Plus-Size Sold Mate (Willow Island Mates #2)

Chapter 1 - Sera

I haven’t looked back since I started running. If I risk, I know I’ll falter, and if I do, they’ll find me.

The smell of fresh rainfall still clings to the grass and trees, stirred up with my every rushed step forward. The slick pine needles make my boots slide each time I move downhill, forcing me to spend extra precious seconds being more mindful.

My legs feel like they’re full of lead, and my lungs burn unlike they ever have before, leaving an iron taste in my dry mouth, but none of those things are good enough reasons to stop. Not when so much is at stake.

I don’t know where I am anymore, but the trees have changed, and the air is saltier than it had been, which means Wraith Peak is long behind me, exactly where it should be.

All of this would be easier if I could run like a wolf, in the form that should be as natural to access as breathing.

But I’ve never had that luxury. Instead, I run as a girl born wrong. A shiftless wolf who has never successfully connected with that side before.

Even now, after enduring that truth my entire life, it still claws at me. It guts me to know I might never experience something so primal and innate.

Though that doesn’t mean I’m completely defenseless.

Pulling from a place deep inside my chest, buried beneath shame and carefully placed wards, magic hums beneath the surface. It’s coiled tight and waiting, always silently longing for the chance to be let out.

I’ve always wished I could free it and allow that part of me to take up space, but I can’t. Not while magic is forbidden here.

I may not know a lot about it, but I do know powers like mine have been outlawed for generations after magic users and shifters nearly tore each other apart over it.

Even if an island offering the perfect cover for exactly that would be an ideal place, I still can’t be my complete self here.

Despite having my shift sacrificed for being able to wield magic, it’s something I can’t embrace.

To the humans occupying the Willow Island, there are no shifters, and there definitely isn’t any magic. They see only an isolated island, old forests, and a ferry that runs twice a day from Coldreach to the mainland.

They aren’t supposed to know what I am, and I can’t ever let them see.

But in times of desperation, like this, I let my power seep into my limbs in careful, measured bursts.

It’s enough to strengthen my muscles and to ease the burning in my chest to keep me going, but not enough to flare or cause any damage.

I’ve fine-tuned it enough not to leave any signatures behind either.

Pulling in a deep breath, I let that warmth flood me, savoring the relief while it lasts, and I keep pushing.

No matter what it takes, I have to reach the wharf before the ferry leaves in the morning, even if that means running all night.

If I can cross into Coldreach and blend in with the humans and shifters long enough to board the ferry, then I can disappear somewhere in the mainland and get as far away from Wraith Peak and Dawson as possible.

There, nobody will know who or what I am, and nobody can try to use me.

As easy as the plan sounds, I’ve been drip-feeding myself magic for hours, and by now, it’s starting to flicker in protest. My body was never meant to channel this long without rest, especially on the first try.

My foot catches on a root, and I stumble, needing another little burst to keep me upright, but it only makes my usage strain more.

As my stamina wanes, I slow to a jog, chest heaving in an attempt to recuperate.

I know that every time I stop, I lose precious distance and time I’ll never get back again, but I’m running on fumes now.

The trees have started to thin, and with more and more rivers and streams popping up, I know I’m getting close.

I just have to keep going. If I don’t, then Dawson’s wolves will catch me, and I don’t even know what kind of punishment would be waiting for me.

The thought of him is enough to make me squirm and for my skin to grow cold.

Wraith Peak wasn’t my birthplace. In fact, I wasn’t even born on the island to begin with.

My original pack lived on the mainland, and while things started out as normal as they could for a young wolf taken in by a nice couple, it soon dissolved the moment my first shift was delayed.

Though most assumed it would come to me eventually.

When my peers used my inability to shift against me, and my foster parents felt embarrassed by my deficiency, I felt so ostracized that I had no choice but to leave.

I figured the island would be my best shot at starting over, until Dawson came along.

I tried to tell Dawson he wouldn’t want me the day he found me, but he insisted it didn’t matter. He tried to soften me up with his understanding, empathetic tone, only for him to turn around and take me with him by force.

So I spent the next few months enduring him and the rest of the pack. I started out as a curiosity to them, assuming I was just a strange kind of shifter, but Hayes, his son, was the one to uncover my abilities first.

Even as I push through the trees, feeling the sting of pine needles scratching my cheeks, I can see his face in my mind.

He looks just like his father, but more youthful, with eyes that seem to have never softened once in his life. As expected, he has all the arrogance and aggression typical of an unchecked Alpha’s son in him.

His scrutinizing gaze always made my skin crawl, but it only got worse when he noticed how much faster I’d heal than I ever had business to. He noticed how I’d perk up during the sparring sessions he forced me into, or the tasks he ordered me to do, all meant to break me.

Even if I survived those tests, sometimes just barely, he noticed, and it was enough to make him poke until he got the answers he wanted.

For as domineering as he is, his sister Naia was always subtler.

Where Hayes was a sharp blade, Naia was a slow-release toxin. She would sit across from me during meals with a sweet smile, asking what sounded like harmless, normal questions. She pretended to be my friend at first, giving me just enough hope, only to snuff it out with her true intentions.

She might not be as brutal as her brother, but she’s just as indoctrinated by their father’s way of thinking, and I have the feeling her self-control only makes her that much more dangerous.

When Hayes realized what I was capable of, he and Naia were on me, questioning me and trying hard to figure out ways to use it to their advantage. At least, how their dad could use it.

I heard enough whispers in the pack to know why.

Apparently, he had lost a fight with another Alpha, and ever since, the others have been questioning him.

