The Struggles Of You And I

Chapter one.

Chapter 1

"I’m not ready." I keep pacing the end of my bed, saying the same thing over and over, hoping that maybe, just maybe, it will stop this all from happening.

In one day I will turn eighteen, in one day I will be marked and eventually mated. In one day my life will no longer belong to me.

My name is Elise Casten, and my life might be boring but at least it’s mine, well, for now that is. I live in the Castaway pack - and no, we aren’t all castaways, that’s just the name of our territory. Unfortunate, I know. We have traditions in this pack, and I don’t always agree with some of them, however there is a specific one that I am hating at this moment. Every time a she wolf turns 18, she is to be sent into the woods to find her mate. As the moon rises, male wolves line up side by side and chase you through the woods. The goal is that your mate will be the first one to smell your scent, so he will find you first and mark you.

For some it doesn't always work out that way. I heard this girl was marked by a rouge who was just passing by and she had to leave with him. I was pretty young when I heard that one, so I’m not sure if it’s true. Although Cassie, a she wolf two years older than me, was marked by someone who was not her mate - he had gotten to her first by chance and marked her before her mate could get there. She was devastated but eventually learned to cope with it, I think they have a pup now.

I throw my hair into a pony tail and glance at myself in the mirror while discarding my negative thoughts. My copper hair hangs loosely in a ponytail and my green eyes are surrounded by red puffy skin, what was once my pale white face has now become red and splotchy from crying. I am 5'3, but I don’t mind being short. It suits me. I had just gotten out of the shower before I started on my little rant about not being ready. I had been drying my hair and crying about something I have no control over. Being done observing myself in the mirror, I drop my towel and throw on undergarments with white shorts and a black tank. With that on I dash out of my room. I make it down the stairs of the pack house and into the front yard without seeing anyone - they’re probably all getting ready to go down for breakfast. I won’t be there, that’s for sure. I dash into the yard and sprint for the forest. It’s rare that I make it anywhere without being seen. I’m the beta’s daughter and I have responsibilities to the pack.

I run through the forest, a little sad that I can’t shift yet. She wolves that aren’t mated can’t shift into their wolf. I can hear her in my head just fine, but not all my senses are as keen as my wolf’s yet. I try to tune into my senses as much as I can in order to avoid bumping into any of my pack that may have come out to have a morning run like myself. But what I don’t think of was someone shifting. I run right into what I was trying so hard to avoid... a male wolf.

"Sh*t!" I skid to a halt, almost landing on my face. Not even 20 feet away from me a dark brown wolf is growling and emerging from the bushes. I stare, wide eyed, not knowing what to do. I can’t catch his scent, and there are a couple of male wolves with the same coloured fur in the pack, they’re all so alike that I can’t tell the difference! "Stay put Elle, don’t run. Wolves like the chase, don’t give it to him." Sasha, my wolf, says in a calm tone. I can tell she is trying to calm me but it isn’t working. Panicking and taking a step back, I come to a halt when his vicious growl rings through my ears. 'Sasha what do I do? He’s coming closer, Sasha, I’m scared.' Sasha growls in my head, not liking the position we’re in. The male wolf takes steps towards us, and with every step forward he takes, I take one back, encouraged to do so by his non-stop growling.