Chapter 77 by Cara Anderson

Ch. 77 Welcome Home

Colton’s POV

“Colton!” I jolted awake to the sound of someone calling my name.

I could have sworn that someone was Mallory but there was no one there. The room was dark and quiet. I pushed up from the couch and padded down the hall to the room my brothers shared with our mate. I peered in the door but they weren’t there.

Retracing my steps. I made my way to the opposite end of the hall where the office was situated. The light was on and the door was cracked but when I stepped inside, I found them both asleep, their heads resting on the map they’d been studying last night.

Each of us felt guilty sleeping, knowing Mallory was in danger and needed us.

But I was still recovering from being shot, my wolf barely awake for minutes at a time after healing me. And even healthy, strong Alpha wolves like my brothers needed sleep to be at the top of their game. Something we all needed to be for Mallory’s sake.

“Colton?” Clay stirred awake just as I was backing out of the office and he was immediately on high alert. ”

What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” I apologized for disturbing his rest. “I thought I heard someone call my name so I came to check.”

“You probably dreamed it.” He grunted. “Cary and I were both sleeping even though we shouldn’t be.”

The chagrin in his voice was unmistakable. I knew he’d stayed awake until he dropped from exhaustion but it wouldn’t do any good to point that out. He’d still beat himself up for it like we all would.

“Maybe.” I couldn’t rule out the possibility I’d been dreaming but it seemed so real. “It just… nevermind.”

He was probably right. I shrugged to myself and turned to leave. But the sound of Cary’s voice stopped me again.

“It’s just what? What’s going on?” He questioned groggily.

“Nothing. I was just telling Clay I thought I heard someone calling my name but you were both sleeping and no one else is here.” I explained.

“Did you recognize the voice?” Leave it to Cary to ask the obvious, giving me no choice but to answer.

“Yeah. I could have sworn it was Mallory. It sounded like she was calling for help.” I told them.

Cary stood abruptly, stomping to the mini fridge and pulling out three bottles of water. He handed one to Clay and I then cracked the cap on his own and downed it in one long guzzle. It was his way of saying we all needed to wake the hell up.

“We need to get back to work. It was probably a manifestation of your subconscious reminding you she needs us. And here we are sleeping when she’s… Goddess knows where.” His tone was laden with guilt and not just for falling asleep.

Cary had been the one to insist I come home with them when I was released from the hospital. I could tell he felt bad for not trying to reach out to me when Clay iced me out, but he didn’t need to.

I’d been resistant to the idea of returning with them at first, still unsure where I stood with Clay. He hadn’t exactly been warm and fuzzy though I could tell he was making an effort. But in the end, he’d agreed that we should all stick together so we could work out a plan to find and rescue our mate and unborn pups.

Our pups. I still couldn’t believe I was going to be a father. We all were. My first response to hearing the news was anger. I was mad that no one had told me and furious that they’d taken her outside Black Moon, risked her safety just to keep me in the dark.

But I reminded myself that they hadn’t known my rejection of Mallory and return to Darcy had been an act. I couldn’t blame Mallory for wanting to keep it from me until she knew whether or not it could be mine. And I couldn’t blame my brothers for going along with it. I probably would have done the same in their shoes.

Now, all I felt was awe and more love for three little souls I’d never met than I ever knew possible. I hoped one day I’d get the chance to meet them. To see them come into this world, to learn and grow. I prayed that despite everything I’d done, their mother would allow me that privilege.

But I’d made choices and those choices had consequences. And though my brothers were blaming themselves, I knew Mallory’s abduction was really my fault. She would never have gone to a doctor in the city if she hadn’t believed I didn’t want her or our pups. I let her believe that. I pushed her to put herself in danger.

“When is Nathan arriving?” I asked, wanting nothing more than to focus on Mallory’s safe return and knowing we were going to need his help.

“He’s reaching out to some contacts to see if he can find out where Quade might have taken her. He’ll be here first thing in the morning with his Beta. We’ll finalize our plans then and prepare to leave before dark tomorrow. With any luck, we can sneak into Hazelwood territory after dark and launch a surprise attack.” Clay outlined the basic plan.” Clay answered.

“Wake me when he gets here?” I requested, though I had no intention of sleeping. “Kai should be back to full strength by the time we’re ready to head out. I want to be there to discuss

the details of the attack.”

“Colton, you were shot. You should stay here and rest. Trust us to bring her home.” Cary offered.

