Chapter 49: Forty-nine.

After breakfast was finished, Kalvin and Zachary started clearing the dishes from the table, taking them away to the kitchen to clean up. Maeve tugged on Colt's arm to get her attention, as soon as Zachary was in the kitchen.

"Come and show me your beach, Colt," she requested in a hushed whisper, while eyeing Calum as he made to stand with them. "Don't worry, I am perfectly able to keep her safe, sit your arse back down," she chided quietly.

Calum froze, his face creased in a frown as he thought about Maeve's implication; that it was Colt's safety he was concerned about, and not just his automatic desire to be close to her.

All the while Lewis and Felix sniggered loudly between themselves, only half paying attention to the table, more focused on the YouTube video they had found on Felix's cell; It had just gotten to the part where Colt dropped a certain wildcat at a ceilidh in front of everyone.

Calum, found himself again, and then stood to his full height and since Maeve had brought up Colt's safety he responded to her with, "Aye but, last time I left you alone with her at the sea's edge, she jumped in and nearly drowned; so you will forgive me if I'm sceptical about your ability to keep her safe."

Isla snorted in her tea, "Man does have a point, Maeve." She stated pointedly.

Colt stood and looked softly at him with a smile, "Casanova, I have no intentions of getting my feet wet today... well past my knees anyway. We will be back soon." She stated, sliding into his arms and wrapping her arms about him in a hug. "Besides, Mom, has a project for Dad you can help with, okay?" She smiled again, feeling him bristle at being stopped from getting his own way.

"Colt..." Calum began, about to argue his case, even prepared to offer to stay back out of earshot and give them privacy, that is until Colt silenced him with a kiss.

"Right, come on Girl, before we have to contend with that fecking wolf shadow of mine as well," Maeve laughed out, in a muffled whisper.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Colt responded quietly, as they headed to the door and put their jackets on, Colt blowing an unsettled Calum a kiss before she closed the porch door, and slipped out the front one.

Calum sat with a disgruntled sigh, as Zachary returned to the table to collect the next load of dishes for the kitchen. But he froze mid step, looking at the two empty seats, then he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"They snuck off didn't they?" He asked with an irritated sigh, "That woman needs a damn tracker," he mumbled to himself about Maeve.

"Yeah, you both got totally ditched," Felix snorted in amusement, briefly looking up from his cell to enjoy the looks on both Calum and Zachary's faces.

Zachary's eyes swung to Calum, giving him a calculated gaze, as Felix nodded to Lewis to leave them to it, sensing trouble a foot, and deciding the youngest Merrier, had enough of that the night before. Only Isla it seemed had enough of a backbone to stay seated calmly at the table as if nothing was wrong. Calum however, sensed Zachary's disapproval and stood up, he was taller than Zachary by about four inches, and it made him feel smug; mostly because it clearly aggravated the wolf who had decided to not like him for some reason.

"So, you're his Beta, then?" Calum asked, stretching his arms lazily above his head with his hands clenched into fists briefly, and tilting his head to crack the bones in his neck.

His actions were making him physically vulnerable to an attack; to a wolf it made no sense, he was exposing his underbelly. But to a wildcat, it was the biggest middle finger he could offer up. It displayed sheer arrogance, and the opinion that the opposition in front of him was no threat what so ever.

Zachary frowned, not understanding a move he would consider of submission, especially when it was paired with such a cocky expression, the two actions just didn't add up. Calum brought his hands down behind his neck, still leaving his stomach exposed to an attack, while Zachary stood there unsure of how to react. There was a challenge in Calum's eyes, but it hadn't been spoken out loud, yet Calum's bodly language was exposing himself.

"Was." Zachary hazarded a simple response, "Now, there is no pack."

"Yet, you call, Colt, Luna?" Calum asked, irritating Zachary by implying he was lying.

"Because, I respect her!" Zachary growled, "She has more than earned my respect, by her strength, her integrity, and by how big her heart is!"

"I see," Calum mused calmly, "Does that mean you will keep your mouth shut about where she is?" Calum asked, his eyes still dancing with challenge, as he continued to look down on Zachary.

"Elijah and I don't speak anymore. Not since, not since she put him in hospital, by kissing the lion," Zachary answered, enjoying Calum's quirked eyebrow, and deciding he clearly he didn't know that titbit of information.

"Will it stay that way?" Calum asked directly, "Will you continue to turn your back on your Alpha, your childhood friend, and the man who helped you heal after the loss of your mate; or will your loyalty to Colt falter, just as your loyalty to Elijah did?" Calum asked, knowing full well he was baiting Zachary, and in such a way, that Colt would absolutely throttle him for it. If she found out he brought up the information she had given him about Zachary in such a way, she would likely castrate him; a fact he was well aware of.

The snarl fell from Zachary's mouth before he could stop it, worse still his face elongated as his rage triggered the release of hormones in his body, making it begin to shift unintentionally. His wolf"s coat had begun to push through his skin, and he could even feel his tail beginning to emerge, straining at the fabric of his waist band.

