The Fallout-3

They argue inwardly, silent on the surface, but all in the hallway remain still and patient as they are meant to when their Alpha demands. Juan is one of the most intimidating pack leader and I guess it’s why he moved so easily to prime position.

Colton’s father spins on his heel finally, signaling they are done, and marches off into a nearby doorway, clicking his fingers and gesturing for us to follow. It’s all so hostile and unnerving that I flinch, heart erupting into hammering thuds.

“If people could just keep their hands to themselves and off my mate, that would be great! Thanks.” Colton mumbles it under his breath, not meaning for me to hear, and I throw him an awkward glance. My heart flipping over and my stomach churning uneasily at his words.

He called me his mate.

I can hear you, and for the time being ... it’s what you are. We imprinted. We don’t exactly have a choice.

Colton throws me a look that translates to ‘relax and follow me’ and I mutely do so, cheeks burning from stupidly letting him read my thoughts. Embarrassed that I’m stupid enough to not remember that thirty seconds after figuring it out. He lets me go and my body cools a little, somehow suddenly cold from the loss of him, and a weird emptiness fills me instead.

I follow behind him quickly, into a large room that looks like a study with extra couches. The men all file in and sit down in random places and Colton ushers me to a nearby chair, padded and semi shadowed in the corner, out of the direct line of the men. He stands close by and waits as his father circles a bookcase and comes to perch in the chair at the desk, looking out at all of us in his position as leader.

“I need solutions. This …” He points at Colton and me. “Happens over my dead body. My son is destined to be Alpha one day and I will be damned if a mongrel with bad breeding dilutes his lineage. She will not be our Luna. Fix this. Find a way! I don’t care what the history books say. There has to be a way to break the bond and sever the connection, so he is free to mate up with a chosen female.” The stern tone of a man who doesn’t want to hear excuses and yet a tiny ounce of hope fills my chest. That there might still be a chance I can get out of this, and here, and follow my plan to get the hell away from Radstone once and for all. It’s even weirder that at the same time, though, a desolate pain cuts me in the heart at the thought of leaving him. Winding me, blindsiding me for a second.

“You cannot fight fate. There are consequences if you ignore destiny. Imprinting does not happen to us all and when it does ... you do not question it.” The Shaman is quick to verbalize, but Juan slamming his hand on his desk, sending a loud thud through all of us, brings silence once more. I stare at my feet and will the ground to open up and take me. Crushing pressure on my chest as anxiety envelops me.

“Did you not hear me when I said, THIS is NOT happening! She will NOT be my son’s mate. I will kill her before I let that happen.”

Silence befalls the room as his biting tone echoes in the air, although I swear I hear the subtlest of growls come from Colton’s way, so close beside me, and make sure I don’t look at him. Instead, I stare at my hands in my lap and pray for this to be over. Shaking internally and genuinely fearful for my life. Never have I actually wanted to be left to go back to the orphanage to spend time in my room with Vanka, but now it’s so calling to me.

I don’t want anything as much as I want that right now. Well, except maybe this weird primal urge for the guy at my left to calm down a bit and stop plaguing me. I can feel him, overly so. Way too in tune and aware of him, even if he is three feet away. My body and mind are doing some weird things concerning him, and as terrified as I should be right now, I don’t feel it when he moves closer and somehow calms me without even looking my way. One backwards step of maybe a foot and he soothes my nerves back into warm gooey submission, that inner heat spreading as he gets close enough that his scent sparks some internal fire in me.

“Then your son will die too, and we lose our future leader. You cannot break the bond without severe consequences. The choice has been made. Fate has chosen for him and you must obey.” The Shaman comes back, undeterred by Juan’s anger, and stands as though to press the point. He’s low-toned and confident in his wisdom and does not seem intimidated in any way. “He can choose to sever the bond if he wishes, but history has shown us that mates who do ... both die! The only other option is denial to consummate. They choose to walk away; no mark is made, no union at all, and they deny the bond completely. It will never die, and they will live lives craving what the other can give them, no matter who they end up with. Is that what you want for your son?”

All eyes turn on Juan. So much tension in this room as the elders talk internally so that I cannot hear them. Colton paces and I can tell he is privy to what is being said. They are his pack, after all, and two are his blood. Father and Uncle. He doesn’t seem happy and the waves of his anger are all lapping over me and affecting my sanity. Dampening the heat, replacing it with his rage.

I can’t take it anymore. As the minutes tick by and my nerves fray to the point I feel like I may scream, an internal burst of nervous crazy whooshes out.

“I’ll leave. I don’t want this either.” I blurt it out into the deathly silence as hysteria gets the better of me and, literally, every single face turns to me in shocked response, like they suddenly remembered I was here in this corner.

I know I just spoke out of turn and disrespected everyone in this room, but I’m sat here wearing my own dried blood, shredded emotions and exhaustion pushing through. My head is a mess, and in the space of thirty minutes, I discovered that being a virgin doesn’t mean you cannot get crazy urges to strip naked and jump someone’s bones, even if you previously avoided that someone like the plague. I’ve pictured him naked at least twice, without even meaning to, since he gave me every one of his intimate memories, and some of those are him showering.

What?

“What?”

Both Colton in my head and his dad verbally, in unison, and I panic that I just spat this out loud.

“It was the plan, my intentions. I mean, after my ... the umm … tonight. My turning. I was leaving. Going away and it doesn’t have to change.” I sound insane. Babbling like a fool with verbal diarrhea and aware of the way all eyes are eating up my weak presentation of my crap contribution. I should have just run when I had the chance and screwed the running ceremony.

“That won’t break the bond. We’ll still be connected, still linked. It will just make us miserable. Don’t you see? What happened tonight changed everything, for both of us.” Colton sounds deflated and I get the visual of him and Carmen together kissing, right from his head to mine and have to shake it away as insane jealously claws at my insides from out of nowhere, proving his point. Irrational, illogical, but there it is, and he didn’t even mean to project his sad thoughts about her my way.

“Then what? Because all I am hearing is hopeless submission or death!” My anger snaps, and out of somewhere deep inside, my bravado increases and pushes me to my feet, voice strong and frustration seeping through. An inner surge of tingling electricity as my emotions flare up, and Colton looks at me very oddly. Suddenly stopping and staring insanely into my eyes while furrowing his brow dramatically, screwing up that cute face.

“They’re not amber.” He comes out with the most random reply and I blanch at him like he has two heads and no idea what he’s talking about.