The Lycan Prince's One True Mate

ISLA.

It usually started out like this.

The howling of the winds brought my eyes to widen. I was still, across the mulched leafy grounds with a migraine spearing through my head. The night was silent and i was enveloped with darkness.

Where was i?

My feet staggered to stand and i threw my head upon my shoulders, an attempt to catch my breath. Staring at the distant rocks and trees before me, my eyes dawned a sight of confusion. I straddled along the dark path with my fingers trailing the lengths of the leaves. They weren't ordinary leaves-these were black, and spicy scented sharp-as-glass leaves.

The ground was also soft, as though if i stood in one place for more than a few seconds, i would sink into the quicksand. Beads of sweat trickled down the sides of my face as i lifted my gaze to the full moon. There was a sudden growl that came from the distance and in a split second, i heard footsteps that thudded towards me.

Fear plummeted my entire body to move forward.

And as i ran for my dear life, heavy breathes escaped from my lips and my hair danced across my shoulders. My lungs burned and my heart was about to leap out of my chest. I caught a glimpse of a huge silhouette forming behind me-it wasn't human. It was an animal, a really huge one whose feet were strong enough to quake the grounds beneath me. The trees collapsed, forming dust in the air and eventually clouding my vision.

I was always running and the same thing happened each time.

I would stumble over a single piece of thorn and fall against my back. "Please!" I yelled, bringing my hands to my face as i crawled on my elbows. The thuds had quieted and i could hear the sound of my shaky breath.

The sound of my heart and the blood pumping through my veins.

Dirt smudged across my face, i was dressed in torn clothes. My eyes darted around me to make out my surroundings until they fell on a glimmer in the dark. They seemed to be a pair of silvery eyes, emerging from the dust and drawing closer to me. I was petrified at first, but then the footsteps were slower.

The animal had fur and it's size was unlike anything i'd seen before.

But all of a sudden, one pair of glimmering eyes turned to two and then turned to several. Heavy, hungry groans encircled me and in a flash, a pair of claws dashed across my face, injuring me. I assumed the scent of my blood would only awaken their desires to devour me. And i was right because in that instant, my neck was caged within a tight grasp.

Until i couldn't breathe and my vision began to fade.

Everything was a blur but i often remember seeing a fire that consumed the entire forest. And the animals and maybe even me. Maybe that was the day i died but that wasn't even the worst part-the worst part was the fact that each night when i went to bed, i prepared myself to relive the nightmare.

It always came.

It always started out like this and would end the same way-When the heat of the flames would burst through my body, i would let out a yell and snap out of it. Like in that moment, i arose from the bed to find myself shaking in my mother's arms.

"It's okay" She held me close to her chest, her hands straining through my hair as i breathed heavily. "I had a bad dream" I opened my eyes to her, and i was drenched in my sweat and nervousness. Her hands soothed my back as she nodded, unable to hide the exhaustion in her eyes.

"It's okay, Isla" My mother, Alyssa still comforted until i could breathe normally again.

"It was just a dream." She added.

A nightmare that came each night. There was nothing we had not done and no one we'd not consulted for answers. Why the dream kept showing up each night and what to do to stop it.

No one had answers.

So for ten years, since the first being from when i was eight, i had to put up with it. Hoping one day, i would finally be relieved from this misery. "It's okay" My mother's voice calmed and so did i. I brought my eyes to the clock, seeing it was just three am.

And that meant i would stay awake for the rest of the night.

I watched the sun rise from across the windows after a few hours. The Californian sun was just like the ones you watch in movies. Coloring the skies crimson behind San Jose's hills.

This was one of the things a girl should enjoy-where she would take out her phone to steal a picture for her instagram. But as i stood up from my chair and brought my drawing book to a close, it dawned on me that i was not your average eighteen year old.

My name is Isla Carter and this is where my story begins.

My name is Isla Carter and this is where my story begins.

"Breakfast is ready, honey" My mother's voice drew from the kitchen but i was already done with my backpack across my shoulders. I whisked behind her, allowing her to steal a kiss before i sat behind the table. My mother was all i had since my father left when i young.

