Texas (Wolfstate Chronicles)

Chapter 25

He stopped, staring. Her soft breathing continued through the silence as her body endured her pain. Grayson took slow steps inside, pausing in front of him.

Colten studied her, her beaten and bruised body reminded him of what Darcy Holtz had done to his sister and that made him angry.

His eyes went to Chloe, “You lied to me.”

Chloe sighed, “I had to Colten.”

He moved towards Abigail.

“Colt...” Chloe stepped in front of him and he shoved past her.

“Ow!” Chloe fell to her bum.

“Hey!” Grayson shot, “Luna much?”

Colten paused, looking down to Chloe and back to his mate, he couldn't process an apology though, not from the agitation surging him.

“Chill out, Colten.” Grayson growled.

Chloe grunted and got off the ground, “Damn alphas.”

Colten didn't take his eyes off Abigail, “Why did you lie?”

Grayson walked forward, “Cause you'd go crazy otherwise.” He walked past him and Colten was at his side.

“Give me her.” Colten demanded.

“Colten.” Grayson snapped, “Can you get it together a bit?”

Chloe was close behind as Grayson walked into the living room and put Abigail to the couch.

The blonde not so human anymore, mumbled and rubbed her cheek along the couch before falling back into her needed recovery.

Colten stared at her and came down beside her. Bringing his hands to her beaten face.

“Colten, it looks bad but, she's going to be okay.” Grayson assured him.

Colten didn't respond, he kissed her cheek instead as he slipped further into an abyss with his mate, “Baby.”

Chloe looked down at her, “I'll get some things to clean her up.” She walked away.

Grayson sighed and walked across the room, sitting down in a recliner, “That's better. What do you have for cable here?”

Colten ignored him. The more he looked her over, the more angry he got, but more so, the more hurt he felt. He hadn't kept her safe and because of that, she had endured Oscuro's brutality.

“Did Mateo do this?” Colten asked.

Grayson looked over to him, “I'm not sure which one did it. Mike found her first.”

Colten looked back to her, he ran his hand down her slowly and took her hand, feeling the diamond still present.

“Did you have to do it?” Colten asked.

Grayson sighed, “Yeah, she was dying when we got there. I tried to get her out but... she had nothing left. We had to make the call.”

Colten nodded as Chloe came back with a bowl of warm water and cloth. She crouched down at Abigail's head, about to clean when Colten growled at her.

“I'll do it.” He grumbled.

Chloe swallowed and stepped back, letting him have the items she'd brought. She looked over to Grayson, who only gave her a quick shrug. She then walked to him and sat down in his lap, cuddling into her mate as he pulled her in close.

Colten ignored them as he cleaned Abigail but once most of the dirt was washed away, it was bruising left.

He kissed her cheek again, “I'm sorry, Abi.”

“Colten?” Chloe called.

He stood, ignoring the luna as he picked up Abigail, walking out of the living room and up the stairs without another word. She deserved to recover in a better place then his living room with eyes all over her.

He heard Ella in her crib as Alma maybe busied herself folding laundry, whatever the case, he ignored them as well.

He walked into his room and over to the bed, dropping her gently to the quilts. He looked over her ripped clothing and decided that they needed to be removed, they were ruined anyway.

With careful hands, he stripped her pants and shirt. Leaving in her in her lace bra and panties. Covering her up, he kissed her forehead, his movement stilling over her as he took in his mate.

He should have left, gone downstairs and fed himself but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He started to strip his clothes as he moved to the other side of the bed. Lying with her, if he did that, nothing or no one could come near her.

He turned on his side and pressed against her, holding her close. He closed his eyes as his head hurt him, offset though by having Abigail and she would be, after they got through all this, his forever.

She stirred, moaning.

He pressed his mouth to her cheek, “Shh, baby.”

Her nerves twitched and he held her tighter, her body changing in his arms. He stayed quiet as she moaned, moved and worked through her morphing cells.

He didn't have a lot of recollection of time, he'd drift off and reawaken every time she did something that tripped him. He'd comfort her and get her settled before falling back into a sleep though.

