Forbidden Pursuit

Her Past

Wolf POV

I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. I turn 18 years old today, and it is the day I can find my mate. I am the Alpha's youngest child, and his only daughter. My two older brothers already found their mates and were living happy lives with them. I couldn't wait for it to be my turn. I was my daddy's little princess, and he promised me a lavish mate-finding ceremony. We were The Great Plains Pack and occupied the grassy plains of the Midwest United States. While most werewolves loved woods and mountains, my pack loved the open land where we could soak up both the light of the sun and of the moon uninhibited.

I took one last look at my outfit. My white knee-length high-low lace skirt hugged my small waist and flared out over my thighs, stopping at points that highlighted my long, pretty legs. I squinted at my reflection in the mirror and assessed my wild hair again. It never laid flat. My black curls billowed all over my head and made my round face look rounder. I looked like a fat little Valentine's Day cherub in my hair and face. I was considered petite for a werewolf, even though I was 5'5", which was not really that short. I only came in at an inch below the average.

I frowned at myself. I liked my long legs and big breasts, but my face left much to be desired. I looked like a little girl who still had her baby fat. My innocent eyes stared back at me, and I sighed and shrugged. Whatever. My mate would love me despite my flaws. He would give me the self-confidence I needed. I smoothed down my form-fitting red shirt and adjusted the off-the-shoulder sleeves before turning away from my reflection.

I skipped down to the pack house kitchen and happily grabbed my favorite yogurt out of the refrigerator. I loved cherry everything, and that included greek yogurt. My brothers and their mates were already seated at the table when I walked over.

"Hey, Victoria! Happy birthday, kid!" My goofy brother, Michael, grinned at me. I flashed him a big smile. I loved my brother, even though I was aware that he was a bully to some of the other wolves in the pack. He and his best friend, the son of the Beta, loved to torment the weaker wolves to show off their strength, from what I've been told. I am two years younger than them and luckily off limits to their torture.

"What's with the outfit? Planning to seduce someone today?" My oldest brother, Alexander, flashed me a cheeky smirk. Alexander is sarcastic and witty. He was always the class clown in school, getting in loads of trouble with our strict parents, but he was also kind and compassionate. His antics and sarcasm were never mean-spirited. He was often the most ridiculed by our father, and I thought that maybe his supposed humor was a mask to hide how hurt he was by our father.

"No!" I answered in horror and then relaxed a bit, "But it doesn't hurt to create a good first impression if I do meet him today."

"Him?" Alexander's mate, Heather, raised a playful eyebrow at me. I like Heather. She's spunky and sweet and can match Alexander's wit. She'll be a good Luna.

"My mate, of course!" I sat and quickly began shoveling the yogurt in my mouth while my brothers and their mates watched in amusement.

"See ya!" I called as I quickly tossed the yogurt carton in the trash and took off. On my way out, I bumped into Emily. She was kind of adopted into our pack. Most of the pack members ignored her. Michael and his friend loved to harass her in school. Alexander used to make mean comments to her before Heather put him in his place. She was one of the few she-wolves who was nice to Emily. That's one of the reasons I'm glad Heather is going to be the Luna.

Emily was always given the most undesirable jobs in the pack, but she was my best friend. I loved her like a sister, and my brothers accepted her because of that. As we all got older, they even protected her in some instances. Alexander didn't let the pack's mistreatment of her go too far, and Michael protected her from himself by choosing to just ignore her.

Emily quickly hugged me. "Happy birthday, Tori," she said softly.

"Thank you, Emily," I hugged her back and then took off. "I'm going to find my mate today! I just know it!"

Emily smiled and waved good-bye to me. She was so sweet. She had yet to meet her mate. He was obviously not someone from our pack. She was a year older than me and quietly confessed to me that she wanted to run away from the pack to find her mate one day. I made her promise not to run away without telling me first, but I knew she was more depressed by the day by her inability to locate her mate. She was trapped here, and we both knew it.

I walked excitedly across the pavilion in front of the pack house and made my way to the school. My heart raced as I entered. Mates did not connect until both partners turned at least 18 years old. There was just no connection with another person until that time. I had never felt romantically interested in anyone and was saving everything for my mate. My first kiss, my first date, my body, everything would be a first to experience with the male the Moon Goddess chose for me.