And it was basically us against the world for the next few years that came until she met Brad. Then it was Isla, Alyssa and Brad. A hand snatched my sandwich from my plate and i looked up to see him with a brazen expression.

"Give me back!" I kicked him in the foot, mounting the chair to snatch it back from his hands. And he shared a chuckle with my mother before placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my breakfast.

He wasn't anything like my step father but Brad just stayed around and i saw how happy it made my mum so i let him. He wasn't a terrible person, it was quite the contrary. He was always full of life and very entertaining-the kind to always put a smile on your face.

My mother deserved that after so many unhappy years.

He achieved that either through his terrific guitar songs or his manic dancing. There was never a dull moment with Brad and i'm pretty sure i could have loved him more if i was normal. Ever since i was eight, i started having the nightmares which only progressively got worse.

We'd been to a gazillion doctors who swore everything was fine from the scans they ran and so there was no diagnosis and the only person that believed and understood me was my mum. I'm pretty sure at some point, even Brad was fed up.

I was fed up.

I hated school because i was often called the freak which made me get bullied. I'd often spend the rest of the days hiding in the bathroom stall where i would eat and eventually throw up. I was a senior and it was supposed to be my last year but it didn't feel that way. These nightmares haunted me even in the day and sometimes i was sure i was hallucinating.

It was hard to tell what was real and what was not.

More times i'd love to admit, maybe i did think i was a freak myself. And no amount of kind words my mum would tell me was enough to convince me otherwise. "You're just special" Alyssa would say before Brad would sing a song he'd make up in his mind in that second.

And he would have this smile across his face like everything was okay.

The truth is i may not have been a freak but i knew i had a problem.

With the sandwich between my teeth, i could feel the two pairs of eyes above me burn into my skull. I placed the bread to the table, folding my arms to return the gaze. "What is it?" I asked dryly and my mother found the seat in front of me. Her hands reached to touch the tenderness beneath my eyes that were the black fluffy circles from my insomnia.

And she tilted her head with a sigh.

"I should give you something for these" She said. Great, i muttered in my mind-another round of tablets to add to my endless useless prescriptions. I found myself rolling my eyes but somehow catching her lips grow agape, like she wanted to tell me something.

"You want to ask me something" I said to Alyssa before looking back to Brad. There was a guitar whose strap had suddenly appeared across his shoulders. I looked back to my mother and watched her countenance fall.

"What is it?" I asked with genuine worry in my voice.

"I spoke with your father" Alyssa broke the news and there was a sharp breath that fled my lips. "How is he?" I asked with haste and she watched as my eyes brightened at the thought of him.

My father wasn't a terrible person as well.

He and my mother just decided they weren't good for each other and separated a really long time ago. They decided that Alyssa kept me while he moved away to pursue a sheriff career in Michigan where he grew up. Marquette was unlike any bustling city-from the pictures he took, it seemed to be a rural town.

The kind where most of the land were filled with forests and trees and caves and the weather was always gloomy and dark. I had come to fall in love with the aesthetics but nothing could seal the hole in my heart that dug deep from not having Tom around.

"Tom is okay, Isla" Her voice wasn't resonating well with me especially as Brad decided to sit right next to her. Alyssa took her my tender hands and a sigh escaped her lips.

"I told him that the nightmares were getting worse"

"How could you?" I instantly withdrew from her hands and she flipped.

"Well they are, Isla. And i'm out of options here-i literally do not know what else to do. I want to be able to protect you but seeing you so shaken up every night and afraid, i feel like i'm failing at the one thing i am supposed to do. So i asked Tom." She replied and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes.

"I didn't ask the therapist or the doctor, i asked your father. And he thinks it's best you come stay with him for some time, Isla" Alyssa's words forced my eyes to open and i looked to Brad. "Was this his idea?" I wasn't so thrilled with having him around in that moment that i struck a finger in his face.

"Are you trying to get rid of me so you two can enjoy whatever tour he has planned? Are you choosing him, mum?" I raised my voice irrationally.

"Enough!" She snapped and there was a silence that was only interrupted by her sobs a minute later. Alyssa cupped her chin into her hands and i pushed a hard lump down my throat. "Are you giving up on me?" My voice had a vicious crack in it and she lifted her gaze to face me again.

