Talons

Chapter 104: The Mall

Rhea’s POV

I follow Mandy into an office and see a woman who looks like she is struggling on the ground. Once inside, I instinctively go to help her up, but Mandy stops me.

She gives me a look that tells me that she and the woman aren’t friends, so I ignore her and it's then that I notice Colton and Trey. 

I haven’t seen him in years, and if I’m being honest, once he stopped being a jerk, he was good at making me laugh.

Trey's mouth is hanging open, but when he approaches me, I hear a sinister growl that makes him back up a few paces. I flinch when my cousin shouts at Colton, and I find myself clinging to her arm. 

“Sorry B,” she says, and I nod, understanding that she was responding to a mind-link. 

I wonder what Colton said to her. He probably said something bad about me, wanting to know why she would put a pretty dress on a r*tard or something along those lines. 

I remember the first day of high school; I made the mistake of letting Raven pick out my outfit. At the time, I felt cute, but that feeling was short-lived because as soon as Colton saw me he shredded every piece of confidence it took for me to step outside of my comfort zone.

I never wanted to wear a dress again; in fact, I didn't like to wear colors after that. Colton had destroyed any part of me that wanted to look good. 

In my mind, there was no point. When people looked at me back then, all they could see was the weak girl that he told them I was.

“What are you doing in here b*tch?” My eyes snap to the woman on the ground, but she can’t be talking to me, or is she?

I study her form and my eyes go wide when I realize who she is. The picture didn't show her face, but she's wearing the same ring from the photo my 'no-longer-mysterious' friend's girlfriend sent me.

The woman stands, intending to approach me, but before she can even open her mouth, Colton shouts a command that even I can feel, and she grimaces before running away.

I stare at my cousin, hoping she would give me an explanation, but she says nothing, at least to me. 

I can tell she is mind-linking, and I don’t like that I’m being left out of whatever conversation is going on.

After just standing there, Trey finally speaks. He doesn’t believe I’m the same B he went to school with, and I don’t really blame him. My body was completely flat back then, but now I’m considered curvy.

“This is Crazy," Trey says before his eyes go wide. He plops into a chair, holding his head. “If Carter is fated to Mandy, and you are fated to B, then…" Trey pauses. "Is my mate going to be someone who I wronged in the past too?”

I find myself furrowing my brow at the man, who seems to be onto something. Not just within the cases he mentioned, but within my siblings as well.

Lark literally caused Emma's family to move, and Robin had been teasing Luke for years before she found out she was his mate. It was part of the reason she ran from him. 

She had done so much that she was afraid he was going to hurt her, but she meant that in a s****l way.

Colton’s POV

Trey just mentioned something my mate didn’t like, and I see it in her expression. I link him to change the subject, and he does, which is good because I want to go back to what Rhea is wearing.

I understand that it’s still summer, and I get that she had to borrow something to wear, but I’m not sure I can stand seeing her look so tempting. I saw the way my gamma’s eyes scanned her body, and even he knew he had crossed a line, which was why he didn’t speak to her until I gave him permission over the link to do so.

Right now, Rhea is an unmated female, and many men will be lusting over her, especially since she looks so…

“Everybody ready?” Carter asks, cutting off my train of thought. 

“You look beautiful,” he says to his mate, who I only just realized is wearing something similar to Rhea, only her top isn’t as exposed.

“No, we aren’t,” I say sternly. “Mandy, why didn’t you give her a bra?” Once again, Mandy shouts at me, but this time she walks away, pulling my mate with her as Carter chases behind them. He gives me the finger before leaving my office. “What the hell was that about?” Trey snorts, but when he realizes I’m not joking, he doubles over in laughter.

“The bond is serious,” he says. “Tell me, what color was Mandy’s dress?” I shrug because I wasn’t paying close enough attention. “What about your mate?”

“It was black with flowers on it,” I say with confidence, and Trey claps dramatically. “What does that have to do with the way the dresses fit?” I ask, and Trey’s expression becomes serious.

