The Mating Run

Chapter 33

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“Ettie,” With a measured but firm voice, | start to say, capturing her attention. “We both signed up for the Mating Run to find ourselves a mate. You can’t just-Jay claim to me like that.”

Frustration and urgency etch across her face, her brows furrow deeply. “Alina, you just don’t get it. This isn’t about the Run anymore. It’s all about staying alive. Getting back to how things used to be.” | shake my head, my hands instinctively curl into tight fists, ready to defend myself.

“We don’t have to forget everything we've been through to survive, Ettie. All | want is to find someone to be with; | don’t ask to be treated like your possession.”

Ettie’s narrowed gaze transforms from desperation to a determined resolve.

“This isn’t about... ownership, Alina! We’re talking about keeping you safe. If | mark you, we can leave this madness behind. We don’t have to keep running anymore.”

“But at what cost?” | retort, my words laced with anger as | jab her on the chest. A hint of hurt flashes across Ettie’s face, but | choose to ignore it. “If you do that to me, Ettie, there’s no turning back. You’re not even bothering to ask if | want that; it’s all about you.”

The silence that follows is punctuated by the lingering echoes of our contrasting perspectives. Ettie’s eyes, once pleading, now glisten with a determined fierceness.

“Alina, you're missing the point. This is how we'll get out. An opportunity to take back control of our lives.” | breathe out a sigh, feeling stuck between two things. Disappointment washes

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“| won't let fear make me do something that I'll regret in the end.”

Ettie’s piercing gaze tells me everything | need to know — her frustration is reaching its boiling point. In frustration, she throws her hand up in the air and lets out a low growl.

“What do you even want, Alina? Wanna keep running, keep fighting until one of us goes down to this crazy shit?”

“| want to find a mate, Ettie,” | assert, my voice unwavering. “And | won’t compromise on that goal. We can navigate the challenges without you claiming me.”

Ettie’s fists clench at her sides, a visible struggle within her as the clash of desires wages war on her resolve. “You're being stubborn, Alina. This is a chance for us to be free.”

“| won't exchange one form of captivity for another.” Right now, as | stand, my mind goes crazy, picking apart every little thing about her expression and where she’s looking.

| know Ettie really well, maybe even better than | know myself. We go through so much together, face our demons, and come out stronger, connected by the language of shared struggles.

Ettie’s eyes tell a different story than her words. She’s always an open book to me; you can see how she feels just by looking at her. But today, today is different. Her gaze has this sneaky little dance, like she’s hiding something.

| keep playing her proposal in my head, and it just doesn’t sound right. She says it’s for my own safety. Claiming me to keep me safe. It seems selfless at first, like she’s just looking out for me.

But | know better. | think | know what Ettie really means, the things she’s not saying.

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This frustration drives me crazy. Why is she not telling me the truth? What's the point of pretending to be selfless when she’s actually up to something? We go through some rough times together the Hunters, the unforgiving Mating Run — and now Ettie wants to keep things a secret.

| look back at all the times we go through together, from when we first meet to all the challenges we face as a team. In the struggle to survive, strong connections form, bonds that go beyond words.

| close my eyes, trying to block out everything around me and concentrate on what’s going on inside. My stomach all twisted up, it's a clear sign that I’m really anxious. Ettie’s proposal is like a puzzle, each piece put together to make an image that | just can’t figure out.

Ettie’s eyes remain locked on a distant point, her silence filled with the frustration of unexpressed thoughts. Her unspoken motivations hang heavy around us, creating a suffocating atmosphere that makes it hard to decipher her true

intentions.

“Why, Ettie?” | ask, my voice tinged with frustration and a touch of annoyance. “Why are you so fixated on claiming me? There has to be more to it than just keeping me safe.”

“Alina,” Finally, she speaks, her voice a soft, deliberate whisper. “Yeah, you're right, it’s not only about safety.” Confusion and disbelief etch my features as my brows furrow.

“What?”

When Ettie’s eyes meet mine, | can see a torrent of emotions churning in their depths.

“If you're going to be claimed by someone, it might as well be me.”

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Her statement hangs in the air, heavy and laden with significance, causing an eerie chill to run down my back. As | take a step back, my mind races to process the implications of what she just said.

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| shake my head, trying to get rid of the uneasy feeling Ettie’s words give me. The air feels heavy, suffocating, as the weight of unsaid things hangs over us. Ettie’s proposal, hidden behind the idea of safety, keeps playing in my mind, and it’s getting more and more confusing.

“Ettie... Don’t say that.” | whisper, my voice barely making a sound in the awkward silence. Her eyes hold secrets, and | can’t figure them out.

She’s not saying anything, which shows how much she’s going through. She’s falling apart right in front of me, losing her cool, and I’m just watching my old friend Ettie crumble.

I'm so fed up, | could scream.

“| can’t talk to you when you’re like this,” | declare, my words escaping my lips with a hint of irritation rather than a well-thought— out expression. “This isn’t you, Ettie. Claiming me? What are you talking about?”

