She could hear them from the back of the house, because that's as far as she'd gone. Hearing Abigail crying had halted her need to escape all together.
Colten was right, she'd really done something awful this time and it'd been psychically hurting her aunt.
Her aunt, who couldn't shift, who only had the strength of a human, who somehow had only been changed enough by her Uncle Grayson to warrant the saving of her life and Colten's status as an Alpha.
It was all too tragic and Ella had bit her.
She lied down in the bushes under the open kitchen window, listening to her aunt and uncle as they argued.
“Colten, I'm fine!”
“You're bleeding.”
There was a faint sob and the running of water, “It's stopping.”
“I should take you to the hospital.”
“Don't be ridiculous.” Abigail stopped him, “It's just a bite.”
“From a wolf.” He snapped.
“I've been bit before, Colten. This isn't a first.”
“That's not the point, Abi.” He growled, “Let me see.”
“It's fine...”
Ella heard her aunt whimper as Colten likely stepped in take over the care of her injury.
“Ow.” Abigail breathed.
“She really got you.” Her uncle's voice was deep and dark, he wouldn't be forgiving of this, Ella's heart slammed in her chest.
“It'll heal.”
“She's gone too far, I want to kill her.”
“Colten!”
“Well, not literally.”
The water was shut off.
“Wrap it.” Colten grunted and more of Abigail's whimpers were heard, “But maybe, I should bite her.”
“That won't teach her anything.”
“Might teach her not to bite her aunt again, her luna.”
“It won't help.” Abigail breathed, “You need to stop letting her get you so worked up, that's why she shifted. You came out and scared her.”
“Oh, come on.” He didn't believe his wife and he didn't seemed interested in doing so either.
Ella curled into the dirt, it was why she'd shifted, Abigail was always so right.
“She's a young woman.” Abigail continued, “She wants her independence. She's not our little niece anymore, you can't keep trying to protect her like she may die.”
“I need to protect her, she's all we have.”
“You need to let her go to Maine, Colten.”
“No, Abi.”
“Yes.” She cemented, “When she comes home, tell her we'll pay the rest of the tuition.”
“Well, that's not teaching her anything, just teaching her she can go around biting people to get her way.”
“You need to explain that we understand she needs her own time.”
“This is not a good idea.” Colten growled, “Why can't she go to a school in Texas? Why doesn’t she want to stay here, with her pack?”
“Because she feels overwhelmed here.”
“The kid gets everything she wants. We always give her everything she wants. Like that damn car we just bought her. I should return it.”
“No, don't you dare.” Abigail shot, then took a moment to compose herself, “Colten, you waited until I was nineteen, even though you knew I was your mate at fourteen. Give Ella the same decency. Let her go get her own experiences, be her own person. She'll come back, Colt, she really will.”
“But what if she doesn’t?” Colten's voice lost it's edge, “What if she never comes back? What if I lose her, just like I lost Savannah?”
“We won't lose her.”
Ella could feel her strength draining and her tears forming from her uncle's words as she slipped back into her human form in the dirty, gritty ground. She wiped her cheeks and stood, peaking over the edge of the window as Abigail stepped up to him and kissed his cheek.
Her aunt and uncle were good, caring individuals and she'd really hurt them, that alone made her want to break down. Would her mother have slapped her one for treating them like that, for biting her aunt? She guessed if Savannah Turner had been instilled with the same moral as Colten, it would have been a yes.
She moved away from the window and sunk into the shadows, making her way to the back of the house where the mud room and garage was. She was silent and careful, finding herself a change of clothes and a pair of sneakers. She didn't want to go inside, didn't want to interrupt them, knowing they might have wanted and need the time. So she made her way to the barn and sat in the isle, picking up pieces of loose hay around her.
“Darn door.”
She looked up to see Brant fighting a stall door, “Brant?”
He looked up as he snapped the lock in place, “Ella.”
“You're still here?” She breathed as he walked over to her.
He nodded, “I got behind on some chores cause' of that horse. What are you doing?”
She sighed, “I messed up.”
He took off his hat and sat down next to her, leaning into the wall, “I'd ask but, I don't want to pry.”
She smiled and nudged him, “You know you want to know.”
“Nah.” He shook his head, playing along.
She sighed, “I hurt Abi, and I didn't mean to but I did. I was just really angry with Colten. He told me he wouldn't pay the tuition and all this stuff.”
“Ah.” Brant nodded, “Abi won't hold it against you though, she ain't like that, you know it.”
“I know, but that's the worst part. I went too far, Brant.” She breathed, dropping her head against the wall.
They fell silent and Brant shifted nearer, looking a bit unsure, his mouth opening and closing as Ella's head wracked with everything she'd done wrong.
“I-I'm sorry for what I said earlier, Ella, I didn't mean that. It's none of my business. It's your life, and-” He pulled at the collar on his dirty shirt, and she watched him in the low light of the barn.
“Maybe you'll miss me?” Ella offered with a smile.
Brant played with his hat in his hands, “Yeah, something like that.”
“I'll come back.” She told him.
“But when?” He hesitated, “And who knows, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll like it upstate, maybe you'll meet... people. I don't know.”
“I guess.” She shrugged, “But this my home and one day, I will come back.”
“I should probably...” He exhaled.
Ella waited for him to finish but nothing came, “What?”
“I just figured...” He winced, gripping the brim of his hat and stood, “I gotta get home.”
“Brant.” Ella smiled, “What were trying to say?”
“Nothin'. You should go back to the house. Work it out with Colten and Abi. It'll... be all good, Daisy.”
She swallowed the lump that had built in her throat, “Night, Brant.”
“Goodnight.” He walked away.
Ella listened to the sound of his old truck and the departure of it before she stood to make her way back to the house. Stopping to visit a few horses on the way, when she got inside, Abigail and Colten weren't downstairs, which meant they'd gone to their rooms.
