Talons

Chapter 93: The Shattered

Rhea’s POV

I couldn’t look when Alpha Newt called a vote, and when my rejection request was denied, I felt like my whole world had come to an end. 

I stood, begging and crying for another trial, but by council law, six months has to go by before I can formally request for another rejection hearing. 

“He is going to kill me,” I shout, and one of the high alphas who had come into the hearing calls for silence.

The man suggests going into several blood oaths to protect each party involved, but Alpha Newt protests, saying that I had previously attempted suicide, and my life meant nothing to me. 

He’s right, a blood oath with me right now is worth nothing, but my family steps forward to take my place. I start shaking, knowing that if I go against the oath, they’ll weaken or die.

Colton is also made to give an oath, and it's sworn upon his own life, which he hasn’t previously tried to take.

I thought that would be the end of things, but General was not pleased with the outcome of the hearing, and when the council members were making oaths with my parents, he grabbed me from behind, fisting my hair as he revealed my marking spot. 

Colton had stepped out of the chamber with Lark, so it was Jack who ended up stopping General by tackling us both. It took several people to restrain General, who also had to be given a sedative. 

He kept swearing that I had been his, telling me that he was sorry, and that he loved me, which did nothing but rattle my nerves further.

I found myself latching onto Jack, who was just protecting me, but when Colton came back, he growled in a rage.

"Stay away from my mate," he shouted and once again, a scuffle erupts, but this time, Colton uses it in his favor.

“High alpha, I demand that my mate return to my pack with me immediately.” My eyes go wide with Colton’s words, and I start shaking my head as I slowly retreat.

“Please Colt,” my mother says. “Don’t do this.”

“Sorry Luna Mavis but I cannot. Rhea can’t feel the bond between us, but I can and based on what I just saw, I have reason to believe that she will...” Colton pauses, and several angered expressions cross his face. “I have reason to believe that she would give into beta Jack; they have a history.”

“Permission granted,” Alpha Newt says. He didn’t even bother to look up from his son who was given enough sedative to put him out.

I clutch onto my mother, hoping to use her as an anchor, but Colton starts pulling me away from her. Raven and Miracle are busy holding a growling Robin back, while Lark is holding onto our father.

It's clear that whatever he was given is wearing off, but I can’t tell if it's Colton or Jack he’s glaring at.

Colton finally tears me away from my mother, who is crying as much as I am. I’m begging not just her, but anyone to save me from the torment I know I will face. The two alphas who were backup at the hearing are clearly disturbed by my reaction, but neither of them make a move to help me.

“Colt, please. Just let me talk to her,” My mother says, and the man releases his grip on my waist. I dart toward my mother, who pries my arms from around her so she can cup my face. I have only just realized that she and I are now the same height, and for some reason, it scares me. “Rhea, baby. You have to calm down.” I nod, expecting my mother to say something significant.

I expected her to tell me that she was going to continue to fight for me. I wanted her to tell me that they would go to war for me. I needed to hear her say that she would not allow Colton to take me, but that is not what my mother said. 

Her lips moved and I swear I could feel something within me shatter and if I had to guess based on her expression alone, she felt it too. My heart constricted and darkness swallowed me whole.

Raven’s POV

I hate what's happening to my sister right now, and I hate that Jack is partly responsible. She should be coming home with us right now, and not going home with her tormentor.

I heard when he told Colton that B was the one who he should be asking to stay away from him, and while that was once true, it’s a lie now.

I’m left subduing my twin who I have to keep begging not to shift and Miracle helps by reminding Robin of how hurt Luke would be.

My mother raises her voice as she asks Colt for time to talk to B, and we all calm down when he grants it. My sister bolts to our mother, who pries her away before looking her in her eyes and telling her the one thing everyone knows Baby B would not want to hear.

I thought I had experienced and seen heartbreak in myself, but I was wrong. True heartbreak is what my sister experienced right in front of us, and her expression was so painful to see that everyone fell into tears.

