I lay in my bed, glaring at the ceiling and wondering why my neighbors upstairs have to stomp whenever they walk around in their apartment. The thing is, they are cheetah hybrids, so I do not even know how it is possible for them to stomp. Every morning, I wake up an hour earlier than I have to due to their walking habits.

Not able to fall asleep with the herd of elephants above me, I throw off my blankets and walk towards my bathroom.

Today is the big day, the day we have been learning about for the past year. It is the day of the Partnering Ceremony. We took a compatibility test a couple months ago, and relying on how we answered the questions, the government and school officials have mated us with whomever they deem the perfect match

Running late, as per usual, I only brush my brown hair and check myself over in the mirror really quick before running over to my closet. I pull on a loose purple t-shirt and black pants before heading into the kitchen to get something to eat.

I have barely taken a bite of my cereal when my phone starts ringing. "Hello?" I answer through a mouthful of Cheerios.

"Henley, where are you?" I hear Quinn say in a deadly calm voice.

"Um, on my way over to pick you up," I say, taking one more bite of my breakfast before placing the bowl in the sink and walking out the door, phone still at my ear.

"Oh really? So that's why I just heard your front door slam?" he questions, his irritation and sassiness coming through.

"What? No, of course not," I say, climbing into my car and shutting the door as quietly as I can.

I hear a sigh over the phone and can just imagine the face Quinn must be wearing. "Just hurry up and get here already. I don't want to be late for the ceremony."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way."

It only takes me a couple of minutes to get to Quinn's, seeing as the apartment complexes are in the same general vicinity. He is standing there, irritation noticeable by the way he has his arms crossed and how his tail is twitching. Walking over when he sees my car, he climbs in and buckles his seat belt.

We drive for a couple of minutes in silence. I am still tired, but Quinn seems to be nervous. His sweater is going to start fraying at the bottom if he doesn't stop rubbing it.

"Quinn, stop that," I say, looking over at him before returning my gaze to the road. I hear him sigh, but he stops ruining the bottom of his sweater. Out of the corner of my eye, I see his hand go up to the dark red beanie he is wearing, rubbing the soft material, just as he had been doing before to his sweater.

"Quinn," I say, grabbing his hand in mine and twining my fingers through his. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just nervous is all," he says turning his green eyes over to me. "What if the hybrid I'm mated with despises me?"

I give his hand a squeeze. "That's impossible, you're too lovable." I can see a smile spread across his face and he squeezes my hand in return.

"I mean, sometimes you can be a little extra sassy, but-" he cuts me off by flicking my fox ear.

"Ow!" I saw, letting go of his hand to rub my abused ear. "That freaking hurt."

"Good," he says. I can hear the smile in his voice. The pain in my ear is subsiding, and I am happy that he has lost some of his nervousness.

Finally, we pull into the City Hall parking lot. I park the car in one of the far away parking spots, meaning we have a little bit of a distance to walk. Oh well, sleep is more important than a decent parking spot.

Quinn spots Lena before I do and tackles her to the ground. The book she had been holding flies a couple feet in the air and is about to fall on the wet grass when a hand snaps out and catches it. Walking over to them, I notice it was Lottie, Link's sister, who caught the book. With a smile, she hands it over to Lena before making her way into the large white building.

Lena is staring after her but is snapped back to reality when I give her a hug. "Are you ready for this?" I question, looping my arm through her right arm, while Quinn does the same to her left.

"Not really," she answers.

Together, we walk up the seemingly never ending stairs and make our way into the building. Pushing past everyone, we find some of the last remaining chairs, thankfully they are together. We shuffle past some of the other seated hybrids, earning ourselves some glares, but we finally manage to make it to the empty seats.

There are quiet conversations taking place throughout the room, causing a low hum of noise to ring throughout the high ceilinged building.

"Do you have any idea who might be your mated pair?" Lena says to both of us. Shaking my head, I look over to Quinn who has a weird look on his face.

"No, but I know who I want it to be," he says, never looking over at us. Lena and I exchange glances. He must be talking about Link, his long time crush.

Speaking of Link and the other wolves, I see all of them walking together down the center aisle, probably trying to find a seat. They manage to find one about five rows in front of us, but while we are somewhat in the middle, they are more towards the center aisle.

"What are you looking at?" Quinn questions. I break my gaze away from the wolves to look over at my friends. They both have questioning looks on their faces, but I turn away.

"Oh nothing," I murmur, feeling the heat in my cheeks.

"Why are you blushing?" Quinn asks, leaning over Lena to get a better look at me. His eyes are squinted, obviously assessing me and trying to find the reason behind my blush.

"No reason," I tell him, finally meeting his eyes. He has a disbelieving look on his face, but only stares at me for a few more seconds before leaning back in his chair and turning his gaze towards the front of the room. I know he has more questions, but we both remain silent.

Mayor Klarr and our principal, Mr. Sheridan, walk across the stage in the front of the room, stopping once they reach the podium places in the center of the stage. The talking dies down and silence rings throughout the room, making it an almost uncomfortable atmosphere.

Mr. Sheridan steps up, adjusting the small microphone so that it is level with his mouth. "Hello, everyone, and welcome. In just a few minutes, we are going to read off the newly mated pairs, but before we begin, Mayor Klarr is going to say a few words." With that, he steps away from the podium, and Mayor Klarr steps up. He has to readjust the microphone, seeing as he is an imposing six and a half feet tall. I guess that is what happens when you are a polar bear hybrid.

He clears his throat. "Today is an important day, as we all know, and our young hybrids have been learning all about the Partnering Ceremony. This ceremony has taken place for over thirty years and has been successful in creating the strongest mates and hybrids we have ever seen." He gets an odd look in his eyes and an almost perverse smile. "The humans died out, but we prevailed. We have always been stronger than them, and the Partnering Ceremony has only made us stronger. Now, without further ado, let's move onto the main part of this ceremony."

It's silent in the hall, only a scattered applause. That was the weirdest I have ever seen the mayor act, and I think everyone is in a slight state of shock.

Mr. Sheridan takes the mayor's place at the podium, giving him a weird look. "Okay, thank you, Mayor Klarr, for that, um, insightful speech." Mr. Sheridan reaches into his pocket and pulls out a tablet where all the mated pairs are listed. "Let's get this started."

I don't have to wait for too long before he reaches my name. "Henley Brooks is mated with Braeden Xanders." I can feel my eyes widen in shock, but don't say anything as I listen to the other names being called.

Quinn is next. "Quinnley Humphrey is mated with Lincoln Smith." Turning to look over at my best friend, I see a small smile on his face. He got mated with the hybrid he wanted.

There are only a couple of hybrids left by the time Lena's name is called. "Lena O'Brien is mated with Charlotte Smith."

Well, this certainly is a surprise.

*****

The picture at the top is of Braeden.