Grace's POV
The forest was glowing with a soft morning sunlight that caused trees to ignite with color. Branches whipped against my skin as I ran, leaving long uneven cuts across my face and arms, but I couldn't stop. I knew my mother would be disappointed when she saw the bloody flaws on my skin but she would be more disappointed if I was dead and she lost her "perfect" daughter. The thought of my parents' disapointment sent fear through my mind and I realized in that moment that I was sick of being perfect.
I had followed Kenzie back to this place after my birthday in hopes of convincing her to come home permanently, but what I found when I reached her destination was impossibly strange. There was a boy outside who was all alone lying on the ground convulsing and screaming. I went to him to help but the explosion of sound that was his voice stopped me. It was twisted with fear as he begged for me to run as fast and as far as I could. In that moment something unexplainable happened. Something that challenged everything I thought I knew. His skin seemed to burst from his body and what lay beneath was a coat of sleek black fur. His face twisted as he took the shape of a wolf with fierce green eyes. I stood there with my mouth agape, frozen as I watched his jaw snap at my ankles with enough force to break my bones in half.
A wave of fear flooded my mind shutting out any logical thought. The only thing that made me move was the adrenalin pumping through my veins until knew there was only one thing to do... run. I was practically flying through the trees; immensely tall wooden beams that stretched to the sky like fingers of the earth. The soles of my shoes brushed against the mossy forest floor as I ran; letting my instinct guide me. Jumping over fallen trees and dodging the thick wooden cylinders that blocked my path. I could hear a strangled howl that was too human to belong to a normal wolf. It held too much pain. The sound made me to stop where I stood and take in an uneven gasp. I wanted, no, needed to help him.
Still shaking from the electric energy that engulfed my body I snapped my head around to face him and saw that he had stopped running after me. Somewhere inside I felt a spark of pure forgiveness, more than that I felt blessed. He could have torn me apart if he didn't fight so hard against the wolf inside of him, his wolf. The ebony creature was shuttering again and despite the protesting of every bone in my body, I walked to him. My hands shook as I moved slowly and carefully at first, soon changing my stride to a full on sprint.
When I reached his crumpled figure I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him until the shaking stopped. There were shouts somewhere in the distance but all that mattered was making him feel safe. Everything in that moment was both vibrantly tangible and surreal. His wolf calmed and he nestled his warm head into my shoulder. Echoes of the world outside of us rang in my ears forcing me to look up at a girl with a curtain of dark hair that stood above me with a determined look across her face. More footsteps followed and a mixture of wolves and people came hurtling to the clearing where we sat.
The wolf I held circled me protectively releasing a fierce warning growl from his throat. I heard a familiar voice calling for someone to stay back but the person he was talking to didn't listen. The sound of footsteps bounced off of the trees but they weren't as graceful as the others. I heard a gasp and looked up to find my sister standing there with sunlight in her hair and shock in her eyes.
I recognized Chase from my party and watched as he stood in front of her as if to serve as protection from what he saw as a threat. She was trying to push past him to get to me but he was strong and obviously didn't want her to get hurt. I looked at her apologetically but I wasn't sure what I was apologizing for, following her? Or putting myself in danger, maybe.
There was another man standing beside the girl that was first to arrive. He gave off a sense of authority and his eyes held the same determined intensity that I found in the girl's. His strong hand reached out to grab my beautiful charcoal wolf by the scruff of his neck. He thrashed and snapped his viscous teeth but the man was inhumanly strong. He pulled the wolf carefully back behind a cave of dense trees until a loud howl rang through the forest. The howl faded into a scream that held an emotional pain that could only come with humanity. I felt anger boil in my blood at the thought that the leader of the wolves, the alpha, might have hurt the boy who I felt so immediately drawn to. Ripping through the crowd I tried desperately to reach them but Kenzie's hands wrapped around my shoulders and forced me to face her.
"It's okay Gracie. It's going to be okay." She pulled me into a hug and I held tightly to her burying my sputtering cries in my sister's embrace.
"W-werewolves?" I choked out the word and knew immediately that it was what they were. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly letting a weary tear slip past her eyelashes and down her cheek.
"I didn't want you to find out about any of this. Or at least not yet, not in this way." Kenzie avoided my gaze looking through me instead of at me. She directed her attention to the guy who had tried to protect her like his life depended on it, and explained to him, "Chase, you remember Grace.."
He nodded knowingly and whispered something in her ear that I wasn't supposed to hear. "Kenz, I think she might be that boy's mate. But his wolf is sick and he can't control himself. No one is sure what happened to him, he's just very, very sick. We need to keep her away."
I brushed his words away and looked to where I saw the werewolf who Chase said was my mate. 'Mate? What does that even mean?' my mind screamed, but when I saw the boy in his human form I felt my heart skip a beat and I felt like I knew exactly what it meant. His hair and eyes matched that of his wolf but his skin was sickly pale and dark purple rings hung under his startlingly intense eyes. His complexion made me worry more than I had ever worried about another person in my life.
"I-I'm Grace." I whispered under my breath, digging my manicured nails into my palms from the overwhelming nerves.
"Hello Grace." When he said my name I felt butterflies take flight in my stomach until I remembered Eric and felt guilt spread through me. We had only just broken up, and my mother and father were livid. This would dash all of their hopes of us making up; they would hate me. I was pulled out of my frantic thoughts when my supposed mate filled the air with his angelic voice. "I'm Forest."
My world was spinning and nothing made sense. But in the same moment, for the first time in my life I actually felt truly and honestly perfect. The way he looked at me was heart breakingly beautiful and my breath caught in my throat at the sight. Forest Forest Forest. His name echoed through my head and all thoughts of Eric dissipated. Now there was just us. Just my mate and I. Nothing else was important.
***
Hi! I really love the Mate or Not series and was super excited about this contest. My entry is a little late but I hope you consider it anyway :) I also wasn't sure of the length so this may be kind of short but anyway, thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Charlotte