Colton’s POV

My mate's mother is cupping her face, telling her to calm down, and she is nodding along, trying hard to do as her mother asked. My wolf is howling in my head, hating the fact that we did this; we made our mate fear us.

“The goddess works in mysterious ways,” Luna Mavis says, and while I can’t see her facial expression, I can tell by my mate's body language that she was deeply hurt by the words. 

Her body buckles, and I dash forward to catch her, just as her mother turns her back, clearly unable to look at her daughter.

“Colt, don't make me regret what I just did. You better take care of my baby,” she says. I can feel the authority in her tone, but it doesn’t anger me.

I promise her, and Luna Mavis walks away, joining her family in a hug that is too depressing for me to watch.

I scoop my fainted mate in my arms, and I’m once again angered by her physical appearance. She is covered in mud and her clothing is wet. I have spent time in dungeons before, so I know that she has been tortured.

I’m conflicted because I want to take my mate for medical treatment, but at the same time, I don’t want to give her any opportunity to run away from me. 

Before she knew what I had done, Miracle told me that Rhea hid for nearly a year, and while she wouldn’t tell me why, I don’t want to take the chance.

“Let’s get her home,” Dolton says, and I numbly nod. It feels odd carrying Rhea when I know she wouldn’t want me anywhere near her. 

After confirming that she can drive, I slip into the back seat still cuddling my mate as Miracle takes the driver’s seat. She has been oddly quiet, and since I don’t really know her, I decide to keep my guard up around her.

I expected my mate to wake up before we made it to pack grounds, but she hasn’t stirred, with the exception of the occasional shudder. I couldn’t tell if it’s because of her wet clothing, but I just held her as close to me as possible, wanting to keep her warm.

I start walking toward my suite, and after being intercepted by Mandy, Miracle blocks the entrance to my bedroom.

“Where will she sleep?” she asks, and I glare at my brother’s mate, who is overstepping her bounds. 

“She will sleep with me, the same way you sleep with your mate.”

“Colt, please think about this,” Mandy adds. “We know B better than you do. She wouldn’t want that.” Miracle is still blocking my path, but she drops the hostility when Dolton pulls her away.

“Please Colt. What if she wakes up and panics? You heard the oath alpha Newt added. If she hurts you-” 

“I know!” I say a little too loudly. 

My mate has to live with me for six months, but after that time, she can return to her family and appeal for another rejection. To stop her from attacking me, Alpha Newt made her mother go into a blood oath that will expire after twenty days. 

He said that if she is still hostile toward me by that time, then the failure is mine and I deserve to be rejected. I can tell that he had two motives for his actions; to torment my mate by taking away her right to protect herself against me, and to punish her by putting her mother’s life on the line if she tries.

I too have taken a similar oath, one I suggested on my own because I wanted her to know that I will not actively try to hurt her, but she didn’t even acknowledge it.

“Fine, what do you suggest?”

After a few minutes of consideration, I take my mate to a guest room that is near Holly’s. It’s one of the only remaining ‘guest’ rooms with inverted locks and sealed windows, so I’m not worried she will escape in the middle of the night.

My cousin is woken by the noise we are making, and she opens her room door to shush us before we wake Carly. Her eyes snap to my mate and grow wide, making me growl.

“What is she doing here?” she asks, locking eyes with Mandy and I can tell they are mind linking.

“Do you know this woman?” Holly shakes her head, but I don’t believe her at all.

I put Rhea down on the bed, and step out of the room, while her cousins swoop in to change her clothing. I wanted to stay, but they insisted that I leave, so I took the opportunity to talk to Holly.

“How do you know my mate?” I growl, and her head recoils. She is the only one who hasn’t been told what was going on because unlike Miracle and Mandy, I thought she didn’t know Rhea.

“She’s- I- We- B- When Carly was born I-” She stammers, making me angry.

“Tell me!” I shout, waking Carly who Carter removes from the room, shushing his now crying daughter. I feel terrible, but I’m too angry to apologize right now.

“I recognized her from Mandy’s video chats. The scent on Carly; it was hers.” My cousin is right.