Chapter 60: Sixty.

Colt ripped her seatbelt off and thrust the car door open, just in time to topple out of the car. The gravel from the road, where she landed, bit into her knees and the palms of her hands, while her body began to wretch and heave. The bile in her throat burned as it vacated her body, and by the time her stomach gave up, Colt was drowning in her own tears while struggling to breathe.

Nora was gone.

That sweet girl, who was looking to be loved, who loved sloths and baking. Who had big blue eyes, and sun kissed blond hair, combined with enough sass to bring a grown man to his knees, was gone forever. How could life be so cruel, she wasn't even nine years old.

To make matters worse, Colt realised, Elijah had been on his own without her. Going through such pain, and not even knowing where she was, whether his mate was alive or dead. How Colt wished she had been home sooner. If she had known, she would have dropped everything.

That, last thought helped her regain some composure, she could grieve later. Right now, she had to get to Elijah. Ignoring the cramping and spasming in her empty gut, Colt forced herself back into the car, and back to a horrid reality.

Her parents were calling her name panicking at not receiving a reply.

"Colt! Colt! What's going on?" Isla demanded. "I swear to high heavens, if you aren't okay, I will throttle you! Colt! Colt!"

"Isla, settle down." Kalvin attempted to soothe, with an incredibly ineffective and strained voice. "Princess?" He kept calling.

"Mom, Mom, calm down alright." She forced out, sounding incredibly nasal. "I'm fine, I was just outside of the car. Apparently I had to vomit." She explained, with a strange calmness, that she certainly wasn't feeling.

"Look, I'm sorry. But, have to go. I will call you tomorrow, I promise. I have to get to Elijah." Colt explained, feeling a new determination set into her bones.

"Wait, Princess. Not yet, there's more." Kalvin sighed, before continuing. "It's Elijah. He has been drinking. A lot. Just be careful." he warned.

"Okay, noted" Colt said only half paying attention, before she abruptly hung up.

Colt let out a blood curling scream as soon as the end call button had been hit, and she kept screaming until her throat felt completely raw. Then instead she pounded her fists onto the steering wheel, while the rest of her tears poured out in silence. Colt had to get to Elijah, but first she had to cry, because once she got to him, she would have to be strong for him, and right now she needed to get her own pain out of her system.

So, again Coltt began to scream solidly, till her throat felt bruised, and her eyes were puffy. Nora was gone, and Colt wasn't just heartbroken. She was livid at the cowards who killed her.

Her anger brought her something of a sense of calm, and with it she was able to drive the remaining distance to Elijah's house, without her teary eyes obscuring road completely.

Pulling into Elijah's driveway, she took a swig of her remaining soda, from the centre console drinks holder, needing to wash away the taste of bile, and somehow hoping the sugar and caffeine would negate, the jetlag that was settling in. Then, feeling overwhelmed with the sad reality surrounding her, Colt got out of the car, and stepped onto the driveway. That's when she realized, Elijah wasn't alone.

There were two vehicles parked here, one she didn't recognise and the other was Elijah's and saying it was parked was being generous. It looked more like it had been abandoned in a hurry. The passenger side tyres were sinking in the soft lawn and what was a lilac bush was being crushed beneath SUVs engine. The driver's door wasn't even closed and Colt could hear the ignition was still on.

Heading over to the literal car crash, to turn the damn thing off, Colt was hit with the overwhelming scent of alcohol, and perfume. That's when it clicked, the car swerving down the road was Elijah. He had been drunk and driving. Confirmed by the empty vodka bottles laid on their sides in the passenger footwell. He wasn't okay at all. Everything else faded, her grief, the other car, all her senses honed in on one thing, Elijah, and he obviously needed her.

Turning the SUV off and taking the key, Colt ran and burst through the front door. She threw the key into the bowl on the sideboard, but before she could call out, she was put on her guard. There was an argument going on. Following the sound of raised voices, recognising them to be Elijah's and Zachary's, she headed upstairs. At least he wasn't on his own, she tried to reassure herself while she began to barrel through the house, noticing it also smelled of stale alcohol and damp.