"Zachary!" Isla scolded, "Not in my daughter's home!"

With a deep breath, Zachary's wolf form retreated, the black hairs disappeared into his dark skin, and revealed a brief expression of regret when he turned briefly to Isla in acknowledgement of her warning. He was old enough to control himself, that shouldn't have happened.

"I have no reason to talk to, Elijah, anymore," he sneered out, at a completely unfazed Calum, which only threw Zachary off more.

Calum cocked his head to the side, "Good," he spat out.

"That being said, I don't want him in hospital again, like you said he helped me when I needed him. So, what exactly are you doing with his mate?" Zachary asked with a challenging smirk of his own.

That comment alone brought out the hiss in Calum, he could feel his own claws pressing briefly against his neck, wanting to swipe at Zachary's eyes.

"Colt, is my mate. We will do whatever the fuck we want." Calum seethed out, through gritted teeth.

Zachary growled back at Calum's aggression. "The Luna has already been claimed and marked by her true mate, and both have been through enough not to have to deal with a broken bond, becoming a dying bond. You, should leave her alone" he bit out angrily.

Calum had Zachary by the throat in a flash, and pressed against the wall a few feet behind before Zachary registered what is going on enough to respond. His head had been hit so hard against the stone wall, that he found himself blinking away the spots in his vision as he came back into focus.

"Calum, try not to bring the house down around us," Isla scolded gently, sipping her tea as if there weren't two male shifters about to tear each other apart.

Calum only gruffly nodded at her in acknowledgement, before he released Zachary and pulled off his top in one movement.

"See this, Beta?" He asked, pointing at his neck, "She chose me! Out of us both, she chose me! And your, Alpha," He said the last word with disdain, "Is perfectly fine. Colt checked herself. So, keep you bloody nose out of where it doesn't belong." Calum stated with finality, shrugging his top back on, and grabbing his coffee from the table, to finish the last part of it.

"Elijah's fine?" Zachary asked in disbelief at what he was seeing, the sight of Colt's mark taking the agressive wind from his sails.

"Aye. Turns out he was with Marcus when we mated. No hospital required," Calum answered out, "Though, with how he hurt her, as far as I'm concerned, he can bloody well rot."

"Alright now, that's enough," Isla stated before they found something else to squabble over. "Since you two boys are finished your pissing contest," Isla began, "And, you are finished, boys, Kalvin is planning on building a chicken enclosure. You can both help him, and I suggest you bond over the power tools, and do not attack one another, since my daughter clearly cares for you both, and you both care for her. Yes?"

"Yes." They both said in unison, still eyeing each other with mistrust..

"Good," Isla nodded, "Chop chop then," she clapped, "I'll finish the dishes in the kitchen, you two go get Kalvin."

Both men, looked at one another with a disgruntled scowl, as Kalvin entered the room, a lighthearted smirk on his face knowing he had purposely ignored all the shenanigans he clearly over heard. But he had no intentions of getting involved, he knew his wife was more than able to handle it.

"I'm building a chicken enclosure am I?" he asked, eyeing Isla with a smile.

She simply collected the last of the dishes up from the table, and walked towards him, kissing him on the cheek and replying, "Yes, you are. Colt would like some hens for her birthday, and these two need supervision and busy work."

"I see," he smirked at her.

"I think you're up to the task, Kal." she stated with a wink, adding, "And you know how much I love the way you smell after you've been working with your hands."

Kalvin's eyes lit up, and his face split into a wolfish grin, "Well in that case, let's go fellas, we will find a spot, then go and get supplies." He stated herding the two out the door.

"Oh Kal," Isla called out, to his quickly disappearing form.

"Yeah?" He asked popping his head back inside from the porch.

"Take Felix with you as well please," Isla smiled sweetly, as Kalvin's shoulders slumped at this command.

"Must I? You know I don't like the lion." He all but begged his mate.

Isla nodded, "I know, but he has been a bloody good friend to your daughter, and he means well. Come on, Kal, he is a lion, you know how lazy and promiscuous they are as a species. Yet, he has taken care of, Colt, without the possibility of any sexual gratification whatsoever. He even does his own dishes... most of the time. Cut him some slack. He's a good man." She explained, adding for good measure, "Or, you could leave him as an unchecked influence on our youngest and already rather wayward son..."

Kalvin sighed in defeat, grumbling out, "Fine, I'll take him."

"Thank you, My Love, and I promise I will make it up to you later," she said suggestively.

Kalvin smiled at the thought, "You better, Beautiful," and with that he left the house to find a spot to build a hen house.

*Author's Note: you are all amazing. Thank you so much for all your kind thought and prayers. I cant begin to express how touched we all are with them. Mr. R aksed me to say a special thank you as well.... On the topic of the chapter.... Isn't Calum just a cocky wee git! Poor Zachary didn't see that kind of warfare coming.*