Plus-Size Forced Mate (Willow Island Mates #1)

Chapter 1 - Lila

Astrid’s hand is warm and small in mine, yet reassuring as always, while we move through the pines. From within the trees, dew clings to the needles, occasionally letting those droplets fall onto our sweaters.

She hums a little song she made up just the other day, repeating it idly in her soft, endearingly off-key voice. Despite everything else weighing heavily on my mind, I smile down at her and the cheerful way she takes in the woods around us.

She has always liked the woods, as I have since I was a little girl. However, I found solace in it for different reasons.

The ground is still damp from last night’s rainfall, making every step quieter than usual. It’s peaceful, and for a moment, I don’t feel burdened by the past. Those moments are rare, and I always make sure to soak them in whenever I get the chance.

Out here, nobody can judge either of us, and nobody can get in the way of my attempt at raising her with a sense of normalcy. Not even the pack.

Tightening my grip on Astrid’s little hand tighter than I mean to, I loosen my hold on her and pull in a deep breath.

She glances up at me with those bright eyes. A deep green resembling my own that never fails to soften me. The only problem is that the rest of her features resemble her father’s. Caleb.

Not noticing, Astrid continues swinging our arms together, following her own rhythm.

Swallowing hard, I pull in a breath and try to force the thoughts of him away completely. But it doesn’t work, as it never does.

The way his name rises inside me instinctively, like it was waiting just under the surface, has always grated on my nerves, almost like a hungry thing demanding attention.

He used to walk this same path just like the rest of the pack did when we were young, but something about Caleb always stood out to me. He always had a way of commanding the space around him without even trying. He was always laughing and was always surrounded by others.

Even from that age, everyone knew he’d be the Alpha one day. He hasn’t been sworn in yet, but it’s only a matter of time.

Caleb used to take up way too much space in my head, pulling at something inside me, but I could never do anything about it. Not when I was a nobody… a throwaway member of the pack that no one like him would want.

I was always watching from the background, and people like Caleb made sure I stayed there.

As a low breeze sweeps through the trees, throwing different scents through the air, I let go of a sharp, uneven breath. After spending years trying to forget about him, I know I should stop. I can’t keep stewing about him and everything that happened.

But I’m still terrible at it, and walking through the woods with Astrid never fails to dig those memories back up. The threads I tried to cut linger still, despite how badly they hurt even now.

I went through my whole childhood being mocked and ridiculed because of how I looked, and since I didn’t come from a powerful family.

When I found myself in high school, I hoped things would be better.

I just wanted to escape that onslaught of negative attention from Caleb and the others. To blend in and find my place.

But I never did. If anything, it only got worse.

I didn’t look like the other girls. My frame was fuller, curvier than theirs, making me look almost too feminine. Too soft and incapable of fighting or showing any kind of physical strength. Even now, I’ve never managed to shake the very form I’ve been embarrassed by for far too long.

To top it all off, despite the way his words stung, something in me still longed for Caleb. Longed to know how it felt to be accepted and loved by him.

Every time I looked at him, my chest tightened, and something warm inside me pulsed, almost whispered to me that he was mine.

It was ridiculous, and I knew it, but still… I couldn’t push it away.

Caleb didn’t feel it, or at least, he chose to ignore it. Instead of drifting to me by fate like I thought he would, he chose to be cruel. He didn’t need to join in with the others when they taunted me, but he did.

That made the pain sear into my skin even hotter.

Just when I thought I was completely off his radar after graduation, he cornered me at a party smelling like whiskey and the promise of summer ahead. I should’ve walked away, and I should’ve known better. But it was a moment of weakness. Hell, I thought maybe he had come around to me after all.

Whether it was that longing rearing its head again or just a primal craving for some sort of affection, I gave in.

It was one night. One mistake. And one perfect moment that was shattered by everything that came after.

Caleb didn’t want me. He refused me even when I admitted how I felt, and just when I found out I was pregnant with his baby, he left. Shipped out to get his military service over with before taking over as our Alpha.

He left me to deal with the fallout on my own. Hell, I never even had the chance to tell him in person.

I thought about contacting him, but the more I considered it, the less I wanted to put myself in that position or cause more problems for myself.

Besides, I saw the chance to disappear on the outskirts of the pack grounds, and I took it.

Despite the pain of it all, I came out of it with my bright, beautiful girl. Astrid was the only thing that made it all bearable, and she still is. She’s the one person who can pull me out of even the worst mental spirals and distract me from all the old pain.

“Mama, can we go to the river?” Astrid asks, tugging me from the memory with ease. “I want to splash.”

I hesitate at the thought. The river is farther than I’d like to take her, and closer to the northern boundary.

But her eyes are already lit up at the idea, and it’s almost impossible for me to deny her anything.

Before she was born, I was terrified of becoming a mom. So afraid that I would screw everything up and ruin her life. Continue ruining mine. For a while, I didn’t think I even deserved to be a mother.

But the moment I held her, seeing just how tiny and perfect she was, I knew I had been wrong. She became my purpose, and the very reason I fought to carve out a safe corner for us away from the pack’s scrutiny.

She’s my everything, and denying her even the smallest joy feels like a disservice.

