Chapter 6: The Fallout: Part 1

Everything happens so fast that my head spins, and I can barely catch my breath.

Our imprinting sends the ceremony into quick dispersal, and I’m dragged away by Santo’s pack and ushered into an awaiting car, my clothes thrown in my face and ordered to go to the pack house and be quiet.

Everything is in uproar as though I committed the crime of the century, and it rippled through everyone present.

Juan exploded magnificently at the possibility that our future alpha got betrothed to one of the lowliest of the packs, and I’m not exactly happy about it either.

I’ve kept my head down for ten years, stayed out of sight in the shadows and away from the drama the way others like me have not.

I became almost invisible and made no real friends, all with my eye on the one goal of escaping this place with no noise.

Only to be put on show on the most important night of my life, in front of the entire mountain, and have everything come crashing down on top of me.

This can’t be happening! Imprinting is for life; there is only one way out—and that’s death!

I can barely breathe as the panic sets in that this is not goddamn reversible and not a tiny thing that can get brushed aside and have me sent on my merry way.

That is NOT an option for me. We can choose to walk away and ignore it, but the bond won’t break, and the urge to bind us together will only grow stronger if we fight it.

That’s how this works; everyone knows that. If I leave, I’ll crave him for the rest of my life until it pushes me to insanity or even death from a broken soul.

If I stay, I’ll never be able to fight the need to be with him, and Juan made it excruciatingly clear that it will never happen.

I’m bustled from car to dark alley and given only seconds to pull my clothes on under my blanket before I am forcibly pushed through a side door and almost fall flat on my face into a bright hallway.

The men charged with bringing me here are being less than hospitable, with them shoving me around and pushing me cruelly.

I feel covered in bruises and still have blood residue over my body and face. I “oof” at the impact of meeting the hard floor, my body already tired and weak from what I endured tonight.

I’m still reeling from the drugs and the first transformation of my life, on edge, hackles rising, and having to deal with this new trauma of semi-kidnapping.

I feel trapped in some sort of daymare and want to wake up before I have an all-out freak-out.

A tall, familiar, attractive blonde meets us in the hall as she stalks toward me. Without missing a beat, she slaps me hard across the face and sends me flying off my feet and skidding into the wall.

Burning pain engulfs my cheek and eye socket as I groan, and it spreads across my head and down my neck, rendering me senseless for a second.

I am slightly dazed by the force of that bitch’s assault as I try to pick myself back up but fail when a foot stomps on my spine to force me back down.

“How dare you! How goddamn dare you, you whore!? He’s mine! We have dated for two years, and you think you can sweep in and take him!

“You are a goddamn nothing, and you have no rights to him!” She’s livid, puce with rage, and comes bearing down on me, climbing on top of me while winding her fingers around my throat like a crazed psycho.

In my panic, I lash back to defend myself, but she’s bigger and stronger, and the glow of amber in her eyes tells me she’s on the verge of turning.

She’s another of the pack that turned young and has her gifts well under control, while I haven’t even begun to explore mine yet.

“I’ll kill you before I see you take him from me.”

Her grasp tightens, and I try to claw at her face, struggling for breath, panicking, momentarily blacking out before she is hauled from on top of me by two strong arms and lifted high into the air.

“Enough! She didn’t do this any more than I did!” Colton’s voice cuts through her hysterical squealing.

He drops her on her feet away from me, standing between her and me as he turns to her and tries to reason and shut her up.

His whole body is taut and alert, as though he’s ready to take her on, and I’m not sure it won’t go that way.

Females, when angry, tend to turn and attack even people they love. It’s how disputes are resolved most of the time among wolves. Physical fights are the norm, even between mates.

“Go home, Carmen. Let us deal with this. The elders and the shaman are coming with my father. Just go and let us figure this out.”

He sounds pissed, using that deep, commanding tone, so like his father’s, only with a boyish edge.

“Why can’t they kill her and be done with it? She’s nothing to the pack,” she wails at him desperately.

The noise prickles at my ears, so I wince in reaction with an “ahh” and cover them, wondering if this is a new thing with my senses… hearing things more painfully.

“Are you dense? Killing her will kill me. Hurting her hurts me! Even a slap! We are imprinted. We are one. Her soul, my soul… did you never pay attention in class?”

He sounds as mad as her now, and he throws a look at me crouching on the floor, dazed and in shock about the turn of events. I’m not mentally ready for any of this.

“Here.” He turns, a softness changing his handsome face slightly, making him more appealing, less cold, and he extends a hand to help me up.

It’s the first time I ever saw any real humanity in this guy, and it renders me mute as I let him pull me to my feet.

That heat and transference of sparks at his touch makes me jump, and that familiar urge and need for more of him, his touch, makes me pull my hand away.

