Talons

Chapter 142: The Spar

Colton's POV

My mate looks furious, and my wolf is urging me to apologize to her, but I feel like anything I say right now will make the situation worse.

"Try."

"And say what you i***t? 'Sorry I thought you were weak?'" Orlin shuts his mouth after that, but just when I think of better words, I get distracted.

“I challenge Holly Bridgeport,” Mandy says, and my eyes roam around, finding my cousin gleefully counting money before she looks up with an excited smile.

“Why would she challenge Holly?” I mind-link Carter, but unlike me, he doesn’t embarrass his mate. Instead, he fist-bumps her, showing me what I should have done. “Bro, Rhea will freak out if she’s hurt.” I don’t know that for certain, but it seems right to me.

“What can I do Colt?” He sullenly replies. “Whatever happens; I support my mate, just like you should have supported yours."

Rhea’s POV

The fight between Holly and Mandy was probably the most entertaining, especially because it seemed as though the pair have been wanting to fight each other for a long time.

They were evenly matched, even though, based on what I've been told, Holly is the top female fighter.

“What position was my opponent in?” I ask, and when Carter tells me that she falls right under Holly, I’m shocked.

The woman must have had her guard down because she thought I was an easy target. Jovan told me about people like that, they get overconfident and end up losing because they underestimated their opponent, but this is the first time I’m experiencing it.

Carter isn’t watching his mate fight because the bond may drive him to interfere. Instead, his back is to the sparring women, and he periodically asks me what's going on.

Nothing noteworthy happens for a long time, but somehow, both women simultaneously strike each other in the head. They fall to the ground unmoving, making me stand in concern.

“WHAT?!” Carter asks, clearly anxious. I know he felt his mate’s pain because he winced just as Holly’s fist connected.

When I tell him that it's a draw, he turns abruptly, but he doesn't move until the match is called.

Miracle is a neutral force, so she starts a count, but after ten seconds, neither woman moves, and a medic is called to take them off the field.

With Mandy out, and Miracle not participating, there's no need for me to stick around, so I start to leave.

Colton’s POV

I have never seen Mandy fight the way she’s fighting, but there is no shock on my mate’s face, so she must have known that her cousin was a skilled fighter.

It suddenly occurs to me that at least Holly, and Miracle must have known what my mate can do. Holly was collecting her debts before she was challenged, so I know she bet in favor of Rhea.

It makes me wonder what else about the woman they are hiding from me, and instead of watching the fight, I’m watching my mate casually dictate only the most important things to Carter, who literally can’t watch.

Her words about being groomed into fear have finally sunk in for me, but Dolton has warned me to give her space until we get back to our suite, which I see the wisdom in.

I’ve already done enough damage by making her look weak, and while she has since corrected any notion that she’s a pushover, she may still face disrespect by those who might see her victory as a fluke.

While staring, I hear Miracle counting, and turn to see Carter waiting to run to his knocked-out mate. Holly is also unresponsive, and they have to be carried to the infirmary.

After briefly glancing at both women and making sure that Miracle and Carter could handle their care, my mate starts to leave.

I jog behind her, telling her that she hasn’t picked a guard and once again, she turns to me with a look of pure disdain and disappointment.

“Pick your girlfriend for all I care; I will never allow anyone in this pack to shadow me, especially after what you just did.”

“Rhea I-”

“No Colton,” My mate interjects. “You don’t get to apologize for this,” she says mockingly. I go to reach for my mate's hand, but she pulls it away. “I said… Don’t. Touch. Me.” Once again, I feel her command.

"Can you stop this? You're making me look bad in front-"

"Then reject me," she snarls, rudely interrupting me.

The worst part about it was that I felt a command, and not only did I have to fight it, but it was hard.

Orders with emotion behind them tend to be stronger, and because Rhea seems to have noticed how long it took me to ignore what she said, I push back with a command of my own.

"Don't you ever command me to reject you again. The next time you try something like that, I will mark you right where you stand."

Rhea doesn't back down and when I look into her eyes, I can see them shifting colors. Her wolf is pushing to the surface, and as a result mine is trying to push forward as well.

