Talons

Chapter 150: The Drawing

Colton’s POV

After speaking to Dolton and Lissette, I’ve decided not to let Rhea know what we think, simply because we feel like she may become aggressive or defensive if she thinks any of us are trying to use her. 

Apparently, she had quite the name when she lived with her aunt, and while I find nothing terrifying about my mate, Lissette claims that rogues avoided her pack because of what Rhea was capable of.

I know people tend to exaggerate, but I believe the woman because she has nothing to gain from lying. She doesn’t like me, in fact, she’s willing to help my mate escape at any moment, but in the meantime, she wants to make sure her niece is safe.

Now, I have to somehow convince Rhea that I’m an ally without telling her what I’m an ally to, which would be difficult even if she and I had a good past relationship. Still, I’m about to take that giant leap of faith.

It’s relatively early, so I know she’s working in the Garden, and like I knew she would be, she is leaning against a tree, listening to Crystal’s ideas on how to keep dirt ‘clean.’ I can tell my mate is tickled by the girl’s enthusiasm, but it's the giggling Tyson lying on her lap that does it for me.

I really can’t wait to give her the family I know she wants, even though she pretends not to. She won’t have to worry about our children being mistreated because, as backward as it is, she and I know what to look out for from experience.

“Hey,” Rhea says, catching me off guard. She typically doesn’t say anything to me when I come in, but I guess she wanted me to know that she was paying attention. “Did you need me for something?”

Since last night, Rhea has been accommodating toward me, and while my wolf is worried that it may be a trick, the bond is forcing us to ignore her changed demeanor as part of us growing closer to one another.

“Can you come back to the suite?” Rhea’s face goes serious, and sensing the mood, Tyson quickly gets up, and starts helping his sister put away the tools they were using.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” she calls out to the children, but I correct her notion, and tell them not to wait up, which makes my mate’s feet slow.

I can tell that she’s nervous, and when we finally get to a room where I know we can speak in confidence; I ask her to sit.

“What I’m about to tell you will hurt, but I want you to know that I would never-” Rhea’s worried expression makes my heart ache, and when she starts to question if her family is okay, I feel even more guilty. “Your family is fine. I just… Rhea…” I take several deep breaths as Orlin braces for harsh words. “I manipulated the outcome of our rejection hearing.”

“What do you mean? How?” Slowly, I dig into my pocket and pull out my wallet. 

Inside, there is a drawing that I’ve held onto for years. It's how I was able to convince her parents and her brother to vote in my favor, and I feel like she had to know the truth in order to build meaningful trust between us.

“This was how I convinced them to uphold our bond.” I hand her the paper, and she stares at it for a long time before she looks up at me with tear-filled eyes. Her lips quiver, and my heart thumps erratically. 

I didn’t mean to make her cry, and when tears start falling from those beautiful and unique eyes of hers, I feel like a complete piece of sh*t.

“Colton, I swear I don’t-”

“Hey,” I reply, moving to sit next to her. “I’m not accusing you of anything, but I wanted you to know how important you are to me, even before I realized it. You hadn’t met my wolf yet, but I still wanted to protect you. Just like I want to protect you now.”

I tell her that it was wrong of me to use the information to blackmail Lark into voting in my favor, but at the time, I didn’t care. 

Shortly after Rhea’s encounter with the omega who attacked her, Carter and I captured a rogue who claimed to be waiting for her ‘quiet queen.’ My beta was confused, but I knew exactly who the woman was talking about.

The rogue was gravely injured, and the wound was infected, so she didn’t live to see an interrogation. I knew it was something Lark was hiding from my father, and because it seemed to be a secret worth risking our alliance for, I considered it valuable information to keep for a later date.

“I’m telling you this because I think you deserve to know.”

“Thank you,” Rhea whispers. “This… It means a lot to know that they didn’t just push my suffering to the side like I thought.” I feel terrible because I didn’t know she felt that way, and I should’ve told her sooner.

“Can we talk more about it?” Rhea nods, and I scoot a little away from her to put her mind at ease.

