by Eliza Gayle
Malcolm tucked Chey into his side before facing his brother. “What’s going on with Lucas? Have you convinced him to return yet?”
“I think he and Kira will show. But it’s not going to be easy to convince the council to let them stay. They fear the psy clan even more than the wolves.”
“I don’t really care. This is our land, our clan. We have as much right as anyone else, possibly more so.”
“That kind of attitude isn’t going to get you very far,” Kane responded. “We need to tread carefully.”
“Since when do I play nice or do politics well? Someone on that council is seriously fucking with us and it’s time to find out who.”
The room grew uncomfortably silent and everyone avoided looking at him. Even Chey tensed against his side. The tension stifled the air and he immediately sensed a revelation that was about to piss him off. Royally.
“Godsdamnit. What?” He eyed each one of them warily. They met him with complete silence and little eye contact. He grabbed Chey by the shoulders and forced her to look at him. “Tell me.”
“You might as well. He’s got the scent now and no amount of avoidance will save any of us at this point.”
Malcolm swung his gaze at his brother and lowered his voice. “Someone had better start talking and right now. I don’t enjoy being the only one out of the loop.”
After several more long, tense seconds, Chey spoke up. “Kane already knows who it is.”
Malcolm took a step back. “What?” An immediate swell of resentment buzzed in his head.
“I’ve suspected for a while now and when Chey approached me with some pretty compelling evidence, I put two and two together and that’s when I decided it was time to pull you back in. I don’t disagree with you about the council. Their effectiveness has diminished and it’s time to take our clan back.”
“Wait. You’ve known all along? Why didn’t you tell me?” He stared down Chey, forgetting that Lara and Kane stood nearby. The old familiar distrust rushing forward. Never trust a wolf. How many times had that fact been drilled into his head? His lip curled into a snarl before he could stop it.
“I wasn’t one hundred percent certain.”
“Who is it?”
“I needed your help to be sure. Besides, you had to figure this out for yourself. Force feeding you the truth wouldn’t get you to accept it.”
“Tell me who.”
“You know who,” she cried. Chey backed up a few steps. She must have recognized the rage.
“Calm down, Malcolm. Getting pissed at Chey isn’t going to help this mess at all. Let her finish.”
Malcolm clenched his jaw and stared into the violent storm brewing in her eyes. The lead weight in his stomach didn’t bode well for his sanity. “Who?” he demanded.
“Bran.” Her voice trembled.
“Our uncle? Why?” He didn’t want to believe it, but she’d been right. He’d had his own suspicions.
Chey shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. I figured you might have the answer to that better than I.”
“He’s crazy, Mal. Always has been. I’m sure you remember the vicious fights between him and Dad. I thought with him gone, our illustrious uncle might get over his insane jealousy but I guess I was wrong.”
He shook his head. “That makes no sense. And what the hell does that have to do with you?” He pointed his finger at Chey. She was holding something more back still. His gut screamed with it.
“He’s the one who killed John. I’d been hunting the killer for a while before I realized who he might be. For months, it drove me crazy why his scent was so damned familiar. But it wasn’t until… ”
Malcolm’s head filled with images of another man touching Chey. Rage fed the crazy he barely managed to control. He growled.
Chey rolled her eyes. “You are seriously going to have to get past this. His name is going to come up.” She approached him. “You walked away. Do I really have to keep reminding you?” Her finger poked him in the chest. “I moved on. Life fucking happens.”
“Easy, Chey.” Kane’s warning to his mate only angered him further.
“Stay out of it, brother.” He grabbed Chey’s wrist and twisted it behind her back. Her eyes turned molten. She was certainly annoyed but it didn’t dampen the desire he sensed from her. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I certainly didn’t know I was about to ruin my entire life.”
Chey stiffened against him a millisecond before she sprung. She twisted free from his hold and smashed her leg into his gut, sending him flying into the dirt. Before his head even bounced from the ground she grabbed his arms and pinned him down. “Do you ever think of anyone other than yourself?” She bared her teeth and growled. Not the cat—the wolf. “You aren’t the only one who’s suffered over the years.”
Malcolm grabbed her around the waist. “I’ve thought of—”
“Mommy are you okay?”
Both their heads swung in the direction of the young voice. Chey moved so fast Malcolm barely saw it. She’d released him and scooped up the child in the blink of an eye.
“Allie baby, mommy’s fine. How did you get here? Where’s nana?”
Mommy?
Malcolm’s head buzzed with the implication. No wonder she was so determined to avenge her dead husband. She had a child. All the air leeched from his body and his blood ran cold. Another man fathered a child with his mate. Good thing John was already dead or he’d have to kill him. Already his instincts sought retribution.
“The pretty lady brought me here.”
“What? What lady?”
“She showed up on our doorstep right before you did. Someone rang the bell and left her there. Don’t worry, we checked her over and she seems unhurt. She took to Lara immediately, and after breakfast she fell asleep in the guest room.”
