Talons

Chapter 107: The Bitterness

Colton’s POV

I was surprised when my mate got inside of the car without me having to force her into it, and while I know I shouldn’t, my mind immediately went to the negative. I had to physically pull her away from her mother at the hearing, and I was expecting to have to do the same now. 

“What is going on?” I mind-link Mandy, wanting an explanation. 

She linked back that Rhea asked her to call her mother and tell her that she was okay, and during the conversation, she mentioned that we were going shopping because she wanted her aunt to stop panicking.

“I didn’t think titi Mavis would come,” Mandy replies aloud, and I believe her.

“You did nothing wrong; I was just caught off guard.” 

As I was speaking, I was looking back at my mate, trying to gauge her reaction, but the only thing I saw on her face was uncertainty. She didn’t look like she was plotting an escape or anything else. She looked tired and confused, and upon closer inspection, Mandy was holding her hand tightly.

We stop at the last store we are planning to visit, and Rhea doesn’t stick by her cousin this time. She simply takes a cart and starts going through the aisles, putting things in the basket as she sees them. 

I can tell I’m making her feel uncomfortable, so I give her space to move around and before I know it, my mate has amassed a mountain of items in her shopping cart.

“Do you need all of this?” I ask, and she gives me a subtle nod.

Rhea continues shopping while I lag behind her, completely and totally bewitched by her everything. She is effortlessly beautiful, and the fact that she is mine is mind blowing to me. 

I can't believe some of the horrible things I've said in the past and every time they cross my mind, they hurt me beyond measure.

I don't even know why I hated her so much. She had never done anything to me, and yet I treated her the way no person should ever be treated; like nothing.

"Colt?!" A familiar voice calls out. "I've missed you." My eyes darted between Rhea and Giovanna, a girl I used to have dealings with. "How about we give us another try?" 

"There was never an 'us,'" I whisper-shout. My mate has moved far away from me, and I don't like it.

"Colt?" Giovanna wines. "I'm a gamma's daughter. We-"

"I have a mate," I rudely interject.

"Who?" The woman questions and I point to Rhea, who is still within view. "I think I know her," Giovanna says, angling her body to get a better look at my mate's face. "No! Is that the r*tard?!" Giovanna turns to me excitedly and I start to feel sick to my stomach.

She and her brother were there when I told Rhea I would give her away to my pack, and he was the first person to call 'dibs.'

Rhea's POV

I know Giovanna. She used to be friends with Raven until she started sleeping with Colton. My sister said it was a line that shouldn't have been crossed, and the girl later switched schools because of the growing tension.

At the time, everyone still believed the twins were fated to at least one of my sister's, so it would make sense that Raven was put off by her ‘friends’ actions.

Sadly, Colton and I are the ones fated to each other, and Giovanna is probably just one of many women who will approach me as the news gets out. 

That is part of the reason I don't want to mingle with anyone from the Iron pack. I'm not the girl I used to be, and I will defend myself using any means necessary. I can and will make it out of this horrible situation alive and intact. 

I did it with General, and I’ve been surviving Colton for years.

Seeing that Giovanna and Colton are still on very friendly terms, I give them privacy. I don’t feel the bond, so there is no jealousy, and I truly hope I won’t feel his infidelity. He was always a very active male, so it's only a matter of time before he takes someone to bed, and that person will not be me.

Thanks to my wolf hearing, I heard what Giovanna called me as I walked away, and my mind started to replay every time Colton called me a r*tard. All the people who said that word to me were following his lead, even my sisters, and before I knew it, tears were falling from my eyes. 

I quickly dart into another aisle, not wanting anyone to see me. I'm not bitter, I'm miserable, and I keep asking myself if protecting my brother's pack is worth the internal struggle my wolf and I are having.

Sylvia has claimed not to want a mate, and I know it's true, but I can feel what she feels, and her heart is broken. She wanted our rogue to be hers, even the human part of me wanted him to be mine.

