by Zoe Chant
Since when do you have an opinion on anything but flying and fighting? Malachi thought, surprised. Normally his inner dragon essentially wanted to spend their entire life sailing above the trees, watching for intruders and making sure that anyone who threatened the town regretted it immediately.
Could fly with her, his dragon pointed out.
Well, we're not going to, Malachi answered, although that brought up a point. “Is your car here?” he asked Elizabeth. “I flew, and Hayley—”
“I flew, too,” Hayley said. “I know the rules. Nowhere alone unless I'm shifted.”
“My car's here,” Elizabeth said. “I could drive us.”
No.
Malachi had to force down his immediate instinct. He couldn't forbid the woman to drive her own car. “Would you mind if I drove?” he said instead. “If you're still dizzy—”
Elizabeth hesitated. Malachi could see the struggle on her face.
And he had to sympathize. If he'd been in a similar situation—an independent person who was used to being able to take care of themselves, suddenly without a home or a pack or even a change of clothes, and then his body giving out as well? Having to trust strangers with his well-being?
That had to be hard.
Even harder would be admitting it. But Elizabeth finally lifted her chin and said, “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Brave. She was so clearly, obviously brave.
Malachi went and got her purse, and when he handed it to her, she dug through it and found her keys, giving them to him.
“Thank you,” she repeated quietly.
“My pleasure,” he said honestly.
On the way out, Elizabeth lingered to say further goodbyes and thank yous to Flynn and Lila. Hayley, meanwhile, hurried out with Malachi and elbowed him in the side. “I totally didn’t think you were going to go for this.”
Neither had Malachi. He groped for an explanation, and abruptly remembered what he’d been originally intending when he’d come to Flynn and Lila’s house in the first place. “Well, we have the room, and I won’t be sorry to have the chance to ask her some questions about Victor’s pack.”
He’d completely forgotten about that while he’d been talking to Elizabeth. Of course, realizing she was pregnant and then being worried that she was going to faint had been plenty distracting.
“Oh.” Hayley was making her I’m-guilty-and-I’m-trying-to-hide-it expression.
“Something you want to say?” Malachi asked her.
“Just. Um. Well, I tried to ask her about it and I guess it was—hard for her to talk about. She looked super sad. So maybe don’t ask her about it.”
Hayley’s shoulders were hunched. Malachi nudged her. “You wanted to hear about Victor’s pack?”
She looked up at him. “No one talks to me about what’s been going on. It’s been all—” She made some wild hand motions. “Danger and kidnapping and guerillas in the woods! And half the time I have no idea what’s even happening at all, and you even shipped me off to Mom and wouldn’t tell me anything at all. I wanted to hear about it at least, even if I can’t fight anybody myself.”
Malachi’s heart clenched at the very idea of his sixteen-year-old daughter fighting anybody, ever. “It’s not a movie,” he said severely. “It’s nothing to entertain yourself with.”
“I know it’s not a movie, because it’s happening to people.” She sighed. “I shouldn’t have asked her about it, I realized that about a second after I did it. It’s just weird when there’s all this crazy war stuff happening and I have no idea why all these dumb lions even want to take over our Nowheresville town.”
“Hopefully they don’t want to any longer,” Malachi said repressively. “And there aren’t always good reasons for this kind of thing, you know that. Most of being a cop is dealing with people who made dumb decisions for bad reasons.”
“So take a second to think before you act, I know, I know,” Hayley recited automatically. “I guess I didn’t do that. And I guess Victor just didn’t, either.”
“No, he didn’t. Fortunately you’re way smarter than Victor Leone, so I know you can learn to take a second next time, right?”
“Yeah.”
Elizabeth came out the door before Malachi could ask Hayley what, exactly, Elizabeth had said that had been so sad.
Although he could guess the general picture, at least. She’d had to leave her home. She’d given up her pack leader to the authorities. Plenty to be sad about there, even without the pregnancy.
Malachi wondered where the father was. Was he a pack member? She obviously couldn’t count on him, or she’d be with him right now.
That idea made him want to clench his fists in anger. What sort of man—
“Ready to go?” Elizabeth had put on a smile. It was a calm, pleasant expression, and it was obviously a professional mask. A mask that was slipping a little with the power of the exhaustion underneath.
“Ready,” Malachi said, and resisted the urge to put a hand on her back and usher her to the car.
Chapter 5: Elizabeth
On the car ride over to Malachi’s home, Elizabeth figured it out.
She’d been a little overwhelmed, back at Lila’s. Malachi’s strong arm around her waist, the kindness she’d been sure she saw in his eyes, his gentle insistence that she let him help.
She wasn’t used to people showing up and just—presenting themselves as help and support for her, with no prompting or asking or anything. And it had happened twice in a few minutes, first with Hayley, and then with Malachi.
So she’d been a little dizzy with it. And with pregnancy symptoms. Hormones everywhere, fogging up her brain.
But once she had a few minutes to breathe, it was clear why this was happening.
Malachi’s job was to protect Oak Ridge. She was a potential danger to the town—either because Victor might send someone after her (or Nevin might come on his own, which she wasn’t thinking about too hard), or because she might have some kind of designs of her own. After all, she’d just taken down one pack, not quite singlehandedly. She had to be marked as a potential danger in Malachi’s mind.
Perversely, the realization made her relax a little. If Malachi was suspicious of her, or if he just wanted her close so that he could be the first to know when a bunch of angry lions showed up to attack her, that was fine. She wasn’t planning anything nefarious, and she couldn’t fight off the angry lions all by herself, so it wasn’t like it would hurt her to stay at the sheriff’s house.
And it was good to have found an explanation for—all that concern—that made sense. When she’d just been presented with the concern without any explanation, that had been worrying.
