Rejected Mate and Following Fate - Awakening Book
Chapter 113: Unmarked

It feels like time stands still and I watch in disbelief as both Sierra and Radar try to regaincomposure, confusion etching the face of both and even I have no clue how this just happened.Sierra clutches the point above her left breast as though suddenly inflicted with pain and looksdown, gasping in surprise. Her hand sliding away to reveal where her mate mark from her unionwith Juan is, something that can never be removed. Yet, before my very eyes it begins to heal andfade away into nothingness as though it never was. The one mark in life that a wolf can never eraseor heal from and yet hers is washing away like dust on a smooth surface when hit with a gentlebreeze.

I gawp in surreal stillness, filtering into my head what this could possibly mean. Radar too fixes hisfocus on her mark as it disperses and the two of them seem to pause, stuck in a time freeze for afew seconds as all this slowly drips into reality. Expressions unreadable and the air suddenly seemsto tingle with an undefined energy.

"We?" Sierra is the first to disrupt the pause, her voice barely a whisper above the noise of the chaosaround us and Radar only nods. Hearing her loud and clear. His face pale from being wounded andyet the disbelief and wide-eyed shock can’t be missed. He's stunned, his head working at a millionmiles an hour trying to process if this is real. Even though we are in the center of a bloody hurricaneit feels like they are the only noise, and this is the only detail I'm zoned into. My brain trying toregister what this means.

“You imprinted...your mate mark is gone..... that means.” I stammer it out, voice wavering with asudden need to cry, emotion hitting hard.

“Juan isn't bonded to you anymore. Your life now belongs to Radar.” Leyanne’s voice comes frombehind me, and I jump in fright at the sudden intrusion of a welcome figure. Relief at her suddenappearance and yet my face falls when I see she isn't standing alone. Pushing between my guards,who easily give way to her, there is a large black cloaked figured standing behind, an intimidatingpresence that I can't miss. I guess wherever she was , it involved replaceing this ghoul.

My eyes are drawn to the solid, tall, figure; mysterious in their shroud of fabric which conceals allshape, a hood pulled up and over so not even a face is on show. An air of death lingering aroundthem and I shudder and pull my eyes back to Leyanne. Dismissing this detail and more interested inwhat just happened before my very eyes.

"How can this be...how could we?” Sierra breaks into my train of thought, stammering with a shaketo her voice, and I turn back to them. Just in time to see her reach out and trace Radar's features solovingly it makes my heart ache. The touch of true love, and his eyes are fixated on hers, but heholds himself in check knowing this isn't the time or place to maul his new mate. A sudden privatemoment between them, a flicker of nonverbal communication, and I look away, instantly shy andfeeling like they need a moment.

“Leyanne, where did you go? How can you be sure this has broken the bond?” I cut in, so manyquestions but most importantly, her whereabouts. Giving Sierra space and pulling the focus to otherthings.

“This means if Juan dies, then Sierra will be safe? The bond is dissolved? She's really mine?” Radar’sgravelly voice takes over and he pushes him self up onto his haunches before awkwardly movingtowards Sierra so he closes that last gap, taking her hand and tugging her. She's still half sitting, halflaid on her back from the sheer intensity of the imprint and he hauls her to him in a flash. Allinhibition gone now that they have just had the purest form of bonding known to our kind. Hisshyness evaporated in knowing she’s his now and he no longer has a reason to hold back. Hecradles her head against his neck in a flash pull against him, and despite all the craziness around us,I feel a sheer elation of joy. Seeing them wrap around one another as if it's as natural as breathing,something deep inside of me finally feels a sense of contentment for them. This is what I alwayshoped for her.

“I have it on good authority that imprinting with a wolf can only happen when the fates intend it tobe so. Anything previous, becomes null and void. Juan is your distant memory; the mate bond isbroken. I'm guessing your fated mate was always here in front of you and was biding their time tostep up. Your fates always like an out to tie up their loose ends it seems.” Leyanne takes on that airof smug she is so good at and yet the figure looming close can’t be ignored, even in this happymoment. It keeps drawing my focus, a familiarness about his presence pulling me to him.

"Oh my god” Sierra blurts out, tears hitting hard, and yet sense brings us all back to the seriousnessof where we are. We can't get swept up in this, even though it's a huge deal, while our world is stillcrumbling around us.

"Who is he?” I cut in like a knife, pointing sharply at the stranger, focus pulling back as that darkshadow moves closer to our inner circle of safety within my guards. I can’t ignore him if he insists oncoming nearer and all my defensive senses spike up.

“Don’t recognize your own brother?” Jasper's husky voice comes at me from under his fabric shieldand he slides it back slowly, revealing amber eyes glowing in his human form. That handsome face,those wide shoulders, and yet there's not a single hint of sibling adoration in his eyes.

