A Tomboy for a Mate

Chapter 5

Flashback

“Okay new recruits, let’s see what you got!” The head warrior yelled out to the newest addition of the pack warriors. “Any volunteers?”

Lana raised her hand, stepping forward in a sleeveless dark blue t-shirt. She’d been working towards this ever since senior year of high school began. The defined cut of her biceps gave away exactly how hard she’d trained to pass this recruitment test. Having just graduated high school, Lana was certain that this is what she wanted to do with her life moving forward. Of course, being a female and wanting to go into a male dominant field meant she’d have to work twice as hard as the rest of the guys to climb ranks. Warriors were required to be strong, something Lana’s petite frame just couldn’t pull off. But she honed herself in other skills to compensate. And she’d be damned if she let being a female hold her back.

The head warrior motioned for Tony, the pack beta, to step forward.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” Tony whispered into Lana’s ear, walking by her to get into position.

Lana rolled her eyes as she prepared herself. Tony was conceited and arrogant. Being the pack beta since senior year, he definitely hadn’t been training with Lana and the other guys. So, of course, he had no idea what he’d gotten himself into.

“On three!” Gregory, the head warrior, called out.

He gave the signal and Tony lunged to grab her. Lana’s small form swiftly ducked, delivering a kick to the back of his knees. Tony lost his balance, but was able to push himself back up with his hands. He moved forward to pin Lana down, but she gave him the slip. He missed her by a mere hairsbreadth. Surprised by her speed, Tony was momentarily taken aback. Lana saw her opening and threw herself into his midriff, knocking the wind out of him as she put the weight of her entire body into it.

Tony fell on his back, more from surprise than anything else. Lana straddled him, pinning his hands to the ground in the process.

Everyone clapped at her success. Lana smirked down at Tony. Tony felt a jerk in his lower abdomen that had nothing to do with pain, but everything to do with the brunette sitting on top of him. He blinked in confusion as Lana hovered over him looking immensely pleased. He could feel the heat of her thighs as she straddled his waist.

At that moment he decided two things: 1) he’d never underestimate Lana again, and 2) whatever he felt, needed to be buried deep inside him.

This was Lana, the guys would never let him live it down. Plus, she was his friend. No… maybe he just needed a good lay to forget about whatever she was making him feel. He was a guy, after all, and Lana was on top of him in a way that made him picture what she’d look like naked in this very same position. It had nothing to do with feelings, but everything to do with hormones.

Lana lifted herself off of him, offering him a hand to help him up. She couldn’t hide the smirk on her face. Tony took it gratefully.

In an attempt to cover up how unnerved he was, he couldn’t help but remark,“You wanted me under you so bad, all you had to do was ask.”

“Please,” Lana scoffed. She elbowed him in the side for good measure as she passed him to take her place back in the ranks of the new recruits.

“I think we can expect great things from you,” Gregory said appreciatively to Lana.

Tony was suddenly distracted by Olivia, another pack warrior who was whispering seductively into his ear. She coyly asked if asking nicely could get her under him.

*End of Flashback*



Tony sat nursing his jaw. Lana looked at Tony, hands on her hips.

“Well?” Lana huffed expectantly. “You owe me an explanation. What is it? Did you run out of girls to f**k or something? What sick twisted game are you playing?”

Tony shook his head, still reeling from so much that had happened. How in goddesses’s name were they even together in the future when she punched him for kissing her? She’d probably cut his d**k off if he tried to sleep with her.

“You know I’m waiting for my mate, so what exactly was that?” Lana pushed him for an answer in the unending silence.

And before Tony could stop himself, the words rolled off his tongue.

“You’re closing in on nineteen and haven’t found your mate yet, Lana. Are you going to keep waiting until you’re forty?”

Lana’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly are you trying to say here?”

“All I’m saying is that it’s OK to live a little.” Tony looked down at the ground, hoping she wasn’t going to smack him again.

“And what... you want me to fall into your arms or something? f**k, you’re my superior... what’s more you’re my friend...” Lana trailed off awkwardly, afraid to keep talking.

There was no way that Tony could be looking for anything more than a one night stand. She knew the man like she knew the back of her hand. But the fact that he was willing to risk their friendship over it, hurt.

“Just... forget about it. Pretend it never happened.” Tony finally grit out the words wearily.

What else was he supposed to do? He had no clue what the hell had happened, and he was in no position to talk about the bizarre time-travel. And clearly, she was not willing to entertain the idea of them together at this moment. How was he supposed to go about this? Part of him felt like finding the time travel device and just going to live in the future. Maybe future Tony could do the hard part for him.

There was an acute silence before Lana spoke again.

“You and your stupid games!” she exclaimed, shaking her head in disgust. “I bet it was some stupid dare, but you’re still a sick f**k for doing that.” Lana glared at him threateningly. “You can’t go around doing things like that with me. I won’t let it slide next time,” Lana warned before turning on her heel and storming out of Tony’s house.

Tony threw his head back against his couch. What had he gotten himself into? How were they true mates in the future, but his wolf felt nothing aside from a bit of happiness when she was around? None of this made sense. And as Tony sat, going over everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, he realized one thing with startling clarity: he wanted that life. He just needed to know how to get there and if the letter left from his future self was any indication, it all seemed to rest on Lana.

Tony found himself aching to go back. To go back to the version of Lana that looked at him as if he was amazing. To go back to the most amazing s*x he’d ever had. To go back to a family of his own.

It never occurred to him at the time that maybe the future Lana looked at him differently because he’d earned her devotion. Or that maybe the s*x was amazing because it was the product of a prolonged intimate relationship with someone in which both felt comfortable experimenting with each other to figure out what worked best.

The only thing that occurred to Tony was that it would be wonderful to be able to skip the hard parts and get to the good part of his life. Because what he’d experienced was definitely the good part. Trying to get with Lana was going to be the hard part. She was tough as nails. Most days, she scared the crap out of him. He’d been lucky enough to get a glimpse past her tough exterior while in the future.

So even though Tony didn’t like research or reading books, he got to it. He found out about the concept of Chosen Mates and True Mates. What he learned was that the bond was definitely different between True Mates and Chosen Mates even after marking each other. Chosen Mates didn’t feel the sparks that True Mates felt. And a person’s wolf was less active when it came to Chosen Mates. Wolves communicated with their human counterparts using instincts and emotions. It made sense that those instincts were more active in the presence of a True Mate.

Still searching for answers, Tony decided it was time to go to the one person he knew could help him the most: Luna Rose’s father and previous beta of the pack.

A/N: THoughts? Can you blame Lana for being wary ? Tony's going to have to work real hard for her.