Rejected Mate and Following Fate - Awakening Book
Chapter 74: She Ran

Curled in Colton’s arms in bed, my head laid on his chest as I listen to that steady rhythm of hisheartbeat, I doze in and out of peaceful and contented slumber. Something keeps waking me whenI start to fall deeply, and I can't seem to put my finger on it. Like a dream or a feeling that's just outof sight and seems to jump in to haul me back whenever my consciousness drifts away. An uneaseor a threatening nightmare maybe, it's definitely a sense of unease and try as I might, I can't seemto fall into blissful darkness for any length of time. It's almost dawn and I have barely dozed formore than twenty-minute slots at a time. I'm frustrated and exhausted, yet I can't seem to rest.Colton however is completely out cold, wrapped up around me protectively, his face buried in myhair as he silently inhales and exhales so peacefully that it at least brings me a sense of calm. In hispreferred position of full-frontal body wedged against my side as I lay on my back, held in his armsand using his bent lower one as a pillow. He seems oblivious to my restlessness and with thatflawless smooth expression showing a vulnerable snoozer it at least soothes me a little.My inner anxiety is swirling, and that strong sense of foreboding is slowly chipping away at mymental state. I just can't figure out why or what it is. The night is quiet, the patrols have reportednothing untoward and the air is just right in temperature for once. It should be a comfortableslumber. I screw my eyes shut tight, knowing that soon the sun will rise, and Colton will get up andthe rousing noises of the village will take away this sense of being alone. I will just lay here andhope to catch a few more slots of shut eye before that happens and leaves me shattered all day.Colton’s a way early riser and always likes to patrol the grounds with the changeover of sentinels atfirst sun, to check, to be sure nothing happened in the night. He seems to survive on bare minimalsleep and yet me, I can never rise before seven nowadays. In fact, even nine is becoming hard. Myability to be as up and on form like he is daily has been dwindling of late and I often wonder if I amgetting spoiled and lazy. I want to sleep and curl up in bed way past his leaving me alone and thefirst thing I want to do is eat with Sierra when I do. It's rare for Colton to stay in bed for any lengthof time, but he does come back before I wake and usually seduces me into some morning timeaffection before we stroll for food.A light catches my attention through my closed lids, glowing insanely close and blue in color and Iflicker my eyes open knowing instantly what it is. Colton’s hand resting gently on my neck isilluminated in the telltale glow of his gift and I squint at his face to see if there's any hints ofdistress. My heartbeat upping that he may be having a vision or another of those horrifying dreamshe mentioned at breakfast. I reach out to touch his face and hesitate as the glow intensifies to analmost blinding light and I have to screw my eyes closed with the sudden prick of searing pain at itssheer intensity.He dreams of things sometimes and this is usually the signal if I am awake when he's not. His handswarm my skin as it travels up his wrists and makes his forearms gently glow too before fading outbefore it reaches his upper arm. His hands enveloped in an azure bright orb that lights the wholeroom, yet he’s still motionless and I wonder if this really is the dream he says he keeps having. Heseems calm and motionless, expression still and youthful and not at all like he's having a nightmare.I know how much it distresses him if it is and I don't want it to progress, so I gently touch his facewith my fingertips, across his cheek softly to rouse him from the deepest part of sleep."Colton..... wake up.” Whispering, I try and stir him out of his state of vision, but he only opens hiseyes impulsively, blinding blue glow like neon tube lights making me squint and stares blanklythrough me. His body responding to me, but his mind fully submerged in wherever he is. He is mostdefinitely not awake, and his focus is on nothing out here with me. No depth, only blank and rigidand disconnected from reality.He still hasn't decided if this gift is a curse or something positive as he’s yet to replace the use beyonddisturbing dreams. He likes the fact he's learning to heal ailments and wounds with a touch and it initself has great advantages, especially to the children who come to the med bay with scrapes andbumps. He healed a broken wrist in a three-year-old a few days ago so he’s definitely gettingstronger in his ability to do it. Yet the dreams, the visions, he abhors the vagueness and the sporadicnature of them.He's motionless as I lay, surrounded by eerie light which casts shadows in the furniture around us,lighting up only parts of the room and the rest falls into odd shadow. It feels like a surreal fairyroom and a little ethereal, reminding me of my memories of Sierra when she