Talons

Chapter 111: The Followers

Colton's POV

I went to the gym to work off some tension when Carter linked me with a slew of curses. He was angry that I was 'allowing' Rhea to have a girl’s night and he wanted it canceled.

When I block him out, he literally comes to find me, and I start laughing at his expression. 

"My mate is wearing fishnets under her torn jeans and it’s funny to you? Do you even know what that means?"

"Nope," I admit. Carter gasps as if I’ve just said something offensive. "Are you going to tell me?" I question and I burst into laughter with his inability to conjure a meaning. He’s just bitter that he isn't invited, which is why I'm in the gym.

"Work or run it off bro, that's all you can do. Mandy is probably dressed up for you to admire, she doesn't get many opportunities like this." 

"Shut the hell up," Carter replies, and even Orlin chuckles at his reaction. 

I'm his alpha, but also his friend, so I know he doesn't mean any disrespect; he’s just jealous.

Carter leaves the gym with a huff, but I'm suddenly curious about what Rhea is wearing.

I find myself walking toward the Packhouse and see Holly's car parked out front. I can hear my mate's laughter coming from inside, so I choose to wait. Only a minute or two go by before they come out, and my eyes go as big as saucers.

"Abso-f*****g-lutely-not. Change!" I point toward the Packhouse, and my mate retreats a few steps away from me. "You aren't going anywhere," I continue.

"Yes, she is," Holly declares.

"Not dressed like that!"

"Work or run it off bro, that's all you can do." I turn to face Carter who just threw my words back at me. He is only wearing basketball shorts, so I know he is planning to take my advice.

"It's not the same," I growl. "Mandy is already marked." Carter shrugs and I really want to strangle him, but my mate is wearing an expression of concern, so I force myself to back off.

"When can I expect you ladies back?”

"When we return," Holly responds, and I'm seconds away from cancelling the night.

"I want an address.” I say, and Mandy says she's already sent it to Carter. This is hard for me, but there’s nothing I can do without hurting my relationship with Rhea.

"Please be careful out there and keep your link open.”

Rhea’s POV

Colton’s behavior is confusing me. At first, he was saying that I couldn’t go, and now he is asking us to be careful. I was already afraid to go out to begin with, and now I feel like I’m set up for something.

He walks away from us, going in the direction Carter went, and I look at my cousin in concern. I ask her if it's okay for us to be going anywhere, and she tells me to trust her, which, at the moment, isn’t easy to do.

She is Colton’s friend, and while I may be family, I don’t know how deep their bond goes.

We climb into the car, and Mandy already has her camera out, snapping pictures of herself and Holly.

“Hey B, what is your social media tag?” Holly asks, and I tell her I don’t have any. We haven’t started driving yet, which is good because she literally twisted her body around to look at me in bewilderment. “So let me get this straight; we are in the digital age, and you, a twenty-two-year-old,-”

“Nineteen,” I correct, and Holly literally chokes on the remainder of her sentence.

“Nineteen? Do you know how rare it is to have a mate more than two years older?

“I’m not sure, my brother and his mate have a similar age gap.”

“Interesting,” Holly says. “Anyway, sign-up. It can be an effective way for you to show your family that you are okay. A lot of meaning can be conveyed through photos, and I’ve already spotted scouts from Claw on pack territory.”

“What?” I ask in concern.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t reported it to Colt because I know how he will react, but if you want to avoid a crisis, you can start by posting ‘happy’ photos.”

I nod my head at Holly who seems knowledgeable on reducing tensions between packs, and I find myself asking her if she’s had training. 

She says that her grandfather set unrealistic learning standards for her, expecting her to fail, but every time she succeeded, he would add another set of goals for her to complete.

“Eventually, he sent me here where I have nothing to do.”

“Why don’t you ask for a position?”

“They put me on patrols,” she says incredulously. “Can you imagine? A woman with positive influence and hostile negotiations training runs through the woods at night sniffing trees.”

“You know you like it…” Mandy teases.

“That isn’t the point,” Holly replies, and I find myself giggling. “I should be made a delta warrior; period.”

“But can you fight?” Holly turns to look at me again; this time though, she is clearly offended. “I mean no offense, it's just that you mentioned all your qualifications, but I didn’t hear you talk about tactical training.”

“Offense is clearly taken,” she says, and I can’t help but snort trying to hold back my laughter. I really didn’t mean anything by it, but there are many ranked wolves who think they deserve titles when they aren’t qualified to hold them.