I entered the school and inhaled deeply. Nothing struck me as different, so I proceeded to my classes. All day I kept looking for him, kept smelling for him, but his unique mate scent never hit me. Nothing was different. By the time school got out, I was depressed. I made my way back to the pack house to collapse in my room and fume about my bad luck.

It's not like you've seen every single male in the pack today, and there's still the mate-finding ceremony. My wolf, Sheila, wasn't as impatient as I was, surprisingly.

Yeah, but I really want to meet him today! What if he's not part of the pack? How will I find him? I worried to her.

She didn't respond for a moment. Then she chose her words slowly and deliberately. Maybe he will find us once you learn to love yourself without him. You don't need a mate to be amazing, Tori. You have it within you.

I turned her words over in my mind thoughtfully. She was right. I can't let finding or not finding my mate today turn me into a brooding, loveless, unmotivated lump. I have my own goals and dreams I want to achieve. I have my own interests, things that my pack doesn't offer any outlets to pursue. Maybe I need to learn to be my own person first.

I entered the pack house only to have my senses assailed. There it was! That glorious smell of a freshly planted field. It drew me after it, and I chased it down without a second thought to my previous conversation with Sheila. I followed it to my father's office and pushed open the door without knocking. My father looked up abruptly.

"What are you doing in here, Tori?" He asked in surprise, "This is a private meeting!"

My eyes scanned the room and landed on their target. The source of the amazing scent was the Beta's only son, and his eyes were locked on me. HIs blue eyes assessed me in a new way, raking over my body in a way that looked a lot like lust. We've always had more of a sibling relationship and have known each other for a long time. He is Michael's best friend  and partner in crime. We never felt romantic toward each other, not even once, but right now my body was trembling under his obvious leering.

"M-mate!" I said softly. Sheila didn't seem to be thinking much of anything. She gave me some affirmation but seemed cautious for some reason.

"Mine," Josh answered me as he rose from his seat and sauntered over to me. My father stepped back as he understood the situation.

"Well, well. It looks as though Josh has just become the luckiest male in the pack! My little princess is your mate! Congratulations, son!" Father clapped him on the back enthusiastically and nodded at me with a smile. The other males in the room, including my brothers and Josh's father all smiled at me approvingly.

Josh took my hands in his and kissed the back of my fingers lightly. "How lucky am I? You look beautiful."

I blushed happily. My skin tingled where he was touching me. This just felt right. His black wolf eyes assessed me, lingering on my chest, before turning back to his normal blue. Oddly, Sheila didn't seem interested in looking at him. Josh excused himself from the meeting and then escorted me out of the office with a nod of approval from my father.

Josh led me into the garden out back and then turned me to face him. He reached out and squeezed my breast, much to my shock and horror. I took a reflexive step back. He followed that movement and grabbed me to him, crushing me into his body and pressing his lips against mine. There was pleasurable heat in the kiss, but my reaction was only physical. I squirmed against him uncomfortably. He just held me tighter. My wolf felt alarmed. I could feel her struggling with how to react. My emotions disconnected even as my body raged to be touched by him.

Josh's mouth was all over mine, his tongue shoving into my mouth as his spit wet my chin. Or maybe it was my spit. I couldn't tell since I had basically gone numb in this moment.

I knew Josh pretty well. He was a ladies man and was known for his one-night stands with younger omegas. He and Michael had quite a few escapades under their belts, so to speak, and were considered legendary by some of the younger guys at my school.

Josh hit on Emily once and even threatened her when she said she wasn't interested. She was more angry than scared of him when she confided his advances on her to me. He is two years older than me, and he was never once concerned about not meeting his mate yet during those two years. He played the field and seemed to enjoy it. I honestly always thought he was a jerk. The mate bond was strong, but even my wolf felt distaste for him right now.

His hand went up my skirt and connected with my crotch, and my mind instantly reconnected with my body.

"Ungh!" I protested. He had my mouth captive, so I did the only thing I could do to free my voice. I bit him.

"Ah! What the-?!" Josh stuck out his bleeding tongue and touched it angrily, not finishing his sentence since his tongue was out. He glared at me angrily.