They could’ve killed him outright after he was shamed in front of them, but his kids safeguarded him long enough to let him heal and regain his bearings.

Still, he’s been on thin ice in their eyes, which has only made the family more desperate.

Magic may be banned across most reaches of the island, but not according to Wraith Peak. They want it more than anything if it means gaining an advantage.

For someone losing control over his pack, I’m the perfect weapon.

But even when they forced me into corners, pushed me to the point of exhaustion, and tried so hard to turn me into what they wanted, I gave them nothing. That’s exactly what I still plan on doing.

I only managed to get away because of the fractured pack. There was a public challenge to Dawson’s leadership, and the moment I found out about it, I ran. They were all too distracted to see I slipped away.

That chaos got me this far, and now, I can’t waste it.

Climbing out of a ravine, fingers digging into dirt and grass to keep my momentum going, my vision starts turning hazy. Already, the sky starts to pale, slowly giving way to the threat of early dawn.

I know I’m almost there. So close to getting exactly where I need to be.

A howl splits the air behind me, causing me to falter just long enough for me to misstep again. I stumble, heart lurching as that cold reality hits me so hard I can’t just run away from it.

They’re closer than they should be. Regardless of how fast I’ve been going, draining my magic the whole time, they’re closing in.

Forcing my legs to move faster despite my body’s immediate protest, my powers sputter inside me like it’s moments away from giving out after being stretched way too thin.

Another howl answers, then another. There are at least three, from what I can detect, but without much more to go on, I can’t know for sure.

If Dawson sent more than one wolf, then he’s desperate to get me back, and something about that makes me even more furious.

Just when I think I’m about to hit a second wind, my knees buckle. I stagger and break through another line of trees while I heave, using a nearby tree to keep me standing. I suck in a deep, aching breath, hoping I’m at least over the implied border.

Like a car hitting empty, my reserves drain abruptly, leaving me cold and trembling.

With no more magic left, it’s up to my natural stamina now, as scant as it feels.

Then, my spine tightens up at the crunch of footsteps behind me. Of course, they’re too light and controlled to be human.

Slowly turning, I see them emerging from the trees.

Three wolves, varying from grey to black, step into the clearing with their yellow eyes fixed on me.

In what feels like an attempt to mock me, they shift back until fur disappears, taken over by smooth, pale flesh.

While I don’t know two of them, I do recognize the one named Quinn. He’s a bit higher on the totem pole, but not by much. Only a select few wolves in the Wraith Peak pack have significant authority, while most are just fodder.

All three of them look at me with the same gleam in their eyes, and all with the same purpose.

“You’re a long way from home, Sera,” Quinn says, grin far too smug. “For a lousy wolf, you can run quite a distance.”

“I’m not on Wraith Peak land anymore,” I return, straightening as best as I can despite my trembling legs.

“Doesn’t matter. Dawson wants you back. He didn’t say why, but given how far you ran, I’m guessing that has something to do with it.”

They don’t know. Even the Voss family has kept the truth about me under wraps, likely to be used to his advantage when he’s ready.

“No one has to get hurt,” one of the others says, putting his hands out in a placating gesture, though his knowing expression doesn’t match up. All three of them spread out slightly, trying to cover me from all sides. “Come with us, and everything will be fine.”

It’s a lie…I can smell the anticipation on them, along with their eagerness to follow through on this.

“I’m not going back,” I mutter, glancing between them.

“Then you’ll just have to fight us,” the one muses, looking prepared to do exactly that without asking any questions. “But you won’t win. You know that.”

With my magic depleted like this, that’s more than likely. But instead of answering, my attention shifts briefly to the tree line behind them. Backtracking is the last thing I want to do, but I might have to just to shake them. I’m not sure I can even manage that right now.

“Come quietly, Sera,” Quinn says, features turning a bit more serious, like he’d rather be anywhere else than contending with me. “Save all of us the trouble and come back.”

Given how unprepared I am to take them down and how exhausted my entire being feels, it would be easy to surrender. But doing so would mean facing whatever’s waiting for me in Wraith Peak. Having to endure what Dawson and his spawn plan to do with me.

I can’t. I refuse.

“No,” I return, teeth gritting while I hold as much conviction as I can muster.

Drawing in a shaky breath, I try to reach inward for any drop of magic I might have left. It answers faintly, like an ember so close to dying under ash, but it will only get me so far. Now, there’s no warmth in it.

With aching limbs, I pivot as Quinn lunges first, barely avoiding his grasp before catching his throat with my elbow. The impact sends a rush of pain exploding through my body, forcing me to suck in a harsh breath.

It’s sloppy at best, since I don’t have the strength for finesse, but it’s all I have. All I can do is hold them off.

When one of the others tries his hand at catching me, I dredge up just enough of a spark into my legs, barely evading him. Immediately, everything shifts around me, and the ground almost races toward me before I steady myself. It’s too much.

Staggering, I try to back away, but Quinn is there in a flash, grabbing my wrist easily with more fury in his eyes now. He twists, pulling a cry straight from my throat.

As much as I hate the feeling, I’m so weak now.

“It’s over,” he mutters in my ear, pinning my arm behind my back while the others close in. “Dawson will have his fun with you.”

An agonizing cold front slides through my system like ice, forcing my heart to race far too quickly.

I want to keep fighting and protesting until they have no choice but to let me go, but my head aches in a way it never has before, and with no strength or magic left, I’m effectively useless.

Still, that same thought screams in my head again and again.

I will not go back. I can’t.

I’d rather die in this clearing than return to Wraith Peak, even if it leaves my life insignificant and cut short.