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, that to imprint is not an excuse, that the pack must always be the priority even if it goes against his own needs.

“He just wants to protect me from...