“Jasper! Why are you here?” I blanche, torn between elation and yet sudden anxiety given our lastinteraction. His whole aura is different form before, and I know that he came here with the mindsetthat he had the last time we meet.

“Your father sent me to bring you to him. You paged him after all.” He pulls back the cloak enoughto reveal his tall and strong physique, draped in tailored black clothing, and air of superiority on himnow I see him like this. He doesn't scream wolf anymore, in his posture, his manner, or his fashionsense. He's spent too many years with the likes of Darrius, and it's rubbed off in all the wrong ways.He's as cold as one of them and that joy of replaceing me last time, has evaporated.

"He can stop this mess before I go to him. Call off his demons first!” I spring to my feet, suddenlyenraged that he thinks he can click his fingers to summon me, even though I was the one who putout the call. am not about to run off into his fold of demons with a brother I don't trust anymore.“The quicker you see him, the faster this battle will stop.” Jasper sneers at me, anger tinging hiswords at my refusal, and he clenches his jaw in agitation at my own disdain seeping through. I canfeel his anger simmering below the surface and I know just being here probably has stirred up amillion pains in his heart. Memories he doesn’t want to relive.

“You know he has no intention of stopping this don’t you? This is just a ploy to move me out of thebattle zone..... because I'm important to him!” I retort, not sure that it's true but just unwilling.“You're important to me too. You don't need to be here, among this. Come with me and see him, ina safe space. No one will touch you by my side.” Jasper steps to me and I move back in perfect sync,so our distance remains constant. His flash of furrowed brow showing his displeasure at my evasionand he grits his teeth that I'm being headstrong in this matter.

“Stop it now. Alora go with him, you're no use here and I give you my word, your father will bewaiting. The only way to end this is to replace a middle ground. You know what he wants.” Leyanne laysa hand on my shoulder as though to coax me but I shrug it away. She brought Jasper to me, so noway in hell is she on my side in this.

“I want my pack to be safe. I'm going nowhere until everything stops. If he wants to see me then hecalls his creatures of right now!!! NOW, JASPER!" I erupt at him; tears bite my eyes and desperationseeps out. I won't abandon them to swan off until I know nothing else will happen while I'm gone.There's a moment of silence as we stare at one another in a battle of wills. Tension sparkingbetween us and that good old Whytte stubbornness shines through. Leyanne drops behind me andmoves back to the still hugging pair of wolves who are lost in their own world right now. The matebond pulling them out of reality.

“Fine..... if he calls a temporary halt, then you come with me. I won't let anyone touch you.” Jasperrelents, exasperation evident as he tenses, yet it doesn't fill me with any sense of trust.

“He can come here. I'm not his dog. I have what he wants right here, the person responsible. He cancome if he wants to talk to the child he claims to care for. Otherwise, I'll happily fight to the endagainst him.” I shrug, showing my petty side, but I don't care.

“Why are you so stubborn and headstrong?” Jasper yells at me, a flash of his temper breakingthrough and very much like the brother who would lose his cool with me when I was being willful. Itonly riles me all the more.

“Same reason you are, you stupid asshole. Why the hell are you so dumb, so sure the only answer isdeath to the Santo pack? Why can't you see past the hatred in your heart and realize there's abetter way than this.” I snap at him, moving forward so we hit almost nose to nose, squaring up tohis taller height with a new fierce building inside of me.

“The only way to avenge our parents is to see this pack fall! What don’t you understand?”

“I'm this pack...so if they fall, then I do too. What is it that you don't understand huh? Your own goddamn mate will fall too, and if she does, you're dead jasper. The girl you rejected is still going to beyour downfall. All of us will perish here today....is that what you want?"

Jasper snorts and then chuckles in a weird out of place way. His whole manner becoming hostileand he shakes his head as though I'm a naive child and he's slightly amused.

“You think I planned on life after this? My last ten years have been building to the moment I canbring down those who took our family. Once that's done, I have no reason to keep breathing. If mydeath is hers, then so long to another Santo.”

“You're an idiot" I fly for him, slapping him in the left peck so hard it sings my hand, and thenpunching his shoulder hard. Letting out all the pain in my heart he’s causing me. “I'm your family!Carmen is your family.....this pack could be your family too, if you just let them. You have so muchmore than revenge to live for. Why can't you let it go and listen to me? We can fix this without thedeath of an entire pack.” My emotions break and instead of fury, I begin to sob in desperation. Sooverwhelmed that my brothers own hatred will be the one thing that can destroy him, us. There's nosolution if my brother won't let this go. I need him to be on my side, like he always sued to be.

