Beyond Beta's Rejection

Harper

I stood in front of the vault doors to the cells. It was late, probably past midnight by now. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, not that I could remember it snowing. I had tried going to bed. I stayed with Caroline for a little while longer, but eventually I said goodnight. I said I would think about visiting Colton again, but I had decided that I wouldn’t. So why was I standing in front of the Cells entrance? I couldn’t sleep. Something inside me plagued my thoughts constantly. I couldn’t get what Caroline had told me out of my mind.

Being told that the man who hurt you the most had done it to protect you really changed the way I saw things. Caroline said that Colton knew I was the Divine Warrior, or destined to be at least, and his demon had forced his way forward when Colton tried to reject me. She told me that Colton had tried to fight the demon, but he wasn’t strong enough. I thought back to that week, something I rarely did. Colton did seem like he was switching between the caring mate and the cruel tormentor. But then why didn’t he tell me?

I shook the thoughts from my head. I had questions and needed answers. That was why I was here. Not for him, but for me. I typed the code into the keypad and the doors opened with a heavy thud. I walked in and entered the waiting elevator. My stomach was full of nerves. I knew Colton couldn’t touch me. He certainly couldn’t hurt me any more than he already had. But I also knew that I had a weakness for him, one that I didn’t want to admit. It was like the echo of the bond that never was, haunted us.

The doors opened, and I stepped into the main reception area. Greg Henderson was sitting at the desk with a bored look on his face. He grinned as I walked up to the desk.

“Hey Harper,” he said, and I smiled.

“Hi Greg, got night shift duty?” I asked, keeping my tone friendly. He shrugged.

“I guess someone has to do it,” he said, “I’d rather it not be me, but what can you do?”

“At least it’s quiet,” I said as I looked towards the main corridor.

“Yeah, and we are looking to buddy up with some of the new warriors your man sent,” Greg said, “So that should help.”

“They already here?” I asked, and he nodded.

“A few arrived this afternoon, but more are coming tomorrow.” He looked down the corridor and then back at me.

“Not that I don’t mind the company,” he said, “but any reason you aren’t tucked up comfy in bed right now?” I rolled my eyes and smiled sweetly.

“Oh you know me,” I said and Greg grinned.

“Yep,” he said, “I do know you. Which is why I know you are here for a reason. And judging by the sweet act you are playing, I’m not gonna like it.”

“I wanna see Colton,” I said, and the grin dropped from his face.

“Nope,” he said. He leaned back in his chair as I glared at him. “I am not authorised to let you do that, and I don’t fancy being on the receiving end of your mate.” I narrowed my eyes on him.

“You know I don’t have to ask, right?” I said. “Like are you sure you could take me if I just decided I was going to see him?” Greg grinned again.

“There’s the Harper I know,” he said, and I huffed in frustration. “And you’re right I probably couldn’t take you, especially not with that wicked-looking blade on your thigh. But it wouldn’t just be me that you would have to deal with.”

“Who else would I be dealing with then?” I asked. I tried to keep a friendly tone, but I didn’t like being told no.

“Me.” I turned around towards the voice behind me and saw Tommy standing in the doorway to the stairs. His arms were crossed over his chest and I could tell by his expression that he wasn’t best happy. I turned back and looked at Greg.

“You called him?” I accused, and he held up his hands in a defensive gesture with a grin.

“Pretty much the moment I saw you standing outside on the monitor,” he said and I swore under my breath.

“For f**k’s sake, why?” I asked.

“Because I knew that you would be coming here eventually,” Tommy said. He walked round to the side so that he was standing in front of the corridor to the cells.

“Caroline has been on at me for the last couple of days,” he said, “Telling me that it was important that Colton saw you. I refused to pass on the message.”

“Why?” I asked “I’m a big girl, I can make my own decisions.”

“Because I don’t want you getting hurt Harper,” he said, his voice raised slightly. “How do we know that it’s actually him and not that thing inside of him?” The look of disgust was clear on his face.

“Wow, you are starting to sound like Samual,” I said, and he growled.

