Chapter 67: Sixty-seven.

Zachary was heading outside, and when he stepped over the threshold of the hospital, and into the early summer warmth, it felt like a weight had been lifted from him, like suddenly he could breathe deeply again. He really did hate hospitals.

He walked out into the large ground level parking lot, looking to try and find Kalvin, and Colt's elder brother, Harris as he went. He sighed to himself as he threaded through the cars, it looked like it was going to be a lovely day. Warm and comfortable, not at all like the humid weather he would be experiencing back home, or where home once was. He realised he felt quite adrift in the world right now.

There was a small grassy knoll over on the west side of the lot, and it had been set up with planted flower beds with little wooden benches under some cherry blossom trees for the patients and visitors to enjoy. As well as to offer up somewhere to seek refuge in nature, for the staff during particularly difficult days. There were clearly people from all walks of life here, and it was here he spotted Kalvin and his son, having what seemed to be a serious discussion.

"Hey." He called over to them, increasing his pace, now he knew where exactly he was headed. "A certain Irish Lady, said you were looking for me."

Kalvin and Harris looked slightly perplexed, before they glance at one another and began shaking their heads while smiling.

"Yes, I suppose as of the last thirty seconds, I guess we are." Kalvin laughed, with his face wrinkling at his eyes as he did so.

"Sorry, but it kind of freaks me out a little. How the hell does she do that?" Harris said mockingly, with a pretend shudder.

Zachary looked from one to the other, before checking, "So you weren't looking for me?" He asked for clarity, wondering why Maeve wanted rid of him.

Harris responded, "At the time you left the hospital, no. But by the time you found us, yes we now are."

"Obviously. Maeve's gifts are beyond our comprehension." Kalvin added. "Thankfully, she seems to be on our side, though. What else did she say?"

"Our side?" Harris snorted. "She won't let us kill that asshole yet, though." He added petulantly.

"You know fine well why we can't. It could hurt Colt. Their bond is still there, ripping it away while she is weak, is stupid and dangerous. No, Maeve was right, it's far too risky." Kalvin said placating his son, by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Plus, as your Mom, keeps reminding me, it's your sister's decision. No one elses."

Harris begrudgingly agreed with his father, while still rolling his eyes, before turning to Zachary again, "So, what else did she have to say then?"

For a moment Zachary was at a loss about how to tell them that Maeve had brought up his dead mate. That she had some type of mysterious connection to his Maya, and that he was too chicken shit to ask her further about it. He scrubbed his face as Harris interrupted his thought train.

"Hello, Earth to Zach!" Harris said, the tall black haired man clicking his fingers infront of Zachary's face rudely.

"Harris, manners." Kalvin chided the thirty-three year old, who should really know better, even if Zachary had zoned out on them.

"Sorry, Man, I'm just stressed." He apologized. "What else did Maeve tell you about our chat?"

"Oh, right that." Zachary, internally scolded himself, of course they weren't asking about Maya and Maeve, obviously they would be being specific to the present conversation, they don't even know about Maya, he sighed. "She said I should accept." He said shrugging, "No word of what I would be accepting though?" He asked.

"She's a smart one." Kalvin stated, as Harris laughed at Maeve's accuracy and aloofness.

"Also," Zachary added, "That the docs will be around with an update in about an hour."

"Also a neat trick, I'll admit." Harris chimed in. "So, shall we head in and discuss it on the way?" He motioned.

"Sounds like a plan." Kalvin added.

The three men began to head back into the hospital, stopping by the cafeteria at Zachary's request for actual coffee. He desperately needed to wash out the taste of the tea Maeve gave him, he explained, making both Kalvin and Harris laugh at his misfortune. Though the females of the Merrier clan enjoyed tea, not one of the males could stomach it, and at least all of them had been coerced into drinking it at one point or another since Maeve swam into their lives.

"So, Zachary," Kalvin began, as they entered the elevator. "We want to take you on at the security firm. That is what we were discussing, and are wanting you to accept. A job."

"For real?" Zachary asked, astounded. He had presumed because of his affiliation with Elijah, that the Merriers would automatically write him off, and he was actually suprised they had tolerated him this long.

"Oh yeah." Harris stated, slapping him on the back. "Makes sense, you were the Beta of the largest pack in America. You coordinated so many security procedures, training protocols, plus at the time, you hounded us non-stop about upgrades and taking said pack on as a client, that we know you are at least familiar with us to some degree."

