Chapter 56

• “He didn’t even let me say goodbye. He said it was for the best. Just had her moved and didn’t tell me until she was gone. I feel like he’s ashamed of her for being weak.” Colton’s voice croaks a little, his emotions pushing through despite trying to shield them, and it pains me to feel that kind of broken anguish. He was her only child, and from what I can feel, they loved each other deeply, as a mother and son should. It’s an almost unbearable pain as it swarms me, but I can relate. I knew this pain and have grieved with the same intensity. It’s the mourning of a parent’s death, even if he hasn’t lost her to the underworld.
• “And that’s why he hates me because he thinks I’m the same.” I point out, watching for the reaction on his face, his eyes still glowing amber as he stares at the floor over his crossed legs, unable to look me in the eye when caught in despair. I think Colton is ashamed of being so broken by this, another pointer of Juan’s parenting skill. Colton has been lacking a mother’s touch for half his life. The most critical years while he was forming. The one who should’ve nurtured and softened him after being forced into battles as a child, to teach him not to follow his father blindly, the way he does, and instill the strength to be his Alpha. That was Luna’s job as his mother. He’s been at his father’s mercy for years, bearing down on him and conditioning his outlook without restraint. It’s any wonder Colton’s as caring as he is and not more like Juan. Teaching him the cruelest of lessons about loyalty and compassion to your mate and the unimportance of love.
• He discarded her as weak and put her somewhere to rot because her inability to handle what they threw at her shamed him. He chose the good of the pack over the mate he was destined to care for. No wonder Colton is screwed up. His role model and moral guide taught him that love is secondary to duty, and his heart has no value in what his decisions should be. It taught him that to love is not enough, imprinting is not an excuse, and the pack must always be the priority even if it goes against his own needs.