Chapter 49: Forty-nine.

Colt had tossed and turned for half the night, before she eventually found some refuge from her anger in sleep. It was during the early hours when she woke up, but thankfully she discovered, she was still alone in the bed where she had lain her head. A part of her wouldn't have put it past Elijah to have either snuck in with her, or carried her off back to the main bedroom while she slept - another part of her secretly wished he had.

When she looked over to the bedside table clock, to check the actual time however, she realised something was amiss. She could hear the faint sounds of snores echoing through the darkness. They weren't loud, in your face from the back of someone's throat snores, but there was the definite tell tale sign, that there was someone close by who was asleep. On her guard she crept out of bed, tip toeing silently through the dark empty room, her wildcat enhanced vision and stealth, giving her the perfect prowess to remain undetected, as she crept towards the door where the sound was coming from. Slowly she opened the door and peeked outside, her body tense as she readied herself with the possibility of an incoming fight.

But what she discovered had her softening instantly.

"Oh Elijah." she whispered, her hand rising up like she could push the noise back into her mouth.

There at the foot of the door lay her mate, asleep in his wolf form, his breathing steady as the tip of one of his paws twitched slightly like he was dreaming. His body was mostly curled around itself on the hard wooden floor, pressed as close to the boundary of the room but without a single hair crossing the line. Without thinking Colt skipped back to the bed a pulled of the comforter that was on top of the duvet and took it back to Elijah, along with a pillow which she placed beside his head before draping the comforter over him. Trying to give him some comfort and warmth at least. Shaking her head she went back and climbed into the bed till morning, leaving the door open to him as she did so. She wasn't sure if it was due to her inability to shift or if it was an organic persoality trait, but Colt had, for as long as she could remember, a complete soft spot for animals, it appeared Elijah's wolf form was not an exception to the rule, either. Even if the man himself, was in the dog house.

When morning had arrived, Colt woke up again, this time to a very distinctive silence. There at the foot of the bed was the folded up comforter and pillow, neatly stacked, as she stretched out beside them, noticing a single daisy sat on top of the pillow. She picked up the daisy, smiling at the little delicate flower and twirled it between her fingers. She smiled as she watched the morning light highlighting the pale white petals as it spun slowly in her gentle grasp.

Getting up, she quickly threw on some clothes, deciding on breakfast before a shower and walked out into the glaringly empty hallway in search of food and more importantly in search of her mate.

She found both in the kitchen. Elijah was standing scratching his head, obviously distracted at whatever he was watching out of the window. Colt silently slipped into the room and approached him from behind, slipping her arms about his waist from the back and nuzzling her head into his broad back, as she felt him sigh and soften into her touch.

"I don't want to fight, Elijah." she whispered, against his back. "I want to forget the whole stupid thing ever happened." she pleaded, desperate to salvage the last of her time with him.

Elijah had been staring at the empty spot in the back yard, where he had lost his temper and demolished Nora's toy two nights ago. Wishing he could have changed things. He had called his Mom this morning, hoping for a refutal of Colt's claims, only to have to hear all her accusations confirmed instead, before his Mother filled him in on exactly how much of a positive impression, Colt had truly made on Nora.

He felt like the world's biggest hypocrite. Here he was the leader of the largest wolf pack in the country, possibly in history and he couldn't even look after one eight year old, and was forgetting important details, like his mate's allergies. Not to mention, his abominable childish tantrums, he was so deeply embarrassed, there wasn't a word for it.

"Little Bird, I would like nothing more," he sighed, manoeuvring Colt around and settling her into his embrace. "But, I can't. You were right. I am so selfishly focused on my own desires, that I'm missing the bigger picture and it isn't okay. I won't allow it to happen again. I loved what you did with Nora yesterday, what you did for her. But, I acted like a fool all the same. The same as I have done with Zachary..."

"Zachary?" Colt asked confused, "What has he got to do with it?"

"Put it this way, he was owed another apology, this time from me though. Don't worry, I've already sorted it out." He said, with another sigh.

"Okay." Colt sighed, deciding not to pry further into something that clearly had Elijah uncomfortable.

"Please don't make me sleep alone tonight, Colt." he asked quietly, as he stood breathing in every bit of her he could, as his arms flexed about her waist pulling her tighter to him.

"I couldn't bare to, Balto." Colt answered, a slight waver to her voice.

Concerned, Elijah stepped away to look at her, "What's wrong?" He asked.

Colt sighed and buried herself back into his warm embrace. "This just isn't how I thought our time together would end up. That's all." She acknowledged.

"Oh? and what did you have planned?" He asked curiously.

"A lot less drama, mostly." Colt sighed, looking up into Elijah's ice blue eyes, again.

"Then, let's do that today." Elijah said kissing the top of Colt's head. "And, I will try and listen more. I love you, Colt and I am sorry about yesterday."

"I'm sorry you had to sleep on the floor. Though, to be fair, you didn't have to, you do have a very good bed in this house." Colt added, hinting at his obsessiveness.

Elijah squeezed Colt a bit tighter, "Yes, but you weren't in it, so...."

"Oh, Elijah." Colt said as she snuggled in closer to him.

"Thank you for the blanket, Beautiful." He whispered.

Colt simply shrugged and buried herself closer into his arms.