Rhea’s POV

Colton showing me the drawing from his wallet made my heart thump erratically. I don’t know how I know, but that picture must have come from the rogues who attack the Claw pack. Only yesterday I told the man about nearly being forcibly marked, and now, I’m going to tell him what led up to it.

“I was with my nephew when I heard footsteps that didn’t belong to anyone I knew. A woman entered; she was clearly not from our pack, and while I couldn’t smell, I knew she was a rogue.”

I go through all the details for Colton, telling the much more gruesome and grimmer version of the story, unlike the one I told Tyson, who I spared the darkest points.

“I had never killed anyone, and then, within minutes, I had already taken two lives.”

“You must have been terrified.”

“I was, but not for me. They wanted my nephew.” Colton tilts his head, not understanding why rogues would want to go after Ducky, and when I explain it to him, he whispers something that makes me flinch.

“What?”

“The Luna’s Curse; you have it.” I look down, studying my feet as I realize the man is right. I have felt so emotionally attached to people around me that I couldn’t bear to see anything happen to them. It’s why I started tinkering with developing a scent blocker, why I perfected it, and why I risked my life to keep the formula a secret.

“But I’ve felt this way since I was a little girl,” I admit.

“And I claimed you when I was six… In my mind, you have been my luna since then, I just forgot.”

“Colton I-”

“You don’t have to respond. I get that you aren’t ready to accept me or the title, but I want to make you an offer that I think will benefit us both.” Colton inches closer, and like he usually does when he wants me to take his words seriously, he holds my hand. “You’ve been here for nearly a month, right?”

“Just about.” I don’t want Colton to know I’ve been counting the days because I don’t want him to get suspicious.”

“In five months, if you still want to leave, I won't object to your rejection.”

Colton’s POV

Orlin is screaming and shouting in my mind so loudly that I have to block him out to avoid wincing. I’m not a fool, and Rhea only has a few more weeks before she can freely leave my pack and never return. 

I don’t want that, so the best thing for me to do is guarantee her a safe place until she is ready to make up her mind. 

“I don’t want you to take the chance out there with General; I fear that he hasn’t gone away.” Rhea gives me a subtle nod, and I kiss her hand before letting it go. 

“I need air,” Rhea says, and I raise my hands in surrender, letting her know that she is free to go.

She just agreed to stay with me, and I can’t ask for much more. Five months is a long time, and I want to spend as much as possible with her. Even if she never accepts me, I want to be able to hold onto the memories of what could have been.

“I hope we don’t regret this,” Orlin says with a slight sniffle, and I really feel for my wolf. As the supernatural part of me, he feels the bond more intensely than I do, and truth be told, he was the one originally drawn to Rhea.

“We won’t regret it if we don’t mess up from now on.” I watch my mate leave the suite with slumped shoulders, and as much as I want to follow her, I know she needs space right now.

Rhea’s POV

My feet are moving, but I don’t know where I'm going, and before I know it, I’m standing in the clearing where Tyson and I train. I’m not at all surprised to see him there, but I am shocked to hear footsteps from behind me.

“Didn’t you hear me calling you?” Mandy asks, but I don’t respond until after Carly is snugly in my arms.

“Sorry, I have a lot on my mind.”

“Colt just linked me. He said you may need someone to cheer you up.”

“So, you picked Carly up early?” Mandy shrugs, but I’m glad she’s here.

“What are we doing for her birthday?” I question, and my cousin makes a face that I can’t quite read.

“We can’t organize any celebrations until Alpha Stone returns.” That’s ridiculous, but I guess each pack is different.

If this were Claw, Mandy would be stressed with how much pre-planning my mother would have been doing. 

“Why don’t we rent a space?” My cousin considers for a while  and knowing how frugal she can be I add the cherry I know she needs. “Don’t worry, it’ll be my treat.”

“That’s not offensive at all,” she says in mock indignation. “You should really watch the way you spend your money. Colt told me that you have a large savings, but it won’t last forever, especially since you aren’t-” Mandy sniffs the air, and by instinct, I call Tyson to my side.

“Rogues,” she whispers, and the look on her face tells me that she is terrified. “B, I- I’m… I can’t shift right now.”

“Congratulations…?" I reply.