She was sure Colten knew she was home, a good sense of smell was an Alpha asset. Waiting till morning wouldn't kill her and maybe her aunt and uncle needed till morning to hear her apology. When she got to her bed, she curled up, wincing and feeling generally bad about everything she'd been doing as of late but however she tried to root out her wants to go to Maine, she couldn't.
And that, she could not figure out.
#
She stepped into the kitchen the next morning, nervous and knowing both Colten and Abigail were present. Perhaps, Abigail was feeling better because she was making breakfast, her arm neatly wrapped in a bandage, but she did not appear in pain or bothered.
“Morning.” Ella whispered and both her aunt and uncle looked up to her.
Abigail smiling, “How are you?”
Ella swallowed, Colten looking back down to his paper at the kitchen table.
“Okay.” She finally answered Abigail, “Are – are you okay?”
Abigail turned off the burner and turned to her, wiping her hands on her apron, “Oh, I'm fine.”
Ella held her tears and her aunt hugged her right before she started to cry, “I'm sorry, Abi.”
Colten looked back up from the paper, her uncle hadn't been expecting the apology, that she was sure of.
“I really am sorry.”
“It's okay, sweetie.” Abigail held her hug, the memories of when she'd been a young girl and Abigail's motherly warmth was no longer such a distant memory.
“It's just all been out of hand, but we'll work it out.” Abigail pulled back, “Won't we, Colten?”
She looked to her husband.
He nodded after a moment, “Come sit down, Ella.”
“I'll get breakfast.” Abigail let her go and grabbed the dishes.
Ella shuffled across the kitchen and took a weary seat a few chairs away from her uncle, keeping her mouth shut as Colten watched her.
He began to fold up the newspaper as Abigail brought breakfast over, putting plates and forks in front of everyone.
Colten picked up his fork and knife and cut up his fried eggs as Abigail tucked herself in at the table.
“We talked about last night.” Colten started.
Ella wanted to eat but her turning gut wasn't going to allow her to, so she sat, waiting to hear out her uncle.
He met her eyes, “We'll pay the tuition for Maine.”
Ella's heart swelled, even if she'd heard them in the kitchen the night before discussing it, this was different, “You don't have to.”
Colten paused, “Well, I'm saying we will. If that's where you want to go.”
Abigail smiled at her, “That's where you want to go, right?”
Ella paused and then started to nod, “Yes.”
Colten grunted, “Done.”
Her heart slammed, that was that. Colten had agreed to let her go to Maine. Just like that.
Abigail was still smiling at her, “Are you happy?”
Ella looked to her, blinking, “I really am sorry I hurt you, Abi.”
Colten grumbled, “Let's just move on. Abigail will be okay.”
“I will, I'm fine.” Abigail nodded, picking up her fork, “It will heal, just as long we're all a family, one little bite doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Ella winced and looked to Colten, “Thank you.”
He nodded, “Yep, now let's eat, got stock to check on.”
Ella picked up her fork, her stomach more settled than minutes before and she started to eat. It could have been the best day of her life, if hadn't taken so much hurt to get to it, but it almost was.
For the first time in months, she didn't feel like Colten hated her and that combined with her Aunt's easy forgiveness, put her world back into place. After she finished her food, she dashed from the house to find Brant, needing to tell him what had happened.
Flying through the barn, she got to the back and looked around the dusty corrals, where she found Brant, tacking up his horse.
She rushed over, “Brant!”
He finished doing up the cinch and looked to her, “Hey.”
“Guess what!” She spared no wasted time on hellos.
He took a long glance at her, “Well, considering you're not upset, I'm going to go with, things have gotten better since last night?”
She clapped her hands together, “So much better! Colten said he'd pay the rest of my tuition and they're gonna let me go!”
After a dramatic pause, he finally smiled, “That's awesome, Ella.”
She didn't get the burst of excitement she'd been hoping for, in fact, all she felt was a newly budded awkwardness between them, “Yeah, I mean, he totally said yes.”
“Yeah, bet Abi had something to do with that.” He wrapped the breast-collar around his horses chest and fastened the buckle up.
She shrugged, “I dunno.”
Brant smiled and walked over to the fence, grabbing his bridle, “On that note, where is the boss?”
Ella shrugged, “He was still inside when I left.”
Brant grumbled, “He's the one that told me to be ready at eight.”
She looked up down the barn isle as Colten walked down it, “There he is.”
“Awesome.” Brant nodded, putting the bit in horses mouth and looping his ears through the leather, “See you later then, Daisy. Better go pack or somethin', hey?”
She nodded, “Yeah, I still have two months though.”
“Hmph.” Brant got up on his horse and adjusted the saddle under him. He kicked his horse off and walked towards one of the open corrals.
She watched him a moment and spun on her foot, walking towards her uncle, “Colten?”
He pulled his horse from it's stall and tied it up in the isle, “Yeah.”
“Is something wrong with Brant?”
Her uncle started to brush his horse, “I don't know. Why?”
“Cause' he's acting sorta weird.” Ella breathed.
“Seems fine to me.”
“So, he hasn't seemed off cause'-”
Colten cut her off as he chucked the brush on the ground, “If he was acting weird around me, he wouldn't have a job.”
Ella sighed, that was true.
Colten tossed a saddle pad onto the back of the ranch horse, “Why don't you go inside? I think Abigail wants to help you get signed up for that school. She said something like that when I was going out the door.”
“Oh.” Ella paused, “Yeah, okay.”
And that was the end of the conversation as Colten walked into the tack room to get his saddle. She made her way back to the house, not putting much more thought into Brant, figuring he was just upset her leaving – but why, she wasn't sure she wanted to know the real reason.