My Mate and Brother's Betrayal

14 Move Forward

Colton POV

It's been three days since Lily rejected me. Besides training, I haven't left my room. I had hoped this feeling of emptiness would lessen, but I think it has gotten worse. Cash is barely talking to me, but honestly he couldn't hate me more than I already hate myself. If I'm honest, I knew long before my birthday that Lily was meant to be mine.

I buried those feelings deep, hoping that I was wrong. Hoping the goddess would give her a

mate that could stand by her side as her equal. A mate that she deserved. The knowledge that

I could be Alpha scared the sh*t out of me. I was both scared of losing her and of being with her.

Lily has always been this strong, outgoing girl. My best friend until I decided that being popular was more important than protecting her. What kind of friend does that? What kind of man is worried that he isn't good enough for his Alpha mate so he f**ks everything up? He

decides that it's easier to pull away from the one person he is meant to stay close to. A stupid man and now there is nothing I can do to undo what I've done.

I make no move when I hear the first knock on my door. I really don't want to see anyone. Sam

can't even look at me. She is so angry at what I've done. Every time that I've spoken with my parents, the look of disappointment in their eyes' guts me even more. Whoever it is can't take the hint because they continue to bang. Finally, fed up with the relentless knocking, I get to my

feet and throw the door open. I'm shocked to see Reese. "You look like sh*t" he says.

"Hello to you to, Alpha." "Cut that bulls*t right now. We may not be blood, but I consider you family. Now, you are going to take a shower. Then you and I are going to sit down and discuss

what you need to do next. I've been where you are. I'm giving you thirty minutes. Don't make

me come back here to get you" he says. I fight the urge to roll my eyes as he turns to leave my

room.

I'm in no mood to have a heart-to-heart, but I guess I have no choice. I grab sweats and a

t-shirt before heading to the bathroom. I'm showered and dressed in fifteen minutes. I step out of my room, locking my door behind me. "Worried you won't be able to control yourself if you find me naked in your bed again?" The sound of her voice has Cash pushing to the surface.

As angry as I am at Camille, it's me that betrayed Lily. "Camille, I can say this with one hundred percent certainty. I will never touch you again. I lost the best thing that ever happened to me for a quick f**k that surely wasn't worth destroying my life. I take full responsibility for my actions because I should have thrown you out on your a** the minute I

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I

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stepped into the room, but you were familiar and safe. I never loved you. Hell, most of the tim

I didn't even like you."

"You know why you always had to talk sh*t about Lily because you're jealous. She is everything you are not. She is kind, strong, and loyal. She isn't afraid to defend people she cares about. She is going to be an amazing alpha and mate. You, on the other hand, need to put her down to feel better about all the things you're not. I'll say this one last time. Don't talk to me or come near me again, or I will file a formal complaint with Alpha Beck for s*xual misconduct."

She throws her head back and laughs. "You f**ked me many times Colton. You can't really cry s*xual misconduct when I've had you inside me. So believe me when I say that I will never let you be happy with that little b**ch. Even if you won't f**k me again, I'll make sure she thinks you have. She will never take back her rejection. So you can either get on board with taking me as a chosen mate, or you can be mateless for the rest of your life. You can watch the little pack princess make someone else her mate while you die alone."

I growl taking a step closer. "I would rather die mateless than ever be mated to a nasty b**ch like you. It makes me sick to my stomach that I ever touched you."What the hell is going on here?" I turn to see Reese and Beck. It isn't until I see Beck's eyes flash black that I realize how close I'm standing to Camille and what he must think. "Alpha, this isn't," I start to say, but he cuts me off with a growl. A hand on my chest has my head snapping toward Camille. I

immediately take a step back.