I internally bristle and inhale fast to cool the sudden heat that rides up my neck and face. Blushing, I look away to break contact.

He frowns at the sensation too and backs off as soon as he lets me go, obviously uneasy at how much chemistry is stirring up from something so simple.

It’s not a secret he and Carmen have been a steady thing for a long time, so I guess he feels like this is somehow cheating on her.

She watches like a hawk; I can feel her hatred burning through my soul and wishing harm on me.

The sting on my face tells me she probably left a handprint, and I try not to glare her way and provoke another outburst.

“I swear to God, Cole…” Her voice breaks, and tears spring from her eyes, instantly dampening her cheeks. “If you leave me for this little reject…”

For a second, the pure heartbreak in her tone gets to me, cutting me in the chest, and I’m a little sorry for her, not knowing what love feels like or what this would do to my heart if it were me.

I guess a slap isn’t comparable to a devastated soul and the thought of losing someone you thought was your mate.

That stupid part of me that cares has me staring at the floor guiltily, as though somehow accepting I’ve done something wrong here. I feel ashamed.

“Be quiet. Go home, and I’ll talk to you later. Right now, we are nothing until this gets rectified. I can’t have two mates. You know the laws.”

It’s the edge in his tone that signals him executing his dominance, and she recoils quickly, knowing when not to question or argue, even if her face gives away the pain in what he said.

Alphas have a tone reserved for times when pack animals won’t obey. It somehow renders us mute and makes us do what is asked of us, which is one of those times.

Even I tremble at its effect on everyone present and have to stop myself from slinking back into the shadows. Not every male has the gift, only those born to lead.

“Alora? That’s your name, right?” Colton turns to me, surprising me with the change, those chocolate eyes melting me when we connect, and I have to look away again.

I’m too pulled toward him for my liking and nod shyly. I have no control over his effect on me, and I don’t like this one bit.

Freedom was calling to me, and now I have this annoying, undesirable need to be wrapped around the one guy I never wanted to know.

“Or Lorey… I get called both.” It’s a feeble, quiet mumble, and I inwardly curse myself for sounding as weak as his pack always labeled me.

I’m no match for an alpha. It’s no wonder they cast my bloodline into the reject pile.

~“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you.”~

It’s his voice in my head, and I flicker up, startled that he spoke to me inside my mind and not verbally.

We’re not supposed to do that when both in human form and especially not when we’re not from the same pack.

~“How can you…?”~ I start to ask, replying in the same way without thinking, and then inhale sharply as I realize I did the same thing. I’ve no idea if that breaks the rules, considering who he is.

~“We imprinted. We have a link. We can hear each other even from miles away. No distance is too far. No one else can tap into this. It’s like our own personal telephone line with dampeners.”~

He isn’t looking at me. He’s watching Carmen walk down the hall crying into her hands and creating a bleak picture.

I can sense his pain from watching her go, and it pains me, too. Feeling what he feels is another downside to being connected to this guy. I don’t want to feel heartbreak or pain or any of this crap.

~“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this.”~

The honesty and ache in my response bring his eyes to mine, and we do that weird thing where we lock eyes, get a tremor of something we can’t deny, and both look away again.

Neither of us wants this; that much is clear.

~“You didn’t do this. Fate did. Now we have to figure out how to undo it, if that’s even possible.”~

The hesitation in his tone catches me off guard, and I look at him properly despite myself—his side profile of chiseled square jawline, sallow skin, and dark hair to match those dark eyes and brows.

Colton is tall, muscular, and fit, which is only enhanced by being among the giant wolves in the pack, even at his age.

His family originated from Colombia, and you can see his heritage, in the best way, despite his mother being Caucasian.

Me, I’m a good old country white, dull-haired, plain girl with nothing unique or beautiful that I know of. Carmen is a goddess compared to me.

The atmosphere turns cold as a troop of men come marching in from the same door we did, and one of them pushes me out of the way ungraciously.

I get knocked sideways and spiral down as I lose footing, still on unsure legs after tonight’s ceremony and unable to stop myself.

Colton’s low growl and quick reflexes as he jolts in beside me and catches me sends my head spinning.

His arms lasso me and stop my body from colliding with the concrete wall, and he hits his chest instead as I grasp on impulsively.

His eyes glow amber over my head as he death-glares his displeasure at the men, unconcealed as that flash of warning oozes from him.

That fierce mate protection is coming out instinctively, and I honestly don’t know how to react.

Becoming someone’s mate is as much about instinct as anything else. It changes you and makes you feel and do things you didn’t before.

Even if he hated me before this, that need to protect me and look after me will become his mission in life and vice versa. It’s completely crazy, and I can’t believe it’s happening to me.