“Holly is the top fighter within the Iron pack.” I nod at my cousin's words, and pat Holly's shoulder in apology.

“How dare you coddle me?” she asks in a mock aggressive tone. I laugh as she turns over the engine and starts to drive.

“Done,” I say, handing Holly’s device to Mandy.

“Greatarea*? What is that?”

“Change it if you don’t like it.”

“No!” Holly says loudly. “Have you seen her social media tag? It’s Mandygo.” My brows furrow for a bit, and then laughter overtakes me.

“What does Carter think about that?” I ask with a chuckle. 

“I chose the name with him in mind.”

“Oh, eww Mandy. You didn’t have to go there.” My cousin chuckles at my comment, but I can tell she is engrossed in whatever she is doing on Holly’s phone.” She suddenly gasps and gives me a thumbs up.

“I just got it! Greatarea, as in, Greater Rhea.” I smile at my cousin, and Holly makes a joke about us definitely being related. 

I start to get nosey as Mandy once again falls silent while staring at the phone, and when I look over her shoulder, she is looking through several pictures of me.

"How?" I ask, but my cousin humphs, ignoring my question with a wink.

I sit back, closing my eyes as I consider if what I'm doing is right. I guess posting photos for my family is a good indicator that I'm okay, but I would need a phone to do that regularly, and Colton has mine.

"Wow," Mandy whispers, and I become curious again. "Look how many followers you have already." I glance at the screen and raise a brow. 

"Probably Claw pack members who want to be nosey."

"I don't know B, look…" Mandy shows me the phone again, and the seventy-five followers has grown to two-hundred-twenty. 

"Why are so many people following me? What kind of picture did you post?" I started to panic, but Mandy only posted one photo that she took of me before we went to the mall. She said it was for my mother, so I made sure to look happy in it.

"Oh, my goddess," Mandy exclaims and I start being nosey again. “Five hundred followers and…” Mandy goes quiet as she scrolls through the notifications. “People are tagging you in old photos. Who is Bwallace48?”

“Brent!” I shout, snatching the phone from Mandy. I haven’t heard from him or Julee in too long, and the last I heard, they found a pack where my cousin was doing well. 

Julee brought her medical experience to the new pack, and Brent bought his money. Although she is an omega and he is a quarter wolf, they will be respected because they bring prestige and small packs care about those things too.

Colton’s POV

I was in my office trying to forget about how sexy Rhea looked while Carter moped in the corner trying to get Carly to sleep. Trey is staring at us with a mocking smirk so every now and then something gets tossed at him as a reminder that it isn’t funny.

“I get why Colt is on edge, he hasn’t marked his luna yet, but why are you acting like a spoiled pup?” Trey asks, and now that I look at Carter’s sulking figure, I can’t help but chuckle at him.

“Don’t make me say it,” he whines. Now I’m curious and find myself staring at him expectantly. “Mandy never agreed to my mark; she woke up with it. What if she meets someone she actually wants to be with?” Trey and I exchange glances before our laughter can be heard ringing throughout the room. “What?” Carter asks in confusion.

“Do you really think Mandy would leave you? Yes, you two started your relationship terribly, but she chose you before the bond did.” I find myself reciting Rhea’s words, and my beta suddenly smirks as he realizes that what I’ve said is true. “Haven’t you ever thought of it that way?”

“No,” Carter admits. “I always thought I was just a part of her urges.”

Our conversation doesn’t stay on the topic for long because both Trey and I know that Carter would much rather forget about the past with his mate. The drama it caused was terrible, and as punishment, all three of us were locked in the pack dungeons without food or water for three days.

Eventually Carter and I start moping again, and Trey keeps mocking us. I really hope he doesn’t have this feeling when he finds his mate because it's horrible, but if he does, I won’t let him forget how heartless he's behaving right now.

Rhea’s phone starts to buzz in my desk drawer, and I absentmindedly check it, but I’m instantly filled with regret when I do. Trey notices my sour expression and he comes around to check the screen. 

“Why do you have Jack’s name saved in your phone like that?”

“It’s not my phone,” I reply, and he winces before backing away.

“Answer it,” Carter suggests. That was all the motivation I needed to press the green icon and place the device on speaker.

“Baby? Are you okay? I want to see you.”

“Rhea is mine,” I growl.