Prologue - Four years ago

For the first time since she had been hired at The Den, the only bar in her town, Ellie didn't feel like working.

Her day had been a long succession of problems; all she wanted to do was go to bed and spend the whole weekend there. It had started with her waking up late and having to skip breakfast, her favorite meal of the day. Then, she had been paired against her will with Dylan Turner for a history project, and he had wasted no time before telling her he had better things to do than do his share of the work. In her rush to leave her house, she had forgotten to pack her lunch and had been forced to eat the gross sandwiches her school deemed acceptable to serve them. The final nail in the coffin had been her brother texting her he wouldn't be able to make it for her birthday this year. Again.

But Ben, the owner of the bar, had given her a chance despite her lack of experience and her young age, and she couldn't disappoint him. She knew she had only gotten the job because the Alpha of their pack had taken her in after her mother bailed on her and no werewolf could turn down his child, even an unofficial one, but as far as she was concerned, it was only another reason to do her best. Both the Alpha and her boss trusted her to do so.

She should have known her bad day could only lead to a bad evening.

As soon as she got out of her car, she knew something was wrong. Her skin felt as if it was of fire, and the wolf inside of her became restless, fighting to come out and take control. The breeze carried a faintly familiar scent that took her breath in a way no scent ever had and made her turn, eager to find its source. Her eyes widened as she found it.

On the other side of the street stood Max Grey. Max Grey, who she had known her whole life. Her brother's best friend. The boy who had made all the arrangements for her to move in with the Alpha's family on behalf of her brother after her mother had left town without bothering to say goodbye. The boy who had brought her birthday cupcakes every year her brother had been too busy to visit her himself and had laughed at her stupid crush on Peeta from The Hunger Games. Max Grey, who was her mate.

She took a step in his direction, entranced. She was halfway through the street when she saw him take a step back, prompting her to stop. She shook her head lightly, trying to dissipate the fog that was dulling her senses, and took a good look at him.

His eyes had turned golden, a sign that his wolf was also fighting to come out. It would have been reassuring, had she not noticed how tense his body was and how tightly he was clenching his fists at his sides.

"Hey," She tried, her voice far less confident than she had hoped it would be.

Max didn't answer. His jaw clenched, and she just stood there, unable to breathe, as she waited for him to react. Focused on him as she was, a truck could have come and threatened to run over her and she wouldn't have noticed.

Max still didn't answer. He just shook his head and turned his heels. She watched his back as he approached his car, her brain incapable of processing what was happening. She stayed rooted in place long after his car disappeared in the night.

She couldn't care about her boss' remarks about her being late or the look the patrons of the bar gave her when she asked them to repeat their order.

Her mate had seen her, recognized her, and left.

It took her a whole week of drowning in her confusion and misery before she decided to do something about it. His actions made sense, in a way. She was seven years younger than him and his best friend's baby sister. Of course, he would have been surprised and needed a few days to process the change of dynamics. It didn't have to be deeper than that. Every werewolf grew up hearing about the day they would reach adulthood and find their mate, and she had yet to meet anyone who wasn't buzzing with excitement at the idea.

She herself had been skeptical at the idea of someone being made for her but then again, the people around her had a tendency to not stick around for long. Her father hadn't even waited for her birth to run. Her brother had left after high school when she was only eleven and she had only seen him a handful of times since. Her mother hadn't lasted a year after that and had left her behind, assuring Ellie that anyone would be more suited to raise her than her. Ellie agreed with her on that, but it hadn't made it any less painful.

A mate was a forever sort of bond, though. What were the chances that someone would want to stay with her for that long? Whatever the number, she had a mate now. Someone who would stay. And if she wanted to convince him to, she had to prove to him that she would stay for him, too.

So she got dressed, in an outfit slightly nicer than she would usually wear but still casual enough to make it look like she hadn't spent a whole week thinking about seeing him again.

Her hands were shaking the whole way to his family's house, out of excitement or anxiety, she didn't know. It wasn't Max who opened the door, though, but his mother, who looked confused when she recognized her.

"How can I help you, dear?" She asked with a warm smile that made breathing a little easier for Ellie.

"I came to speak with Max," Ellie answered with a small smile of her own. "Is he here?"

Mrs. Grey's smile fell at the question, her eyes searching Ellie's in a way that made the teenager uncomfortable. Clearly, Max hadn't told her about their mating bond, and Ellie wondered what the woman saw when she looked at her. A potential mate for her son? A girl looking for trouble?

"Max moved out of town. Just a few days ago, in fact."

His mother went on to give her details about where her son had gone and what he planned to do, but Ellie couldn't hear her anymore.

He had left. Not just the street where they had seen each other as she had thought, but their town too.

Mates were supposed to stay. To have a bond that surpassed anything else. But of course, hers had left.

She mumbled a few words to excuse herself and didn't wait for an answer to go back to the safety of her car.

"Fuck."

The word passed her lips, barely more than a whisper.

"Fuck!" She hit her wheel, needing an outlet to exteriorize her rage. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Putting her trust in the mating bond had been a mistake. A stupid mistake. One she hated herself for making. But she knew there were lessons to learn from mistakes too. For now, though, she was too hurt to think properly and rationalize everything.

She screamed and swore, letting her tears fall freely and make a mess of her face. Only when it was dark, was she able to calm herself enough to trust herself to drive back home.

"Never again," she swore to herself.

Inside of her, her wolf was still howling in pain.