Rejected Mate and Following Fate

The warm sensation sliding around me and the sudden weightlessness I experience wakes me up before his voice does. A feeling of floating, as everything comes back to me and my brain re-engages with my limbs, as warm hands, and body transfer heat to mine.

"Baby, we're here, wake up." Colton's honey tone slides over me as his scent submerges me in a firm cozy hold, submerged in his delicious scent that makes me giddy, and I blink my eyes open to find myself in his arms while being scooped out of the truck as he stands by my door. The night is cloaking in around us but illumination from the front of me makes my eyes blurry as I try to adjust and screw them shut again quickly. Taking a moment to savor the weird in between state of awake and dreaming while being cradled. He has me in his arms, pressing me to him, one under my legs and one around my back while my face is in against the crook of his throat, nestling me in as the cool air brings me round fully.

I slide my hands up his expanse of hard chest impulsively, searching out a place to anchor myself, aiming to slide around his neck when sense fully awakens me and I realize this is probably not wise when my heart is so bruised. That getting all tangled up with Colton is the opposite of what I need. It's far too easy to accept his touch and his willingness to add intimacy to the mix but I have to be stronger than him.

"I can walk, put me down." I croak hoarsely, my sleep addled tone heavy and I wriggle to get my legs free. Resisting even if it's feeble and thankfully he isn't too set on fighting me.

Colton relents after a moment of hesitation, sliding my feet to the ground carefully, but he keeps me anchored to him with the arm around my waist and tugs me front on. Bodily closing the gap between us and lifts his other hand to stroke my cheek as he leans in to bridge the height difference. Rendering me momentarily senseless, as that burning connection makes my knees buckle almost completely. He cups my face and pulls me in, bringing his forehead down to mine and pushes us together intimately. Our breaths mingling in the cool air and I'm overly aware how dangerously close this is, a slight inch more and he'll be kissing me. Caught tired, and slow in reaction speed, and somehow feeling vulnerable at waking up to his touch.

"When my mom's settled in the infirmary, we need to talk. We need to figure this out and fix us. I missed you more than you'll ever know, Lorey. I'm never letting you go again." His eyes stray to my lips and that crazy overwhelming urge to lean in and take what he's pondering doing almost kills me. My own lips parting slightly as the tug of desire pulses through me with fervor and I'm powerless to pull back when caught in his breath this way.

His touch goosebumps my skin all over, the low intensity of his voice drawing me in as if no one else exists around us and I almost weaken to the point of melting into him. My pelvis, and between my thighs heats up to molten lava at this kind of contact with him and I almost have to press my knees together to gain some control. The haze is approaching, and I guess it's already starting to screw with my libido, or maybe it's always just him and I'm still a weak fool for this man. More so when caught off guard and too sleep addled to think straight. So easy when this feels so right, but I catch myself and finally muster the strength to pull back, covering his hand with mine and sliding it from my face.

"Colton…" I start to rebuff him, but he doesn't let me loose as easily as he put me down.

"We can't ignore how we feel about each other. That we're meant to be." It's a hint of desperation in his ravaged tone, mirroring my urges, his jaw tensing and squaring off which only makes those irresistible dimples prominent and those lowering brows bring out the cute boy face. Leaning closer and making it harder to breathe when my senses are filled with him. It sparks that self-defense mechanism in me though, that urge to run far away before he cripples me again, and I slide my hands between us and push him away with enough force to get him to release me.

"Why not? You did!" I bite, stepping back coldly, as his hold drops and the sweep of hurt and regret is evident on that flawless face. It tugs at me, slicing my own heart with a sharp stab but I don't weaken, pushing my pain and agony away and refusing to break. If he thinks he can be mated elsewhere but still have a side chick so he doesn't have to live with the mistake, then he can go to hell. I won't be some dirty secret that has to steal moments with him, and share him with her, just because he didn't manage to break our bond in taking another. I'm not doing this, no matter how much I yearn for him, or how much I still love him. I have more respect for myself than that and I won't be one of those wolves who bring shame upon themselves by committing adultery with a mated, even if we were destined.

He broke this, not me. He made his choice, no matter what his reasons were. It can't be undone.

I need you, and I'll earn your forgiveness, no matter what

searing touch that was invented to torture me by being both the best feeling in the

between us, hauling me off my feet in a bear hug that momentarily dazes me, and spins me around with alarming strength for a girl shorter than me. "Dios mío, niña,

insane clutch like grip. She starts kissing me all over the cheeks, nose, and forehead, like an overbearing momma, and it's a furious fast barrage that doesn't give me a second to counteract. I can only screw my eyes

but she's relentless. Finally, once I'm sure

baby girl, she's come to me and now I can die happy, knowing my Chica is home." She's being overdramatic, her accent heavier than usual with the surge of emotion she's spewing. She's still holding me in her arms, but I have to say the feeling

they're at the rear, removing his mother's bed as members of the pack move into help. There's a lot of chatter as people figure out who's coming out of the truck and I can feel the whispers

pushes me back to arm's length and even though its dark out here, lights from the pretty huge and towering house, standing tall in front of us, illuminates this area enough that we can see each other with clarity. That was the light

good, so healthy, your hair has grown, your losing your puppy face and…oh, god! What are you wearing?" Meadows face and tone completely drop as her eyes run up and down my

nails like it's an unhygienic rag and

when it comes to female things. I mean, he dated Carmen for two years, that says it all, Chica." She bobs her head side to side waving a very pointy red nail in the air and I let out an

He found me like this. It's all I had to hand." I look down pulling at the grey sweats a little as I take in my baggy outfit and oversized boots, but it's

through my hair to push it off my face and draws me back to her. "You do look different though…. like you maybe only left for a few weeks, but you've grown in years. You look beautiful, and less tortured. My baby growing up so fast." It's an insightful perspective, but she's right. These past weeks I do feel like I've matured some, and definitely grown as a person in subtle ways, and I knew I had shed puppy fat while being

in that frame of mind that I'm some feeble no one that isn't important. I know I'm the center of something, and this is where I need to be for now. I'm not sure about less tortured given my current state of affairs; cheating mate, relearning my past, and finding out my entire pack was murdered. I would say maybe, I'm just handling it better than

wreck, but you're right, we need to get Sierra inside." I nod to where they all seem to have everything under control, catching sight of the bed coming into view and Colton stuck to his moms side, her hand in his once more, even though she is still dead to the world. He's looking at her with so much adoration, fixated, that it does make me feel completely broken as I watch him. A longing for that without complication, without this mess between us. To have him look at me the way he's looking at her, that unconditional love that's so

by us and

by an enthusiastic male who footballer style wrestles me into a hug before I'm hit from behind by another. Equal stealth and strength and I almost fall over with the weight of two heavy

them before I get ground into the mud and I get a kiss on each side of my