The Mating Game

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EDITING

The sun peeked through the curtains as I pulled my hair, which was sprawled around the pillow into a loose pony tail, my eyes just slits. I could still identify the seven shady silhouettes surrounding my bed. I pushed myself up on my elbows and spun my hand around, jabbing them in the upper ribs. Pain burst through them, and my hand tingled slightly.

'Why'd you do that?' Jason cawed.

'Don't be such a...' I countered, but was silenced as Craig grabbed my legs from underneath my sheet and pulled me out of my bed. Thud.

'About time,' Joe said mysteriously.

'About time I what?' I hissed.

'You got out of bed,' the boys chorused.

'You never do anything,' Jason added.

I rubbed my now-aching back and jumped up off the floor, tutting and shaking my head. My tormentors fell to the floor in laughter, screeching like hyenas.

I skipped down the huge, worn-down, sparkling granite stairs and hopped into the kitchen. I dropped some bread into the toaster and reached for the Nutella. I felt invincible - the first day of summer, the day I change into a wolf. Excitement bubbled up inside me and I jumped up, except, finding myself landing on someone's bare feet.

'Sorry! Sorry!' I apologised profusely as I moved away from the tall figure, but realising his hands were lingering on my waist. Luckily, my toast popped up and I ran over to it.

I realised it was just me and him in the kitchen, the silence only broken by the tick of the clock,until he uttered the words: 'I'm Ben.'

I almost choked on my toast as his deep voice echoed through me. 'Well, I'm Connie,' I exclaimed.

I stared out of the window, gazing out into the luscious green forest, the stream trickling downwards into the lake in the far right corner of the training grounds, until I caught his piercing green eyes in the reflection of the glass. It was then that I realised my back was to him, I was wearing a loose-fitting white vest with holes in it, and baggy, knee length, old training shorts. I was instantly aware of minute things, such as every hair on my body and the position of my knee. I spun around.

'Of course I know who you are!' He chuckled.

I turned the deepest shade of red. I rubbed the side of my waist, embarrassed.

'Y-y-you become alpha today,' he stuttered, looking at the floor, gently kicking the counter.

Serena danced into the room, smiling. She bumped into Ben, and her smile brightened, and when she looked at me, she glowed. However, recognition glazed over her eyes. Her smile faded, her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed.

'Ben-ja-min. What on Earth is wrong with you?' She shouted, grabbing him. Ben stumbled towards her. 'You had to wait six hours. Six hours!' She screeched, pulling him out of the kitchen.

I bit down hard on my toast, confused.

Wiping my mouth, I ran after Serena. The door had just slammed shut. I admitted defeat- I could not run as fast as two fully fledged werewolves. As I stalked back into the kitchen, slightly dazed, and a tingle shimmering, I saw Craig, chomping on my toast.
"Are you having a joke?" I said, my voice an intimidating monotone.
"No?" Craig narrowed his eyes and shrugged. "Are you so cracked that toast became some sort of hilarity for you?"
I lunged forward, grabbing his neck, and pinning him down on the floor so that I was on top of him. I managed to hold him in position for a good five minutes, but his struggling became too much for me and so I had to roll to the side, releasing him.
"Just you wait until later. I'll be ordering you to make me more toast and holding you on the floor for a lot longer. Trust me," I mentioned, dropping four slices of bread into the toaster.
Craig smirked triumphantly, "okay, honey."
"I'm going to be alpha, at 12 o clock today, when the sun reaches its highest point," I informed.
"Yes, you made it pretty hard for me to forget."
I rolled my eyes and reached for the jam. As my arm was up, Craig came up behind me and rested his hands on my waist, so he was close up against me.
He sighed. "Oh, why can't you be my mate. Why?"
"Wait," I paused. "How do you know you aren't?" A small part of me wanted him not to be my mate- he was a handsome boy, blonde, curly hair, perfectly straight teeth and muscles. But he was too short. He was too nice. I needed the chase, the fun, the thrill. Not something so boring and definite.
"Connie. Everyone knows who your mate is. We've known for months - when we all changed."
"It's that boy that just came into the kitchen."
"No, you're wrong."
My heart fell to my feet. The beautiful, tall, dark haired boy who had strolled into the kitchen, wasn't mine? Just from the few seconds I'd seen him, I knew he had to be mine. Somehow.
"Okay," I said, walking off, hearing my toast pop up out of the toaster.
"Your toa-" Craig started, lurching towards me.
"Have it," I said, swallowing the lump in my throat, raising my hand for him to stop.
"Alright," he croaked.
****
My mother jumped into my room, her phone pressed to her ear, to find me staring at the wall in my room, sat up in bed.
My once cheery mood was killed.
She pulled the phone away from her ears and said, "Connie, hun. Go out for a run right now and I want you to be back in an hour. Stop moping for whatever reason."
I growled and pushed myself out of bed. My mother was gone. As per usual.
Grabbing my headphones and shoving my phone in the pocket of my tracksuit bottoms, I ran out the house and into the neighbouring parkland, I ran. My music blared in my ears, the vibrant plucking of the electric guitar humming inside my head. I forgot everything, just listening to the same calming song on repeat. Finally, after an hour, I pushed my back against a huge oak tree, which overlooked the lake, beads of sweat glistening on my forehead. I was late, but who cared? It was still only 8am. I clambered up the huge tree, until I reached the top branch. In the distance, I could vaguely outline the mansion in which I lived, and see small figures darting around the field, setting up a huge white tent. I shuddered. Did I really, truly want this?
After wrapping my phone and attached headphones on the branch, I jumped. I jumped off the top branch, and landed feet first into to crystal clear lake. The water enveloped me, covering me in a blanket of clear blue velvet. I felt myself sink to the bottom, the tips of my toes touching the sandy bottom,
The sunlight glinted through the top of the sea, sparkling onto my pale skin. My blond hair surrounded my head like a fan.
Then reality hit me.
The sunlight no longer sparkled off my skin, but seemed to darken. I tried to breathe. I was so deep in the water.
A figure swam towards me, edging ever closer. They placed their hands on my waist and pulled me to the surface.
Air filled my lungs, and I coughed and choked as my saviour placed me on the lush green grass. I heard my hero swiftly jump up the trees and retrieve my phone. I felt their gentle hands place my white earbuds into my ear, and gently caress my face. Then the unknown person scurried away as I pushed myself up and slapped the lather of wet hair onto my back.
Who was that? I questioned myself as I lay on the floor, staring at the cloud formations.
The tingling sensation on the side of my face and my waist felt like a burning inside me. I shook my body and hauled myself off the floor. I struggled to run the first mile back, but I soon regained my strength and sprinted home.
My mother wasn't there to scold me, so I rushed upstairs and into the bath.
I was going to be a werewolf. In 90 minutes.
And who was my mate?