Before | can even react, Ettie’s forceful hold on my arm startles me, causing me to momentarily lose my train of thought. The air crackles with her desperation, creating an atmosphere charged with tension.

“Stay,” Her eyes pleaded as she refused to let go, her grip unyielding. | watch in terror as her eyes transform, shifting from a tranquil blue to an ominous black. “Don’t walk away from me, Alina. It’s the wrong decision. | can’t control myself right now, and | need you to stay.”

| don’t know what to do; | have mixed emotions. Ettie’s desperation is intense, and | can feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. But the fear of watching someone | thought | knew come undone makes me want to break free.

“Ettie,” | say, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and uncertainty. | make an effort to loosen her grip on me, but all | receive In return is a fierce growl from Ettie. “You're freaking me out. | have no idea what's going on. This claim and talk about safety, it's just not adding up. And holding onto me like this, begging me not to go because you can’t handle yourself? That’s not okay.”

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Ettie’s eyes, once filled with desperation, now shimmer with a glimmer of understanding. It’s as though she’s trapped in a battle between opposing worlds, struggling against forces she cannot tame. The question hangs in the air, unspoken, like

a distant thunderstorm on the horizon, pondering if | have the strength to guide us through this tempest or if we will be left to its mercy.

“I need you, Alina,” There is a noticeable vulnerability in her voice as she says it, a departure from the typically fierce and unyielding Ettie I've known. “I can’t lose you. | can’t let anyone else claim you. It’s dangerous out there, and | need to keep you safe. You're mine, Alina. Just stay. Please.”

The words suspend in the air, a turbulent confession that sends a shiver down my spine. Mine.

The possessiveness in that utterance sends shivers down my spine, and | sense a creeping unease nibbling away at my determination.

“Ettie,” | say, shaking my head in disbelief. “I can’t stay if you're not yourself. If you’re gonna keep acting like this desperate, possessive — | can’t stay. | won't. | need the Ettie | know, the one who faces challenges head-on, not someone who’s lost in a storm of confusion.”

The Ettie standing before me is unrecognizable, and a growing sense of unease settles in my gut.

Ettie’s hair, once gleaming like pure gold, now has the wild and tousled appearance of a landscape ravaged by a storm. It's as if a whirlwind has passed by, leaving a trail of disorder behind. Stray strands of hair stand rebelliously, refusing to be tamed. It’s disconcerting to see the disarray, like stumbling upon a garden that has lost its former beauty to an overwhelming infestation of weeds.

And those eyes, those captivating blue eyes, now hold a darkness so deep it sends shivers down her spine. The spark of familiarity has vanished, replaced by an unsettling intensity that sends shivers down my spine. It’s as though a shroud has been draped over Ettie’s true self, leaving her emotions and thoughts concealed.

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The person before me is a stranger wearing Ettie’s skin.

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As | try to make sense of it all, | can’t help but notice the strange and unsettling behavior coming from Ettie.

As she presses my palm against her nose, | can feel her breath warm against my hand, as if she’s drawing strength from my very presence. It catches me off guard, the unexpected intimacy of the gesture sending a shiver down my spine.

Ettie’s inhale is desperate, like someone gasping for air before being submerged underwater.

| watch, frozen, as her chest rises and falls with each deep breath, her eyes. never leaving my face. The intensity of the moment hangs in the air, suffocating and disorienting.

Her intense gaze locks onto mine, and in that instant, | feel as if | have become smaller. Unspoken words hang heavy in the air, and | can’t shake the sense that Ettie is silently trying to communicate something beyond my grasp. The oppressive silence envelops us, suffused with the weight of unexpressed thoughts and unanswered inquiries.

The tight grip of the hand on my palm sends a jolt of almost painful pressure through my body. Ettie clings to me desperately, her grip tight as if her life depends on it. My instincts scream at me to withdraw, to distance myself from this version of Ettie that seems like a stranger disguised in a familiar facade. Yet, a conflicting emotion holds me in place a knot of worry, bewilderment, and unwavering allegiance.

The fear within me intensifies. | want to reach out, to grasp Ettie’s shoulders and shake her until the familiar person emerges from the depths of this strange facade. But a voice in my mind holds me back—an apprehension that disturbing the delicate balance will unravel something irreparable. The unknown looms like a specter, and | hesitate on the precipice of discovery.

As her grip on my palm finally loosens, a sense of relief washes over me. The tension in the air dissipates, but the lingering unease remains. Ettle’s gaze, though still intense, wavers for a moment, and | glimpse a flicker of vulnerability beneath

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the darkness. It’s a fleeting moment, like a crack in a mask, before Ettie composes herself once more.. “Just don’t walk away from me, Alina. That's all I’m asking for.”

Ettie smiles at me, her dimples deepening as she tries to hide her guilt. She smiles, her eyes sparkling with kindness, as if she isn’t just shattering the unspoken.

boundary between us. | wonder if she even knows what she’s doing. | wonder if she even cares.

It makes me think.

Do | really know Ettie, or is she just some stranger | think | know?

As | look at my hand, the tight grip she has leaves behind the faint beginnings of a bruise.