Awakening: Book 1

by L. T. Marshall

  “Why don’t we make it fun? If he can take you, his pack gets to leave. If he can’t, well…. we kill them.” Colton turns to me with a dark expression, a wry smile, his words making the blood in my veins runs cold, but his mind link kicks in immediately.

  I won’t ever let anyone hurt you, it’s obvious he’ll not take that offer, so relax. He’s about ready to run. I’m not really going to kill anyone…. Just messing with him, baby. Because it’s fun.

  Colton is doing what a mate is meant to do. Teach, guide, instill confidence in his femme, and I can feel him nudging me on to take back my power from Deacon and it ignites a fire in me that pulses through my bones, and muscles, and nerve endings, and I can almost taste that thin veil coming at me without trying. Maybe it’s the inner rage I felt from the second this asshole pulled up, or maybe it’s having Colton by my side coaxing me, encouraging softly, being what I need, yet my knowing it can never be that churns me up and empowers me insanely.

  “I’m not in the mood for shredding my clothes so how about…. if he can get to his truck before I get to him, I forget all about it. He can go, and we’re done.” I raise a brow, sarcasm oozing from every pore and Colton smiles fully, looking to our prey. He knows I’m going to make Deacon run back to his truck like a coward and humiliate him in front of everyone without even attempting to follow. I start to understand why his subs like teasing and tormenting, it really gives me a power kick.

  “I’m not against you shooting him in the back, baby. An eye for an eye.” He leans in and kisses me on the temple, lingering a moment as Deacon continues glancing from him to me, and back again. Deacon pales out visibly and starts to stammer and stutter. Raising his hands and looks about poised to go running away, tripping over his own feet and falling epically to his knees in front of everyone. Colton breaks into a laugh and completely ruins it. That proper hearty break of mood, as he lets out that youthful, entertained, sweet melody of husky beauty.

  “I’m sorry I can’t… it’s too funny. Fuck off, Deacon, none of you are welcome back here. This is where my mom and my femme stay, and if we see you here again, I’ll happily rip your throat out. Take that as a friendly warning and tell my father whatever the fuck you want. Just leave!” Colton doesn’t waste time for an answer, but slides his arm from me and turns, instead pushing his hand into mine to get me to follow him back to the manor and leave this idiot to get chased out by the subs. Colton is doing what I asked, and making sure the vulnerable are not exposed to gruesome violence. He’s leaving before he does something stupid to these idiots.

  I’m slower to turn, catching Deacons eyes ignite from the corner of my eye and his left hand claws up with sharp knife like talons as he lets that one part of him turn, before he lurches to his feet, extending his hand and aims right for the back of Colton’s skull. With enough force, right at a wolf’s skull, it’s a death stroke, and I impulsively yell out.

  I throw my hand out to somehow stop him, forward aiming right for that son of a bitch in impulsive reaction, with my palm stretched towards him. To shield my love, to save him from harm. Pure instinct taking over with the way my heart leaps into my mouth and my whole body pauses in shock and disbelief, my veins running cold.

  I need to protect my fated mate against all costs, and I don’t think, or hesitate. My own instincts come in to play. Colton is my soul mate and half of me, and I won’t let that piece of shit Deacon take a stab at the back and end him in such a cowardly way.

  Much like watching a wet baseball being thrown hard, losing its water content as it hurls at speed, spewing traces in the air behind the spinning whizzing thing, I somehow send something that looks much like a transparent orb at him, from my splayed hand. It travels fast, straight, and true, slowing down time and space so I see it happening with almost timeless ease ,and get him right in the chest, with so much force it makes an echoing thud that reverberates around the clearing. It has a similar effect to that of the bear, only with less velocity and rage behind it, more shock, more focus of a smaller area, reaction more than anything. Deacon goes from jumping towards Colton with intent, to rammed harshly in the chest by my ‘orb’ and thrown the few feet behind him into the side of the vehicle, with such force he body slams it to a shuddering halt and dents it like I just canon balled it with a steel boulder.

