Talons

Chapter 22: The Reconciliation

Rhea's POV

Knowing that my cousin is now a member of the Iron pack has drastically changed my mood and my personality. She still calls me often, and she seems fine, but I feel uncomfortable knowing she is around Colton and knowing that she isn’t in a peaceful environment.

Mandy and her mate have been staying with his parents, and from what my cousin says, they do not like her. They have even put in a complaint with Alpha Stone because they claim that she is unfit to act as a beta female, which they couldn’t be more wrong about. However, I do understand where they are coming from. 

I may not trust in the bond, but I cannot deny its existence. Mandy and Carter are fully marked and mated, and they physically need each other. I know that I should not judge my cousin, she has been through a lot, but she knows that mate neglect is real and is the human equivalent of depression. 

Carter is still in training to become a beta, and I am sure having a strained relationship with his mate is making things difficult. Mandy told me that he is willing to step down from his position and leave the Iron pack to be with her, but she also says she doesn't want that. 

She had originally been trying to damage their bond to force Carter into rejecting her, but he hasn’t given up on them, and according to her, she gets flowers every morning. It has been three months since Mandy left, and today I am anxiously waiting for the results of the test she put Carter through over the last week. 

My phone rings and I scramble to answer the call. A video request pops up on the screen and I have never been more grateful to modern technology. Being able to see Mandy while talking to her really helps me feel like she is okay, but as soon as we connect, I am confused. Carter is smiling into the camera and Mandy is fast asleep by his side.

"What's going on?" I ask, a hint of fear in my tone.

"Don’t worry. Everything is perfect. Your cousin told me that she planned to call you at four, but she's too tired and I didn't want you to worry."

"Eww, thanks for the update." Carter laughs loudly and my cousin stirs. As soon as she sees him on the phone with me, she freaks, trying to pull the covers over her body, and his. An involuntary smile flashes across my face. I hadn’t even noticed Carter doesn’t have a shirt on, I still haven’t come into my urges, and beyond that he is my cousin's mate. 

"B hang up," she says, and I can't help but to laugh at her antics as she continuously tries to grab for the phone.

"Why? What is going on?" I tease.

"I mean it B, if you don't hang up, I'm going to walk in on your mate in the shower." Carter growls and rolls on top of Mandy. I drop the call, wanting to spare my eyes. I walk out of my room and my mother is happy to see me. She hasn't stopped wanting to talk to me since my voice returned and truthfully, I don't mind it at all. 

Three days before Luke's ceremony I woke up screaming. I had a nightmare about Sylvia, she was clawing at a black wall furiously, but no matter how I tried to stop her, she continued until her paws were bloody and her claws were broken.

When I woke up, my voice had somehow found itself, and I have been doing my best to use it as much as possible. If my wolf ever returns, I promise to let her howl and growl as much as she wants. Living in my head has taught me the importance of having a voice.

"Aye, que linda." (Oh, how cute) My mother scoops me into her chest. She is in her dancing mood, and I can tell by the salsa music blaring from her phone. 

"Que?" (What?) I reply, because I haven't done anything cute and I just woke up from a nap, so I know I don't look cute.

"You look happy today. You always look cute when you are happy." My mother spins me and I somehow end up dancing to a Marc Anthony song with her. My father must not be home because my mother never listens to the man's music when he is around. Although it is ridiculous, it becomes an automatic argument.

"Mami, amas a papi?" (Mommy, do you love daddy?) My mother stops dancing abruptly and cuts the music.

"Yes. Why are you asking me that?"

"I'm just curious about the mate bond." My mother screams in glee.

"Is there a boy?" My mother is naturally loud when she is excited, and since we are in the common room, Raven has heard everything and came barging in. We have moved out of the alpha suite and into a cabin, so sound travels well.

"What boy?" Raven's brow is raised, and I know she is thinking about one of my classmates that I have a mild crush on.

“No, it's not a boy. I was just wondering if the mate bond can force love.”

“No baby, the bond cannot force love, but it does help it.”

“The difference?” Raven doesn’t stick around to listen to the conversation. She is sensitive about the topic, and while she is happy with her human boyfriend, she still wants a mate.

“Mira (look), your father and I love each other. Marc Anthony is-”

“Mommy-” I interject while laughing. “I am not talking about you and daddy. Mandy and Carter have reconciled. I was simply curious.” My mother's hand rests over her chest and I can tell she is relieved.

“I thought my little scientist was trying to accuse her mother.” I laugh while hugging her tightly. She is taller than me, not by much, but I still feel like a little girl next to her.

“I know that you and daddy love one another, but I just want to know if it was always that way.” My mother stiffens and I look up at her face in confusion.

“I will tell you after you have found your mate.” I start laughing hysterically, but stop when I realize my mother is serious. 

“I don’t want a mate,” I declare boldly.

Colton’s POV

Carter and his mate have reconciled, which is good, because he was dragging us down in training. We should have been done, but his neglect sickness has caused my father to put a hold on transferring the titles to us. My father’s beta Norman is not too pleased about stepping down from the position, and I know that he played a role in the decision.

Norman has three daughters, and while having a female beta is not unheard of, it can be a hassle. Simply put, women carry pups, and their mates, fated or chosen, become overprotective and possessive of them during pregnancy. Alphas and betas spend a lot of time with one another, and the last thing anyone wants, or needs, is their beta’s mate becoming irrationally jealous. 

That is why Carter is my beta. He is the first in his family to hold the position, but he is qualified. He almost acts as my buffer, cleaning up messes I make before they become a problem, and more than that he is my friend.

Carter is not power hungry, there was even a time when he told me that he did not want to be my beta, and I felt the bond he and I had formed weaken with his words. The bond between beta and alpha is in a lot of ways like a mate bond, but it is created over time, not instant. 

At that moment, I had no choice but to pour out the truth to him. Losing my beta choice at sixteen would have given my pack a poor impression of me, and I know my father would have declared Carter and his family as rogues.

Back then, Carter decided to keep working with me after I confessed that I was the one who sent B to the hospital. That is also why I did not give up on him when he was weakened by his mate. We have seen each other at our lowest points, and if not for that one pivotal moment in my life, I would have self-destructed.  

That same reason is why I have a huge amount of respect for Brain. She could have, and still can strip me of everything I have worked hard for. Not just because I attacked her unprovoked while she was technically a child, but because I forced her into a premature shift that put her in the hospital for weeks. I can tell that Mandy knows the truth, but she hasn’t said anything to me directly. 

We are at dinner and Mandy is chewing her mate’s ear off with stories about her and Brain. Carter is listening full of love and affection, but I am more interested in why I had never known that the little girl that I bullied had a side to her that I had never seen. Anytime I was at the Claw pack she was with one of her parents or hiding in the woods somewhere, so none of Mandy’s stories made sense to me.

I made the mistake of interrupting Mandy as she recalled a story that made me roll my eyes. I remember that event, and Brain was not there.

“That never happened,” Mandy just chuckles at me, and my wolf is irritated by the disrespect behind it.

“Alpha, the only thing you know about my cousin is what scares her.”