Chapter 43: Forty-three.

Colt's control evaporated in an instant. All the work she had been doing over the past six weeks to control her animal urges and instincts, was useless in this scenario. She had seen red, and before anyone could react, she had flown through the air, exploding into her wolf form, and had Arthur's petrified face pinned beneath her. Her sharp canines were digging deep into his soft throat before his body had even landed on the ground, her jaws clamping together with an irreversible finality as she twisted and tore at his neck, leaving no possibility of reversing her intended outcome. This man would die; and she got a sick sense of satisfaction, that both hers and her father wolves had the same coloured coat. That the last thing Arthur Bruce would see was a black Merrier wolf, as it ended his life in retribution, for harming the mother of their pack.

Arthur's warm coppery blood was filling her mouth and coating her fur as, Colt yanked and tugged on his neck, ignoring his hands as they uselessly pulled at the coat of her shoulders; until they began to weaken and Colt was spitting out what felt like half of Arthur's neck on the ground beside him. She watched the panicked expression in his eyes, with a hate fuelled satisfaction; Arthur had realised he would now be dead in mere seconds. What was left of his trachea was gaping open and closed, flailing uselessly, while it tried in vein to pull oxygen in through the mangled airway, that was quickly beginning to gargle and bubble, as it became stained red with spilled blood.

Arthur's eyes were still frozen in panic when his body gave up, and he succumbed to death. The Bruce clan chief was dead.

Colt briefly turned her eyes to exact her vengeance on the other men, all of whom had shifted and ran in, leaving their weapons behind along with the stench of their fear.

Only Angus stood their like a ghost, whiter than white having watched his Uncle die. He was overwhelmed with the reality of everything that had happened. His Uncle had led him to believe the clan was owed Colt, and they would hold her hostage till she relented and agreed to his terms. But, the truth of everything that had come out, and his Uncle, or his father's sudden death, had shaken him to the core. By the time he stopped throwing up, he discovered Colt had began stalking toward him, a fresh wave of snarls rising from her as she did so.

The angry she wolf seemed to have located her next target.

Angus was backing away, hands raised in surrender, stuttering out "I... I... I... d... d... didn't know, I.. I... s..s..swear."

He was more than thankful, when the familiar sound of a car entered the driveway. It seemed her parents were home, and suddenly Colt's anger focused on a new target, her whole body turning from Angus as she growled out at the approaching vehicle.

The car picked up speed as Kalvin and Isla spotted the disturbance, their daughter outside advancing in her wolf form towards a terrified man behind her, before they were skidding to a halt, behind Arthur's car, the nose of the bonnet only missing a collision by an inch.

Isla froze as she got out of the car, the passenger side door closest to the house. His scent hit her momentarily, a scent she would never forget, no matter how much she wished to eviscerate it from her mind. Next came the thick and heavy smell of blood, hanging in the air and catching in her throat, it clearly belonged to the dead man on the ground. The dead man she once thought would spend his life caring for her, till fate changed her life for the better and put her in the path of a certain black wolf, she couldn't imagine being without.

Colt returned back to her human form, savouring the anchoring sensation left by the pain of a deliberately slow shift, with a look of fury written over her face, as her father ran towards her in a blur.

"Colt! Princess! What's happened? Are you okay?" he rushed out, concerned by the state of his daughter.

The blood smeared down her front, from her mouth past her collar bones, was creating a stark contrast on her pale skin, and with her dark hair, she looked like a vampyric version of snow white, from a fairy tale that had gone disturbingly wrong.

But, Colt wasn't overcome with relief at the sight of her father, she was fuelled with fire, and overwhelmed with too many emotions to be able to think rationally.

Kalvin instinctively slowed, as Colt's growling began to increase the closer he got, until he was paused about four feet away from her, a look of anguished pain etched over his face; not only because he was desperate to hold her and know that she was alright, but because in his mind, he had failed to protect her again. He knew they shouldn't have left her.

"Colt?" He asked, as Isla staggered into his side, her horrified gasp filling the air as she got a close up of the scene at their feet. "Beautiful?" Kalvin asked, his concern moving to his wobbling mate, as he reached out to steady her.