“Okay,” I say, trying to fight my small smile. “But not too long.”

Astrid beams, letting go of my hand to run ahead.

Leaving the trail behind, we weave through the thick brush and lower tree branches until the sound of running water fills the space around us.

Without even sitting down, she pulls her shoes off and walks into the gentle current, standing where the water is shallow. She splashes, smiling all the while, as if it’s the most entertaining thing she can think of.

“Be careful.”

I try not to hover too much or make her more apprehensive about things than she needs to be, but it’s a habit now. The thought of anything happening to her makes my stomach turn.

“I am!” she sings, cheerful and blissfully unaware of anything else around her.

My heart aches while I watch her, but with love and apprehension.

As much as I try to shield her from any kind of judgment, smothering her budding powers with my feeble glamor, she’s growing. And with that, her magic is constantly pressing against the seams of that barrier, always testing for a way out.

I don’t think it’s good for her to force her latent energy down, but there’s nothing else I can do for the time being.

Nobody can know. Not when magic use is forbidden on the Willow Island.

There are too many humans mixed in with us, and if they were to witness anyone using magic, we would all be discovered. We wouldn’t have anywhere else to hide.

But even at four, Astrid is strong. Stronger than she should be, just like her dad.

She squeals with delight while splashing with her hands, following through with the movement of her hands towards the sky, sending a ripple of magic-laced water into an arc overhead. It hovers there perfectly for a moment, beautiful as it catches the faint sunlight coming in through the trees.

For someone her age, it’s impressive. I want to celebrate her strength and nurture her potential, but for her safety and mine, I can’t.

“Sweetheart…” I start, hoping to catch her attention before it lingers too long.

But it’s already too late.

The air around us crackles with her energy, almost like invisible sparks I can feel deep inside me. It’s a pulse, a flare of wild energy that surges inside her, slipping through the cracks of my suppression.

Astrid freezes then, glancing back at me. She knows that feeling… knows that I’m clamping back down on it.

She blinks at me, and that look alone is enough to break my heart. She’s too young to know any better, and it ruins something in me to hold her back like that.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I say, taking a few steps closer. “We just need to—”

The fine hair on the back of my neck rises, prickling at my skin the moment the air shifts.

I might not be as strong as the other wolves, but that doesn’t mean my senses aren’t just as sharp.

Someone’s here.

My gaze flicks up from Astrid, scanning the trees across the river. I inhale and try to focus past the usual fear, and immediately, I recoil at the scent carried with the wind.

They’re not from my pack, and not anyone I’ve encountered before. Something about this one smells different. Colder, somehow.

While I focus, the forest goes eerily still aside from the river’s current. Staring ahead, I watch as something shifts within the shadows, then I see him.

A figure stands there, tall and broad-shouldered, with eyes that almost look silver through the trees. He’s dressed in all dark clothes, and his posture is almost relaxed.

From the way he looks at me and the difference in his scent, I know he’s not one of us.

My pulse roars in my ears, and that sinking feeling in my gut only worsens.

He has to be from Wraith Peak. Has to be, especially with their border so close to where we stand.

The man’s gaze shifts from me to Astrid, who had already gravitated towards me. I slowly guide her behind me, noting as she peeks around my hip. Something too close to interest glimmers in his eyes, and my stomach drops.

He saw. I know he did.

My own fickle magic flares instinctively just beneath my skin, more like a protective surge than anything, but it’s weak compared to what Astrid had let out just moments ago.

With as much strength as I can muster, I force my glamor to blanket over her, sealing back her power before he can detect it again.

The stranger pulls in a breath, tilting his head as if putting pieces together, then he steps back.

My next breath leaves me rushed and heavy, and without missing a beat, I scoop Astrid up in my arms and begin back the way we came.

“We’re going home, sweetie. Just hold on.”

Astrid doesn’t argue, clearly having sensed my own fear. She has always been incredibly perceptive, and hiding my feelings from her has always been a struggle.

She stays quiet and leans into me with nothing but complete trust.

I don’t say anything else throughout the walk back home, keeping my stride hurried while I focus my senses on searching for any sign that the stranger has followed. Fortunately, I don’t smell anything.

Regardless, that dread only curdles in my stomach.

If that was a shifter from the Wraith Peak pack, and he managed to witness Astrid’s power unfurling, then I have every reason to be terrified.

They’re a group isolated from the others on the island, known for disregarding rules and creating their own.

From the day we can understand spoken words, we’re told to stay as far away from them as possible. To never stray too close to the northern borders.

I knew it would be a risk since the day I moved into the remote cabin, but I didn’t have any other choice. I did it for Astrid and me, and now, we’re both at risk.

My power isn’t enough to hold her magic back forever, and more often than not, she’s starting to slip. She’s growing and awakening, and I have nobody to turn to, aside from my mom.

Even if I’m technically part of the pack, I can’t depend on anyone else in it. I have no allies and no favors to call in.

Not after Caleb rejected me, and not after I cut all ties to build a life without him.

If word gets out about Astrid and her abilities, then Caleb will come for her, if not the entire pack.

Worry stitches my brows together while I rush toward the cabin, giving my daughter a small squeeze in my arms.

I can’t hide her much longer, and someone out there already knows.