Chapter 20: Twenty.

Colt forced her feet to carry her forward. It was a strenuous task, every inch of her body was desperately trying to turn around, but she was afraid of the potential consequences if she did. She knew he was still behind her, but her very core of belief system had been shaken by this revelation, and she didn't know what to think.

The Mate Bond.

She had felt it with that stranger, as clearly, and as subtly as a lightning bolt straight to her chest.

But, he wasn't Elijah.

How was this at all possible? Her mind kept flitting from all the nuanced details of what she experienced, to what she thought she knew, without any regular rhythm or pattern, or any logical conclusion to show for it.

In appearance he was so different to Elijah, rugged and rough to Elijah's smooth edges. Not that Elijah was afraid to get his hands dirty, or to work hard, but with his golden skin, blonde hair and blue eyes, there was always a cleaner angelic quality to his appearance.

This stranger was different, gruffer, unkempt and wild looking in a way, but even in the dimmed light of the night, where she couldn't even see him properly, Colt knew he was just as attractive as her wolf mate.

She found herself longing to know what those tattoos were, that became exposed in her claw driven panic. She couldn't make them out properly at the time, but even now, while still in total shock she felt a burning need to trace her fingers over every line of them. No, over every line, plane and inch of him. She had never felt like this before. Never felt the full lure of the bond to another she hadn't claimed.

By the time, she could shift and feel the full extent and pull of her and Elijah's bond, he had betrayed her, and broken a part of them, that caused anger in her very soul when she thought of intimacy with him. This was so different. It felt pure, raw and downright indecent.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, her confusion only grew deeper. How could any of this even be possible? That she could have another mate? Two halves make a whole, it's basic mathematics, so how can she have two other halves, two soul mates? It can't be possible, and how can she even entertain the idea of moving forward, and giving in to her ridiculously fast growing desires, when it would doom Elijah? Which was something, Colt wouldn't and couldn't do. He didn't deserve it, and despite their past, he was still a living, breathing part of her which she just couldn't displace.

She began to wonder why would life be so cruel to her?

By the time she had reached the end of the wooded area, she had more questions than she knew what to do with, and a growing sense of injustice that fuelled itself into anger. Growling and snarling at her own fate, she threw all her energy into running home, over the hills and wild untamed land of the Scottish Highlands. For once she had no regard for the red deer or the grouse that she may scare and move along. For once she became lost in her own mind, her own pain, and her own trauma, and she just ran.

Colt needed to be home, and she needed to feel safe. Because right now Colt was completely terrified at the thought of two mates, and potentially two broken mate bonds. How was she expected to survive everything twice over?

When her house finally came into view, Colt was spurned on to run even faster, despite her dwindling energy supply. Her fear and confusion were blocking out all of her ability to think rationally, she was purely focussing on finding a safe place to hide, and fast. This caused her to miss calculate the height she needed to clear the first fence, yelping loudly, as the barbed top wire sliced into her underbelly, leaving behind a trail of blood in her coat. But, still she kept going, pain and adrenaline fuelling her system entirely, and increasing her panicked state.

Deciding that brute strength would now win over agility, Colt lowered her head and increased her speed. She then barrelled through not one, but two old wooden field gates, leaving them in tattered pieces hanging on the rusted hinges, while littering her skin with splinters, and a larger piece of wood, which had lodged itself in behind her hip, and was protruding upwards like a morose flag pole.

This injury is what eventually caused her to stumble, forcing her pace to finally slow as she reached the cottage, she was home and hoped to find some sanctuary within, despite her fragile mind.

Colt let out a mangled cry, as she shifted back her injuries leaving her sprawled, bloodied and naked on the ground, at the exact moment Felix opened the door, to hear what the commotion was.

Eyes widened in shock, he scanned over his friend taking in her state, and hearing that she was sobbing uncontrollably on the ground.

"Fucking hell, Colt!" He cried out, dropping to his knees and pulling out the shard of wood from her hip, as a reflex. "What happened? I will kill that fucker!" He began to threaten, before silencing himself, and mumbling soothing shushing noises, while he scooped up his friend in his arms and carried her inside the house, and straight up the stairs.

Felix walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, setting the dial to Colt's preferred temperature.

"I got you, Kitten, I got you," he spoke softly, lowering Colt's legs to stand, while still supporting her weight with one arm wrapped around her waist. He couldn't help but fret internally over her emotional state, she just kept crying.

With his spare hand he tested the water, and once it was too hot for him to possibly bare, he steadied himself, and stepped inside fully clothed, pulling Colt along with him. With relief Felix noticed the smaller wounds were almost healed, as the blood and mud washed down Colt's body, and her shaking seemed to ease in the heat of the water. He marvelled at how water that was hot enough to melt the scales from a dragon, seemed to be the perfect thing to soothe his closest friend, and relax her in even the most difficult of situations.

"You and your hot showers, Kitten." He stated under his breath, pushing her hair off of her face and behind her ears, to get a good look at her. "Well, other than your ugly crying, and the splinters in your head, which yes, I will remove for you," he added heroically, "You will live, which is more than can be said for that so called, extra *mate* you have," He sighed, kissing her forehead. "You will also have a limp for a day or two I would imagine. You know better than to shift with a projectile in your body. Damn it, I'd have pulled it out first, if you gave me a chance," he scolded her.

Colt half laughed at her friend, and his loving insults.

"That's better, at least you're ugly and smiling now," he winked. "Now, can I get out of here before I have no skin left?"