came to me as a child.If I wasn't lying next to him them it would be kind of freaky and most certainly unnerving.Colton gives me a heart attack by gasping out loudly as though suddenly taking a breath, graspingmy face with an impulsive jump reaction and I flinch with a small yelp; so not ready for any kind pfphysical response. My stomach lurches up into my chest and my heart misses a beat as I hit a coldsweat with the sudden fright he gave me. His eyes widen as the glow intensifies and then he blinks,seemingly coming to and brown eyes are restored almost instantly as he registers the fact I am wideeyed staring at him like a scared little rabbit.He blinks again, subtly shakes his head as though to clear a dream fog away, seems to fully wakeup, rubs his face, and takes a second to realize I am still staring at him in the now darkness again, ashis nocturnal vision kicks in. A frown coming over him and a second of pause while he inhales."We need to get up!” he commands, darting upwards and giving me no clue as to why, or a secondto pull my swirling emotions back to calm. His whole mood sends me into anxiety overload, as heshoots immediately into panicked concern and out of bed in a flash, grabbing the nearest clotheshe has and throws them on, turning to me hurriedly. His rushed ambience, the deathly fear seepingmy way, all pull my senses to high alert and my own heart starts racing.“Baby, up, move ... Now! It's Tawna!” Colton doesn't wait for me, he turns as soon as he's dressedand takes off at hyper speed and I don't hesitate to do the same, grabbing a robe to cover my sheernightdress and throw it on as I follow him at speed. Nerves strung out, head dazed with confusionbut I know him well enough to not argue. He saw something and he’s acting on it and I shouldfollow because he told me to.He's already down and outside and among the outer ground patrol, issuing orders to wake thereserve patrols immediately. His tone is harsh, his voice low and husky from residue sleep andsomething else; an underlying edge that sounds like he's almost in freak out mode. A sense ofurgency in the air as he rallies every one of our strongest and I catch his arm as he paces past me todirect more wolves coming in from the west tree line at his command."What's going on?” Colton’s scaring me with the intensity of his panic, and he screws his eyes shutfor a moment, turning silent and then blinks them open at me. I see the sheer devastation in thedepths, and it makes me catch my breath as cold sweeps through my body. A shiver that somethingreally bad is happening as my eyes mist over of their own accord and I'm instantly sick with gurglingworry.“Carmen's on her way down... her mom isn't where she should be. I dreamt....... I saw her. She ran.Out there...” Colton turns and points into the densest part of the forest, the direction that most ofour vamp attacks come from, the path to imminent danger for a loan wolf in the dark. His face fallssomber, paling out as the last of his color seems to drain away and I gasp as what he says sinks in."Oh my god, it's still dark, she doesn't know about the boundary or the fact they lurk out therewaiting for us. Colton what is she doing?” My own tone reaches high pitch hysteria as my stomachclenches in fear. I gaze out into the darkness and scrunch my eyes closed tight in a bid to exert myLuna link. Instinct taking over to shield one of my pack in anyway I can.Tawna, if you can hear me, then come back, come home to your pack. It's not safe out there.I home in on Tawna’s image in the hopes it reaches her mind link but it's not something I do oftenas Colton is so much better at pack linking. Colton stares at me for a second, obviously he heardme, as my mate he can sometimes tap into my mind links involuntarily when we're this close incontact.Tawna, I command you to turn around and head back to the homestead and safety. Right now.Colton alpha tones her, cutting into my head and taking over himself, sending out the link and Icross my fingers in hopes that she hears this. No wolf can deny or resist the alpha tone. It's thewhole point. To command unruly or defiant in your pack against their will so you can regain orderand control. She can't disobey him if she hears him.“Do you think it will work? What if she closed her link off so nothing gets in?” my questions arequieted by the shrill voice that comes at us from the open homestead door. A familiar haughty toneonly it's pitched in terror and higher than normal and I flinch at his appearance.