We had attacks here too, and many young boys had to fight for our survival. I donât doubt he was one.
I can almost pinpoint the moment he turned away from anyone who wasnât Santo, pushed people out, and stayed in his little bubble, snarling at others who dared to come too close.
Colton, the shy, sweet boy, and me, the fearless, bossy girl who didnât let others push her around.
Oh, how the tables turned.
âSo you knew me. It doesnât matter.â I sigh finally, realizing he has worn me down enough to get me talking to him, and Iâm no longer sulking in silence and staring listlessly at the ceiling.
Instead, Iâm lost in a million thoughts and feeling all kinds of sad and depressing things. This is why I never walk down memory lane to see who I used to be.
Iâm also betraying my willpower and have, at some point, curled up against his chest and pushed one foot between his ankles snugly, cuddling up so easily that I didnât even know I was doing it.
I reverse, moving back a little, screwing my face up at how powerful this bond can be.
Colton narrows his eyes and stares at me for the most prolonged moment, knowing the direction of this conversation is futile and changes nothing.
He canât undo what is done, nor who I am now. Even if he remembers me, liked me, we are where we are, and itâs not important anymore.
âAnyway, why are you here? I thought you were scared of me now.â
Itâs a half-joke, half-real question because itâs been playing on my mind since the first couple of hours they locked me in this lifeless room to listen to the house being mended and boarded up.
Itâs also my attempt to bring us back from the intimacy that makes me uncomfortable as I push a little more space between us.
I donât even have a cell phone to keep me occupied as I have no friends, and the orphanage wouldnât pay for them.
âHmm. Haha. Itâs sort of about that. Why Iâm here, I mean. About earlier and your moment of whatever the hell that was.â
Coltonâs face turns serious, those pretty eyes under black eyebrows that are way too nice, turning back to mine, and I can almost hear the gear switch off his brain as he focuses his mind on that topic.
All tenderness fades away.
âWhat about it? You came to tell me they all think Iâm a freak and a threat, and Iâm getting moved to an isolation tank,â I say blankly, like thereâs no feeling behind it.
But honestly, Iâve had this worry in the pit of my stomach on and off for hours. Isolation tanks dampen gifts and make you unable to do anything much about them.
If they think Iâm some kind of freak of nature, I can see Juan using that as an excuse to contain me. It would solve the whole imprinting issue and his son being in danger.
I would live in a steel box, forgotten in some basement below one of the Santo houses. I could live and rot until I die of old age in there. Problem solved.
âTheyâre all too busy figuring out what we do about our lands before weâre hit with another attack. This shit is just the beginning, Lorey.
âAll these years were wasted when we should have been preparing and building an army once more. Now theyâre calling on packs from the far reaches to consider uniting and mounting an offensive.
âNo, youâre low on the list of things that worry them today. Whereas, I have a theory.â
He smiles a little at that, a lightness hitting his expression.
The look of smug knowledge spreads into those bottomless, darkest chocolate eyes, and that annoyingly sexy smile widens enough to bring out dimples and showcase lovely teeth.
âWhich is?â I sound as unconvinced as I feel, and he smiles all the more, making butterflies erupt low down in my body, and I have to squirm to get them under control.
I donât like the smug, twinkling something in his eye. My instincts start to shift, and suddenly, I feel wariness creeping in at the aura heâs giving off.
âYou have an absorption gift. And thatâs what you did. You absorbed the power of the weapon they used in the orphanage, and, for a short time, you can throw it out there as your own.
âItâs not a common gift, and, usually, they donât come across devices like the one the vampire hit you with.
âIt makes sense. You havenât learned to contain your power, and you were overwhelmed.â He sounds so convinced, actually pleased at how smart he is for figuring it all out in a logical and almost believable way.
Iâve heard of this type of gift among wolves. Well, heard stories and legends, and, as he said, itâs not common.
They absorb and can use other wolvesâ gifts, and some they even retain for more than a few days. They turn any enemyâs power back on them, making them almost invincible.
âExceptâthat weapon youâre talking aboutâit didnât break anything. I didnât turn it to protect myself, and it didnât do any kind of anything outside the house and courtyard.
âYour father said I sent shock waves for miles.â I raise a brow and then sigh at the fact I just disproved something that could have potentially made me feel better about what happened.
âMaybe you can amplify it, make it more potent. Maybe thatâs part of your gift. We could test that out.
âThe weapon dampened your gifts because you havenât mastered them, and you didnât even know you could. Donât you see? If you have a powerful gift, it could change things for us.
âMy father might reconsider your place in our pack. We try to see what you can do.â Colton shifts so heâs no longer as close but half sits and turns to tower over me.
This has the candlelight illuminating his face once more so I can see him fully. He seems almost pleased, but the doubt and uneasiness inside me only grow stronger.
Iâm picking up on his weird, antsy signals, and my inner red alert is starting to peak, even though I donât know why. I push it aside and try to ignore it as nothing more than anxiety because of what heâs saying.
âHow? If I donât know how to harness it, or what to do, or even how to use it?â I query, not sure Iâm into this, but he looks pretty keen.
My head is spinning with what heâs saying, and Iâm trying not to dig too deeply into his father changing his mind on anything.
Coltonâs being stupid, and we both know me having a gift thatâs above average isnât going to change the fact Iâm one of the shamed and will never be good enough for an alpha.
âI can trigger you. Absorb mine, and see how much you can amplify it back at me. If you can, then this is huge, Lorey. It means you have superior power, and we might...
âDonât you see? You might be a Santo yet if you have it in you to become something amazing, a warrior for her people.
âIf my father sees promise in you, then he might reconsider you enough to let you become one of my pack, and then...
He trails off, but I can see where his mind is heading, and it now makes sense why Carmen is not high on his priority list.
Colton is looking for a way to claim me as his mate, even after everything he said in the forest.
I guess the bond for the past weeks has made him as miserable as Iâve been, and thatâs why he canât stay away from me.
Bittersweet pain riles up in my stomach. It hurts at the same time as making me stupidly emotional.
I adore him for looking for a way for us, for not giving up on our bond, but being the realist and shoving hope out like itâs trash.
It sounds ludicrously simple, except for one minor problem. Colton is an alpha with all the gifts that go with that.
Heâs aggressive, dominant, strong, fast, and ruthless when he needs to be. He can command with a mental link and get no resistance and can jump at insanely high levels.
I mean, Colton can scale a house of many floors in just a leap. I canât even make it over a brick wall without catching on.
Iâve no idea how heâs going to expose me to any of that and then make me somehow use it on him.
Triggering me might do nothing, or he might maim me in the process without meaning to. I donât want to do that.
I could never hold my own in a battle with him. He would annihilate me even without wanting to or meaning to.
âI wouldnât even know how to, and youâre making no sense. Your father isnât going to do a U-turn because I have a rare gift. My name and bloodline are what he despises, not my abilities.â
I sit up, pushing myself back against the headboard and slide my butt back until Iâm entirely nestled, and gaze down on him.
âAbilities are everything! Donât be so sure. Iâm guessing I have to do something near you or to you, using one of my gifts so that you instinctively defend yourself.
âThatâs how it should work, in theory. Instinct taking over and no room to think.â
Colton looks away from me, a small muscle in his jawline clenching that reveals his rarely seen dimples again, and I get a tiny surge of uncertainty.
Heâs thinking about something, analyzing, worrying, doubting his own decisions, and I blink at him a little apprehensively.
I donât like the vibes heâs giving off. They have all my senses tingling, and now Iâm wondering in what way he might make me want to defend myself.