Chapter 39: Thirty-nine.

"Are you utterly insane?" Elijah asked in disbelief at the absurdity of such a suggestion. "If you think for one second, that I would leave her then you are seriously deluded."

Elijah could feel the internal rumble of the growl he was busy suppressing, with all his might. He was disgusted at Isla's suggestion and the more time that passed the more outraged he could feel himself becoming. His breathing had become erratic as he tried to control the flare of his temper that was desperate to burst from his body, along with an ache in his jaw that was developing as he clenched it as tightly as he could.

"You're a selfish prick." scoffed Harris dismissively, shaking his head, at Elijah's narrow mindedness.

Elijah slammed his fists on the table, "Because you would so easily abandon your mate would you?" he asked sarcastically, becoming thoroughly angered at how these people continually looked down on him.

"None of us would have to, because we would never have put our mates into a fucking catatonic state, the way you have. We know how to take care of our loved ones in this family!" Asher jumped in to his brother's defense.

"Watch your fucking mouth!" Elijah bellowed, his temper starting to break, as he was accused of not caring for Colt, when all he was concerned for right now was her well being.

Isla sighed, rubbing her temples before standing and looking down at Elijah. "And this is why it is best you leave. All you had to do at this moment in time is keep your voice down and not disturb her. Yet that in itself, such a simple task to protect your mate as you keep pointing out she is, proves to be too much for you Elijah. Right now Colt needs stability, and calmness which evidently you cannot be relied upon to provide. Not to mention it is dealing with your bloody crap, that has stressed her system out beyond its capabilities in the first place." Isla continued, speaking in a calm steady manner, as Elijah visibly shrank under the barrage of her words. "Right now, you caused the problem, you are currently exacerbating the problem, and quite frankly when Colt wakes up, it would be best if you were not here to continue being a problem! Face it Elijah Lupus, you are the one causing her harm right now! So you are the one who needs to leave and let her heal."

Elijah was frozen to the spot, he had four stone cold faces staring at him with nothing but contempt and potentially loathing in their eyes. He was struggling to accept the bitter pill of truth, Isla had coldly served him. But, even he could see the truth in her words, and it was suffocating him. His eyes were open but it was almost like no one was behind the scenes, as he realised what they were saying was true, right now he was the problem. It was his own actions which had hurt Colt. Hadn't she herself asked him to leave with her very last spoken words, and when he refused... The painful reality was crashing down on him in a tsunami of agony, and now he would have to do the impossible. He would have to dig deeper than he ever has before, to find the strength he needed to walk away from Colt Merrier.

-----

Colt groaned, as she slowly started coming to, her body was aching and her head pounding along with it. The memories of what had happened hit her like a freight train, and for just a moment she couldn't breathe. But, as always in these scenarios, that first shockwave when she woke passed and she pushed her eyes open and tried to swallow. However, that only seemed to cause her more pain, her mouth was so very dry and her tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth with velcro. "Urgh." She groaned, accepting that right now, she just felt utterly crap.

"Well hello there, Princess." Came Kalvin"s relieved voice, from beside her.

Colt's eyes swiveled to the left quickly and zeroed in on her father, it brought a small smile to her face as she acknowledged his comforting presence.

"Water first?" he asked, smiling down at her, and proffering a glass towards her.

Colt gently nodded, as Kalvin held the glass with the straw beside her allowing the to drink without moving.

Colt pulled the cool liquid up into her mouth, swirling it around before swallowing it down her equally parched throat, it was a relief, yet somehow felt like it was burning at the same time.

"Thank you, Dad." she croaked out, her voice feeling slightly easier than she anticipated, before forcing her body to sit up, even as it induced her sore head into a feeling akin to her brain being on a spin cycle in a washing machine. She took a deep breath, as she settled her back against her pillows and the headboard, her hand coming to her now rolling stomach as she willed it not to evict the water she had just drank.

"So, your Mom sent me up here with a banana for you." Kalvin said with a lighthearted quizzical look on his face. "You know, it's kind of eerie how her sixth sense about all you kids work. She knew you would be awake, I still don't know how she does that."

Colt smirked at this, because her Dad was right, when it came to little things like this, her Mom always knew. There was only one point of concern.

"Dad, I hate bananas." she laughed, a fact her Mother was well aware of.