  He completely stops dead, groaning in pain, the air silencing crazily around us as he slides down the side of the truck clumsily, winded, gasping for air, and in utter shock as his own pack cower around, watching this show of force. The air sizzles around us as everyone who just witnessed it, stares in utter disbelief. Shocked.

  “Well that’s a gift.” Meadow’s voice floats my way, breaking the silence, and the tension, as I inhale and look around to see most eyes are on me. It’s only now I realize she’s only seven feet away to my left, as she must have leaped to come to the defense of Colton too, and her eyes are glowing amber, ready to take down that son of a bitch had he in fact struck her alpha.

  Deacons pack waste no time in running, dragging Deacon with them, back into the two trucks and speedily getting off the ground. Soon as they do, the trucks rev into life and back out at speed, gravel spraying all around us in dramatic fashion at their fast and furious exit while Colton turns to me and catches me off guard.

  He picks me up in a wave of over enthusiasm, hauling me up in a sweep of weightlessness, grinning at me proudly, and hoists my legs around my waist as he does so, pulling me down and kissing me right on the lips as he yanks my body into his. I have no time to react, pulled in, held tight as his warm lips press to mine and take my breath away completely. I hate that his kiss is still familiar, ignites feelings inside, inviting, like finding the way home, and I have to stop myself from leaning in and letting him continue.

  “That’s my girl. Warrior queen protecting her man. Thank you, baby.” He moves his face back so we’re no longer close enough to do it again, causing a little wave of disappointment within me that I chastise myself for, my cheeks flushing with heat and embarrassment that he kissed me in front of everyone. So breathless from his unexpected attention and aware every wolf out here is looking at us. I shouldn’t untangle and get him to put me down while his pack watch us, it’ll make it uncomfortable for him. It’s crazy disrespectful to humiliate the alpha and instead I slide my hands around his neck to steady myself in this pretty weird position I find myself in, aware this is inappropriate for a marked wolf, but yet allow him to carry my like this. Aware I still don’t see any sign of Carmen, and I’m sure I would have heard her if she saw this. No way she wouldn’t be screeching me to deafness if she’s around. His hands now under my ass to keep me lifted as he turns me around to the approaching sub pack, like this is perfectly natural for him to carry me this way. They swarm in around us.

  “What was that exactly?” It’s Cesar who comes out first as Colton bounces me a little and smiles boyishly. He’s overcome with a weird joyful energy, and a strong sense of pride that’s almost suffocating me as his emotions drown out mine.

  “That was Lorey and part of what she is capable of doing…. Telekinesis possibly. I think she might be an empath too. Jesus, that was impressive as fuck.” He spins me and I get a little jiggle before he slides me down to the ground on my own feet, and tugged in against him, lassoed by that arm once more and held lazily. I don’t know how to feel about what I did, as everything rushed me at once and it was impulsive. The reaction, seeing what I managed to do again, and then this. I have to stop for a moment and let my brain catch up to his words.

  “What?” I turn to him and gawp, eyes widening at him. So many questions about where he just pulled that from, and I have no idea what to think.

  “The Shaman knows a lot about this shit and…. it’s common in vampires apparently. Absorption is her wolf… this, it’s the other half. Alora is a hybrid of the two. And I am too, only, my mom’s a witch.” Colton’s voice drops as he says it and I swear, the entire area drops deathly silent, unbearably so, as the entire sub pack, a
nd those beyond, who heard him, blanche, and stare at us with open mouths of disbelief. He just outed us for the entire pack to hear and those who didn’t will know soon enough as gossip spreads through the link. Colton clearly doesn’t want secrets the way his father did for years.

  “Like us?” Remi finally butts in, breaking the tension and I stand stock still, my heart beating through my chest at the fact he’s going to tell them everything, now, and I was so not prepared for this. My body turns icy cold as fear overtakes me, my lungs almost shrivel up, and I sag a little, to cower in his arms as they all move in on us, a sea of faces, endless questioning looks. Colton seems completely serious in the moment and I can feel his own hesitation in what he’s doing. That ingrained fear his own family bonded pack will reject us and send us into exile, or worse. A pack has a right to kill intruders, or any they deem a threat, and I guess I’m definitely in that category.