"More, importantly. You have proven that you value the life of an innocent more than that of someone your loyalty is technically tied to. You will stand up for what is right." Kalvin added, "You saved Colt's life, you didn't hesitate, you were the first one to recognise her heart had stopped and begin CPR, before even the professionals that were there that night, could get a look in. You advocated for her enough against your Alpha, when he was hunting her, by threatening me. You had her back."

"She is by the rights of the old laws, my Luna." Zachary said humbly, as they all exited the elavator. "It's my job to protect her. I think it's why I'm still here, to see she is alright, even if the pack is done with, my duty is not."

"You can't put down your mantle." Kalvin said knowingly. "I understand, I was a Beta myself once. You have a lot of honour, Zachary. We respect that."

Zachary suddenly felt shy and uncomfortable. The adulation and attention was a bit too much for him right now. He sipped his coffee quietly for a moment, using it as an obvious excuse not to answer for a moment, and to give himself a chance to process what was being said.

"So, what do you say?" Harris asked, interrupting his discomfort. "You in?"

"Depends on the position I suppose." Zachary answered honestly. "I'm not really built for desk work."

Both Kalvin and Harris laughed out loud at this, as they walked towards Colt's room, stopping at the window that connected to the corridor.

"No," Kalvin agreed. "It would be more of a covert security detail. No desk work, I swear." He added, with a chuckle holding up his hand.

"What does that mean?" Zachary asked intrigued.

Kalvin and Harris both inclined their head in the direction of the young woman asleep on the hospital bed. Isla was sat beside her reading some trashy magazine aloud, as Maeve smiled back knowingly at the three men, the others within the room busied in their own tasks and distractions.

"Colt?" Zachary asked stunned. "You want to hire me, to guard Colt?" Wasn't he already doing that exact thing, he thought to himself.

"Yes. But, secretly." Harris answered, tapping the side of his nose like some cliché.

Kalvin shook his head at his son, before explaining further. "She would never accept a bodyguard from the firm, and she knows too many of them for us to set one up slyly." He began, "But that waste of space of a mate she has, can't be allowed near her again. When she is strong enough, I will get Maeve to unbind their bond and free her from his shit permanently. But, he might still come after her, when he fully descends into insanity. I won't let him hurt her again. Colt will need protection and won't accept it knowingly. So, you are her friend, her friend who is trained for this exact job. Her friend who she won't know is being paid to protect her. Especially as he has spent over a month doing so already for free."

"That's, well, it's thoroughly thought out." Zachary acknowledged. "Its a lot to process, though." He said scratching the back of his shaved head.

"There's no rush. I'm presuming to be honest even if you say no, you will still hang around and do the job anyway." Kalvin added, as Harris entered the room. "I just wanted to be able to thank you somehow."

"Yeah, that's true." Zachary agreed, before sighing. "Can I think about it?"

"Sure thing." Kalvin said patting him on the back, and guiding him into the room. "You should come for a run with us at some point. You still need to let your wolf side be part of a pack in some way." He chided, fatherly secretly wishing that this young man could have been Colt's mate, in place of the asshole she was dumped with.

Zachary went and sat beside Maeve as Kalvin went to his mate, and Harris had went to talk quietly to his brothers Mark and Asher. With all of them there it was a wonder the three doctors who arrived next fit in at all.

But, all the same everyone sat or stood to attention as they came in, all except Maeve who was sitting poised, but relaxed, like she already knew what was coming.

"We have some good news." The lead doctor explained, "and some interesting test results to discuss."

"Yes?" Isla asked anxiously, in the past five weeks she felt like she had aged twenty years, and was desperate for anything positive to cling to.

"Mrs. Merrier, I'm afraid the test results will have to wait for Miss Merrier to awaken. However, thanks to how steady her vitals have been in the last forty-eight hours, we plan on taking her out from the sedation she is under later today. So, fingers crossed, she should be awake some time after that." The young woman cheerily responded.

The small room erupted in a mixture of high fives and tears of joy. They were waking her up. Colt was going to be okay. The group was so relieved, they didn't even mind being told, that when she was removed from the sedation there would only be a maximum of three allowed in the room with her, to prevent her becoming overwhelmed.

All that mattered was that Colt had survived, and very soon she would be awake.

Author's Note: It seems Colt's Father is not impressed with his son in law. Do you think Zachary will accept? Let me know in the comments. B x