Arranged Marriage to my Mate [Completed but Editing]

Chapter 16

Since I didn't put a picture of Josh before, here's a pic of him! (: ----------->

(AND YES, IT IS WREN, THE CUTE MEDICAL STUDENT WITH A BRITISH ACCENT FROM PRETTY LITTLE LIARS! VOTE IF YOU LIKE HIM AND/OR THE SHOW!)

A/N: (IMPORTANT!)

Just to clarify, Taylor's dad is the alpha of their old pack, and he had to move to join Leo's parents' pack  because of the danger to him and his family. This is why Matt isn't the future alpha, Leo is. Leo's parents are the alphas of their pack. Despite Zane being older, he doesn't want the responsibility of alpha and because Leo is next in line for the alpha title, that makes him future alpha, and also makes Taylor the future alpha female (Luna). Hope this clears up any confusion!(:

Enjoy the read!

Chapter 16 (Taylor's POV)

Taylor watched as fuzzy images of the party flashed behind her closed eyelids. Her body ached like a ton of bricks had been carelessly thrown onto her small, fragile frame. Her body was screaming at her to stop moving, but her mind refused to cooperate. Slightly, Taylor began to regain consciousness.  Her eyelids fluttered open halfway. A streak of light hit her, and immediately made her close her eyes. Groaning, she raised a hand to her eyes as she tried sitting up. However, something held her back. Looking to her body, she couldn't place anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was broken, or fractured. 'Then why is my body screaming like I just broke all 206 bones in my freaking body!?" She mentally sighed and snuggled up into the covers. Just as she was about to fall asleep, the door creaked open and a couple of worried voices filtered through. Unfortunately, Taylor could only make up parts of it, as she struggled to hear them.

"....her birthday is in 2 days..."

"....going through the change early..."

"....need to calm her...."

"....wolf..."

Various bits of conversation rang through the air, only to confuse Taylor more. The part about her birthday she got, but what about all the talk of change and wolf? Certainly she wasn't told everything by Leo yet. That seemed to bring disappointment and curiosity to her face. Before she could get another chance to hear more, the half opened door opened fully, revealing her parents, brother, Leo's parents, Leo, and the girl she met before, Andrea standing at the doorway.

"Oh honey you're awake!" Taylor's mom rushed to her side, enveloping her in a warm, motherly hug. Taylor hugged back just as tightly.

Soon, everyone had joined them, multiple arms wrapped around one another, creating a huge werewolf huddle.

"Uh, guys, can't breathe here..." she choked out.

"Oh, sorry!" Andrea apologized before grabbing Taylor's hand and stroking it gently.

"By the way, you must have forgotten me, remember when I met you the day of the pack meeting? We met you downstairs before you found out about all this,"-she gestured around her, implying the whole werewolf situation before grabbing Taylor's hands once more in her warm ones-"I'm your sister-in-law. The goofball over there is my little brother, Leo," She grinned before setting her gaze back on Taylor. She racked her brain, trying to remember seeing Andrea. All thoughts of meeting her came back to her mind. She remembered meeting Andrea and Greg, her husband.

"Oh wow, it's nice to meet you," Taylor gave a warm, genuine smile back to Andrea before questioning the others.

"Um, what happened? And why do I feel so sore?" She groaned, once again feeling the aching of her body protesting her to stop moving around too much. Leo came over and sat on the edge of her bed. His soft voice seemed to help her rest her agitated body composure.

"Love, you fainted at the party last night. You're birthday's coming soon, which means you're change is fast approaching.

"You'll be quite exhausted before the change. This is rare, but not unheard of. Since you're the alpha's daughter and the new alpha's mate, not to mention the fact that you didn't experience your change as a child, makes you're change more painful. But I promise you'll be fine, as long as Leo is with you, alright sweetheart?" Her dad held an expression of sympathy, which Taylor returned with a weak smile. Sighing, she gave up fighting her body and fell back onto the pillow allowing sleep to envelop her.

*******

The leaves crunched beneath Taylor’s footsteps as they traveled into the dense brush around them. Ever since she found out that the werewolf change was coming as her birthday came closer, everyone has been keeping extra eyes on her. Even now, Leo was taking her to the woods behind their house to start some basic training. Taylor was hesitant. Playing soccer was one thing, learning how to defend herself against crazed rogues was completely another. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. The half sleeved shirt and jogging shorts might have been a bad idea with the temperature outside. The drops in temperature were beginning to annoy her. For god’s sakes, it was April!

Taylor continued to walk, staring down at her feet and watching the colorful leaves crumble underneath her. It was beginning to look like spring. The leaves were growing back on the naked limbs of trees, wrapping them like clothes in an elegant-like fashion. Taylor found herself at awe. She admired the beauty of the forest in front of her. The lush evergreens and the semi-bare trees wrapped around her. Grass was coated with dew from the early morning, and the distant sound of crickets and birds chirping happily filled her ears like soft melodious notes. Although autumn was Taylor’s favorite season, spring was almost synonymous. Both seasons were a call for change, the leaves, the trees, everything, but unlike change, it was usually for the better. Her thoughts were interrupted when she ran into something hard. Taylor glared at Leo’s back, rubbing her nose.

“Leo why did you-“her voice trailed off when she noticed her surroundings. She took in the scene in front of her with pure surprise. A large meadow filled with dancing yellow daisies littered the grass. Soft weeping willows surrounded the area like a fence. The smell of fresh grass filled the air. There was a gentle sound of a slow running creek. Heaven was the only word to describe it.

“This is...beautiful,” Taylor breathed, barely containing her awe at the scenery. The warmth radiated off of the field that lay in front of her. The creek’s rushing water was like transparent glass, allowing her to see the riverbed rocks that lay underneath. The water flowing by was only two feet deep and flowed softly with the current. The gentle rush of water, mixed with the breathtaking scenery momentarily pulled Taylor away from reality and into a dream. However, this dreamlike state was short lived.

“I knew you’d like it,” Leo grinned behind her. He’d read all the thoughts that she’d said about the place. This field was Leo’s secret place, and he’d hoped to share it one day with his mate. Grinning like a fool, he stepped towards Taylor, wrapping his arms around her from the back and rested his chin on her shoulder. Taylor smiled before wrapping her arms around Leo’s. Both of them looked at the field silently. Few peaceful minutes passed by before Leo let go of her.

“Baby, I know you’d rather stay here and enjoy the place, but unfortunately we’ve gotta start some training,”

Sighing heavily, Taylor took one last look at the field before following Leo. He led her deeper into the woods, where they came upon a large clearing. The grass was cut short and rectangular, like a football field, just without the white paint strips. Some other pack members seemed to be waiting there, along with Natasha, Josh-who, fortunately for Taylor, had his arm wrapped around Natasha’s shoulders-Matt, Ashley, Andrea, and Zane.

They walked towards the group, who immediately spotted the pair, and began stretching.

“Okay guys, since today’s Taylor’s first training, I thought we’d go a bit lighter on the workout,” Leo stated, facing the crowd full of relieved and joyful faces at the news of not working out as hard.

“Okay, so I want half of you to start working in wolf form with Zane and Matt, while the other half stay human and train with me, alright? Now let’s start!” he commanded using his alpha voice. With that, everyone dispersed to their assigned sections. Taylor couldn’t help but smile. She was swelling with pride of Leo being a good leader and a good trainer. But as Taylor walked towards the group, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone-or something-was watching her.