Dozen Broken Bones

      Matt shifted and took another step towards Claire, causing another growl to rumble out of Colin. He smiled at her, looking disgustingly like his father as he did so. He gestured towards his naked body and whispered with a cocked eyebrow, "Like what you see, little bloodsucker?" 

      "What is happening right now is none of your concern, Doctor. Go back inside," Matt said with a neutral expression. 

      "It's happening in my backyard. I believe it is of my concern. Why is Colin under house arrest again?" 

      There it was. Again. Claire realized that Colin had never explained that comment to her last night. Matt took a menacing step towards the doctor, but he didn't back down. Claire took the chance to slip behind him and approach Colin. The two wolves had climbed off him, but he was still on the ground. They pressed their ears back aggressively as she passed them in worry. Colin was panting, and she realized from one touch that his ribs were broken. 

      She counted in her head. Ribs, hand, ankle, throat. In less than 24 hours of being back with his pack, Colin's brothers had broken a dozen of his bones. And for what? She was shaking with rage, and Colin could feel it. He sat up onto his haunches with a groan and pressed his snout against her cheek, whining softly. "I'm sorry," she whispered, placing a hand on his back. 

      The sparks were more intense when he was in his wolf form. She had read that many wolves completed their mating in that form for that reason, and she sighed at yet another thing she was taking away from him. 

      He whined again, brushing his body against hers. He wanted to tell her everything would be alright, but he doubted that shifting right now would help her. Instead, he laid back down, resting his head on her lap. She stroked his velvety ears, and he chuffed from pleasure. She smiled for a second; it was the same sound he had made not even ten minutes ago. It meant that he was happy.

      "What did Colin do to be punished?" Cillian repeated. 

      Matt had been staring at the pair. He hated that Colin found his mate first. That Colin took away his chance of having the witch-mate. That Colin was content.

      "After the bloodsucker attacked Roy last night." Claire scoffed, earning herself another sharp look from Matt. "Alpha Peter reconsidered his agreement to only have two guards on her when she was home." 

      "It couldn't have been too bad of an attack, considering no one called for me." He faced Claire now, his hard look softening as she smiled fondly at the enormous wolf in her lap. "Why did you attack Roy?" 

      "He broke Colin's hand," she replied easily. She had nothing to hide; she was the only one, it appeared. 

      "Who are you to question the Alpha?" Matt snapped. 

      "I'm not. I'm questioning whether you are telling the truth," Cillian said calmly. 

       With that, Matt huffed angrily and approached the older man. When Colin realized what was happening, he jumped to his feet, but Cillian waved him off, an order to stand down. He reluctantly obeyed. 

      "You seem to forget who the next Alpha of this pack is, Doctor O'Flannery," Matt said lowly, each word more threatening than the last. 

      "That doesn't change my rights. And you seem to forget that warriors cannot be stationed on someone's property without their permission. And Colin lives on my property." 

      The tension between the two was palpable. Matt snorted and walked away, the other three wolves following him. As soon as he was gone, Cillian pulled a pair of shorts from his coat and tossed them at Colin, who stood up and shifted. 

      He pulled Colin into a hug. When they broke apart, the man had blood on him. "We hadn't heard from you in a few days; Molly nearly screamed when she saw that your house was empty." 

      "Apologize to her for me," Colin replied with a smile. 

      "Do it yourself over lunch. She took the week off since Jaime is visiting." 

      Colin sighed and ran his fingers through his wet hair. He turned over his shoulder towards Claire with a guilty look. "Do you think that we can push that back to dinner? I think that I need to talk to Claire about a few more things." 

      She nodded in agreement before smiling politely at Cillian. The man looked to be in his mid-sixties, with silvery-gray hair and a full beard to match. He was rather short, especially for a wolf, coming up to Colin's chin. He stuck out his hand. "Cillian O'Flannery, pack doctor and resident grumpy 'ole man!" he proclaimed with a wide smile. One of his canines was made of gold.

      Colin rolled his eyes. He noticed that Claire was looking at him, as if she was checking to make sure the doctor was safe. He nodded. "He's joking. He's a good man – helped raised me after Mom died." 

      Claire smiled again, accepting his handshake. His grip was strong. "Claire Green."

      "I'm very happy to meet you, Claire," Cillian offered with a kind smile. 

      Colin made no attempt to hide the joy on his face as they met. As they walked away, he mindlinked him and said, 'I couldn't smell, hear, or speak to any of them, Cillian.' The doctor frowned but did not reply. 

      Claire followed him into the house. She felt déjà vu as she sat on the pullout couch, waiting for him to lock the door and answer her questions. Except this time, the couch smelt like the two of them. Matt was right; it was obvious what had been happening between the pair before his arrival. This time when he sat down, she immediately touched his leg with her own for a moment before pulling away. She almost looked guilty.

      "I have two questions." 

      "Only two?" Colin teased, but he dropped the smirk after he saw how serious her expression was. "I'll do my best." 

      "Why didn't you know that those wolves were there?" 

      Colin sighed, shaking his head. "I have no idea. My best guess is that they masked their scents with something, but that doesn't explain why I couldn't mindlink with anyone until I was face to face with them. I told Cillian, so I assume we'll talk later."

      Claire let out a huge sigh of relief, surprising Colin. He looked at her and asked a question that he did not want to know the answer to, "Why?" 

      She looked at him, her eyes both soft and distant. "I expect honesty from you, so that's all I'm going to give, okay?" He nodded. "I was scared that you did know. And for whatever reason, you were keeping it from me." 

      He didn't bother to hide the disheartened expression on his face. She was right to be cautious, but he wished that he could convince her that she didn't need to be. Not with him. 'I suppose the only way to do that is to prove it,' he thought to himself. 

      Claire watched as he worked through his thoughts. His face was so transparent, she could read him as if he were a favorite book. Disappointment, guilt, and then hope. She liked the hope. 

      "What's your other question?" 

      "Why were you under house arrest?"