“Of course I trust you!” I attested. “But this is my fault and I need to be there to fix it. If I hadn’t-, I let her think-, and now-”

I choked back a strangled sob. I was trying to hold it together but I couldn’t forgive myself for what I’d done. Now my mate was out there, pregnant and alone, with some madman intent on forcing her to accept him by who knows what means. The least I could do was rescue her or fucking die trying.

I stormed from the room, not thinking about where I was going. I found myself entering the Alpha master bedroom, a room I’d never shared with my Luna, and stopped at the end of the bed, staring. I should have been here with her, with all of them. I had no business trying to play hero when she needed me with her.

I should have been sleeping in that bed with her, holding her in my arms, making love to her. I could see it in my mind’s eye, how beautiful she would look, her midnight hair fanned out around her, her soft, creamy skin on display and her brilliant hazel eyes shining with love for me. I could have had that but I fucked it up.

I should have been cooking for her, making sure her needs were met, caring for her like a good Alpha mate. Clay and Cary said the pregnancy had been hard on her so far, not surprising with triplets. I should have been there to help her, comfort her. Instead, I’d just made everything worse for her.

All I’d ever wanted was to be a good Alpha. To make my parents proud, take care of my brothers and our Luna. I thought if I sacrificed my own happiness for the good of others, it meant I was worthy of the title. I thought that’s what a good Alpha did.

But I hadn’t just sacrificed my happiness. I’d sacrificed hers too and told myself it was for her own good. What a fucking idiot I’d been. And it was all for nothing. Now she could die believing I didn’t want her or our pups.

I pulled a blanket from the bed and buried my nose in her scent, hiding my tears.

“It was a good plan.” Clay’s voice startled me. “I’m not gonna lie to you and say it’s okay that you didn’t tell us. Especially her. She deserved to know why you let her feel your betrayal, to have a say in that plan. But just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I don’t understand it.”

“Lot of fucking good it did anybody.” I grunted in reply.

“That’s not your fault, Colton. You couldn’t have predicted the way things turned out. It could have easily gone the other way. He could have divulged his plan and we could have ended this before it started. It just didn’t play out that way.”

“Why are you being nice to me? Up until yesterday, you hated me and I deserved it. I still do.” I admitted.

“I didn’t hate you, though I get that it seemed that way. I just hated what you did to Mallory and I couldn’t let you hurt her any more. If you think it didn’t kill me to break our bond, you don’t know me very well.” Clay shook his head in disappointment.

“I just want to bring her and our pups home. I can’t take back what I did. It’s done and there is no going back to change it. But once they’re safe and that asshole is in the ground, I’m going to go away for a while.” I informed him. “You and Cary will be great Alphas. You don’t need me in the way.”

“The fuck we don’t!” Cary burst in on the tail end of our conversation. “So what? You’re just going to run away again? Making more decisions without talking to us? What about Mallory and your pups, Colton? Do you give a shit about what they want or need?”

“She doesn’t want me!” I raised my voice, all the hurt I felt bleeding through. “Look what happened to her because she didn’t even want me to know she was pregnant!”

“Because she didn’t want to burden you. She thought you didn’t want her. We all did!” Clay pointed out. “The least you can do is stay here and face the mess you made. Explain the situation to her and let her decide. Quit deciding what’s best for her without her input. That’s how you got here in the first place. You’d think you’d learn from your mistakes!”

“I will talk to her.” I sighed. “But if she needs space from me, I’ll give it to her. I want to be here when the pups are born. I want to be part of their lives but I won’t force her to endure my presence if she doesn’t want it. You need to be prepared to run this pack without me.”

“And you need to be prepared to grovel your ass off.” Cary retorted. “She’ll forgive you. It’s who she is. None of us deserve her but she loves us anyway. All of us.”

“I love her too. I just hope I get the chance to tell her.” I whispered, but I knew they heard me.

“You will. We all will.” Clay insisted. “I refuse to accept any other possibility.”

“Me either! Now get some more sleep so your wolf can regain his stamina. Gunner and Roan need their brother. And so do Clay and I.” Cary said.

“Why don’t you sleep in our bed? Her scent will help you rest more peacefully.” Clay offered. “And when we bring her home, your scent will be there to welcome her back.”

He walked over and pulled me into a hug. Cary joined us and I was sure my surprise was written all over my face.

“Welcome home, brother.” Clay patted my back in a brotherly gesture I wasn’t expecting.

I also wasn’t expecting the shock of our sibling bond snapping back into place.