With that, he got out of the SUV and came around to her side. He helped her out and drew her against him, kissing her to the point she was dizzy. “I love you.”
“I love you too and I’m not leaving you.”
“Brooke, you have to…”
The air around them cooled quickly and Brooke stayed close to Malik, knowing Elm was too close. No one was leaving at this point.
Snarling, Malik turned and pushed Brooke against the open car door, putting his body before hers. “Come out, coward!”
The darkness parted, and Elm stepped out from it, his long white-blond hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. He ran his gaze over Malik and sneered as additional men stepped forth from the darkness as well. As she spotted all the men who had hurt her, she realized he had the band back together again—including Haneez. Elm waved his hand in the air. “Something is different.”
Brooke caressed her husband’s back lightly. They were together in this no matter what. She’d not have her family hunted any longer.
Elm gasped. “Brooke, you’re mated? To a shifter?”
Malik snarled low and deep, putting his hands out to his sides as fur coated them and claws emerged from his fingertips.
Elm curled his lip, disgust evident. “Like mother, like daughter. It would appear you wish for the same fate as her.”
“You’re not going to fucking touch her, asshole,” said Malik, his voice deeper than normal.
Elm tossed his head back and laughed, doing his part to really drive home the evil villain vibe he was so good at. “And you think to stop me? You’re a mere shifter. Nothing more. It’s like child’s play to me. Do yourself a favor and run away kitty. This is out of your league.”
The second the words left Elm’s mouth, Malik rotated his head and seemed to get even bigger before her. He roared as his skin began to shimmer, much like hers could do when tapping deeper into her gifts. Malik shimmered a bright gold as his shoulders heaved from his deep breathing.
Elm actually took a small step back, concern washing over his face. “W-what are you?”
Feeling empowered, Brooke moved to Malik’s side and drew upon her own gifts. Her skin shimmered as well. Her eyes tingled, indicating they were glowing. “He’s the son of the god king and he’s my husband. Looks like he’s really fucking letting his mean out now. I almost feel sorry for you.” She glared at him. “Never mind. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for you. I hope he bites your heads off.”
Elm backed up more and Brooke knew he’d flee in an attempt to fight another day. She was sick of running. Sick of hiding and being afraid. She threw her power around the area, keeping everyone within the confines of it.
Elm froze and glanced around. “Little Fae, I will let my full power out to counter this spell and it will cause you great harm.”
Malik didn’t wait any longer. He charged Elm and the others. The other men with Elm converged on Malik in an attempt to protect Elm. Malik cut through them like butter.
Several pulled out weapons, aiming at her husband. Brooke threw power at them, lifting them in the air and slowly squeezing the life from them with no more than a thought. She felt empowered.
She felt like the daughter of a queen and a powerful shifter male.
Haneez aimed a rifle at her and before she could even think to throw power at him, Malik was there, slicing the man in half with one blow.
She’d never seen anything so horrifically awesome in her life. She nearly clapped and threw up all at once. If Edee would have been there, she’d have totally clapped and probably whistled too before slapping Malik’s ass to let him know it was a great move.
Brooke found herself frozen in place, captivated by the sight of her husband, the king who didn’t want to be king, as he continued mowing down the enemy. When he was done, only Elm was left standing.
The Fae put his hand out in Brooke’s direction. “Come any closer and I will hit her with enough power to end that abomination I sense taking root in her.”
Anger coursed through her so fast and furiously that her power took the lead. Wind swirled around her and the next thing she knew, her magik was lifting her off the ground and suspending her in the air. She glared at the man who had spent eight months torturing her and five years terrorizing her. Her power slammed into him and she felt it clawing at him from the inside out. Pulling on his power, stripping him of it little by little.
He gasped. “No!”
Malik snatched hold of Elm and lifted him up and over his head. With eyes of red and amber, and gold, shimmering skin, her husband looked up at Elm. “You will never again hurt my mate!”
With that, Malik ripped the man in two and then threw the two halves. Brooke blinked several times, needing a moment to register what happened and then to comprehend that the boogieman himself was now dead. He’d never be able to hurt her again. When it fully sank in, she lowered herself to the ground, clapping and whistling loudly, her power drawing back into her quickly.
Malik lowered his head, returning to normal in the blink of an eye. He had been covered in blood before, but there wasn’t a drop of blood on him now. Looking up, he met her gaze. “It is done.”
Brooke ran at him and threw herself into his arms.
He spun her around holding her tight. When he set her down, he kissed her lips and smiled sheepishly. “Can we maybe not mention to the guys that I did all that? They’ll mock me endlessly for sparkling. Boomer will have T-shirts made. The Fang Gang will try to recruit me. And someone there will erect a gold statue lookalike of me with a Tut mask to pin up on the Asshole of the Week wall.”
A choked sob came from her as she hugged him again. “Malik! You did it. You ended it.”
He held her tight. “I plan to send his body to The Corporation gift wrapped as a warning to stay away from my family. I feel like they’ll understand the message even if I don’t include a card.”
She smothered his face in kisses and he laughed, keeping her close to him. “I love you so much.”
“Mmm, my sweet, I love you too.” He exhaled and then lifted a brow. “While you’re happy with me, I should probably tell you that what I just did more than likely sent up a giant flare that my brothers and cousins will sense. I know them. It doesn’t matter how many centuries we put between seeing each other, they’ll all come. And when they do, we’re going to have a house full of ancient Egyptian cat-shifters.”
Brooke grinned. “Hey, Edee might very well get her Egyptian prince after all.”
Malik laughed and kissed her again. “Now. Let’s head home, tell everyone the tree is dead, and prepare for house guests. Oh, and get Bethany into preschool. And get you back over for James or Auberi to take a look at you to start monitoring the pregnancy.”
Brooke groaned. “Relax, Tut. It will all work out.”
He grinned. “I normally hate that nickname, but when you say it, it makes me horny.”
“Everything makes you horny,” she said, rolling her eyes and laughing.
“No, my sweet. Only you do. So, everything about you makes me that way,” he corrected.
THE END
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