"Do not touch me. Alpha, please let me explain." "No, I want to hear what Camille has to say,"

Beck says. "I was just having a conversation with my boyfriend, Alpha. We had a little spat,

and we were about to make up," she says, trying to act innocent. I open my mouth to call her a f**king liar, but Beck's look silences me. "You know what I think, Camille. I think that Colton

may have made a mistake by going there with you on his birthday, but I think he's sorry. I think he regrets what he did. You, on the other hand, aren't. Alpha Reese and I just heard everything that you both said," Beck says.

I can't help the smile that spreads across my face when the color drains from her face. "So this is what's going to happen, Camille. You are going to spend a week in the cells. If I even hear that you come within one hundred feet of Colton, I will banish your a** so fast your head will spin" he says. "You can't do that" she whines. He takes a step toward her and fear flashes in her eyes. I'm enjoying every minute of it.

"I can and I will. s****I misconduct is a serious offense, and it doesn't matter if its being done against a man or woman in my pack. I can't banish you for interfering with Colton and Lily's bond because I can't prove you knew, but make no mistake, you have been warned about

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harassing Colton. It ends today, or you will find yourself becoming a rogue." Two guards make their way toward her and she screeches. As they drag her away, I pray that she comes near me again, so Beck can banish her a**.

"Well, now I know why you were late" Reese says. As Beck turns to leave without a word, my

heart aches not only for what I've lost with Lily but the damage I've done to my family. I consider Beck my brother and losing him is another consequence of my stupidity.

"I'm sorry, Beck"I say and his step falters. He turns back and for a second I wonder if he'll tell

me he doesn't care. "I know you are Colton. I'm just going to need time. You hurt my daughter. I'm glad that you took responsibility and are trying to make amends. Hopefully, someday that will be enough."

"Alright, let's go have that talk" Reese says. I follow him to a sitting room on the Beta floor. "That was pretty intense. I'm glad that Beck and I were there to hear that conversation." "Me too. After everything that happened, I wasn't sure that Beck would believe me if I tried to defend myself against all the sh*t she was spouting." "Beck has every right to be angry at you, Colton, but despite what you did, he still loves you. I think that's why it hurts him even more. Lily didn't just lose her mate, he lost his future son-in-law," Reese says.

"I just wish I had a do-over. I wish I could step back in time and kick my own a** for being so stupid." "Well you can't. Believe me, I know better than anyone what it feels like to destroy what was meant to be. I know you know some of my story, but the truth is I thought I could have my mate and her brother. I was selfish and entitled, but I don't think that's why you blew up your life. You want to tell me what possessed you to give in to the she-devil I just saw downstairs."

"Honestly, Reese, I don't feel like I'm good enough. I mean I know I have Beta blood, but I'm no even the strongest warrior. I just felt at some point Lily would realize that she could have someone so much better. Did you know I basically stopped being her friend because Camille

and some of my other friends pretty much said she was a pup. Hell, we are only two years older than her but instead of shutting that sh*t down, I stopped hanging out with Lily." "The thing is, life is a series of choices, both good and bad. Sometimes people can forgive us easily, but sometimes they can't. Taking ownership of your f**k up is the first step, but its not the most difficult. When Rose left, I thought I could convince her to forgive me. That the mate bond was enough to make her at least give me a chance to make things right, but the pain I caused her wasn't something she could ever forget," Reese says.

"So you're saying I need to accept her rejection. Not even try to fight for her forgiveness "Colton, what you did was sh*tty, but it was nothing compared to what I did. You are the only one who can make the decision whether to accept the rejection or not, but what I want you to 3/4 

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understand is ultimately how you move forward with Lily is up to her now," he says.

"You can accept her rejection and hope one day to move forward as friends, or you can hold on to something that may never become reality. I just want you to remember that no matter what, you aren't alone. Even though your family is disappointed, it hasn't changed the love they have for you. So my question to you is what do you want for Lily, Colton" he asks. "It seems like a simple answer, but all I want is for her to be happy. She deserves to be happy."

A throat clearing has me turning toward the sound. I'm confused when I see Mindy walk around and join Reese on the couch. "That was an excellent answer Colton. Now let's talk about how we can make that happen," Mindy says.