He woke for the hundredth time but this time, it wasn't because of his mate, it was because of Chloe Pryce.

“Colt.”

He snapped his eyes opened and stared at the petite girl in the bright sun filling the bedroom.

“Colten.” She said again.

He mumbled, leaning up and wiping the sleep form his eyes, “What?”

“You've been up here since yesterday morning. I thought you might want something to eat.” She looked to Abigail, the blonde still unconscious.

“No.” He grunted, he didn't want food, he didn't want anything remotely close to food, he just wanted Abigail to wake up and show him a sign of her being okay.

“Come on, Colten.” Chloe encouraged, “She'll be okay.”

He looked down to his mate, sound asleep and looking more rested and peaceful then she had the last time he'd studied her.

“She's healing. Look at her cheeks, the bruising has faded so much.” Chloe seemed surprised but he knew why and he had expected the fast healing. Now, that she was like him.

He smelt something familiar and swallowed, “Pete.”

“Oh, yeah! He got here last night. You were out cold, but it was like two in the morning, so we left you.”

Colten looked to her, “I'll come down in a few minutes.” His voice was short and to the point, he felt himself budding with his alpha instincts – huge parts of him were angry with Peter Daniels.

“Sure.” Chloe nodded, walking to the door and shutting it behind herself.

He looked over his mate again and dropped his face to her neck, kissing her collar bone, “Baby, wake up, I need you. Or else I may kill my beta.”

There wasn't an allotted time frame for a change. It seemed to be different with every individual but it did take time and that made Colten antsy in itself.

He sat up, tucking the blankets back in around her and moving to his dresser to find clothes. Once dressed, he headed downstairs, shutting his door to it's frame quietly.

He walked down the stairs in his bare feet and headed towards the kitchen, really smelling them. Peter and Mia all over his house, in between the pungent smell of Tribune.

He stepped into the kitchen and everyone dropped their conversation. He looked around to them and then his eyes found his beta.

Peter was at the counters and he stepped forward right away, “Colten.”

Colten looked to him and swallowed, if it hadn't been for Peter mating Mia on whim, none of what Abigail had been subjected to would have happened and that was the only thing running his mind. He lunged at Peter, grabbing him and slamming him to the ground.

Chloe yelped and Grayson was up before she seemed to have a chance to yell it at him.

“My mate is suffering because of you!” Colten yelled at him as Grayson pulled him off the beta.

Colten struggled against Grayson, “Let me go!”

“You're mate is fine, Colt. Chill out.” Grayson said to him.

Peter stared up at them, he glanced at his on-edge mate and looked back to his alpha, “I'm sorry, Colten. I really am.”

Colten fumed, breaking away from Grayson.

Peter stayed quiet and so did everyone else, except Grayson.

“Colten, just chill. Chloe made chilli, it's actually not half bad.”

The auburn haired luna rolled her eyes, huffing at her mate.

Colten looked to Peter again, pushing himself past his anger, “Fine.” He wasn't accepting the apology but he knew better then to lash out in anger and he felt stupid for it.

“Colten, sit down, I'll get you some food.” Chloe offered him.

He looked to her and stalked over to the table, sitting down. Even though he'd been sleeping the past day, he felt exhausted. Abigail and her smell was the only thing running him at that moment.

Grayson sat back down to where he had a magazine open, “I really want to do this to my truck.”

Colten looked up to him, not saying a word.

Chloe huffed, “Grayson, no one cares about how many stacks you want on the stupid truck.”

He mimicked his luna and looked back down to the magazine.

Mia was across from Colten and the girl looked dreadfully uncomfortable, “I...”

Colten looked to her quickly.

“We are sorry, alpha.”

Colten took a breath and nodded, “It's fine, Mia.” It was done and him staying mad didn't make a lot of sense, that hadn't been his logical side, it'd just been his alpha on rage overdose due to his life in general and Abigail suffering upstairs.

It was then his senses peeled off his whimpering mate in his room and heard a truck coming up the drive. He listened as the engine cut and then the heavy footsteps in the gravel came.