Malcolm stared at the child looking over Chey’s shoulder, barely comprehending a word Kane said. Silky black curls framed a beautiful face with wide-set deep green eyes. She was the complete opposite of her mother and instead bore a remarkable resemblance to… Two tiny tears rolled from her eyes, interrupting his thoughts, and the scent of fear permeated the area. As if drawn by a magnetic pull, Malcolm crossed the clearing and approached the child. Her beauty mesmerized him in a way that only one other female ever had. The babe’s mother.
He reached for her and she innocently lifted her arms to him as well.
“Malcolm, what are you…”
The scent of the child drifted over him as she settled in his arms. A beautiful blend of her mother and wild nature, her small heart beating against his chest. Malcolm held her close and inhaled deeply. His cougar acknowledged her instinctively and yowled for a second before it settled into a slow purr. Oh dear goddess. Not another man’s child. His child.
“How old are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m this many.” She smiled and held up four fingers.
The pit in his stomach sank and a new anger rushed through his blood. He fought the urge to turn on the girl’s mother. But he’d lost so much time.
“Malcolm we need to talk—”
“No.” His firm statement startled the girl, she whimpered and fear once again crossed her face.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re safe with me. Always safe.” He patted her back and turned away from prying eyes as he fought his own tears. He had a child. It was far more than a man like him deserved. “What’s your name?”
“Allie,” she whispered. The smell of fear had not completely dissipated.
His brain wanted to be angry, to rage at the woman who’d hidden his child, but his damn instincts wouldn’t allow it. He had to protect the babe at all costs. Still, he couldn’t look at Chey. He didn’t want to know what emotions played across her face at the sight of her child—their child in his arms.
“Malcolm, we need to talk about this. She’s not safe here.”
His lip curled and a growl escaped before he could stop it. He whirled on Chey. “You think I can’t protect my own ch
ild? If Bran so much as comes near her, I’ll rip his throat out myself.”
Chey’s eyes narrowed and her lips pursed together. “He killed John trying to find her. I hid her well after that and no way could he have gotten to her unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless my mother is dead.”
Allie started crying in his arms. Chey stepped toward him and his cougar growled in warning.
“Dammit, Malcolm. We don’t have time for this. Allie is scared and you’re only making it worse.”
“You can’t have her.” Uncontrollable rage washed over him. He glanced at everyone in the clearing, watching each and every one of them stare at him in fear. “Give me a break. What do you expect? I learned I have a four-year-old babe and the minute I scented her, a bond began to form. Now you think I’ll just hand her over to the woman who didn’t want me to know about her?”
Kane stepped forward. “Be reasonable, Malcolm. Ever since you walked away from her you’ve been a different man.”
“A scary one most of the time,” Lara piped up.
Malcolm snarled.
“Malcolm, please. I understand how you feel. When I found John lying in a pool of warm blood with my knife stuck in his chest, I freaked out. Then he told me that the killer knew who Allie was and I nearly went crazy with rage. Every instinct screamed to go after him. If it wasn’t for her I don’t know what would have happened. Somehow her presence made me realize that my revenge had to be smart. That I couldn’t take too many chances with my life when I had someone counting on me to be there. For months, I searched and sought a way to get to him. When the trail grew cold and I knew I had to get on clan land, I came to Kane. To you. The man I knew would hate me once he learned the truth.”
Malcolm soaked in the pain of her words. The love she clearly felt for a dead man. Anger, sadness, fear, rage—she had it all in spades. He knew the feeling well. He’d fucked up everything on that fateful day. Goddess never in his wildest dreams had he once even considered she’d be with child. Pain lashed through his gut. Regret. Sorrow.
“I had to leave. My obligation was to my brother and clan.” The old excuse sounded hollow to his ears now.
Kane stepped forward. “Nothing should ever come before a man and his mate, brother. Nothing. I would have gladly told you that if you’d come to me or Lucas. You see what happened to us when our fate came calling. You can’t change fate, especially now. That beautiful babe is all that matters. Forget the past and think of your future. Dammit man, you have always been your own worst enemy. Do you think we could get past that now?”
“Easy for you to say.” He could barely think straight let alone be reasonable. His mate didn’t love a dead man.
Allie cried harder and nothing he whispered in her ear or touch he offered consoled her. She wanted her mother. Reluctantly, Malcolm handed her to Chey. For a split second, pain threatened to tear his skull in two when he relinquished his daughter. A primal urge far deeper than he’d accessed before wouldn’t let her go. His arms and legs shook from the force of it.
Lara stepped in Chey’s path. “Let me take her so you and Malcolm can have this out.”
“No!” Malcolm raged.
“Yes.” Kane stepped closer and placed himself between Malcolm and Chey. “I’m still the guardian here and the current family leader. My mate will take good care of her.”
“But—”
“Shut up, Mal and talk to your mate. She needs you too, you know.”
Malcolm snorted at that. What a joke.
Lara removed Allie from Chey’s embrace and he fought the urge to take her back and wrap his hands around the witch’s neck until she stopped breathing. Half shifter or not, he hadn’t adjusted to her place in their family one bit.