The fact that he turned out to be Colton is really a blow neither of us were expecting, but it really hasn’t changed anything. One kind act over the course of ten years of torment means nothing to us.

"This is only temporary. All we have to do is remain respectful and we will be okay."  I nod at Sylvia and dry my face before continuing to shop. 

Like my mother said, I just have to avoid being forcibly marked. Everything else is just a waiting game for all the pieces to fall into place.

Colton's POV

Giovanna's pack and mine aren't in the best of positions right now. Her pack is in an alliance with the pack that Jessica's former mate belonged to, so I was doing my best not to antagonize our relationship by not immediately being rude to her, but she hasn't stopped talking about things I don’t want to be reminded of.

She is not just a gamma's daughter, but she is also the niece of the alpha and beta of her pack. They have three lines of succession, so offending her could immediately declare us hostile. 

My mate is beautiful, still unmarked, and from what I saw back at Luke’s party and the mall, she is highly sought after. If Gamma Lewis hears about her, he may want revenge and I don’t want to put Rhea in danger, especially since she hasn’t even accepted me yet.

"She will," Orlin whines. "She belongs to us, no one else can have her." I’m unable to reply to my wolf because I’m distracted by Giovanna sliding her hand into my pants. I catch her wrist, and glare at her.

"Oh, come on. Why don't you and I have a little fun before you reject her? You always did like to hurt-" I grip Giovanna's neck tightly, squeezing it in a way that stops the woman from speaking.

It's my fault she thinks she can talk about my mate the way she is, or even touch me when I was clear about who I was with. Yes, it's true that I used to enjoy seeing Rhea suffer, but things have changed now.

"No one will hurt her; do I make myself clear?" The woman nods, and when I look up, hoping that my mate has seen the interaction, she is gone.

I release Giovanna and start trying to sniff out Rhea's scent, but there are so many fragrances where we are that it's hard to pinpoint her exact location. I link my betas who go on a search of their own.

"If we lose our mate because of that disgusting woman, I will never forgive you."

“I know,” I reply. Orlin is serious this time, and I can feel it. He never liked Giovanna, who comes from a pack that believes in strong blood lines, not the mate bond. Wolves who they want to ‘breed’ are isolated with one another from the moment they turn eighteen. 

The only reason she is out now is because she found and rejected her fated partner at eighteen and not many people, including me, believe in second chance mates.

“We found her,” Carter links. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” I reply, and I head to where my beta told me they were waiting. 

When I catch up to them, it's obvious that Rhea had been crying. I ask my beta if he knows what’s wrong, but he tells me that she has just been telling them that she wants to go home. He then sniffs me and makes a disappointed face.

I know what Carter is thinking, Giovanna’s scent is all over me, but before I can explain, Mandy is already shaking her head at me. I want to defend myself, but the truth is I was wrong. 

I should have walked away from the woman from the minute she approached me, but a part of me wanted to see Rhea’s reaction. I thought I would be happy to see some sort of emotion from her, but I’m not. 

She doesn’t look angry; she looks sad, and I’m the cause. I don't know what to say, but I know this can't be easy for her. That will happen again, especially because I haven't introduced her to many people as my mate.

I stay silent as I watch her make her way to the checkout, and after what felt like forever, she nonchalantly pays for her items while my mouth hangs open.

We will be living together soon, and she won't have a need for a lot of the things that she bought, but I can't even fix my words to make out a single sentence. 

My mate's posture has changed, and it's clear that she’s miserable. She hasn’t even made eye contact with anyone around her, and judging based on the way Mandy is glaring at me, it's my fault.

"You f*cked everything up. You made her hate us again." Orlin is starting to get agitated with me, but he too wanted to see our mate’s reaction, so it wasn’t just me.

With her items paid for, Rhea slowly walks to the car. I mind-link Carter that he will be driving, and I will sit in the back. 

I want my mate to sit next to me because I want to take the time to explain what happened during the drive.

I haven't given up hope that whatever lingerie she bought was with me in mind, and I don't want anything to mar our first night together. Especially not some sl*t I used when I was bored.