Grayson looked up slowly to Colten, “Who is it?”

“Charlie Redding.” Colten growled.

Peter moved forward, “I'll get the door.”

“No!” Colten snapped to his feet, “I'll deal with this.” He moved around the table and started off towards the front door, hearing Chloe talk to Grayson in concern.

He didn't care though. He wasn't afraid of Charlie Redding and his daughter was no longer his. She was the luna of Fornone and no one was going to be disrupting that further.

The knock hit the door as Colten opened it.

Charlie stared in at him, “Evening, Colten.”

Colten nodded, “Hi.”

“I'm looking for my daughter.” He said in a stern voice, the one he used when he was pissed off at the ranch hands for messing up on something. Colten knew it well.

Colten stayed quiet, keeping a stone cold placid face.

“Colten, where is my daughter?”

Colten took another moment, saying nothing.

“Colten!” Charlie snapped.

He held his firm stance against the older man, “Your daughter has free-will, I'm sure she'll come to you when she wants to.” That hadn't given Charlie an answer but that was because Charlie's question really meant nothing to him.

Charlie fumed, “What? You think this is a joke? My daughter is missing.”

Except Colten wasn't afraid of him, “Like I said, I'm sure she will return.”

“Colten, I know you have her.” Charlie hissed, “We've looked everywhere. Abigail doesn’t just run off. And since you're the one she claims to love, don't play games with me.”

Colten stayed quiet.

Charlie wasn't looking too happy, every second that flipped, his face seemed to grow a shade of darker red.

“Colten...” He moved forward.

“If you want in here you'll have to get the police involved.” Colten knew by the time that happened, his mate would be awake and mated to him and Charlie Redding would be taken care of.

The older man stared at him, “You don't know who you're dealing with, dog.”

Colten creased his brow at the derogatory name, “Get off my property, Charlie.”

“I'll find my daughter, Colten, and when I do, you're going to be more broke and more miserable then you already are.” He threatened, walking off the porch.

Colten watched him walked to his truck and peal out quick from the property. If Charlie Redding was on a mission, then so was he.

He closed his front door and twisted the lock. He never locked his door but if the one more lock kept Abigail safe, that was enough for him.

He walked to the kitchen and it was silent again at his appearance. He sat to the table where Chloe then brought him food.

“Thank you.” He said to her.

“Yeah.” Chloe nodded, “Do you want some bread?”

Colten shook his head and started to eat, the food got his emotion in check, it also satisfied his raging alpha hormones.

They all gave him a minute before Grayson's curiosity peaked.

“Well? Who was that?” He demanded on them.

Peter sat next to his mate at the table, “Abigail's father.”

“Father?” Grayson echoed, “Yeah, they like to get in the way.” He laughed.

Chloe rolled her eyes at him, “Shut up, idiot.”

Colten thought over Charlie, “He's going to come for her.”

Grayson nodded, “If she's awake, then that'll end that.”

Colten nodded.

Chloe pulled up Grayson's arm and sat on his near thigh, “Colten, he'll need time to come back here with police, if that's his big plan. By then, Abigail will be awake.”

“Let's hope.” Colten grunted, eating more. If it wasn't police, Colten was at a loss for what Charlie Redding would be bringing but if he was mated, nothing would stand a chance.

His thoughts started to run him, he ate his one helping and Chloe gave him another, still he didn't say anything to anyone. They started conversation while he stayed put in his own thoughts. Thinking about how Charlie knew anything about what he was... it bothered him, he couldn't figure it out. Of course, that was muted against what he actually thought.

“She's mine.” He said aloud.

Everyone shut up as he spoke.

“What was that, Colt?” Grayson asked.

“Nothing.” Colten got to his feet and brought his bowl to the sink. They started to chat again as he stared down into the sink of random dirty objects and their conversation dissipated from his ears.

He looked up slowly to the window, the room going quiet around him. He watched twilight hit the horizon, then noticed the room had actually silenced. Taking himself from the trance he seemed to be in, he turned and that's when he saw why they were no longer speaking.