“It’s a demon, Harper. You get that, right? The damn thing is hell bent on bringing the end of the world and it plans to use you to do it.” I could tell he was getting more angry as he spoke.

“I know that, but I also believe that it’s Colton that wants to talk, and not his demon,” I said. “What if he is actually trying to help us?”

“And what if he is trying to trick you?” Tommy shot back. “I know that Elias has one inside him, and I know you think it is different, but they are only interested in one thing.”

“They aren’t all bad,” I said, “I met some by the border earlier and they don’t want the same thing.”

“How do you know they aren’t lying?” he asked. “You only have Caroline’s word to go on it, and she is one of them too.” I sighed.

“Tommy please,” I said. “I need to do this. I promise I won’t automatically believe everything. But I need to know what he wants.” I pleaded with my eyes and Tommy sighed.

“Fine,” he said finally, “But I am coming with you.” I smiled and nodded.

“I can work with that,” I said.

Tommy shook his head and mumbled something about it being a bad idea, before turning around and stalking down the corridor. I quickly followed him into the main cell area. There were only two cells that were occupied, and I knew the occupants in both. I walked up to the cell with Colton in and looked around at Tommy. He had perched himself on the edge of one of the tables and was watching me. He gestured to the door, and I took a deep breath.

I keyed in the code, and the door clicked open. I pulled the door, and the light came on in the cell. It looked the same as before, only the table had been pushed to the side. Colton blinked against the light from his place on the bed, but he quickly became alert as he took a breath.

“Hey Strawberries,” he said with a grin. “Thank you for coming to see me.”

“What do you want, Colton?” I asked sharply. I crossed my arms in front of me and stood in the cell’s entrance. I wanted to be able to move quickly if I had to.

“I needed to see you,” he said. “I need to tell you something important.” He looked unsure, like he wasn’t sure if he should tell me or not.

“And what is that?” I asked. “Don’t mess with me Colton, I am tired and I’m grumpy.”

“Is your mate here?” he asked. He was trying to look around me, to see who was standing in the main room.

“Why does that matter?” I asked, and he shrugged.

“Because I suspect that he won’t want me telling you this,” he said. “And I would rather not get beaten again.” I sighed and looked behind me at Tommy. He nodded, giving me the free rein to decide what I wanted to share. I looked back at Colton.

“Elias isn’t here,” I said. “He is out of town on business.” Colton nodded with a relieved look on his face.

“Okay, good,” he said. “Then you are safe, at least for now.”

“What do you mean, safe for now?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes on him.

“I’m telling you that your boyfriend is a danger to you,” Colton said. “And you need to stay away from him.” I took a deep breath and glared at Colton.

“Seriously?” I asked, annoyed. “Are you f*****g kidding me? Is this why you wanted to see me? To tell me s**t about my mate?” I couldn’t believe that I fell for it and actually came down here.

“Harper, please,” Colton said. “I am trying to protect you.”

“What, like you did when you rejected me?” I shot back at him. “Do you plan on trying to attack me after too? You know like you did last time?” He looked down at the floor, shame all over his face.

“That wasn’t me,” he whispered. He looked back up at me. “I know it’s not good enough, and I blame myself every day, but it wasn’t me who did those things to you.”

“Then why do you blame yourself?” I asked. I didn’t even know why I was still listening to him.

“Because I wasn’t strong enough to stop the other guy from coming forth,” he shot back. “Because I wasn’t strong enough to stop him from taking you, and trying to deliver you to his damn master.” I could tell that he was angry. I felt movement at my back and glanced over my shoulder. Tommy had stood up and was ready to attack. I shook my head. Colton wasn’t angry at me. He was angry at himself. Tommy narrowed his eyes but relaxed against the table again.

I turned back to Colton and sighed.

“And how do I know that this isn’t just a trick of your other guy now?” I asked. “How do I not know that this isn’t some plan to deliver me to your master?” Colton looked up at me and then he sighed. His eyes bled to the black hole abyss of the demon and I took a step back. I felt Tommy move again and held my arm out behind me. I watched the demon carefully as he sniffed the air. Finally, his eyes settled on me and he smiled.

“Because he isn’t my master anymore.”