Awakening (2 book series)
Awakening – Rejected Mate Chapter 46

"Juan has no right to force that of him, but Colton, he needs a shove. He needs to stop obeying everything he commands and fight for his right to choose his own mate. The law is on his side in this. Juan oversteps his boundaries all of the time and Colton is so used to toeing his line and obeying, that he doesn't even think he can question it." The anger simmers below her surface yet I feel it vibrating from her as it fuels my own.

"Juan is forcing him to mark Carmen before the next full moon, even though they're no longer even dating?" It's almost a sob as pain slices into my throat and threatens to choke me. Legs giving out and I stumble to the bed nearby to slump down heavily, stunned with the reality of this. "He didn't tell me." I heave in air as the tears start to wrack my body, and Meadow comes to perch beside me, running her hand down my hair in a bid to console me.

"I think Colton is hoping he can convince him of another way before that time comes. That your gift is enough to show him you're special." She soothes quietly.

"Juan will never accept me, even with a special power. Juan hates anything to do with my kind." I don't know where it comes from, but a world of pain floods my heart and twists my insides in such an excruciating way I think my heart stops beating. I can't bear to think about him marking her for all eternity. I don't know what that would do to our bond, or how much that would kill me, but all of a sudden, I can see what she is hinting at.

She thinks dressing up and looking good will turn his head more than it already is. Make him want me more, in hopes he will replace the will to stand up and claim what is rightfully his. Maybe push his l**t buttons enough to force his hand, to mark me in the heat of passion like he almost did that night in the study. When the hormones of imprinting were at their strongest.

Colton isn't like that though and I don't think flirting and sashaying around in skimpy clothes will alter his commitment to his honor and obedience. Especially not now the insane need and hunger has faded to manageable levels. It only stays that strong in the first days to ensure the mark is made.

That first kiss was hormone fueled, after the imprint being so new, it's calmer now. The feelings settling in and the raging lust giving way to a deeper connection. That's how it works. It's meant to make you finalize the bond with sex and marking, because you can't control the need for each other... and then it fades to love, and care, and taking care of one another, with a less intense need for sex. I can't make him lust crazy like that again and push him to defy his father with some makeup and a pair of booty shorts. He has way more control than most.

"We can't fight this. Colton has to be the one, and he is a little preoccupied with Vampire wars and changes to everything now." I point out dejectedly, sighing heavily with my own logic.

"Look, I'm going to level. I don't want that skanky Puta becoming a permanent fixture in my sub pack. I loathe her, and have done since Colton brought her in. If sexing you up gets Colton to replace his spine and maybe at least delay this somehow, we can replace a way to change Juan's mind together. We're his pack, and whether the boys agree with this or not, they got his back, and mine. Carmen was never one of us........ I saw what you could do in the hallway, and if that was an ounce of untrained, uncontrolled gift, then there's no telling how much power you have inside of you, Chica. I know about your eyes and that has to mean something. There are rumors about wolves from time gone by with special gifts and blood-filled eyes that we cannot ignore."

"I'm not special... I'm scared, and out of my depth." I admit honestly, taking comfort from her stroke skimming my hair repetitively. Meadow has a maternal quality and I think that's the feeling that's pulling me to her. She has the same spirit my mom had, the same fierce but gentle nature. She takes no crap and she has an aura that tells you she's loyal to a fault, bold with her opinions, yet a heart always at the core of her plans. It's been missing from my life for so long. Colton may be the boy to follow his father, but I know he's trying to replace a way to be with me, even after he rejected me. I have a hold over him that runs deep, that neither can fight. If I gave him more, gave him a reason to throw all in, then maybe he would replace it inside of him to defy him, and mark a mate on the full moon that isn't Carmen. Up until now I've let him be the one to keep pulling us together, maybe that's why he's able to resist. Maybe Meadow has a point.

I've been distant, mad at him, and combative. I haven't made any of this easy, and at times, I've pushed him away. Maybe she's right and not in the dress sexy way, but maybe I need to strengthen our bond and pull him to me. Apply the affection he shows me and give him a reason to fight for us. Encouragement.

All I have is how he feels about me, and I know that sex with your fated does something more when you finally come together. There's a second level of imprinting when you unify. I should aim for that, seduce him, even if I'm not sure he'll yield, and Meadow isn't sure either.

She doesn't see how hard he tries to keep his hands to himself and maybe with a push, I can prove us both wrong. Unify my mate, and solidify his mind set into marking me no matter what Juan says. I belong with him, and my future in this pack, these lands, all rely on getting this out of the way and having him finally unite us.

Juan can go to hell. I need to get Colton to man up. Once that's done his father can't do a damn thing about it and it can't be undone without killing us both. His hands will be tied and then we can focus on the impending war and all that comes with it. This needs to be done.

"Show me how to put these on." I pick up the scraps of lace and wipe my face with the back of my hand, pulling myself together with some kind of a plan. Be it a haphazard one. It's a step to stop hating on him and start encouraging him to replace his own spine, like Meadow said.

Your mate is meant to help you grow, and up until now, he's the only one doing anything like that. It's my turn to help Colton replace his own strengths.

"Now you're talking. Seduction, Chica, is a tried and tested weapon that no man is capable of denying for any length of time when it's from the woman he already loves. Ignore Carmen, her time has passed, and she broke his trust. She brought shame to our pack when she slept with TJ. Colton can never be bonded to her."

I inhale sharply, that name registering as I run through my memory bank and stop on a face to go with it. I know who he is, and I can see why Colton's remaining feelings for Carmen died a death. TJ is Colton's own first cousin, his direct blood, and was raised as a brother to him, literally. He's Juan's younger brother's son and at twenty-eight, he's an alpha to another sub pack. He's always had a subtle sibling rivalry to Colton, and I guess he saw an opportunity for the upper hand. That had to have stung and wounded Colton so deeply.

I now know why Colton never named and shamed and made their betrayal public. Juan would never allow him to bring a black mark to his own bloodline like that, and his insistence to still mark Carmen as Colton's mate is proof, he's trying to act like it didn't happen. He's denying our own laws to suit his own purpose. He would rather see his son bonded to someone who shamed his own pack than see him bonded to me. Screw you, Juan.

If learning to seduce Colton puts him in a place to defy him then I'm throwing myself in and not coming back out until it's done. That boy is mine and I have all kinds of pull to make him beat to the march of my drum, a strong loud thrum that will drown out Juan's tenfold. Bring it on Santo.