Slowly over the next week Colt let Sage do things for himself again. Happy to no longer be on any medications too. He was tired of taking pills even if this time it was for his own good. Colt left him alone for the first time the other day. Getting back well after dark and headed straight to the shower. Didn't say a word. This morning was when he noticed that both of his hands were messed up, cut, and swollen. He had been in a fight. Catching himself starring a few times.

"What happened?" He asked in the middle of eating breakfast at the island.

Colt shrugged off the question as he added seconds to his plate.

"I thought shrugging wasn't allowed."

"I can do it, you can't." He laughed, "Plus what happened doesn't matter. "

"Something mattered if you hurt yourself over it."

Colt had made things even, that's what he had done. Well mostly even, he got the ring leader for who attacked Sage. Got his pound of flesh. He wasn't about to appear weak in front of anyone. Sage was bestowed to him so anything that happened affected him as well. Colt would never be attacked like that. Taking out licks on Sage wasn't fair nor right of them to do. They had been giving orders to run so they did. If they were pissed they should have taken it up with Mike or him; not out on Sage.

"Was it because of me?" Asked Sage lightly.

He wasn't dumb he knew how alphas were. Naturally protective and territorial over what they saw as theirs. Not that he was saying Colt saw him as his but more of an obligation at the time but either way it fell on him to right the wrongs.

"Yes. Now finish eating." Colt, ending the conversation he didn't want to talk about it.

* * * * *

Sage came to Colt a little while later with some cleaning solution and gauze pads from the bathroom.

"I'm fine."

"Amuse me, then." Commented Sage with the first bit of attitude in his voice. 

After all, he had done for him it was the least he could do for him in return.

Colt nodded his head fine. Flexing out both of his hands as Sage sat next to him on the sofa, "You know I didn't expect you to do anything."

"Doesn't matter, it was what was expected."

Sage couldn't stop the warm feeling he felt deep within his chest. A warm glow that has been snuffed out since he first came to be with Patrick, re-sparking itself. Colt would like to say he did it more for himself to save face but it was for Sage. He didn't deserve to be attacked like that. Colt changing in his attitude towards Sage since that night in the woods. 

Halfway on their walk back to the truck Sage had come too long enough to say a few words he seemed to mutter to someone who wasn't there with them. Saying that he tried, that he really tried but he was okay with leaving. That he didn't want to fight anymore and that hit Colt hard. Sage had fought every day of his life and didn't give up and the one moment that things started to maybe feel okay for him he was almost killed.

"How old are you anyways?" Questioned Colt as he thought about that moment.

"Nineteen. . . I think." 

Arching a brow at him, older than he thought but still he was ready to punch in his ticket at nineteen. Maybe it got him thinking about his mother she was so young when she passed. Just married to his father two years before, pregnant with her first child. She had so much life ahead of her and he took that. He couldn't take that from Sage too.

"Still a baby," Colt commented finally.

"Been told I look sixteen a lot but with my job I guess that's a good thing. Younger the better, right?"

Colt shook his head, "Not your job anymore."

"Right." Commented Sage, with a tone that showed he didn't fully believe Colt. Glancing at him as he dabbed the last bit of cleaning solution on his knuckles.

"So rule one is no shrugging and rule two is what I say is law so you either do it or believe it." In this case, it was obviously believe it. That was his past not his future.

Sage bit his bottom lip hard before he spoke he wanted to believe Colt but couldn't allow himself too. He has been proven wrong many times over.

 "Maybe when it changes I'll begin to believe."

Everything was still up in the air with him and his place here among Colt's pack. Mike has yet to make his ruling and from the one conversation it was a group vote when adding new members. He had to get at least four or the seven heads to allow him in. Sage also wasn't technically released or disowned by his pack he just ran away. Which was against the rules so there was bound to be some kind of repercussion from that too. As far as doing everything he said because it was law, Sage was still very hesitant but he wasn't about to disagree with everything he just said and piss Colt off.