Chapter 57: It Won&##x27;t Change a Thing

"I... Umm. He'll kill us if we don't take …. umm. I don't know what went down, but I have to see for
myself what Juan says about this." Deacon is at a loss for words and I can feel every ounce of his
bravado slipping away. Deacon visibly swallows a look of confusion running over his face, as he
realizes, he just questioned his possible leader, and I swear, he almost sits on the ground such is the
way his legs seem to momentarily twitch.

"I'll kill you if you touch her. So, there's that." Colton reiterates with a head nod and shrug, and I shake
my head at Deacon, disgusted in the weakness I see before me and smothered in confidence as my
own temper riles.

"Not so tough when you don't have me disabled and stuck alone in a glass room, are you?" I snarl,
moving out fully from behind Colton, half expecting him to hush me and send me back, but he doesn't.
He turns a slight way to me, catches my eyes with his glowing amber ones and then slides aside
slightly to encourage me to come closer. I guess because he knows Deacon is no real threat to me, he
relaxes a little, and much like a wild wolf would encourage his mate to participate in a hunt, or teach
her, he urges me to him. I mean, he just let his subs berate theirs, so I guess it's my turn. My wolf
ignites at the invitation, eyes burning in my skull, and I know I must be glowing as red as Colton's are
amber with the tension in the air around us.

"What the fuck." Deacon almost trips backwards as he scrambles a step away and locks an alarmed
gawping set of normal human eyes on mine. Shocked at what he sees.

"Miss those pretties, huh. I guess probably because you were busy shooting her in the back!" Colton
teases cruelly, pulling me with a hand on my upper arm and slides me near, in front so I'm between
Deacon and him. Getting me close even though he wants me to stand up to this asshat, but he needs
to know he's also keeping me safe.



"What the hell is wrong with her eyes?" Deacon can't conceal his fear, and this time he does trip trying
to get away and lands on his ass. Scrambling as he thuds with a soft noise and tries to reel backwards
away from me.

"Nothing… I think their sexy. However, it does mean you had a lucky escape and had my Princessa
here not been more concerned about getting the fuck away from you, could have taken down your
entire team with minimal effort. Maybe I should let her rebalance the scales if you think you can take
her." Colton slides his hand up my back and comes to beside me properly so his hip touches mine,
lazily lassoing his arm around my shoulders so it hangs about me casually, and adopts that teen boy
lounge of a guy taking the piss out of someone he deems inferior. Deacon hesitates, I can see the
questions forming in his head as he looks from Colton to me, and back, and scrambles to his feet,
backing away. It's obvious he's rattled, and he keeps gawping at me and then back at his pack as
though they're linking. I see the unease as they too, all start to look to one another and shrink closer to
the vehicles, our own sub pack moving in and not giving them an inch.

"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, and 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."


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