“Where is she?..... I couldn't replace her.... She's not in her room, or in the house. Colton why did youtell me to come down here?... Do you know where she is?” Carmen is already in a state of hysteria,tears streaming down her face, not seeming to care who sees them and we are blinded by thesudden illumination of the whole front sweeping drive and tree line as guards switch on ourfloodlighting. The patrols are streaming in from the village, the homestead, and every nook andcranny around as they gather together as a thrown together chaotic search party.I move to Carmen at the door in a flash, instinctively going to her, and pull her into my arms, wipingher face and shooshing her as I cradle her in a hug. She doesn't fight me, her body is trembling, herattention fully on the void of her mother's presence and she let's me hold her up without any kind fresistance. Her body is cold, her posture is weak, and her eyes are fixed on Colton as thoughbegging him for answers that she knows he doesn't have."We're going to replace her.... Try and be calm. Let us get out there and look. She can't have gotten far.”I soothe with a gentle tone holding her as best I can even though she doesn't hug me back. Carmensags in my hold and seems to crumble completely, turning to a whimper as the tears fall freely.“I knew.... deep down, I knew she would try this.”Assembled are all of our strongest males, and a few femmes, the sub pack too as they come in fromthe forest where they had been out walking the perimeter before dawn."We didn't see her leave, are you sure, Cole?” Meadow interrupts as she strolls into the center of thegroup and stands by Colton'’s side. Straight to command mode and all emotion pushed aside whenshe has a task. Colton nods and taps his head as if to tell her he had a vision and Meadows facepales out much the same way his did. I can tell he’s linking her with details and her expression saysit all."Okay, I'll take three of our sub packs and spread on the left and backside of the stead, you take therest and spread right and front. Even if you know which direction she took, she might haveveered..... or...” She doesn't add “has been chased’ to the end, glancing at Carmen warily and thenlooking away fast as she waves her hand at the nearest wolves. They jump to attention and silentlyrally to whatever command her hand gesture gave.Colton pats Meadow on the back as if in agreement and then turns and links the several packs he'schoosing for his own search party via the open pack link, so we all hear him. This is urgent and he’swasting no time and no number of bodies. He's rallying all who are capable, and I know it's becausehe fears time is of the essence. They split almost instantly as half the crowd moves with Meds andthe rest with Colton and they all fan out and head into the woods at hyper speed.“Come on. Let's stick with Colton and we'll help. More eyes.” I brush Carmen's hair back and releaseher from my hold, instead taking her hand and pull her with me out into the clearing. She lets meguide her like a vulnerable child needing guidance, and for a moment I wonder if this is the samegirl from earlier, the same Carmen who doesn’t show weakness. I shove it out of my head, focus onbeing her rock and speed to catch up with ColtonAs I have no shoes on I have to turn my feet to wolf to save myself from injury and ignore the factI'm out here in a silk dress and a short towel robe, while everyone else is fully dressed. It doesn'treally matter I guess, given any hint of danger I'll shred these with a turn so it's probably a blessing Ididn't get dressed. We lose too many clothes that way.We catch up with Colton just inside the permitter of the frequency border and he halts, sensing usbehind him and turns to me. His eyes amber glowing, his claws already engaged in case we hittrouble. He looks wild, poised to fight, and yet I still can't shake seeing that deep fear in the depthsof his beautiful eyes under furrowed brows and stress lines etched on his face. He thinks we're notgoing to get to her in time and I can feel it in his emotions."Stay right with me. No more than four feet away, okay? No matter what. We're fanning out six feetapart and walking a wave around the whole stead... We'll replace her, we have to... Sun isn't up for anhour yet, it's not safe here.” Colton beckons us with hushed tones and turns to lead the way as wejoin the search. His head fully engaged in the task and taking control like the Alpha I love. I seem tobe the only one who recognizes he’s not as confident and assured as he seems, that his aura isbleeding, and he’s genuinely is afraid of what we might replace out here.Even at speed, the pack moving as one swift line, checking every fallen log, cave, nook and cranny,and heading further into the deep dark forest, we still see no sign of her, and I start to wonder ifshe’s really out here. Glancing from wolves in the trees around us, to the back of Colton’s strongbody as we push on beyond our safety net of the frequency and shudder as another wave ofrevulsion overtakes me.This is the third time since walking beyond the line, that a deep well of nausea and cringe consumesme wholly, and this time I gasp inwardly as I am sucker punched low down at a strange smell thatmakes me giddy with memories. The almost stinging, astringent whiff of something awful yetoutwith my grasp of memory as a familiar thing. My eyes water with the intensity of it's odor and Ihave to pull myself stiff to stop my body from crumbling as I stagger over a fallen log. It's like thesmell alone has hit some deep