“My family died on a battlefield and my sister..." he snorts again, a sadness taking over hisexpression and his eyes glaze over as the amber dims away “Isn't who she used to be. So in reality,you already died too. I have nothing left to fight for after this.” His words are softer, almost pitifuland even though I know it's said in anger, it wounds me to the core.

"Screw you. You're not the brother I remember and love either. You're a fool. Do you really thinkmum and dad would want this for us? Do you think they would make us sacrifice our all to even ascore on a pack who don't deserve it? Juan is the problem, and his loyal.....the rest of the wolves areas innocent as the Whyte pack was.... These wolves raised me in your absence, and they have paidfor their wrongs against me in the last year. They stand here ready to die for me.... how can youcondemn them for that?”

“They did nothing when it mattered!!!” Jasper erupts at me, all rage and fury directed as his eyesglow with fire and his teeth elongate from sheer emotion. His pain on show, and despite his sheeranger, tears fill his eyes and his mouth trembles. A tell that underneath, his heart is in chaos.

"How do you know what they did or didn't do? You weren't there.... Sierra sacrificed herself toprotect me or else I would be dead too. Santo wolves died alongside Whyte wolves when Juanmade the truth disappear about what happened to us. They have been manipulated and oppressedby him for a decade and yet here they stand, willing to die in a war that isn't theirs, protecting me,their luna, while he hides among them like a coward and uses them as pawns.”

"Enough! I canny listen to another minute of this. You two are clearly siblings with that same thickskull and ability to open your mouth to let nonsense spew out.” Leyanne shoves my brother backaway from me, bringing herself to the side of us so she snaps all focus to her. Agitated with oursquabbling. “Alora’s right. This is about Juan, not the Santo's. Tell your master to cease fire and hisdaughter will freely see him. After all, this is what this is all about, right? You know it's the right wayto do things, you're not stupid.” Leyanne brushes down the side of Jaspers cloak in a weirdlymaternal way and pats him on the shoulder. Somehow soothing his fire without doing too muchand I can't miss the slight hue of yellow mist where her touch hits him. He seems to deflate a little,some of that fierce dying at her words and he shakes his head and looks away. I wonder what kindof magic she has that can diffuse someone like Jasper with only a touch.

“Fine. I'll link Darrius and have him call a truce for now. Your wolves better not try anything... Varrowon't be lenient if you piss him off.” Jasper’s unfriendliness shines through, only less venomous, andit breaks my heart a little inside. He no longer considers himself a wolf, he’s just one of them nowand his loyalty is with Varro. Leyanne may have cooled his jets but his will remains unbudged.

“I'm staying right here; he can come to me.” I reinforce my stance, my words biting with my ownstubbornness. I refuse to back down and chase after this man who thinks I owe him anything justbecause we share DNA. He came to ruin my people; I won't run along after him.

"Whatever. Just call back your dogs and have them sit and stay like good little mutts.” Jasper turnson his heel, his cloak almost slapping me across the legs with the speed he marches away, andwithin seconds I realize the humdrum of cries and noise around me seem to drop off to an almosteerie silence. It's sudden, like the jump from light to dark with the flick of a switch.

I look around in the darkness, lit only by the full moon and adding to the spookiness, and seecreatures pulling back. Slinking out of the shadows, peeling away in fluid motion back to where theycame from, and some diving upwards into the air with huge bat like wings. The sky full of giantcreatures scurrying away to god knows where.

"We can't link how do we call our own off?” Sierra's voice brings me back to reality, my brain gettingthat snap back and I turn and shake my head, a new problem rising, and I have no answer. Theweapon is still disabling some of our gifts and standing here, even I feel weaker while exposed.Carmen still hasn't managed to do anything about it.

“Word of mouth.... we are still wolves after all.” Radar jumps to his feet, suddenly renewed withenergy and strength, as he shifts in the blink of an eyes, throwing back his huge furry head and let'sout a long blood curling howl. Loud and proud, the depth of his howl vibrates around us andspreads through the air. An echoing call and message to our kin, one they will understand, andwithin seconds distance howls join as they pass the message along the ranks to wherever my matemust be.

Stand down, wait for orders. Stop fighting.

It's as clear as day and almost like magic, everything around me starts to separate as vampires andLychan push away from one another and stumble backwards to tend to their own wounds. Fromharsh screams, tearing, and gnashing of teeth, comes the weird and sudden pause that let's thenoise of the rustling trees sound louder than I have ever heard them. From chaos to calm, formblood lust to stillness.

The quiet of a battlefield in a temporary lull and yet I only feel fear intensify and nausea rises thatthis is far from over and only the calm before the typhoon rips though. Everything relies on me nowand whatever I say to convince Varro that the only death needs to be Juan's.