RULE 09: SOULMATES ARE AN IDEA CREATED BY THE OUTSIDE IN ORDER TO MANIPULATE THOSE AROUND THEM. THEY DO NOT EXIST 

✷  C  H  A  P  T  E  R      F  I  V  E  ✷

Throw up is exactly what I did. I barely managed to make it to the bathroom. The odd stranger would not let me go, his hand clasping around my wrist. Somehow, I squirmed my way through his iron grip, scurrying away. I was too afraid to look back and see what the stranger looked like. If just his touch was so magnetic, I couldn't imagine what his appearance would do to me.

I could sense that he was following me through my drunken stupor — he must not have been that discrete.

Entering the bathroom in a stumble, I didn't have time to marvel at indoor plumbing, as all the contents of my stomach sprayed across the tiled bathroom. Dry heaving, my body began to slump to the floor.

A rusty creak from behind made me gag even more. "Out," a gruff voice said, and I heard someone squeak before shuffling out of the bathroom.

I, too, would have left, but I couldn't pick myself up from the gross, sticky floor. The color drained from my face, as I realized that maybe I had entered the wrong restroom.

"Shh," the same gruff voice soothed, crouching down beside me.

A perk of having short hair meant that I usually did not have to worry about it getting too much in my way. However, as my face was leaning forward the hair not neatly in my top bun was sticking to my face, blocking my vision. I haphazardly tried to swipe it away, but my lack of balance caused me to almost fall over.

At that moment, I wished I was invisible. No one told me getting this drunk would be embarrassing. I wanted to crawl into the tunnel we came from and never leave — no one would be able to see me there.

Strong hands steadied my body, placing my hair neatly behind my ear.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, the taste of my puke fresh on my mouth, "I've never drank before, and I probably never will again."

Bile slithered up my throat again, only this time the stranger was able to guide me to the trash can beside me. My body shook and shivers overtook me, making my body stumble forward.

"Woah, easy there," he advised slight amusement in his voice.

Looking up, I was met with the most mesmerizing green eyes. They shone brightly, my eyes finding it hard to look away. His brunette hair was cut low on the sides, but the top of his hair was longer — allowing for his faint curls to show through.

My hand twitched, wanting to run through his hair. Stop being stupid, I scolded myself, he's a stranger and more importantly, an Outsider. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was drawn to him. My arms itched to engulf him in a hug, but I chalked it down to being an affectionate drunk.

Yes, that was what had to be going on — my thoughts and feelings were all jumbled up because I was drunk. An audible sigh left my tight lips.

"Thanks..."I dragged on, not knowing his name.

"Theo," he smiled at me, and my heart beat in contentment at his name.

He carefully was helping me up when the door to the bathroom screeched open again.

"Sage, there you are. We have to go," Gracie busted in, sounding relieved that she found me. She furrowed her eyebrows when her eyes darted from me to Theo.

Theo growled, "No."

Gracie shot a glare at Theo before trying to get me out of his grasp. His hold on my arm only intensified, causing me to flinch back.

Scared, I said, "Can you let me go?"

"No," was his simple reply.

"Please," I murmured, the word hard to get out over the lump that was forming in my throat. With my free hand, I pinched the bridge of my nose to try and stop crying, but I could feel my eyes start to gloss over.

He was so nice just seconds ago, but now he was holding me hostage.

Pa was right. There really are beasts on the Outside; I was trapped in the hold of one — one so beautiful a part of me didn't even mind that he was holding me captive in a gross bathroom.

You're insane, Sage, I told myself, realizing that if life was about survival of the fittest, I would be dead right now.

"You're mine, Sage," he breathed out like the words were natural leaving his lips, my body freezing when he said my name. Puzzled, I couldn't figure out why I was so drawn to this increasingly terrifying guy.

Looking taken aback, eyebrows scrunching up, I said, "no, I'm mine."

"Well, you can see her tomorrow," Gracie interrupted, firmly, trying again to get me out of his grasp. "Her family is expecting her home soon."

"No," he asserted again. "She's mine."

Ready to pull out her hair, Gracie narrowed her eyes. "She can speak for herself."

"Do not test me, human," Theo's tone changed, authority laced in his every word. I sucked a breath in, intimidated by him. Suddenly, his touch was becoming confining and restricting. I wanted out, and unluckily for me, my stomach rumbled, empty — offering no excuse to escape his hot touch.

People on the Outside are so weird, I thought, willing myself to sober up a little bit more to no avail.

