Talons

Chapter 21: The Marked

Lark’s POV

My very first problem as alpha has put everyone in a down and depressed mood. My little cousin Mandy, who I really do not know well, was found naked and screaming in a guestroom with the beta from the Iron pack. It did not take a rocket scientist to figure out what had gone on behind those doors, and the only reason Carter is still alive is because she is his fated mate.

Mandy had sworn before the council that she was hiding from her mother, and when she woke up, she was marked and mated. Even under alpha command, her story did not change.

Oddly enough, Carter had a similar story. He said that he had been following Mandy around, but left when he saw her flirting with another male. He claimed that his wolf urged him to go back, so he did, and he allowed his senses to lead him to his hiding mate. He claimed that they drank with one another, and then he was woken up by her screaming.

This situation is the first time I have appeared in front of the werewolf council, and while they admitted that they would have approved Mandy’s rejection request before the marking, they ruled that she ‘asked for it’ by getting drunk with the man she was fated to. I have never in my life been so disgusted by my kind. Drunk or not, he had no right.

Today is the day where Carter comes to collect his mate, and she hasn’t stopped crying since we left the council grounds. I know she and Carter have a history, but her reaction is a little extreme. She keeps apologizing to us as if she has done something wrong, and the more we try to comfort her, the harder she cries.

Rhea’s POV

My cousin has been torturing herself and I have just been silently listening to her tearful apology. She has not done anything wrong, but she is behaving as if she has betrayed me in some way. I remind her that she was not the one who chose her mate, and while I was not at the council meeting, I can guess that both she and Carter told the truth.

Mandy has been crying so much that her face is swollen, her blue eyes look darker than normal, and with their bright red rims, she looks scary. She usually has straight blonde hair, but right now, she looks like she has hay on top of her head. She originally wanted to shave it all off to make herself unattractive to her mate, but I stopped her in time. 

When Mandy has gotten to a point where she is no longer crying loudly, I finally use my voice to try and talk sense into her. Once I’m done speaking, she looks up at me, and I can see tears threatening to spill again.

“I can feel his emotions B... He is so remorseful, but I can’t tell what's real because I know I didn’t drink.”

“What is your wolf telling you?”

“Rose says we should trust our mate, but she wasn’t saying that before. Yesterday she hated him as much as I did.” Mandy clutched at her head in pain. I knew she had blocked her wolf out, and it was clear Rose was pushing on the block. It reminds me of how lucky I was to have a quiet wolf.

“Mandy, you know that you aren’t betraying me, right?” My cousin's eyes snap to me and I have now confirmed why she is so distraught. “Rose is right, you should trust your mate, but that doesn’t mean you have to make things easy for him. He should earn your forgiveness and maybe you can train him properly.” She scoops me into a tight hug. 

“Rose says thank you,” she wipes at her face and finally smiles. “You are going to be a good luna one day.” I stick out my tongue making the gagging sound and Mandy laughs. “I wish you would stop wearing these,” she says, pulling my glasses off my face. 

Carter’s POV

Standing outside of the Claw pack gates as if I am no longer welcome on the territory is hard to swallow. Raven and Robin are my friends, beta Luke is good at giving advice, and even Brain is pleasant to be around.

Their pack is unlike my own, where Alpha Stone is narcissistic and an abusive ass to everyone. After the incident where B was found unconscious in school, I nearly stepped down as beta because I knew that Colt had been the one to hurt her. 

It was one of the most complex decisions of my life, but when I approached my future alpha, I had never seen him so distressed. He told me that he pushed B not expecting her to fall so hard, and for some reason I believed him. 

Then there was the incident with the rogue; Colton had single handedly squashed that rumor within our pack, and it didn’t take me long to work out that it had nothing to do with him being nice; he was personally offended by it.

Colton is with me instead of his father, because I do not trust myself alone with Mandy, and I do not trust alpha Stone either. I have been feeling heavy all week, and my wolf tells me that our mate is depressed. We are fully marked and mated, so I can feel her emotions, and although she is trying to block me out, she is too broken up to filter out everything. 

It wasn’t until about an hour before I arrived that I felt the sadness let up, and when I saw Mandy walking toward the pack gates hand in hand with Brain, I knew she was the reason.

B may be weird, but she is one of the kindest people I have ever met, and I know this because Colton is still alive. I remember apologizing to her for standing back and watching her torment, and I will never forget her response. It was something so simple, but it had been spoken so gently that I physically felt the sincerity of it. 

B told me that she appreciated my apology; she said that everyone makes mistakes, but she did not fold. She reminded me that apologizing would not automatically make her my friend, but that was to be expected.

My mate did not look at me when she stepped off the Claw pack territory. She hugged Brain, who quickly disappeared, and then she hugged her parents, who were staring at me with hatred in their eyes from the moment I arrived.

I approached Mandy, wanting to apologize for ripping her away from her loved ones, but she stopped me from speaking with her hand held up in front of her chest.

“I’m going through with this because I don’t have a choice, but it doesn’t mean that I forgive you. I never wanted a mate, but I am willing to give you a chance to show me that the bond is worth it.” I stare at her. She has gotten so beautiful over the years.

“I understand,” I say, reaching my hand out to stroke her cheek, but she backs away from me and my wolf whimpers. He has been blaming me for nearly being rejected; even though it was him pushing me to try other girls back then. Neither of us would have ever guessed that Mandy was our mate, but we are happy that she is.

I open the car door, and Mandy climbs inside. Colt takes a few extra minutes speaking to Lark, and I can tell from their posture that the conversation is not friendly. Lark is already an alpha, but Colt and I are still in training. They are no longer on equal footing, but our pack's relationship has forced them to be civil with one another.

I sit in the back with my mate, wanting desperately to be close to her, but I can tell my very presence is bothering her. She won't even look at me, and I don’t blame her. I know she did not agree to the mark she is wearing, and so does my wolf, but we did not force ourselves on her or at least we don’t remember.

“Alpha Stone didn’t make the arrangements for you to stay in a guest room, so you will have to stay with my family.” Mandy finally looks at me.

“I’d rather sleep outside,” she replies. Mandy is telling the truth, I can feel it through our bond, but I also know there is a hint of reservation; so she doesn’t mean it. I suddenly have the urge to ask her how she feels about me, and my heart breaks with her response. “I didn’t think you were my mate back then, but my whole life I have wanted a love story like my parents; two unfated wolves who chose one another to wholeheartedly love.”

“You couldn’t have thought I loved you at fifteen.”

“Sadly I did, but that isn’t what makes this hard for me.” My mate is telling me the truth. I remember being extra sweet whenever I was with her, but it was only because she was so tight, I had to be. My wolf scolds me for thinking of our mate that way, but I can't lie to myself.

“Then what about this bothers you?” I reach for her hand, but she moves it out of my reach, making my heartache.

“I hate that I’ll be a member of Colt’s pack. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how he treated B.” My stomach flips with Mandy’s words.

“What if I leave? Will you be happy then?”

“You would do that?” She asks skeptically, and I nod vigorously. I see my mate’s eyes glisten and I know she can feel that I am being honest with her.

“Let’s just take things slowly. I’m not cruel enough to ask you to give up on everything you worked hard for; like you,” my mate adds, and the smile that was growing on my face, died.