spoke up, "Where are you going?"

"To report you for blackmailing a student."

"No, please don't." She begged and I was disgusted.

"You don't get a say in this." I hissed.

I couldn't believe our principal would do something like this. I expected something from Jesse, not from a principal.

But no matter what I did, Stella still wasn't here.

She wasn't going to come back.

I stared the principal straight in the eyes before slamming the door.

"Because of you, Stella ran away. If she doesn't turn up soon, losing your job will be the least of your problems."

.•*•.

Drake.

I never got his last name but I really wished I'd asked.

I'd been sitting on the flat rock in my backyard for an hour, staring at the sky and wondering where he went.

I thought about a lot of things. I thought about why some people would do anything to keep their secrets buried. About what a complicated web of confusion this just created. About Drake and Roan.

"I got your text, what's this about?" Asher called out suddenly and I turned my head.

It was pretty funny, I'd spent all this time trying to get Asher to notice me but now I didn't feel anything towards him.

"I found my mate yesterday." I said as he sat down beside me. My heart clenched, the mate bonding already taking over.

Asher's lips turned up in a toothy smile, "Congratulations!"

"Yeah, well, he's leaving the country soon." I rubbed my fingers over the hard surface of the stone.

"Really? Are you gonna go with him?"

I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around myself.

"I don't know. What would you do?"

"Easy. I'd go."

"You'd leave school and your family and friends?" I wished Stella were here. She'd know what to do, she was very decisive.

"It's not like you'd never see your friends or family. And besides, school sucks." Asher shrugged but I pushed the inside of my cheek with my tongue.

School was the only part of my life that felt normal. I liked the routine, the feeling that despite all of the world's problems, I was still normal.

"But seriously, Lia, you only get one mate."

"I've heard of people who've had two."

"That's, like, incredibly rare." Asher rolled his eyes at me.

Something brushed by my ear and I turned around, hearing something close by.

"Did you hear that?" I had the sense that someone was watching us.

"Yeah, it's probably an animal."

I sighed and relaxed again. I was being paranoid.

"So?" He prompted but I wasn't any closer to an answer than before.

But I knew this: I wanted to be with him, every second of every day.

My heart cried out for him. . . but it was all fabricated. It wasn't real, I didn't really love him, I only thought I did.

I didn't love him like I loved Roan.

"Uh, I don't know." I groaned, leaning my head between my knees.

"I'm just gonna say one thing; it's your life."

"That doesn't help."

We looked out at the sky, just enjoying nature's realm.

"I gotta go," Asher said abruptly, "It's almost five."

"Wait, I've been sitting here for six hours?"

"Wow, you're the Queen of wasting time." He teased and I grinned.

"Shut up." I said playfully and he gave me a quick hug.

After Asher left, I spent another hour just contemplating.

I watched the sun drown where the sky and the earth met, sinking lower and lower, leaving a palette of a mixed spectrum of oranges and pinks painting the clouds. The horizon swallowed the sun and that's when I made my decision.