  “Kind of…. I think you all need to let me bond project so you can see what Alora and I know.” Colton looks around them and I inhale quickly. Waiting, poised, but none of the sub pack seem to have any kind of dramatic reaction. There’s confusion, a couple of questioning glances between them, but overall, they just nod. I didn’t know packs could project to one another in a group, but I guess it makes sense. If you made a chain and passed memory to memory. I just thought it was something only imprinted or mated could do.

  Meadow turns and stares out at the wolves in the clearing, I can tell she’s linking. Within seconds they all turn tail and head back to wherever they came from, clearing the area and giving us space and quiet. They heard, and I don’t doubt they will be given answers after the sub pack get them. Our secrets, who we are, Juan’s whole lie in life, is about to become public knowledge and I couldn’t be any more terrified. No more secrets within this pack, no more hiding what I am. What we are.

  Meadow steps up first and lifts Colton’s hand to her temple, adding mine to the other side of her face and smiles encouragingly, so much faith and love in that one little nod.

  “We’re your pack, show us the truth. It won’t change a thing about what we are to you.”

  Remember

  Sitting in a study with a large double bed in the corner that looks completely out of place in an alcove, as though it’s a new addition, with the sub pack in eerie quiet tension as they all absorb everything we showed them outside. Sat in minorly dazed moods as we all digest the truth of combined memories.

  It’s a small room with a bay window, a large couch and armchair nestled in front of a rustic fireplace cozily. A large handmade desk sits off to the side, just in the nook of the window space, facing in with a worn chair tucked behind. There’s an entire wall lined with dark stained bookcases, crammed full of old leather-bound journals of varying shades of tan, brown, and black, with no titles on display and I wonder what exactly is contained within the aged pages for them to bear no mark. There are oddities, and bottles, of all kinds nestled among them, and facing that wall are three large closed cupboards in matching deep wood that narrow the space considerably. There isn’t much floor to move around yet it has a snug quality rather than crowded.

  The décor of dark autumn hues, golds, oranges, russet, browns, and rich in color, which only makes the room close in on us more so. Especially with the heavy drapes at the window in dark red velvet, blocking out what should be light, but it’s almost the middle of the night already, so there’s a wall of black in the windowpane. The lamps are dim, almost candle flickering in intensity, dotted sporadically around small side tables and shelves, and add to an eerie atmosphere as the pack all sit around nestled together. Some on them are perched on the arms of chairs, lounging, while Colton stands by the fireplace, and I’m laid down on the bed out of the way to finally get some rest. The bed’s modern, I can tell by the comfiness and the new crisp bedding that this was put in here recently.

  My body is weary and heavy, and it feels good to finally know what a comfy safe bed feels like again. It’s been so long since I was in a room by choice, surrounded by people I care about in a safe space, and I can spread out and not have to be on high alert at all. Weeks of living with tension, and heightened senses, all coming to an end, and I realize how incredibly exhausted I am. It feels beyond amazing to not have one eye behind me, and one eye on my surroundings, worrying about my next meal, or where to set up a good camp.

  Colton moved us in here once they’d seen everything they needed to see in our shared memories, and it was obvious they needed a little privacy to talk this out and calm down. We were making a spectacle out front, and even though other pack members dispersed, we caught many peeking at windows.

  The reactions were varied to what the pack saw out there when we mind bonded, and I think they’re all still reeling in shock, and sadness, at finding out they’ve been raised with so many lies, for so many years. That the man they trusted proved himself to be the villain in our own story. I can imagine, despite it not being their family, their parents, it’s still their pack, their blood, and their alpha, that it has to cut deep. The Santo pack has always been a proud close-knit unit, even for its massive size. It’s how it’s lasted the test of generations.

  Meadow sobbed, hugged me like she was going to crack every bone in my body, and went onto a Spanish rant that involved a lot of cussing for a solid ten minutes, while she stomped around, throwing her hands in the air dramatically and pointing at the sky. I think she was telling the fates off for allowing all of this, but as Spanish is a language I never really picked up, I’ve no idea. She was animated and filled with fury, and yet deep sadness, as she kept stopping to catch her breath and cry some more.

