Chapter 2

Forest's POV

I found her. I can't believe it, I actually found her.

I don't know why I moved schools.

I used to go to the pack school, full of werewolves, but something in me wanted, no needed, to change.

So I went to my parents and told them I wanted to start going to the human school around the corner.

Once I got there I went to my first lesson, maths. Straight away I was drawn to the back corner of the class room where the prettiest girl I've ever seen sat on her own.

She had long chestnut brown hair stretching down her back and bright blue eyes. She was beautiful. Something in her drew my wolf from the back of my mind where he had been sulking. it's her, he said, it's her I went over and sat next to her. She looked lost in thought.

"Hi I'm new here" I introduced my self.

She seemed to jump as she realised I was talking to her.

" I'm Forest, what's your name?" My wolf grinned at me from the back of my mind, glad I was talking to her.

Without saying anything she pointed at her book where her name was printed at the top. Aria. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

Why do I feel like this. No girl has ever made me feel like this before. Unless. No. It can't be. Mate my wolf growled at me mate.

I held my hand out for her to shake and as she took it I felt the delightful tingles of a mates touch. My wolf was right.

She is my mate. When that pink Barbie came up and started insulting my mate I couldn't stop the growl from slipping from my lips and from the look on Aria's face, and the way she acted earlier she doesn't know about mates and their bond.

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When I reached home I ran into the pack house, my mum meeting me in the doorway with the usual questions,

"How was your day? Is your new school nice?"

But I didn't answer, instead I just yelled out, "I found her! I found my mate!"

I looked into the confused face of my mum and saw she didn't believe me.

"You've been at your new school for one day, a school where there shouldn't be any wolves. And you think you've found your mate?"

When you put it like that it does seem pretty hard to believe....

" I know it isn't likely mama but it's true. I've found my mate, she's beautiful. Wait, do mates have to be wolves or can they have human blood as well?" I ask, she didn't seem wolf but she didn't seem human ever.

" No all mates must have at least a bit of were blood in them some where in their linage, although it may be generations back. But it's ok. You have years to find out about that and to win her over in the human way."

" Win who over in the human way" my father asked as he entered the room back from the pack office. Once we filled him in on what had been going on he agreed that I should try to date her like a human and he would look into her history, see if she had any not quite human blood.

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The next day I kept my eyes peeled for her but she wasn't in any of my other classes.

Oh well. I have maths today. My wolf howled with joy at the thought of seeing her again. Our beautiful mate.

As I walked into class I saw the Barbie, Tasha I heard her friends calling her. She strutted over smiling seductively at me. I cringed.

"So Forest," She purred, making my wolf growl and me wrinkle my nose in disgust. "Since you are new I'll give the benefit of the doubt but just so you know for future, the little skank you sit next to is trouble, you should hear some of the stories her brother tells, she's a nightmare."

I growled low at her, how dare she insult whats mine, my mate. I also doubted what she was saying, my mate is a quiet girl, she doesn't say anything I doubt she can be trouble.

"I very much doubt that" I said pushing past her to my seat at the back, sitting down as the teacher came in the start the lesson.

"No Aria again, this is the third time in the last two weeks she's been off" I hear the teacher mutter as she sat down, I have a bad feeling about this, why does she miss so much school, I hope she's ok.

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By the end of maths my worry for my mate was almost suffocating me, so when Tasha approached me with a boy, introducing him as "This is Tyler, the bitch's brother" I wanted to grab him and demand he tells me where Aria was.

Instead I took the outstretched hand, shook it and introduced my self.

"Hi I'm Tyler," He said, a smug smile plastered all over his face, " the most popular boy in school" I straight away disliked him, he was nothing like his sweet sister, my beautiful mate.

"Hello, do you know where Aria is?" I said, looking him in the eye, watching in fascination as his eyes filled with hate at just the mention of his sister.

"No I don't," he hissed, "but you be careful around her, she may act sweet but she's not, if I could I wouldn't hesitate to remove her from my life forever."

I was taken aback by the hate in his tone, My poor mate, living with him for a brother. Before I could say anymore the bell rang and I had to go to my next lesson.

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By the time I made it home I made the decision to earn Aria's trust as soon as I could, the sooner I told her the truth about me and us, the sooner I could get her away from her brother, I didn't trust him, something about him was off.....

Sitting round the dinner table with my parents I asked them the question which has been burning a hole in my mind all day, " Did you find out anything about my mate?" I asked, directing my question at my dad, I wasn't expecting an answer, since he will have been busy tending to pack matters all day. My father was the Alpha of the largest packs in Great Britain, I just wanted to ask, just in case.

"Actually, I did find a few things," Those few words were enough to have me on the edge of my seat, eager to find out anything I could about my mate.

"She lives in a small house on the edge of Fairy Dell, a small pond a few minutes walk from here. One of the pack members actually lives on her street and they said she used to be seen outside all the time, she used to chat to them whenever she saw them and she was always smiling, but then her Mum left and she mysteriously stopped talking, no one knows why, she was always seen with cuts or bruises on her legs and arms"

My father stopped talking and turned, looking me in the eye, "Something is wrong with her and its your job as her mate to make sure she's ok, I don't know whats going on but I want her in the packs protection sooner rather than later for her safety so please get her to trust you before its too late."

My dad's concerns echoed my own, I thought it had just been my imagination, the scars that seemed to glow through the thin material of her t shirt, my decision was made, I would earn her trust as soon as possible, even if I didn't tell her my secret for ages yet.

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But a week passed and she still wasn't back at school, my wolf and I was getting more and more concerned and the casual smirk that always graced Tyler's face didn't improve matters.

Just as I started to consider going over to her house to see if she's ok she turned up again. One day she just turned up acting as if life was normal and she'd never been away.

But she was sitting next to me in maths again, so that's one upside. But she still wouldn't open up to me. I tried to be friendly, and although she wasn't totally closed off she still wouldn't talk or do more that nod or shake her head.

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It was lunch time again and today like every other day I grabbed my lunch and went over to where Aria was sitting, alone at a picnic bench, even though it was the middle of winter. At first she would tell me to go away but now she is getting used to me being there.

"Hello Aria, how was your day?" I asked, like every day, and like every day she responds with a smile and a nod. I offer her half my sandwich but she declines shaking her head, no.

Missing her touch I sat next to her fiddling the bottom of her hair, she flinched away from my touch but soon was leaning into my hand. I would do anything for her, my beautiful mate, and she doesn't even know it.

Not even I noticed how close we had grown over the last few weeks, blame the mate bond for that. Until we were told in English, turns out she was in my English class as well, that we were doing a project in partners on Shakespeare. Straight away I turned to her asking if she wanted to be my partner. She nodded yes and we decided to meet at my house after school. She had quickly became my best friend, but I wanted more.

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After school we met outside the office and I led her to my car, opening the door for her before going to my side and turning on the engine. "You can choose the music if you want" I said glancing at Aria before looking back at the road.

I was pleasantly surprised when she chose Mr Bright side, I started singing along and she nodded her head to the music,

Coming out of my cage and I'm feeling just fine

gonna gonna be down because I want it all

I listened to the song lyrics, thinking about how much it summed up our situation, I should be content with just having her here with me but I wanted more. My wolf demanded more.

Before I knew it we were pulling into the driveway of the pack house. I had made sure no wolves were present, only my parents.

I opened the door and my mum met us there,

"Hello Aria, I'm Isla, Forest's Mum"