"Never" My mum said.

"Never would i give up on you. It just breaks my heart seeing you this way. And i know you've not been to any of your classes because your teacher called and she told us about the bullying. She told us about your failed grades, Isla. You moving to Michigan was a conscious decision that i made with your father alone" She reached for my hands again and i allowed her take them. My eyes welled with as much tears as hers and Brad struck a playful sting on his guitar.

"You could use a fresh start, Isla" He added, meeting my eyes. And i pretended to give it a thought even though i knew it wasn't much of a choice. I could also understand from their own perspective because i indeed was failing my classes and the nightmares had gotten much worse.

We'd tried everything but this, so maybe moving in with Tom in Michigan could actually help me. I'd suffered enough to not want to give this a try.

And even though it might take some time to adjust without Alyssa being around nor Brad's eccentric guitar and private concerts, i really was willing to give a shot at the opportunity to help me become a better version of myself.

"Marquette, it is." I nodded with a grimace across my lips.

The next few days were a blur since most of my time was spent at home trying to pack as many things. It was just meant to be for a session, after which i would decide whether or not i wanted to come back. The day we were to leave finally came and i stood by the open car doors, throwing one last look at the house i grew up in and thinking i was ready.

Ready for this new adventure.

Alas, what i didn't know was that the very moment i sat in that backseat with the last of my luggages was the exact one my life changed forever.

WELCOME TO MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN.

The sun seeped downwards on the frowning brunette as she alighted from the vintage toyota car that had come to a halt. Her feet gnashed the concrete grounds and her hair blew in the winds. Her hands rested against the car door whilst she gazed around the environment.

She was difficult to read-difficult to tell if she was impressed with this town or disappointed and from the luggages, you could tell she was new here. Also from the way she let her hair fall across her shoulders.

She was unlike the girls i'd seen in Marquette.

This one had a glossy skin and pouty saccharine lips i just knew were soft. Her brows were carved over her almond shaped eyes with pupils just as light brown as the color of her hair. Her lashes were velvety and she had a dainty nose, shiny teeth.

An aura that quite drew me towards her.

I'd never forget this day, i knew. The first day i met Isla Carter.

ISLA.

"Dad!" An exclaim escaped my lips as i pulled away from the door and pounced on my father. His large arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace but i could tell he couldn't take his eyes off my mother and the man who'd accompanied us to help with the loads.

I pulled away from him with a finger smoothing his moustache.

"You kept it" I wasn't able to hide the delight in my voice and he shrugged his shoulders. "You told me too, and besides it's grown on me. I look like a town sheriff around here" His voice was decadent and sounded much more different in person.

It had been eight years or more since i'd last seen my father. And although my mum tried to hide her emotions, i could tell from the way she hugged him, how much familiarity still existed between the two.

It was normal that in as much as loved Brad, i still wanted them together.

"You are the town sheriff" Alyssa echoed from her lips, holding unto a single bag and my eyes darted to the old camouflaged vehicle in the driveway. "What? That's so cool" I said, turning over to the house. It was much smaller than the one in California.

Perhaps it was because it was just him living in it.

Now, it was the both of us and finally breathing the scintillating air of Marquette did quite the opposite of curbing my enthusiasm. It seemed like a town to be well at the edge of the world. The air was brittle cold and several of the trees that were around had withered.

I could see the forest in a distance which made me so glad i brought my bicycle. I'd always loved to ride but the Cali roads were so busy that my mother warned me to stop. The feeling of Marquette wrapped around me, igniting many ideas in my head and there was a grin across my face.

It was truly a new beginning and i was so glad that i took it.

"Hey!" Brad nodded awkwardly to my dad as he carried my suitcase through the doors. My shoulders collapsed once our eyes met and he pressed his lips together in a seal. "Come on, Isla" His arms stretched out to me with a can of beer within his grasp.

Perhaps there were just some things that would never change.

"Let me show you around." Assuming my mum already knew her way around the house, Tom held my hands as we sauntered along the road. Through the entire ten minute walk, i never came across another soul in these streets. The houses were very wide and far apart from each other and there was just this nostalgia that stung my nose in the air.