I Will Never Love You

For the Love of Breakfast

The two siblings climbed onto the bus and Jaden allowed Bella to take the window seat. They waved goodbye to their parents before settling into the seats to get comfortable for their long journey. Last year Bella's best friend Edith was chosen by another wolf that was older than the two girls. The last time Bella saw her was right before the running when they hugged and wished each other good luck. They had promised not to stop running even if the other was chosen. Where ever Edith is now, Bella prays to the moon Goddess that she's happy.

Bella leaned her head against the window and thought about the ceremony. It was originally created because Alpha males couldn't go too long without finding their true mates. So to help them find them they would gather all wolves aged 18 to 26 in one place every year. Once there, the males would go through the females to see if any of them were their mates. Over time, finding your true mate became harder as males who couldn't find their mate when they reached 26 would claim another wolf's mates as their own. Then slowly it became a ceremony of either finding your true mate or just picking one.

Bella's parents weren't true mates. Neither was her brother and his mate. In fact, Bella has never met anyone who found their true mate. She supposed that right was reserved for alphas and wolves of titles. She didn't want a mate, at least not right now. She wanted to finish school and live her life before settling down. She certainly didn't want to mate with some stranger who captured her.

The whole system is barbaric. Girls are kidnapped and raped until they develop some form of Stockholm syndrome and call it love or the mate bond. Bella pitied those girls. She wanted to fall in love and have someone love her, but not by force. Most certainly not by this "mate bond". Her brother had chosen a girl form their pack so they knew each other and liked each other before the ceremony.

Rarely any girls make it to the finish line unless no one wanted them. Because of Bella's strength and looks she was one of the few girls to have ever made it to the finish line while being chased. She had trained hard from a young age to run fast. Her mother had always told her running was important and with all her abundant energy as a kid, Bella learned to run fast and for a long period of time.

The females had to run in their human form while the males were allowed to shift into their wolf form after the she-wolves got a minute head start. The system was designed to appear fair, but really allow the males to pick and choose whomever they wanted. Some wolves get too impatient and try to mark a girl the first day there, by force or coercion. One male had tried it on Bella last year and she promptly kicked him where the sun doesn't shine before he had a chance to sink his teeth into her.

Bella had the more pessimistic approach to the whole ceremony. Some females loved it. In fact, some couldn't wait for it to happen. Bella never understood those girls. She was not some prize to be won. It wasn't 'tag' and now you love me. For Bella, it was running for your freedom.

Love was real, Bella's seen people in love, but mate bonds? That was just some excuse. A myth powerful wolves used to justify the ceremony. Even if the bond was real, that's not what Bella wanted. She wanted to love someone for herself and she wanted to choose her own life. Sometimes she really envied the humans.

A few more hours on the bus went by and Bella fell asleep listening to her music. When they arrived her brother nudged her in the side and stood up. He grabbed their bags down from the overhead and started to make his way out the door. Once the pair stepped off, they started heading into the mansion of the hosting alpha. The most powerful packs that volunteered would rotate hosting the event every couple of years. Having done this before, Bella and Jaden quickly went in and checked themselves into their rooms. The siblings hugged and wished each other good luck before going their separate ways.