I step forward, but my mate has no reaction. She clearly isn't afraid of me right now, and while I find this to be a turn on, I'm genuinely concerned.

I'm so close to my mate that she has to look up at my face which is hovering above hers. If this weren't a serious situation, I would have kissed her, but she’s challenging me right now, and luna or not, she needs to be corrected.

"Or do you want me to do it right now?" I question.

I have no problem putting my mark on that pretty little neck of hers, and while I would prefer her to want it, right now, I'm willing to consider my options.

Rhea doesn’t look away, and the challenge she’s presenting to me is a little too much to ignore. I have no doubt that if her parents weren’t under a blood oath for her, she would have attacked me.

Wanting to show her that I’m a changed person, I don’t issue another command, instead I gently pinch her chin and lift her face a little more. Her eyes are really beautiful, and in all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never been able to tell if they were green, blue, or grey. Now I can see that they are a combination of the three, which is amazing.

“Listen to me, I know that you’re angry because what I did, but Gale isn’t my girlfriend, and the only reason I was staring is because she’s one of our top female fighters and you just embarrassed the f*ck out of her. Please stop testing me unless…” I slightly tilt my head so I can look at my mate’s marking spot, but she quickly covers it and sprints away.

I turn to my pack with a chuckle, and it doesn’t surprise me that all eyes were on us. She was clearly challenging my authority, and if it were any other person, I would have put her down.

“You all heard your luna. She doesn’t trust you, and with what I’ve been seeing, neither would I. Fortunately for you, I have to apologize to my mate so I can’t ‘help.’” I glance over at Trey, who knows exactly what he should do, and he takes the floor.

My gamma and his father have been complaining about a relaxed schedule for a long time, and without hesitation, the man gives out a heavy workout to the people who are scheduled to work the patrols tomorrow, and a light one for those scheduled to work tonight.

We cut the sparring session short, and I quickly make my way to the infirmary where, surprisingly, my brother has gone to check on Holly. Both women are now awake, but they both have a concussion, so the doctor is making them stay put and now that I know they are fine, I go straight to my suite.

Rhea’s POV

I can't believe my wolf right now. She has obviously lost her mind, and the fact that she isn’t talking to me is proof. The care package my mother sent me had a lot of survival items, and after quickly rinsing my body off and changing, I head straight to the garden.

“It was an accident,” Sylvia says, and I scoff at her, which makes her angry. “I should have remained calm,”

“Calm?!” I question incredulously. “You think I care about you being angry?” Sylvia goes silent again because she absolutely knows why I’m upset, and her being angry has nothing to do with it.

If my parents hadn’t taken an oath, I would have attacked Colton, uncaring if I were killed in the fight because he took his little game too far. He might as well have declared me the pack punching bag, and while I dare anyone to try me, I would rather not spend the next three months physically fighting for my life.

“Rhea, I… I don’t know why that happened.”

“I do,” I reply. “You found him attractive.”

“You find him attractive too!”

“But only one of us was purring,” Sylvia snorts with a chuckle, but I find nothing amusing. “So, it's funny to you?”

“It’s funny because you’re blaming me when you clearly had a reaction of your own.”

“I did not!” I respond, but my wolf kindly reminds me of my racing heartbeat when Colton lifted my chin. I was so mesmerized by him that I barely heard what he was saying until he looked at my marking spot.

“And you almost folded,” Sylvia teases.

“No… you did.” To that, she’s quiet because it's true.

“Fine, we’re obviously being affected by the bond somehow. We just need to stay away from him whenever possible.” I agree with my wolf and enter the garden where I’m shocked to find Tyson.

He’s hard at work, and it’s clear from the amount of sweat on his forehead that he has been working for a long time. He has a freshly bruised lip, and I know from experience that he’s digging in dirt to release some of his pent-up frustration.

“Hey,” I say, resting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Why don’t you wash up and come back? I’m camping out tonight.” Overwhelmed by what I didn't say, Tyson squeezes me in a tight hug, and when he’s done crying, I go into my bag, pulling out wipes that I use to clean his hands and face. “Soon, we’ll make them regret this. Until then, don’t ever let them see you cry.”