Actually, she noticed the place was really, really filthy. She slowed seeing the true carnage of her mate's grief. The family photos she had previously admired were smashed on the ground, there were old food stains smeared on the walls. One wall had been partially knocked out, revealing the ragged broken timbers of the house, and by the traces of blood around the edges, it looked although, Elijah had used his fists to do so.

A draft in the upstairs hallway alerted Colt to the first broken window, and by the temperature inside, she doubted it was the only one, as she kept progressing further up towards the bedroom. Closer to where the sounds of the screaming match was coming from. Stepping over the drapes that had been torn from the window across from Elijah's bedroom door, Colt hesitated, taking a deep breath before going to push the door open and step inside.

But, she paused. What Zachary shouted next, gripped her spine in an ice like vice. She was frozen now, listening in on an argument, that was not on her radar of possibilities at all.

-----

Zachary chased, Elijah out of the bar begging him to reconsider. This wouldn't make his pain any better, it would only make things worse, so much worse. But Elijah ignored him, and instead he was forced to drive after him, determined to make his alpha see sense, before it was too late. If the idiot didn't crash his SUV first anyway. Elijah was all over the road, and only just managed to avoid the parked car on the last stretch of road leading to his house.

Before he knew it, he was in his Alpha's bedroom, having followed him through every other part of the house, while ignoring every command Elijah threw at him to leave.

"Get the fuck out!" Elijah bellowed at him.

"No! You will regret this, Eli." Zachary yelled. "You need to get that whore out of here!" He growled, indicating this particular mode of self destruction was unacceptable.

They both knew in Elijah's current state, Zachary was stronger, but even so, Elijah was shocked to find that command had nearly buckled him. Zachary could take the pack right now if he desired, and the realisation that he didn't, only seemed to fuel Elijah's rage more.

He moved to the bed, and reached for the vodka bottle on the bedside table and took a long swig, before spitefully turning back to Zachary. "What's your fucking deal anyway? Lost your mate so you have to fail at protecting mine too?" He scoffed. "Well, try to protect mine, since nobody knows where she fucking is."

"Elijah, you really are pathetic!" Zachary responded with disgust. "Trying to make me relive my pain won't lessen yours. Just like fucking some random woman you picked up in a bar wont bring your sister back." Zachary snarled.

Elijah laughed, his maniacal nature shining through. "How little you know, Beta. First off, Nora wasn't my sister, she was my daughter!" He scoffed, before snarling out, "She was my fucking daughter! And, this random woman, Carrie, was her birth mother. She is the only one who understands." He said pointing at the half passed out she wolf lounging on the bed patiently waiting and just riding out her buzz. "And you, Beta, if it wasn't for you, and my fucking grandfather, pushing me to find my true mate, we would have been a family!" Elijah bellowed, throwing the now empty bottle at Zachary's head but missing him completely.

Zachary growled, "Firstly dont bullshit anyone here Elijah, Nora was your sister, whether you biologically fathered her or not. Up until Colt appeared you never took any real interest in her what so ever. So, lay your guilt where it belongs at your own feet." Zachary spat. "That whore, dumped her child on you, and your folks stepped up, you didn't! They were Nora's parents, not you, and the whole pack knows it! Also, you begged me to help you find Colt, not the other way around. Oh and you are a shit shot." He snarled threateningly.

"Just get the fuck out, Zachary." Elijah snarled back, unwilling to listen to reason.

"After her," he said holding his ground, while pointing at Carrie, who didn't seem phased at all by Nora's passing.

"She isn't leaving." Elijah growled.

"And what about your mate, Colt? The one who it took you a decade to find. The one who quite frankly you've fucked over enough." Zachary bit back, as a familiar scent reached him and he froze momentarily.

"As far as I'm concerned, Beta that bitch has caused nothing but pain. The purists were right about her. She should have been fucking drowned at birth." Elijah spat, before storming to the adjoining bathroom and slamming the door.

Zachary stood there appalled. Never in their entire friendship would he have imagined Elijah was capable of this. Then he heard the retreating footsteps, and he knew he was right. That scent was real, Colt was here, and she had heard every damn word Elijah just said. He took one last look at the drunk woman on the bed, as she just raised an eyebrow at him silently, before he chased out the door after his Luna.