"Yes, I know, and I did say that to her." he smiled, " 'But they are the most underrated of superfoods Kalvin, and it will be gentle on her stomach when she is just awake, you know how she always gets nauseous.' was the response I got." he added imitating his wife's Scottish accent very badly.

Colt burst into laughter at this, unfortunately she then started to gag at the sudden movement her body was unexpectedly performing. Her hand over her mouth, she managed to stifle the reaction and wincing calmed down, and took a shakey deep breath.

"Oh, don't make me laugh, Dad." she groaned. "No bananas either, I will get some cucumber when I come down. Much nicer." she laughed.

Kalvin smiled as he moved the offensive banana away, and instead pulled out from the bottom shelf on the bedside unit, a plate with some thinly sliced cucumber, and presented it to his daughter with a flourish.

"I got you, Princess." he said beaming with pride, as his daughter smiled gratefully at him, her eyes lighting up at such a simple gesture.

"Thank you, Daddy." Colt said genuinely, as she picked up a slice and started to nibble on it, enjoying the light flavour and the moisture content helping to begin to gently rehydrate her worn out system.

Once the small plate was empty, and the burning in her stomach had settled, Colt became acutely aware or another burning feeling, this one from just above her collar bone. It was niggling at her, like an itch more than anything, as her hand reached up automatically and traced the healed scar from Elijah's mark on her. She sighed, her head still hurting and turned to her father.

"Elijah?" she asked.

"We sent him home, he left the resort early this morning. He has promised to stay away as well, until you send for him." Kalvin said delicately, not sure how his newly mated daughter would take the news.

"Oh." was all Colt could say at first. She wasn't entirely sure if she was happy, relieved, annoyed or sad that he had left her. But, she was definitely shocked. "He left me? So easily?" she asked.

"I don't believe it was easy, your Mom delivered him with some honest revelations that were likely rather hard to hear, Princess." Kalvin said from his seat beside the bed. "She told him about what was going on with you, why you were in the state you were in." Kalvin explained. "Plus, I also have a team deployed around the boundaries of our land. He can't get through, not till you allow him."

"Are you kidding, Dad? She told him, he was the reason why, didn't she." Colt stated more than asked him.

"She did, yes. She wasn't wrong either, Colt." Kalvin clarified, suddenly wanting to defend his mate's choices.

"I know, Dad." Colt sighed, stiffly swinging her legs from the bed "I know, Mom is rarely wrong." she giggled, eyeing the yellow fruit beside her bed. "Except when it comes to bananas obviously." she laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, and just for your information, I know you like to call me 'Princess' but, I'm not some kind of maiden in the tower type of woman who needs protecting." Colt mildly admonished, with a smile.

"She does have an odd obsession with them doesn't she." Kalvin in said laughing, glad to see the merriment in his daughter's countenance. "Seriously though, I will always protect you, Princess."

"Dad, please lose the guard detail." Colt requested.

"Fine." Kalvin huffed. "But, only if you tell me if you are really alright, Colt." he sighed.

"Honestly?" she asked her shoulders slumping, "No, Dad I'm not. He betrayed me" she said her voice switching to awe. "I didn't think your mate was supposed to be able to do something like that?" she asked.

"Oh, Princess, generally a mate acts with the other's happiness in mind, but remember, you weren't fully mated at the time." he offered, trying to pour water on the fire Elijah started. "And to be fair to him, as much as I hate to say it, there is an expectation among most wolves that the female in a mated pair will move her life to join the male. But, it's an expectation not a rule, and he should have spoke to you, there is no loophole for him to slip out of there, what he did was out of line."

Colt was slightly flabbergasted at what her Dad was saying to her. "Are you telling me he is in the right Dad? After what he attempted?"

"Gods no, Colt." Kalvin exclaimed. "Put it this way, I wont ever forgive him for hurting you, but I cannot fully condemn him either. Not when I did something similar to your mother, nearly lost my eyes for it too." he smirked at the memory. "Just know, even though he has hurt you, it won't have been his intention.

Colt let his words sink on for a minute, before saying, "Thanks Dad." She smiled feeling slightly better. "I'm going to head for a shower, then come grab breakfast."

"Good luck with that, Asher, Harris and Lewis are all here, I doubt there's any food left on the mountain." Kalvin teased her.

"I better hurry then." she laughed, heading out of the door to the bathroom.