With a sigh, Elijah spoke again, "I mentioned before I was afflicted by solum rabidus, Colt. I sometimes wonder if I still am. When it comes to you, I have complete tunnel vision, I just need to be near you, I need to hold you. It's like an intense burning sensation, I want to say the discomfort only disappears when you're in my arms, but the truth is it's painful. Up until you look at me, or smile. Your face, your touch, your voice, your scent make it better." He sighed again. "I dont know, if it is a mate bond thing, or a left over 'I went a bit insane' thing. But, I do know I never used to be this much of a 'giant man-child' as you called me." He said with half a laugh. "In truth, I'm just not sure what to do."

Colt could hear the pain in Elijah's voice as he opened up. She would have given anything to make him feel better right there and then, but the news she had to relay, would only make things worse right now. So instead, she kissed him. Once they had broken apart, she looked up into his beautiful face and said, "Let me get something to eat and take a shower. Then we should go for a walk. You can show me your favourite spots, and as long as we swing past your Aunt's bakery and get more cakes, I promise not to make you sleep on the floor again." She said with a wink, trying to lighten the mood.

Elijah laughed happily, the thought of taking Colt out and showing her around, as well as showing her off was very appealing to him. "Alright, I think we can manage that. What would you like to eat?"

"I'm good with muesli, nice and quick." she said with a smile.

"Woman, I mean this with love I do. But, I have never seen you eat a meal slowly, not once. They're all quick." Elijah joked.

Colt laughed at this, "Yes well, you grow up with five brothers, you learn to eat fast or starve. Plus, I like food, a lot!" She smiled, extracting herself reluctantly from Elijah's arms to go and search for some cereal. "Would you like some?" she asked, when she found the correct cupboard.

"I'm good, thanks." Elijah answered, patting his stomach as he went to retrieve the milk from the fridge for her.

About ninety minutes later, the pair were headed out into the cold, but thankfully dry and sun filled day. Elijah had insisted, they head for a walk first intending to show Colt something special, he secretively claimed. Although he didn't clarify exactly what or where it was.

The walk was pleasant, and Elijah pointed out different places of significance as they went. Including his childhood home and the place where he made his first official run as Alpha of the North American South East Pack - Althoug due to the size the territory had grown to he had since dropped the word 'East' from it's title.

It was a pretty spot, sacred to the locals, especially the older generations and used for ceremonies and official gatherings in the area. Colt liked it, she could see the reverence with which Elijah held the place in, shining through as he spoke.

"Elijah, Can I ask something?" she began, tightening her grip on his hand, as they headed back towards the town.

"Anything, Beautiful." He replied as he pulled her hand up to his face and kissed the inside of her wrist.

"How many members are actually in this pack? I mean I know it's the largest in the country, but how many wolves are there?" She asked.

Elijah stopped and looked at Colt sheepishly. "If I'm entirely honest, Colt, I don't know. I have focused so much on finding you with all the land we have taken over, I have really no idea. Obviously the area isn't only inhabited by wolves, there are all types of shifter and non shifter communities as well, so it isn't like I can just pull up a census poll. So I can't really answer that."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?" She asked concerned.

"What do you mean?" Elijah said, not understanding her meaning.

"Well, looking at my own past, and the atrocity that happened to Ross. Which was done in your name, regardless of your thoughts or decisions on the matter. There could easily be more incidents like it. What else is being done in your name, that you dont know about. What else could you be being blamed for, and having enemies created from? Not to mention the whole pack hierarchy thing is a bit out dated don't you think?" She hazarded a suggestion, hoping it didn't cause another row.

"Okay, I see what you are saying about the numbers and its definitely something I will be sorting out now. Though the pack stretches from the South East in Georgia, up to Iowa in the North Western boundary, so I think it may take a while." he boasted.

"I know what size your territory is, Elijah." Colt laughed, adding in a slight innuendo "But I am definitely more impressed, with what you do with it."

Elijah's chest rumbled in approval at Colt's dirty minded joke, but there was still one thing bothering him about her last comment. "What do you mean about the pack hierarchy system, Little Bird?"

Colt tensed momentarily, knowing this would likely be a touchy subject. "I suppose, I mean the whole ranking system and pack mentality isn't really needed anymore. When we were still in hiding from humans and needed to survive, I can totally get why the pack was relevant. But now." she shrugged. "I mean you don't even know your pack members anymore. Doesn't that in it's very essence, make the whole thing kind of redundant? There are no more pack houses, no more tight knit communities, and no more safety offered within the group than without. It all seems a bit like an imagery thing, nowadays."

Elijah's face was crumpled as he took in Colt's words. He couldn't argue her logic, but this was what he had always known. What his grandfather had raised him to believe in, and shaped him to take over for as long as he could remember. What Colt was saying couldn't be right could it?

Colt sensed Elijah's unease and stepped in to wrap her arms about him. "It's only a conversation, Elijah. I'm not telling you to change anything. I wouldn't and couldn't do that." she said leaning her head against his chest as he kissed her head and breathed in her calming scent.

It was fast becoming like an addictive drug to him, her smell, and her touch. He always needed more.

"Can we change the subject then?" Elijah asked, afraid to examine this topic further.

"Of course, Balto." Colt smiled, untangling herself from him, so she could look up to his eyes. "You can tell me where we are headed instead." She winked, fishing for information.

Elijah burst out laughing, "Come on, we will need a bit if help to get there." He said, pulling Colt along by their I intertwined hands towards a large SUV, that appeared parked out of nowhere. "Get in."