unwanted thought and made my body react like I'm in trauma. I feelweak instantly, my limbs loosening as dizziness moves in and I become aware that I have let go ofCarmen fully.Colton? .... I blanche and mind link via our mate bond only, the fear rippling over my spine as Ifigure out what the strong metallic and awful smell is that's engorging my senses and leaving mehyper aware as one sickly vision clouds my sight. A dark terrifying night when I was clinging ontolife by a thread and all the people, everyone I had known, were ripped to shreds around me. Ialmost vomit with the return of that scene in my mind's eye, my body shuddering in revulsion andpain as my broken heart rips at old scars and tears well up in my eyes.Wolf blood smells different to most other things in nature, and dead wolf is the most unique of all.It's like the second our life essence drains it leaves the red fluid rancid and potent so no animals willcome and try to feast on remains. It's the smell of death, of repulsion and awful things, from thenight of the courtyard when vampires almost killed me.I smell it. Stay here. Keep Carmen back. Colton doesn't turn to look at me but acts like nothing iswrong and wades further forward increasing his speed, so he flips out of sight in a blink. I pause,grabbing at her arm and replaceing her palm with my own to bring us back together to lasso her tome. I yank her back to my side a little aggressively in a bid to shield her form what she’s about toreplace.“Colton told us to stay.” I fix my gaze on her, tone commanding so she knows not to argue, aware ofthe movement around us and my body bristling with tension as I keep searching for hints of vampsin the forest. My senses are tuned in but I feel nothing of close presence, which is weird for them.Given what smell lingers around us, I can't understand why there's no lingering scent of our enemywith it.We're really far from the stead, out in the densest area before it starts going uphill towards themountain and yet not a single vampire has stuck around. They obviously did this to her recently, sowhy are they not still here?“Nol... He would only tell us to .... What's that smell?” Carmen breaks into my thoughts with herreturn of bitchy tone, she’s emotionally all over the place and seems to be back in abrasive, don'ttouch me mode. Her fear and angst intermingled, hysteria curbing the horizon and it's obvious she’snever smelled dead wolf before. It's not common I guess, given our ability to stay alive, and few whonever went to battle have smelled it. Once you do though, you never forget.Carmen starts tugging at my hand impatiently to get free, sensing something off with his suddendeparture, as Colton disappears from view completely into the thicket with surrounding sentinels. Inote that several wolves along our line have halted too, to guard us, staying close enough to fill thegaps that have been left by Colton taking pack with him.Colton leaving us safe. Always thinking of protecting his mate even if he knows I have abilities toprotect myself.“He knows something, he’s found something, hasn't he? ...” Carmen spins on me, her eyes redrimmed with tears, her appearance haggard, yet her tone is fierce and daunting, and her eyes areglowing bright orange. Without warning she yanks her hand hard out of mine and takes off in theblink of an eye in the direction Colton went before I can react. Instinctively I lift my hands and tryand grasp her with my power, to stop her leaving me, but she dodges between trees and instead Imanage to yank the tree backwards with a little too much force so it's almost uprooted.“Shit!” I curse out into the eerie quiet and throw my hair back as decision overtakes me. I take offafter herColton, carmen got free, she’s heading to you. I link him in warning and curse under my breath as Ispeed to catch up, panic overtaking me. Not only for her, but what I might see. I have never shakenthe memory of that night from my memory bank and despite being on the battlefield and killingvamps these past months, I'm not exactly okay with death and bloodshed.I follow the scent of my mate and run smack bang into the back of Carmen's halted form onlytwenty yards into the bush and have to sidestep her at the very last second to avoid hitting her fullpelt to see why she’s stopped. The sight brings me to a frozen halt and my brain blanks out as myeyes widen in silent horror.Colton is kneeling by what looks like the ripped up remains of an animal, the ground drenched indark red, thick fluid, and pieces of unidentifiable gristle, meat and bones are shredded across a tenfoot area like someone blew up a cow. The smell is at an all-time high here and the scraps of fabricand hair among the debris, caught up on bushes and leaves send my stomach into an instantupchuck motion. I have to swallow down hard to curb the urge to vomit as realization hits me hardin the chest and I struggle to breathe. Colton turns, catching sight of us and jumps to his feet beforeCarmen reacts. It all happens so fast, only second of time but to