“Don’t even think about it. You might be my brother but I will kill you if you make a move against my mate,” Kane warned.
Common sense warred with the insane need to protect his child. In his heart, he knew Kane had nothing but the best intentions, and if he trusted his mate then she would be a trustworthy caregiver. If only the crazy train of his brain would listen and let go. Before his mother and father’s death, there had been no real anger between the brothers. They’d laughed and played and fought side by side every single day. Had five years really passed since their lives had all changed?
“Isn’t this sweet?”
They all jerked to face the direction of the sickly sweet voice. Kitty, Bran’s only child, stood behind them. Her eyes glittered with a sick anger and an even sicker sneer plastered across her lips.
“Lara, run!” Kane ordered.
“No. I haven’t come here to harm anyone as much as I might like to.” She snarled in Lara’s direction.
“If you do, you’ll die where you stand.” Kane looked ready to spring. “Haven’t we all suffered through enough of your petty jealousy?”
Kitty shrugged. “Threatening me isn’t going to get you much. But you might want to hear what I have to say before you act too rashly.”
“I doubt you have anything to say that we’d be interested in. Unless of course you’d like to tell us where your father is.” Malcolm stalked closer to Kitty, making sure to block her view from Lara and his child.
A wide smile spread across her face. “Finally starting to wise up to what’s going on under your own noses, are you? I thought you’d never catch on.”
Malcolm gritted his teeth against the need to teach the female feline a lesson in the form of a serious ass kicking. Kitty caused nothing but trouble at every opportunity and he trusted her even less now in the face of the facts against Bran.
“Where is the bastard?”
She leaned against the tree she’d emerged from behind. “You mean dear old dad?” She shrugged. “I guess you haven’t heard then that the council convened this morning. Looks like you two are missing your own trial.” She motioned to him and Chey.
“Oh for cripes sake. Would you get to the point already? I’m getting bored over here.” He didn’t care about anything but finding Bran. And if the council was having a session then it was the perfect time to interrupt. “Let’s go. We don’t have time for her.” He motioned to Kane.
“Hold on there, Mr. Big Bad Ass Black Cougar. If you go running in there without any evidence against my father you’ll end up executed before nightfall.”
Malcolm snorted. “You’re assuming they have someone who can handle us.”
Kitty sighed. “Your arrogance is going to get you no where. Do you honestly think they haven’t prepared for this? Fine. Go ahead. When you’re both dead I’ll enjoy telling your mates I told you so.”
Kane stepped forward. “Kitty what do you want? Seriously.”
“Let’s just say I’m sick of the bullshit. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be under his thumb every day? Lately I’ve been afraid to even sleep in the same house. I have no friends, no family to turn to. Hell, I have no life. It’s always been about you and you.” She pointed to Kane and then Malcolm.
“I’m not buying it. You’ve delivered some low blows yourself.” Kitty had always been just as conniving as her father. She’d managed to seduce her way through his brothers and when neither would take her as a mate she’d gone off the deep end and attacked Lara.
“Fuck you, Malcolm. You haven’t exactly been lily white these past few years. At least I haven’t tried to kill anyone.”
“Yet.” Kane added.
“Why are we listening to her?” Lara asked.
“Because I have information you might want, sweetheart,” Kitty drawled.
“I’ll show you sweetheart in a minute.”
“Enough.” Kane boomed. “We don’t have time for this. Either tell us something useful or get the fuck off my land.”
“That’s just it.” Kitty pulled a piece of paper out of her back pocket and unfolded it. The worn copy looked about ready to fall apart. “If you want me off your property then I’d have to leave the clan.” She handed the paper over
to Kane and took a step back when Lara growled at her. “Look, I realize it’s a day late and a dollar short but I came to do the right thing before I leave.”
Malcolm glanced over his brother’s shoulder and read the paper along with him. If it was to be believed, his family did own clan land. Along with guardianship came ownership. “You think this has something to do with the crap Bran has been pulling?”
She shrugged. “I think it did at one time but my father is gone now.”
“What do you mean gone? Where the hell did he go?”
“Not that kind of gone. He’s gone crazy. Loco. Insane. The minute she showed up he freaked and hasn’t been the same.” Kitty pointed at Lara.
“Me? What, because of Nick?” Malcolm had heard all about the death of Kane’s childhood friend at the hands of a half-shifted Lara. Nick had attacked her and in the moment of trying to escape her adrenalin had spiked and her shifter side had strained for dominance. Something he nor Kane would have expected for nothing.
Kitty roared with laughter. A mocking sound that grated on his nerves. “Fools all of you. I can’t believe I have to tell you this.” She narrowed her eyes and focused on Lara. “Who do you think it is who fathered you? The shifter fairy?”
Silence descended among the group until Allie’s whimpering broke the quiet. Lara’s face had turned ghostly white and the child had sensed her distress.
“He wants her too. He thinks the baby is an abomination. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said crazy. Just be glad she wasn’t a boy. If he’d thought for a second your baby was born a black cougar he’d have stopped at nothing until it died.”