"What's wrong with you, Victoria? You some kind of psycho?!"

"Me?!" I was horrified by the accusation. "I know you're my mate, but you can't just grab me like that! I haven't even had my first kiss until now!"

Josh grimaced and looked me over condescendingly. Oddly enough, I thought my mate would be thrilled that I saved all my firsts for him. Josh looked less than impressed. Then he grinned haughtily. "Don't be nervous, honey. I'll be gentle with you the first time. Can't make any promises after that, though."

I took a small, uneasy step back. Sheila was being strangely quiet.

"Uh, right. Well, I'm going to go put my backpack in my room now. I'll see you later."

My backpack was still strapped over my shoulders like the schoolgirl I was. Josh stayed where he was and motioned for me to walk past him with a smirk. I kind of hated that smirk. I had seen him use it on other girls, but I didn't bother caring about it. I hated him using it on me. I took a breath and walked past him. He reached out and grabbed my butt as I passed. I just walked faster. He chuckled and followed me, grabbing my butt repeatedly on the long way back to my room.

I walked even faster, practically running, trying to make his actions harder for him. My eyes burned with tears that threatened to fall. Why did I choose to wear a skirt today? He seemed to take my speed as a challenge and kept pinching me while I raced into the pack house and up the stairs to my room. Josh stayed right with me the entire time. It felt like he was getting some sick amusement out of torturing me. Weren't mates supposed to care about each other's feelings? Couldn't he sense that this was upsetting me?

Sheesh. Is he seriously going to follow me all the way to my room? I cried out to Sheila.

Well, he is our mate. Finally Sheila spoke.

No. He's your mate. I don't want anything to do with him. He's a disgusting jerk, and I hate myself for caring about him!

Sheila and I were both shocked at my admission. This Beta boy was seriously annoying, and I was feeling violated by him, but he was still my mate chosen for me by the Goddess. Technically, he should now have access to my body since we are mates, but I just admitted to myself and my wolf that I hated the guy the Goddess chose for me. She made a mistake.

Give it a chance. Maybe it's just because it's new to both of you, Sheila urged me.

You're not the one who's getting your butt grabbed! I snarled at her in my head.

Touche, and then she was quiet again.

Josh didn't know about my conversation with my wolf. He was getting some sick joy out of tormenting me. We reached my room, and I turned around abruptly to face him, my face red from my irritation and discomfort.

"I'll. See. You. Later." I growled out each word between my teeth. Josh just grinned at me.

"I don't think so, honey. You're my mate now. What if you are in danger in there?"

"In my own room? Deep in the pack house in the center of our pack? I don't think so," I ground out. The danger would be letting him into my room. I needed to get rid of him.

"You'll be in danger of loneliness, of course!" He looked at me pointedly and waited for me to open my door. I didn't budge to open it. This was important. I couldn't stand down or he would run over me for the rest of our lives. He was that type of person.

Josh looked at my resolved face and frowned. Then I saw anger flash across his face.

"Look here, princess, I'm your mate now, and you will not refuse me anything." He took a threatening step toward me, asserting his dominance. I shrank back against my door. The mate bond was forcing me to submit to him because it was my job to soothe his anger. I can't let him in. I can't let him in. I can't let him...

"Is everything okay, Tori?" A new voice broke the tension, and I was relieved to see Emily approaching. I had a huge room, and five years ago I insisted on sharing my room with Emily just like real sisters. My parents didn't understand me, but they didn't ask any questions. We were rarely there at the same time, but Emily and I had a lot of fun together when we were. We shared secrets and hopes and dreams, and now my best friend was saving me from a nightmare.

"Emily, I was just telling Josh I would see him later." I said as tension rolled off of me. Josh was leering at Emily openly, and I felt involuntary jealousy arise.

Ew. What the heck?! I demanded of my wolf.

Sorry. Can't help it.

I rolled my eyes mentally before grabbing Emily's arm and facing Josh again.

"I'm going into my room with my friend. I have homework. I'll see you at dinner."

He looked between the two of us before glaring at me in fury.

"Tch. Fine. Whatever. Your loss," he grumbled at me and sauntered off down the hallway.