I looked behind me, across the parking lot, and I could feel the tears pushing at my eyes to be let free. There he stood in all his glory, Ryder. He wasn't alone either.

The first thought that came to mind when he said those words, was Noah. He must be crazy if he thinks I'm going to let him even touch a hair on my Noah. "You dare threaten me and my mate?" I said as my wolf started to come out a little. He chuckled lightly before glancing over my pack.

"All I can say, is that your mate is going to regret ever meeting you." he said as he glanced at me before turning towards the rogues. "Alright, let's go." He shifted into a huge black wolf before taking off the opposite direction, the rogues following.

He only came here to make a threat, my own damn uncle.

I watched as they disappeared, thoughts running through my mind. All I could think about was keeping Noah safe and that's all that mattered at that moment. But what my Uncle said was really starting to get to me. What if I put Noah in danger and he was harmed? I would never forgive myself.

I shifted before running through the forest, gliding past trees as they whizzed by. When I reached the mansion, I shifted back and pulled on my shorts. I felt like my body had a mind of its own as it walked itself to my parent's main quarters. I threw open the door and grabbed Noah's wrist, pulling him outside.

"Ryder, is everything okay?" I heard him ask as he stumbled behind me. I didn't mean to ignore him but I was just focused on getting him somewhere safe. "Ryder?" Again, I ignored him. We made it outside and I pulled him towards the truck but he yanked his arm back.

"Ryder, what's up with you?" he asked, irritation clear in his voice. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes. He hesitated before stepping closer and placing a hand on my cheek. "Look I-" I didn't even let him finish as I cupped his face and smashed his lips to mine. Our lips moved in sync as I pushed him back against the truck. He allowed me access to his mouth and his fingers tangled with my hair. I moved down to kiss his neck while bringing my leg in between his, grinding our lower halves together.

"Ryder-" he moaned as he pulled my lips back to his. The smell of his arousal hit me and I knew if I didn't stop, I would probably mate with him right then and there. I pulled away, resting my forehead against his, before walking to the driver's seat and getting in. It took him a couple seconds to put himself together before he got into the car.

The whole car ride was silent, not a word was spoken. I knew he could tell something was wrong. He just didn't want to say anything. When we pulled up to his house, he shot out of the car and was already about to open the door before I stopped him. "Aren't you going to say bye?"

"Aren't you going to tell me what happened?" he countered with his arms crossed. I scratched the back of my neck, nervously, as I tried to think of the right thing to say.

"I'll tell you later. Just promise you won't travel alone and you'll stay safe. Okay?"

"Okay now I know something is wrong." He placed his hand on the knob but paused before he turned it. "Because you said you would keep me safe." He glanced at me before entering into the building and shutting the door. I felt my heart break a little but I knew this was the right thing to do. I had to keep my Noah safe.

It had been two days- two long days- since I had last seen Ryder. Ever since the day he took me home, he didn't call or answered any of my calls. It was like he was cutting me off and it made me feel like I did something wrong. I knew this would happen eventually. I probably wasn't good enough mate for him or something.

I opened my eyes to look at the ceiling for the twentieth time when I heard my door open. I didn't really care who it was unless it was Ryder. "Did you know my ceiling is an eggshell color not white?" I asked whoever was at my door, being my usual dramatic self.

"Damn, it's worse than I thought." I heard a familiar voice say. I turned my head to see Sage standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"What are you doing here?" I sighed as I turned my back to her and pulled my blanket over my head. But she ripped the blankets off of me and exposed my skin to the cold air. "Go away."

"No, I'm taking you out." she snapped as she opened my closet and began looking through my clothes. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet. Put this on." She threw a shirt at me but I didn't make any attempt to move.

"No, just let me cry in peace."

"Come on," She walked towards me but quickly took a couple steps back and covered her nose. "Jesus Christ, when was the last time you took a shower. You're acting like you guys have been dating for years. You were only dating for like two weeks."

"You don't understand." and she didn't. I felt like a half of me was gone and my heart held this empty feeling that wouldn't go away. I had never felt like this before and it was probably because I had some special connection with Ryder. I just wish I could see him or atleast get an explanation for why he just left. I wondered how long he would be gone and how long I was going to feel this pain in my chest.

"Fine." I sighed as I got out and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. Maybe this was for the best, I just wish there was a better way.

___________________

"Noah, meet Logan. Logan, meet Noah." Sage said. I looked up from the floor for the first time since we arrived and was surprised to see the second best looking guy on the planet. His eyes were dark blue while his hair was dark brown and framed his face perfectly. His smile was flawless and I never felt so shy in my whole entire life.

"Hi." Logan greeted as he held out his hand. I hesitated before shaking his warm hand. There wasn't fireworks from the contact but it was still a nice feeling.

"Hi." I practically whispered but I knew he heard me. I tried not to stare at him but it was hard so I tried to focus my eyes back on the ground.

"Well, the movie isn't going to watch itself." Sage chimed in before she dragged us into the theatre. She made us sit next to each other while she sat next to me, at the end. The entire time, I tried to focus my attention on the movie but it was difficult when a sex god was sitting right next to me. It was weird to think this way when for the past two weeks, all I could think about was Ryder.

I wondered if This was Sage's sneaky way of setting us up together. She always liked to intervene but this time, she didn't do so bad.

I watched as Logan's hand reached over, hesitantly, and took my hand in his, intertwining our fingers. My heart leaped and it felt good to actually not feel so empty but I knew I would never feel complete again unless I had Ryder. When the movie ended, we all walked out, Logan and I still holding hands.

My heart was raging in my chest, excited and beyond nervous. Logan was a very attractive man and he was holding my hand with such confidence. As much as I wanted to enjoy his attention, I couldn't help but feel like I was cheating on Ryder. I couldn't even imagine what he would do if he saw us right now.

"Did you like the movie?" Logan asked when we were outside the theatre. I was having trouble speaking so I just nodded, earning a chuckle from him. "You're too cute." My breath caught in my throat and I blushed, mildly. I was about to respond when I heard laughter in the distance.

I looked behind me, across the parking lot, and I could feel the tears pushing at my eyes to be let free. There he stood in all his glory, Ryder. He wasn't alone either. Hanging onto his arm was some blonde chick and I didn't have to be blind to know she liked him. I covered my mouth as a huge gasp was about to escape. My heart tightened and my knees felt like they were about to give out at any second. This whole time that I was worried about being Logan, Ryder had already moved on.

I couldn't help but compare myself to the woman in his arms. I couldn't compete with a blond beautiful woman like her. But her appearance wasn't what hurt me. It was the mere fact that she was female. I knew Ryder wasn't gay and he was never going to accept that I, a male, was his mate.

"Noah, are you okay?" I heard Logan ask but I couldn't respond. A loud sob escaped my mouth and it caught Ryder's attention. He looked up and his eyes widened when he saw me.