This time Colt did laugh, and relinquished her grip on his arm. "Thanks, Pussy Cat." She croaked hoarsely but genuinely.

"Uh huh," Felix smiled, "For the record, Kitten, this is not how I seen us enjoying our next shower together," he stated with a wink. "The tears I envisioned were of joy, and unbelievable gratitude for the best orgasms of your existence," he stated with bravado.

"Out. Now." Colt responded, not up for encouraging him.

"Whatever, you've not got anything I haven't licked at least a hundred times before," Felix stated, as he grabbed a towel and went to dry off in his room.

Colt rolled her eyes and looked down at her body, evaluating the damage for the first time. She agreed with Felix's assessment, nearly all the wounds were superficial. Once the splinters were removed they would heal quickly. The concerning one was her hip, she would have to remove any leftover wood fragments, which meant checking for them in the first place she thought with a shudder.

Deciding to get it over with, and finding relief from her tumultuous emotions in having something to focus on, she turned off the shower and limped out of it. Gingerly drying her body with the towel, she pulled out the first aid kit from the bathroom drawer unit, and selected the tweezers. She quickly removed any splinters she could get to, including a couple that were around the penetration wound on her hip. Then, she hobbled to her room and dressed in Elijah's old t-shirt, and some very loose pyjama shorts.

Then suddenly, and with a loud growl, she ripped Elijah's top clean into two pieces, letting it fall at her feet. She was momentarily over taken by anger, annoyed at the world, and how weak she felt in her own life. Disgusted by her need to cling to the man who she still blamed for destroying her chance at happiness and trapping her in this goddess forsaken void of what could have beens.

Throwing on a tank top, she went to find Felix, stomping as delicately as one could while in a bad mood, and suffering from a painful limp. He was downstairs in her living room, Colt smiled to see he had cleared a space, before laying a blanket on the floor with some pillows, and there was a pack of gauze beside it, and another small first aid kit from the kitchen.

"Wanna play Doctor and Nurses, Kitten?" He asked with a wink, instantly lifting the dark cloud hovering over her.

Colt slowly came into the middle of the room, and handed him the tweezers, "I believe I'm on a promise first, Pussy Cat."

Felix laughed, "I am nothing, if not a man of my word," he said, flourished with a dramatic bow.

Ten minutes later, with Colt's tongue now swollen from biting it every time Felix pulled her hair out from the roots instead of a splinter, they were done.

"So, Doc," Colt asked, looking over her shoulder at him, "Wanna slice me up?"

"No. Not even in the slightest." Felix answered affirmatively, feeling nauseous at the thought.

"But, you went to all this effort," she teased, moving across to the blanket.

Colt picked up the first aid box, and dived in, looking for what she needed. Pulling out some alcohol wipes, and a small, single use scalpel, she reached for the tweezers from Felix's reluctant hands.

"Stop being a baby," she stated, "and hand them over."

Turning paler by the second, Felix asked, "Maybe we should wait and see if it heals on it's own. Maybe there's nothing left in there." He offered, seriously regretting his current position and life choices.

"Felix, I shifted with six inches of wood impaled into my muscle. I may be able to reshape in a shift, but a dead tree cannot. Also, if it were empty, I'd have healed!" She dead panned at him.

Felix huffed handing over the tweezers.

"Don't panic, Pussy Cat, your moral support is enough," she said offering him a smile, while lowering her shorts on one side. "Besides, after the job you did on my head, your reluctance is a relief. How many bald patches do I have now?" She asked, going back to teasing her poor friend.

Without waiting for a reply, Colt wiped the area with the wipes, before she then let out a long hiss, as she sliced the scalpel in behind her hip. Following the trail of pain where she could feel the wood had been, she sliced deeper into the muscle, prying the bloodied flesh apart with her hands and using the gauze to soak up as much blood as she could. Three inches of it had shattered off the end of the original piece, and they were embedded deeply within her backside.

"Aren't there hospitals in this country?" Felix asked while stifling a gag on his fist, his colouring turning an amazing contrast between green and purple.

"Yes!" Colt bit back, as she pulled the skin further apart and began to pick out the pieces of rotten wood. "But, that would involve a three hour drive, sitting on this, where in three hours I could already be healing." She panted through gritted teeth. "Fuck!"

There was sweat on her brow, and her heart rate was through the roof. Her breathing was audible, even to those without adbanced shifter hearing, due to the way she was panting through her nose as she ploughed on. Stopping only to wipe the blood away, so she could see, after every fourth piece or so. On and on she went until every last piece was out.

"Fuck!" She gasped, trying desperately to oxygenate her lungs sufficiently. "Felix, never shift with a projectile in your body," she stated sarcastically, turning to where the quiet lion was now, lying passed out on the sofa. "Pussy." She smirked casually.

The pain was finally receding now, and she could feel her skin beginning to knit back together. It was always a curious thing, the way it would stitch itself back up, cells rebonding and regrowing at such a quick rate. Especially now Colt had full access to her healing abilities. Scooching herself back, until her body was against the couch, and supported by the pillows Felix had dutifully laid out, she reached up to Felix's pant leg pocket behind her, and removed his cell. Her own was still in the pub in the village, and she knew she had to act before she changed her mind. Finding comfort against his leg, she dialled the number.

It rang four times, before a familiar but confused "Hello, Felix?" came on the other side.

"Actually, it's me, Mom," Colt replied.

*Author's Note, to all those who were eating or, are just a touch squeamish.... sorry.🤣. But what do you think of poor Colt's experience? B x.