Rhea's POV
I have never really had a problem with Beta Carter, but I do not like him either. I know it is taking him a lot to ask me for help, and truthfully, I don't even know if I can.
Mandy was the only member of my family who was nice to me when I needed someone other than my mother, and while my own sisters were ignoring me, she would make it a point to visit every summer.
Mandy and I have many similarities; she was bullied as well. She was unlike her siblings, and they taunted her because she enjoyed reading and writing. When we were together, our time was mostly spent in innocent mischief, but she would often bring up Carter, her crush.
I remember the night that Mandy and Carter slept together. She was so nervous that someone would smell him on her that she begged me to perfect the scent blocker. I don't know why, but her plea pushed Sylvia into action, and she finally became proactive in helping me.
Unfortunately, the blocker did not mask the scent left behind from mating, but Mandy and I later discovered that a twenty-minute soapy bath will do the trick.
After that, Mandy came to visit during every school break, and no matter how many times I would tell her that Carter was sleeping with other people, she always thought I was being overprotective of her.
It wasn't until just before my sisters turned sixteen that she finally believed me, and that was only because she caught him. That was also around the time I lost my sense of smell, so there was a lot going on.
I remember the threats of war and even physical fights between parents, but it eventually all went back to calm when the council got involved.
Mandy stopped coming to visit, but she always called me, and we exchanged birthday and Christmas presents without fail.
More recently, she and I have planned to move to Puerto Rico, where my mother still has family. The both of us hate our lives, and we just want to get away from the people who know us. We want to go somewhere that we can build new identities without risking our safety in the process.
"Hey Brain." My eyes shoot up to Colton and I am paralyzed again. "I know I am in no position to ask favors of you, but do you think you can help my beta out?" I say nothing. "Brain?" Colton reaches for me, but Mandy intercepts his hand, and I am thanking her in my mind.
"Alpha Colt, please leave my little cousin alone. She has nothing to do with Beta Carter and I." Mandy pulls me to my feet, and I am surprised when my legs start to work.
"What is wrong with her?" Colton asks, and my cousin chuckles in disbelief. She doesn't even look at him as we make our way to another table.
"I swear I could kill him for what he did to you."
"Mandy, please be quiet. I told you because I thought you were the only one who wouldn't act rashly."
"I know, but I really dislike that man." I dislike Colton too, but after going over a report with beta Luke, I realized that if we lose our neutral relationship with the Iron pack, all the pack helpers who live on the border will suddenly become vulnerable.
I don't want to continue the conversation we are having out loud, because technically I am an omega, and while my pack does not practice segregation, there are many packs that do. The last thing I need is for someone to overhear and make an appeal to my parents to have my rank changed.
I have no desire to be a luna, but I do not want to be placed so low on the totem pole that I become a punching bag for those ranked above me. Bullying happens, and although my parents have tried to deter it, they have not been able to end it.
The night drags by slowly, and while I am mingling with relatives and friends I have not seen in years, I feel a burning gaze on me. I refuse to confirm if Colton is staring, because if he is, it will make all my nightmares real.
It took me months to start sleeping normally, and I do not want to go back to being exhausted. It negatively affected my schoolwork and as an omega, I need sleep to heal and remain healthy.
"My goddess little girl; have those glasses gotten thicker since we last saw one another?" My aunt asks. She knows they are fake, and she cannot stand the fact that I am uncomfortable within my own skin. "And what are you wearing?"
"Please aunt Linda. I don't really want to talk about this right now."
"Well, you better start, how many more years until you are eighteen. Aren't you afraid your mate might reject you?"
"I do not trust in the mate bond," I declare boldly, making my aunt gasp.
"Don't ever let your mother hear you say that," she whispers, and I roll my eyes.
'Right, because the lady on the moon is going to punish me,' I think, but do not say out loud. "Sorry aunty, I just don't think love should be forced. It's like an arranged human marriage, and we look down on that."
"That is because you haven't studied the bond yet. It is so much more than an arranged marriage." I stiffen when someone stands beside me, and start shaking when I see that it is Colton.
"I have to agree with your aunt on this one Brain. That is why I keep trying to appeal to Mandy."
"What about my daughter?" My aunt asks, and if I weren't so afraid of Colton, I would have glared at him.
Mandy and my uncle James were handling the whole rejection thing. Her parents are not fated, but her mother is as devout as mine, and she would not cosign on rejection.
"Hasn't she told you? She found her mate. Unfortunately, she plans to reject him. Brain here has been talking to her." My aunt's gaze lands on me, and because Colton is around, I can't speak.
"B?" I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. "Oh, you two have crossed a line this time," my aunt grabs my arm and pulls me away. My eyes catch a glimpse of Colton, who looks confused, and I don't blame him.
Aside from my rant about not believing in the mate bond, Mandy and I have done our fair share of stupid things. For example, Mandy read that we could make my cave sterile by setting it on fire. My wolf warned me, but fire does kill germs, so I ignored her.
We were immediately overwhelmed by the fire, and we suffered from my mother's chancleta (flipflop) until my aunt was able to get to us. It was the only time either of us were ever spanked, and between my mother and aunt Linda, we never wanted it to happen again.
We still got into trouble for other things, like when we wanted to prove our siblings wrong, so we snuck off pack grounds to go shopping. We had seen my sisters do the same thing often, and they never got caught, but Mandy and I failed to realize that they had the assistance of Lark and Emma; while we had Mandy's map.
"Aunt Linda, please. I'm too young to die," I say, trying to appeal to my aunt's sense of humor. It does not work. Mandy is flirting with a random guy, but when she catches sight of me being pulled by her mother, she bolts.
Colton's POV
I am not sure what just happened. My beta made me feel like crap when he told me that I was not the right person to speak on his behalf, but now I think he was right. Brain hadn't responded to me the first time I spoke to her, and when I approached her aunt, I had done so because I heard them mentioning the mate bond, so I assumed they were speaking about Mandy and Carter.
I was wrong, and instead of me trying to make Brain look like a good cousin, I think I may have gotten her in trouble. I had never heard of B doing anything wrong or bad, so when her aunt said that she had 'crossed a line this time,' I was confused. I watched the girl being taken away, and that was the last time I saw her for the night.
Later in the evening, Lark took his oath as alpha, and formally accepted his mate as his luna. Their first act was to induct the beta male and female, and at the same time, all four of them made a blood bond that my father tells me is unique to packs with dual lines of succession.
If something happens to Lark, his beta will take over as alpha true because he has a claim to the position as Robin's mate. That means that the children born to Lark as well as the children born to Robin will be of equal footing in the line of succession, and may have to compete to see which one will take on the role as alpha.
The same was true for me and Dolton. It was only by chance that my uncle and both of his sons were killed in a car accident. My cousin Holly should have taken over as heir, but for some reason, she was overlooked.
I am still looking to see if I can spot Brain when my father links me. I tell him that I cannot find Raven anywhere, and from his lack of annoyance, I can tell he hasn't seen her either.