Although Colin was teasing Claire, he was right; the knowledge of the wolves within was sacred, secret knowledge. Technically, he was not supposed to share such information with her until she had been marked and mated. However, Colin had no desire to bring that topic back up.
Claire considered him for a moment. His heart rate was fast, but he was not nervous. The smile threatening to burst through his cheeks was enough proof of that. Just as she figured out exactly how to tease him back, she put a finger to his lips with a serious expression.
The spark from the touch gave them both chills, but neither could focus on that. Colin was trying to figure out what had suddenly put her on edge. She closed her darkening eyes, trying to listen.
"What is it?" he whispered.
Her finger pressed harder against his lips, and he had to fight the urge to not take it into his mouth. 'Now is not the time to be horny teenager,' he chastised himself, mostly his wolf.
"There are three people outside," she finally replied after a long silence. "One of them is your brother – I don't know which one. Not Reed or Joe. One female and another male. The man is in wolf form, so I don't know if I've met him."
Colin sniffed the air but was concerned to find that he couldn't smell anything. Why couldn't he scent the wolves around him? Claire glanced at him, confused. "We agreed to two guards on the house," he growled.
He kissed the top of her head, stood up, and began to undress. She didn't react uncomfortably like he expected her to, although his wolf was disappointed that she didn't look at his body either. His wolf had accepted that she wasn't ready for marking, but that didn't mean that they couldn't mate.
Colin stepped back from her and shifted. She flinched as he ate the slopped-off skin. Not at the action, but the smell of his flesh and blood. He whined softly and pressed his wet nose into the back of her hand to offer comfort. From the moment she noticed the warriors, she had shrunk away from him. He wished he could still talk to her. 'I bet Aloisa has a spell that could let her mindlink with me,' he realized and filed the thought away for later.
Claire stared at his wolf form, which she had never properly seen. Those few moments in the cells of the Yew Coven, she had been too dizzy to properly look at him. He was massive, with his head able to rest on her shoulder on all fours. That wasn't surprising; after all, he was the son of an Alpha. His fur matched his hair color, which wasn't common. But she could see the same reddish tint in the sunlight, still peeking through the windows. He looked up at her and cocked his head a bit to the side before ducking slightly with laid-back ears. Claire giggled; he wanted her to pet him! With a tentative hand, she touched his head. His fur was one of the softest things she had ever felt.
Elias had an old rabbit fur throw that he kept on the library's couch, and although Claire never got cold, she loved to wrap herself up in the thick blanket. The thought of Elias made her frown for a second, but Colin noticed and pressed his head harder into her hand, making her smile again. His wolf was in control, and he was behaving like a puppy!
Claire heard a new sound from outside – another wolf was approaching. Four werewolves stood around the house. She pulled her hand away and sucked in a deep breath; her palm was covered in Colin's blood. She ran to the kitchen and turned the hot water on, scrubbing her hand wildly. She felt Colin nudge her back, trying again to comfort her. It would've worked better if there wasn't a fine mist of his blood coating him.
"There's another one in wolf form out there now," she whispered.
He nodded, his upper lip twitching into a silent snarl. Colin reached out with his mindlink in attempt to figure out who was outside his home. He hit a wall. That pleasant buzz he grew up with carried over the wall, but he couldn't get to the source. He focused his connection, trying to reach out to just one person, Cillian. He was only a dozen yards or so away, it shouldn't have been difficult. Nothing. Somehow, his mindlink was blocked. Colin growled deeply, startling an already apprehensive Claire. He could feel the thrum of conversation in the back of his head, but he couldn't join it. He was isolated, alone.
Without another thought, he walked to the front door. Claire was beside him. He wanted to tell her to stay in the house, especially if he didn't know what was happening. But even if he could've, he knew that she wouldn't listen.
As she opened the front door, Colin's ears pressed into his head, rage filling him. Matt and three warriors were stalking outside of his home, just as they had all those years ago. Colin stared at his brother and suddenly, the wall disappeared. He yelled, 'What the fuck do you think you're doing here?!'
Matt grinned, causing another growl to erupt from Colin's throat. His growls were louder in his wolf form, scarier. 'Leave, now!' he snapped.
"Why would I do that?" Matt replied aloud, letting Claire listen.
'Alpha said two warriors. He agreed.'
"Alpha changed his mind." Matt looked at Claire, who was still wearing just basketball shorts and the thin tank top, with a smirk. Colin growled again, moving to stand in front of her. "He realized how dangerous your pet mosquito is."
The wolves laughed at Matt's comment, and the other man looked at her with intrigue as well. Claire covered her chest, suddenly feeling bare. Colin saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and his hackles raised. He pawed the wooden porch, getting ready to fight.
"You don't want to do that, little brother," Matt warned, noting how Colin's face puckered with aggression. "It's not my fault you smell like you were about to fuck your bloodsucking-"
The moment the words left his mouth, Colin snarled and lunged at his brother. As Matt's back hit the ground, he rolled and shifted on top of Colin, snapping at his throat. While that would usually be enough to put Colin in his place, it wasn't this time. Colin kicked his back legs up, throwing Matt towards the house. The other two shifted wolves pounced on Colin, holding him down with vicious snarls as the woman threw a nasty punch into his chest.
Instead of returning to the fight, Matt walked up the two steps to where Claire was standing in shock. It happened too fast, and she didn't trust herself to get involved. Not when the air was thick with so much fresh blood.
Colin saw his brother approach his mate and howled, trying to push the warriors off him. The one at his neck clamped down. Not enough to seriously injure him, but enough to force him to stop fighting. The only way out of this position was to kill the other, and they both knew it.
Claire backed into the door, breathing heavily. So much blood was on Matt's gray fur. His and his brother's. She knew that her eyes were bright purple right now, and she hated it. She hated feeling as though she was proving him right.
"That's enough!" a voice yelled from across the lawn.
Matt whipped his head around, teeth bared. An older man walked towards the fight, unafraid. "I don't care what is happening right now. My granddaughter is sleeping, and I will not let her wake up to this."
Claire recognized the man from Colin's photo and realized that he must be Cillian. They made eye contact and he nodded politely. "If someone could explain why Colin appears to be under house arrest, I would love to hear it."
The woman walked over, but he held his hand up. Whoever Cillian was, he had power within the pack. Enough to stare down the future Alpha and say, "I would like to hear it from you, Matthew."