  Cesar quietly stared at me for the longest moment, until I felt almost uncomfortable; a thoughtful face etched with concern, before apologizing to me wholeheartedly about everything his ‘blood’ has done to me for most of my life. Right before moving in and giving me a tight embrace that truly felt good. It was solid and real, and I could feel his genuine remorse for being part of the bond that took away all of mine. Cesar is a paternal role in the subs, and for the first time, I felt like one of his pups.

  The twins sat on the ground, overcome, and kept shaking their heads in disbelief, lost, and yet somehow enlightened at the same time, and they kept staring at one another, clearly mind linking to question every detail. They seemed to be the slowest at figuring out how it all pieced together, and then sat and looked bewildered. Blank expressions, except for wide eyes, and a downturn of their mouths. Sadness evident in their aura.

  Radar lost his shit completely, and I flinched when he growled out loud, cursed Juan’s name and stormed off amid a rant, semi turned into wolf because he couldn’t control it, and gave us space. His words mumbled, yet I heard the name Sierra, and how Juan all these years kept her a prisoner of her own mind and denied Radar his right to protect his Luna. Radar seemed the one with the most fury, but I guess given how he feels about Luna Sierra, then it makes sense he would react aggressively. He came back after Meadow was done cursing out the fates, and stood silent, and broody, while occasionally staring at the ground in deep thought. His mind in turmoil.

  Matteo as always, the calm within the group, kept questioning Colton, saying things like ‘I just can’t …’ and then turning over every detail as though he needed confirmation. Emotionally, he seemed in disbelief, his manner cool, yet that look of utter heartbreak in his eyes at the fact their alpha lied to them all. He stayed close to Colton, providing a sense of stable quiet when the others were in disarray.

  Jesus vented loudly, at no one, at everything, wandering in circles and talking to himself while kicking gravel across the drive with force. Every so often he would come back to the circle, rub my head, and say ‘Lo siento mucho, niña’

  I think it means sorry, but I’m not sure, and I didn’t want to ask while everyone is visibly shaken. Jesus has something of the dramatic about him, and his energy was bristling the air around me anytime he paced close. That need to hurt something for hurting his
pack. It was overly protective, and I could almost taste his desire for revenge against Juan.

  Colton and I stood side by side and he took my hand, waiting for them to have some time to let it absorb. I stood blank faced, and numb, fatigue controlling my body, and the only thing I could focus on was Colton’s warm skin against mine, and how it was so heartbreakingly right. His touch as always, killing me softly.

  Now we’re all inside, nursing mugs of coffee, except me, as I declined and wanted to lie horizontal while they all bashed it out between them. I need a little quiet and calm to let everything that has happened in the last two days settle and wash over me. It feels like my head has been bombarded and knocked to hell and somehow, I’m mentally bruised and in need of soothing soft silence. It’s quiet now, and they are all stuck in their own minds, with the occasional infrequent sentence thrown out there, mostly nods. I think this may take more than a few short hours for them to really grasp the levity of the situation, and the past. We still don’t know what else Sierra will add to the pot if anything.

  It does feel good to be back among them though. The familiarity, the safety, and even though I was only part of their pack for a short time, I feel like I’m home and back within the arms of my family. Something I’ve wanted and ached for, for the last ten years of my life, and never thought it would exist within the Santo pack. Especially after finding out all of this about Juan. Carmen is still not here, and I’m starting to wonder if her absence has to do with the war on the mountain.

  Colton said her father was Juan’s beta, so of course he would forbid her from coming here, and maybe even held her hostage to make sure she didn’t shame her family by following ‘the traitor’. I can’t imagine that would not have gone down well with Juan, if his second in command’s own blood followed his son off the mountain. Juan already believes he’s more powerful than a mate bond. That would explain Colton’s desire to start something with me, as though he didn’t already have himself a femme tucked away. He thinks his mate is unreachable, unattainable, from circumstance, and a lost cause that he chose under pressure, and thinks he can ignore the bond and start fresh with me. Because our emotional bond was never severed, and his feelings didn’t change like he hoped.