“You can’t attack me for answering,” he says, but his response already puts me on edge. “Mandy is kind of like this.” Trey waves his hands in an hourglass figure. “While B is like…” he makes bigger waves, and Orlin pushes forward. 

I know Trey didn’t mean anything by it, but my wolf is already on edge. 

I don’t know if it’s a good idea to go to the mall with her dressed like that, but then again, if I start trying to control what she wears, she may pull further away, and right now, I can’t afford to go backward with her.

"She is mine," Orlin growls, and I remind him that she is ours. That seems to put him in his place because he relaxed, realizing that without me, he won't get what he wants either.

“You're going to stay and look after the pack,” I say to Trey. “MY MATE…” I make sure to add authority into the words; even though I don’t think my gamma would do anything stupid, I know what I saw. “...obviously needs clothes, but I'll explain everything about Rhea and I later.”

“Who is Rhea?” Trey asks.

Rhea’s POV

Choosing a seating arrangement in the car became a huge ordeal. Colton wanted to sit near me, but I wanted to sit near Mandy and Carter wanted to sit near her as well. In the end, she and I sat in the back, but she sat behind Colton, so that her mate could turn to see her anytime he wanted.

That meant that Colton could also look at me, and while he didn’t, I was still unnerved by the possibility. I was literally right there when he asked my cousin about a bra. I don’t see why, because my cleavage is fully covered, and truthfully, the shirt I had on before showed more of my chest, although it wasn’t as fitted.

When we get to the mall, Mandy holds out her hand and Colton hands her my wallet with a grumble. She already told me that he doesn’t want me to buy my own things, but I told her to tell him that if he is paying, I won’t get anything.

I know this sounds odd, but it has been several years since I’ve entered a mall. Once I figured out how to order things online, I never saw the need to step into a store that wasn’t for groceries or emergency purchases.

I find myself overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people around, and the fact that I can’t tell a human from a wolf puts me on edge.

“You're safe with me,” Colton says, and my body tenses. I feel like I have heard those words before, but that is impossible.

“Where do you want to go first?” Mandy asks. I’m sure she could feel my grip on her arm tighten and she wanted to help me relax.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “I haven’t been to the mall since I was eleven.” Mandy just stares at me. She knows I have no reason to lie but she can’t believe it.

Choosing to ignore my confession, Mandy starts pulling me deeper into the mall, but she eventually let’s go of my hand because Carter was becoming ‘angst.’

I can tell that my cousin is happy, so I don’t want to cause an issue for her and release her hand without protest. 

Eventually, Mandy and I drift apart as she and her mate cling to one another. I don’t know what to do, so I walk ahead a little, dipping into a store that caught my interest.

I picked up a few pairs of jeans, a couple of shirts I like, a pre-fall sweater that looks inviting, and some leggings. I take everything to the register, but when I go to pay for my items, Colton appears out of nowhere brandishing his debit card. 

“P-please d-don’t,” I manage to say, and he glares at me for a while before dropping his hand and walking away. 

I’m relieved but the cashier is looking at me like I’m stupid. I want to tell her that she can have him, but he isn’t mine to ‘give away’ and saying that would be the same as his threat to ‘give me to his pack.’

I don’t see anyone around, so I step out of the store and start walking toward another and another. I just realized that shopping is fun, and I find myself buying clothes I don’t think I need.

I even went into that very well-known lingerie store that sells overpriced undies and bought three bras that, if I’m being honest, fit perfectly. 

I find myself smiling as I practically skip to the next store, eager to buy something else. This place had somewhere for me to rest my bags, so I was able to freely move about, picking up things for Ducky, Corbin, Carly, and even my unborn niece and nephew.

By the time I realize I’m going overboard I’m already committed to the purchase, so I go to the register and pay. I hope my siblings don’t become suspicious of the gifts, but then sadness hits me as I realize that I may not be able to get the clothes to them.

Sorrow overtakes me, and after picking up my bags, I find a bench and sit.

“You need help beautiful?” I look up to see a man smiling down at me. He looks at my neck and I feel myself stiffen. “No mark; are you single?”