me it feels like endless minutes.It takes Carmen a second to release the torn up animal is wearing shreds of her mother’s dress andshe erupts in an almighty scream that shakes the trees and drops every wolf around us to theirknees. Even me, as blinding pain assaults my every sense and nerve and I crumble under the sheerpower of a high-pitched, blazing, searing agony, shooting through my head and limbs. Covering ourears as Carmen assaults us with her powerful ability and her sheer heartbreak makes it more potentthan I knew she was capable of. I cover my head, shuddering in terror that my brain may self-implode and sag with relief when Colton’s sharp alpha tone hushes her assault."Carmen, stop screaming!” he commands harshly, and the instant relief leaves my ears ringing, mybrain stuttering, and my body shivering as though I have been electrocuted with high voltage righton the temples. Carmen moves fast, heading straight for the devastation, screaming out “Mom’ asshe runs at the mess around the ground before him. Her hysteria breaking loose and she’s nolonger that mask wearing girl, but a blubbing mess of despair.Colton counteracts her fast. Dashing in front of her and catching her, hauling her backwards with afew strides to keep her away from the worst of what I can see. He pulls her to him fluidly, cradlingher in his arms to keep her tight and pushes her face into his chest so she can't see the devastationof what's eft of her mother. What those creatures did to her.“Mom... MOM! ... MOM!!!” Carmen breaks completely, wailing, sobbing, screeching with a brokenvoice which turns to howls as both her human and wolf battle for dominance in their anguish.Fighting him, wriggling wildly to break free and go to her, even though there's nothing their to holdanymore. It's the most distressing thing I have ever witnessed as I watch her fall apart in my mate'sarmsHe struggles to keep her, gripping her in a way that should make me jealous because of howintimately he’s trying to control her, but it doesn't. My own overwhelming sadness and despairrationalizes why he has to and why it's the only thing he can do in this moment. My Luna heartkicking in to bleed for the loss of one of our own, and the deep sympathy for the heartbreak ofanother.Despite his strength, he's struggling to keep her tied to him and has to force her down to her kneeswith him so he can gain better control of holding her in a hug. He locks eyes on me, his own shiningwith unshed tears that literally rips my heart to shreds and I cough as I choke with sudden sobs thatescape of their own accord. Wracked with heartbreak of my own.I know he feels like somehow, he did this, it's his fault, that he failed as Alpha to protect Tawna, but Ican only shake my head at him as my own warm tears roll chaotically over my cold cheeks and theair around us falls deathly still. I only feel an ounce of the pain I know Carmen is spewing out in theair around me and it's enough to almost suffocate me. It's unbearable and I can only stand here andstare at them, frozen still where I stand and unable to move because I don't know what else to do.Carmen claws at Colton’s chest and arms weakly, to let her free, without any real fight anymore, andends up crumbling in his arms hopelessly as her body gives up. Finally, on her knees as Colton sinksover her, from restraint to cuddling as her body slumps into a disheveled heap and seems to slidethrough his hold like water as her limbs dissolve. Refusing to relent and let her go and leave her inthe heap on the forest floor where she comes to be quieter and broken. He moves over herprotectively, holding her shoulders and upper body as her face lands in his lap and she curls into atiny ball like a small child would after a traumatic nightmare."Why?.... Why would she.......? She left me..." Her broken tiny whimpers barely graze the air, but Ihear them, and they cut me like a knife to the heart and stomach. I cover my face to wipe away theonslaught of wet waves overtaking my skin and blink at the pitiful sight of her, avoiding lookingbeyond at the carnage and pushing the scent out of my nostrils. Wolves around us move in andlower their heads as many begin to shed tears for their fallen kin, and the air is filled with a sadnessthat destroys what's left of my sanity. A low howl begins nearby and extends to join a mournfulchorus that echoes in the air around us, spreading far beyond into the forest and back towards thestead as the wolves let out their own sorrow at being too late. The sound is enough to make mecrumble to my own knees and cry painfully, hugging my own body with my arms.“Carmen, I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry.” Colton tries to hush her, his voice breaking as his own tears fallfreely and drop over her lowered head like gentle raindrops. He's stroking her hair and squeezingher tight as I stare in numb disbelief at what we failed to stop from happening, carrying the heavyweight of guilt in my heart that my mate is already bearing.I don't know how to fix this.

oo