But Isla's voice was frozen in her throat, her eyes filled with tears as the memories she had suppressed for so long hit her in the gut, almost causing her to collapse. He was definitely dead. Arthur Bruce was finally dead, and it was Colt who had killed him.

Colt had found her voice though, and it was scathing, "How dare you feign concern for my mother! You fucking hypocrite!"

"What!" Kalvin almost growled at Colt's implication, even though he wasn't entirely sure what it was, "Colt?" He asked through gritted teeth, failing to conceal his irritation.

"Sis?" Lewis asked confused at the tension.

He was running back from the house where he had disappeared when their parents got out of the car, to collect a blanket which he now was wrapping over his sister's shoulders. But, Colt made no move to grab at it, and Lewis found he had to hold it himself to keep it in place. Though, with how her body was trembling, maybe that was a good thing, then if she did lose control and shift, he would be there to grab her, before she attacked anyone else.

"Colt, what's going on?" Lewis asked, as a horrified Felix pulled up the driveway.

Felix's eyes were bulging out, and his anger was rising as he spotted Angus, sat back on the ground by the door holding his head in his hands.

Colt raised her hand, accusing her father as she pointed at him, "He let this scum live! The man who just bragged to me, about raping our mother, like she was a dog! And you let him live!" She screamed disgusted, taking advantage of Lewis' shock and lunging out of his grasp to attack her Dad.

Kalvin was horrified, there was so much hatred in Colt's voice, never mind her actual accusation. But, before he could respond, Isla was in front of him and blocking Colt's path.

"Stop it!" Isla yelled, her eyes brimming with tears, as she brought her hand across Colt's face in a sharp slap. Her breathing was ragged and she looked like she was struggling to stay upright on her own. Her eyes fixating for a moment on the blood that had transferred from Colt's face to her own hand.

Colt froze, her hand raised to her cheek while she looked hurt beyond words. Her Mom had never raised her hand to any of them before.

"Mom?" She cried out. "He has to pay! He failed you!"

"No, He didn't! Your Dad never knew, Colt." Isla stated, her knees weakening, as she wrapped her arms about herself, while ensuring her right and bloodied hand, never made contact with her body. "I never told him," she whispered, her eyes falling to her feet, and closing at the sight of Arthur's lifeless body on the ground below them. Her tears began to flow freely down her cheeks, as over thirty years of buried pain engulfed her.

"Isla?" Kalvin asked, horrified and ashamed. So much made sense now Isla's strange behaviour, and how she kept looking over her shoulder; the way she had never pushed to visit home since she left, despite missing her brother. He pulled her into his embrace, holding her as close as he possibly could. "I'm so sorry, Beautiful, I'm so sorry." He whispered into her hair as her body was wracked with sobs.

Colt couldn't take it anymore. Her Mom's sobs, her father's apologies, the look of loss on Lewis' face as he tried to understand, Felix's confusion as he held Angus to prevent his escape. The dead man at her feet, the man who had raped her Mom, who would have raped her. The man she killed, just lying there lifeless and glassy eyed. It was too much, it was all just to much, her body exploded in an instant.

"Colt.." Isla began, reaching out for her daughter.

But, Colt just stepped backwards and shook her head, before she spun on her heel and ran towards the beach, and straight into the sea. She was desperately drinking in large mouthfuls of water, the salt tingling on her tongue as she lapped up the sea water, wanting to trigger her gag reflex. It wasn't long before she was stood on the sand heaving up the bloodied contents of her stomach. But, she could still feel Arthur's dried blood, hard and sticky in her coat, so she began clawing uselessly at her neck with her hind legs, not caring when she clawed her skin raw and her own blood began to mix with Arthur's.

She only stopped when she heard a low and sad whine.

Looking up, she stopped, seeing Lewis' tawny grey wolf staring at her from eight feet away. Pleading with his eyes for her to stop. To come home. To explain all that he didn't understand. But, she couldn't, not now. Instead she let out a mournful howl and bolted, disappearing onto the dunes, and running to where... she wasn't quite sure, while the sound of Lewis' answering howl echoed after her.

*Author's Note: There wont be an update tomorrow, as I have to write out the next batch of outlines first. And also, shame on all those who thought Colt needed someone to save her... 😉🤣*