The Awakening-4

One second of direct focus, a meeting of eyes I have never dared to look into before, and the worst thing in the world happens to me. We connect: visions, images, projections flow through my mind at a neck-breaking speed that fries my brain and I cannot break his gaze or look away. Startled into silence, locked in, and unable to fight what happens. My body rigid and paralyzed, controlled by this higher force as we’re forcefully held, trapped in an intense stare down and his dark, almost black eyes eat into my soul.

His memories, my memories, his fears, my fears. They become a jumbling mass of zooming information, flooding, invading my mind, and overtaking me as I’m body-slammed with an overwhelming amount of emotions, in literal seconds, that could potentially zap your brain to death.

My body, my heart, my soul, all pulled into this flash of breath, which completely spins my world on tilt and changes everything instantaneously. Rooted to the spot, aware only of the darkest chocolate eyes on mine, unable to break free yet marooned like I suddenly found home, and his gaze goes from sworn enemy to lifeline in my darkness. Neither of us can do anything in our paralyzed state but let it happen, until the wild ride of transferring all we are, all we know, all we feel, is done and leaves us shell-shocked from the fallout.

Breathless, reeling from the invasion of his life, his memories, his history, pouring into my memory banks, I finally snap out and fall backwards in a slump. Released from whatever the hell that was and momentarily dazed. Fully incapable of any kind of movement as I lie on the ground, startled into silence and lightheaded from what felt like a physical assault.

“Holy shit!” Colton’s voice waves my way, sounding equally shocked and as breathless as me, and I strain up to see him also on the ground. On his knees, though, looking like someone just sucker-punched him in the stomach, and he falls forward to drop his palms on the ground to hold him steady. Eyes wide, skin pale, unusually for his normal tanned hue. He looks like someone just told him the worst news he ever wanted to hear in his life, and he’s reeling in the aftermath. Complete silence surrounds us. A pin drop could be heard, and I have no idea what to think.

“They just imprinted,” one solo voice squeaks out and echoes around us like someone announcing a death sentence.

“No, that can’t have happened,” another, moments later, and then another, and another. The voices blending and blurring as my fingers find my skull and I scrub my head to get my brain to function. To figure out what just happened to me. The mutterings of one or two become many, deafening as they all verbalize their questions at what they just saw.

Me? I did what? ... No. It can’t be.

I lie here dumbfounded and try to pull my thoughts together, unsure why I now know how he likes his coffee or his favorite song, or why I suddenly can’t get the strong scent of him out of my nostrils, or the need to get up and go hug him, out of my brain. The crazy primal urge to get up and go sit on him and do things I never wanted to do before, or even a few seconds ago. It’s like every part of my soul is suddenly attuned to him, even though he’s feet away.

I lie back down and try to breathe through the oncoming panic, try to rationalize what this was as I draw in air with shallow breaths and try to let my body recover from the huge zap he gave me.

“Silence!” Juan Santo demands with a venomous tone, echoing around the mountain, and like a sudden clap of thunder, his voice halts the rest of the chaotic noise, giving me some relief before my brain explodes.

He storms towards us and physically drags his son up by the shoulder from his slumped position. Gripping and hauling him like a madman and angrily turning to face him once on his feet, raw anger erupting all over.

“Tell me you didn’t!” He demands at him in a cruel tone, but Colton seems as spangled as me. Knocked sideways and unsure what the hell just happened to us. His normally confident stance is loose, and he seems unsteady on his legs.

“I don’t know what that was ... I’ve never ... I don’t know!” His cocky, dominant tone is lacking too, and I can feel his eyes back on me as I struggle to sit up, pulling myself into a sitting ball and finally have the courage to stare at them.

As soon as I meet Colton’s eyes again, that same jolt hits me in my heart and stomach like a massive thud, and I know this isn’t anything else. Heard enough about it to know what it is. Saw it happen to others. The need to go over and wrap myself in his arms, the longing way we stop and gaze at each other as urge blots out sense and beast overtakes human reasoning. He stares at me with the same instinctual longing I throw his way, the unspoken need to walk towards him and to touch each other.

We just imprinted, and the Fates gave me my mate.

Colton Santo is my destined Alpha, the wolf I’m supposed to spend eternity with and follow him wherever he goes. Until the end of time. He’s my path set in stone, my lover, my life, the father to my future offspring.

And I can’t imagine anything worse.