While my body was betraying me, drawn to this stranger, I would have found solace in the fact that at least I would have had my mind, but it seemed as if I didn't even have that. I was so, so screwed.

Regret flooded my body. Why didn't I speak out earlier? I knew this was wrong when Memphis told us we were going to the Outside, but I agreed to it because I couldn't stomach the thought of anything happening to my friends without me.

If anything goes wrong, though, no one will know what happened, and we'd be as good as dead. I would be as good as dead on my birthday, no less. Taken into this world and removed from it all on the same day, just twenty years apart.

I knew that there was still hope for getting back to the Borderlands, but any optimism was being suppressed by Theo.

"Are you crying?" A soft voice snapped me out of my bubbling thoughts.

"No," I responded defensively, wiping away a few straggly tears that I hadn't realized were there. "My eyes were just malfunctioning."

The now familiar creak of the door interrupted us, the loud, pulsating music blaring through the room.

"Gracie, Sage, what is taking — oh shit," Natasha's giggle quickly dried up when her eyes landed on Theo, who still stood next to me, my arm still limp in his hold.

With the door to the bathroom still opened, Theo signaled to a couple guys outside with his free hand. They were all bulky figures, dressed up in black suits — their Sunday best.

"Alpha," they addressed him with a nod; they seemed to work for Theo, eyes bright with loyalty.

Who was this stranger?

I was curious about him. I wanted to know more. I felt compelled to ask him about his life, who he was, what he liked to do. But a part of me was scared. This couldn't be normal, and I didn't want to get in the middle of it.

But it wasn't like I could really get in the middle of it — I was going back home today, after all. Back to the Borderlands.

"Apprehend them," Theo ordered, as his grip on my hand moved over to my waist. My side was pressed up close to his, and I could feel heat rise to my face.

"You can't do this!" Natasha protested, trying to wriggle her way out of one of the men's grasp.

One of the men was annoyed by her constantly struggling, sighing out in exasperation. Instead of dealing with her squirming, he easily pressed into her pressure point, causing her to faint.

Breathing rapidly, I tried to escape from Theo. I was going to die — actually die. I wasn't too convinced that Natasha herself was not dead herself.

The Outside was worse than I thought. During this whole time on the Outside, it never really crossed my mind that we'd be trapped out here. I mean, apparently, Memphis had done it countless times before. We should have been safe. I just wished I could have told Pa I loved him one last time.

Once limp in the barbaric man's arms, another suited man held Gracie in his grasp, his hold so tight she couldn't even produce any signs of a struggle.

"Congratulations, Alpha," one of the mindless minions said to Theo.

Theo nodded, as they began to herd us out of the bathroom, Memphis and Si nowhere in sight. At least they weren't also being corralled around with us. They had a chance of getting back home or even getting us help.

"Please, can you let me go?" I asked, my voice hoarse from vomiting earlier.

His body went stiff against me. "I can't do that. You're mine. You'll learn to see that soon — whether you want to or not."

We were shuffled through Midnight Mercury, weaving in and out of sweaty, drunk bodies. The throbbing music's beat hammered into my skull, reigniting my headache. A pit in my stomach formed as no one seemed phased by us. Was this normal? I don't think I was cut out for the Outside.

As we neared the big, glaring Exit, I frantically looked for Memphis and Si. My vision was blurry and Theo's pace had increased. I couldn't spot them, and I was relieved. They would be okay, I reassured myself. They had to be.

Escorted outside, the dull moon shone above. It was late, and I knew Pa would begin to worry. We had been out longer than expected, and now we were paying the price.

Unfamiliar with anything on the Outside, we walked for a little while before coming to a halt before a big, black SUV. One of Theo's men opened up the door and placed Natasha's body inside while Gracie was shoved in less gracefully.

Theo helped my shaky and exhausted body up into the back seat, reaching over my body to lock in the seat belt before closing the door with a smile. Instantly, I tried to open the door beside me, but it would not budge. Was I really that weak?

"Child lock," one of the men smirked, as he slid into the driver's seat.

"What?" I asked, confused as Theo took a seat in front of me on the passenger's side.

He shook his head before turning on the car, taking us to who knows where. Trying to sober up, I focused on all the buttons around me. I tried to open the window, but they also wouldn't budge open. It didn't take long for me to get caught up and mesmerized with the sunroof controls on the top of the ceiling above me. I kept opening and closing it.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Theo asked as he turned his head to look at me.

"You could say that."