Emotions were unpredictable. If Malachi was just having some kind of squishy protective alpha-male feelings, and those were what had made him so solicitous, well. That could change at any moment. Elizabeth preferred to have a more stable ground underneath her feet.
Especially right now, when she could barely depend on her feet to hold her up.
They pulled into the driveway of a charming old house, blue with white trim, curtains in the windows. Elizabeth had to shake her head at how picturesque it was. This town was really too good to be true.
“Come on, let’s get you situated.” Malachi came around to the passenger side before she realized what was happening, and had the door open and was offering her a hand.
If she’d been more able-bodied, she probably would’ve resented the hand—she was a grown woman, she could get out of her own car by herself—but as it was, she was too tired to get angry. She took his hand.
God, his fingers were warm. She felt like her own were perpetually chilly, especially now that winter was rearing its head.
Malachi helped her gently out of the car, and let go once she was standing; Elizabeth quashed the brief moment of regret as the warm touch disappeared, and shouldered her purse and followed Hayley into the house.
“Come on, the guest room is this way,” Hayley
said eagerly, and thumped up the stairs. Elizabeth eyed them with a resigned feeling, and started up more slowly.
“Do you need any help?” Malachi asked quietly behind her.
“Why would I need help getting up a flight of stairs?” God, there were so many of them.
There was a long pause. He was right behind her, matching her slow pace, which reassured her a little, even though she truly and honestly was not going to fall while walking up a damn flight of stairs.
“I don’t mean to invade your privacy,” he said finally, “but I couldn’t help but notice your...condition.”
Elizabeth flushed from head to toe. “How did you—?” She was barely showing. A little wider around the middle, but not so much that she couldn’t have passed it off as just gaining a bit of weight.
His voice was still quiet. “There’s a certain—scent—a woman has while she’s expecting.”
Her flush deepened, until her face felt like it was on fire. The idea of this man—scenting her...
“Oh,” she managed. “Lions can’t do that.” Lucky for her.
A small movement behind her; she guessed that he’d shrugged. “All shifters are different. I wanted you to know that I knew. In case you—need anything. You shouldn’t hesitate to ask.”
Elizabeth couldn’t imagine anything pregnancy-related that she might need that she’d ask a strange man to bring her, but she supposed it was...sweet of him to offer.
“Thank you,” she managed, and resumed her slow, careful pace up the stairs.
In the time it took her to get up to the second floor, Hayley had apparently found the spare sheets and made up the guest bed. Teenagers, Elizabeth thought wryly.
“Want to lie down for a bit?” Malachi asked her.
God, she felt silly. “It’s not even lunchtime. And—and surely you want to talk about Victor.”
Malachi was quiet for another minute, and when she turned to look at him, he seemed...unhappy, somehow. Angry, even. “I do want to talk about Victor,” he said, “but that can wait until you’re feeling better. He’s not going anywhere right now.”
She supposed he wasn’t.
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it!” Hayley thumped back down the stairs. “Oh, it’s Reid! Dad, did you call Reid for something?”
Malachi twitched. His expression changed; now he looked...guilty? “I did,” he said. “Elizabeth, Reid’s our local physician. I contacted him earlier, when you were so dizzy. Would you mind if he checked you out?”
She was starting to feel dizzy now. The doctor was a new data point, and it broke the mold of practical information-gathering.
“Why are you doing all of this?” came out of her mouth without any real forethought. “Inviting me into your home—calling a doctor for me—you don’t even know me.”
“I don’t have to know you to want to be sure you’re all right,” Malachi said. He was still quiet—Elizabeth had the sense that he was one of those men who hardly ever raised his voice—but somehow more intense. “You’re alone and pregnant and in danger. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
It felt like every single word hit her hard in the chest. You’re alone and pregnant and in danger was bad enough. Elizabeth knew all of that, of course, but hearing it laid out so baldly was—hard, for some reason.
But even worse was I don’t want anything to happen to you. Why was that part worse? She couldn’t figure it out.
“I didn’t realize you were pregnant.” Hayley stood on the stairs, with a strange man next to her, presumably Dr. Reid. Her eyes were wide. “Wow, congratulations?”
Her voice went up at the end, presumably because Elizabeth’s situation made it very unclear as to whether congratulations were in order or what.
“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, pulling as much dignity around her as she could manage. Since it was apparently all she had in the world, any longer. “Dr....?”
“MacAllister, Reid MacAllister,” said the stranger.
The mayor of Oak Ridge was named MacAllister. Presumably this was her son or nephew. Small towns were really something else.
Okay. This was happening, so Elizabeth summoned up every ounce of courtesy and professionalism she had left. “Thank you for making a house call on such short notice. Perhaps we could talk in there?” She inclined her head towards the guest room.
“Of course.” Dr. MacAllister slipped past Hayley and Malachi. “You two wait downstairs. Turn on the TV or something.”
Confidentiality, of course. Shifter hearing would’ve made it difficult.
Malachi hesitated, like he wanted to object, and then seemed to shake himself. “Of course. Come on, Hayley.”
***
“Rest,” said Dr. MacAllister firmly.
“Well, I guess I—”
“No,” he interrupted. “No guess. Rest, and as many fluids as you can keep down, and as much food likewise. You’re exhausted, you’re on your way to being dehydrated, and you need more nourishment than you’re getting. I want to check on you again in a day or two, and if there’s no improvement, you could need to go to the hospital.”
Elizabeth blinked, feeling cold. “Is the baby okay?”
“There’s no reason to suspect any danger to the baby right now,” he said, more gently. “But if you don’t take care of yourself, your body isn’t going to have the resources it needs to keep the baby healthy. So rest.”
It was hard to argue with the commanding tone in his voice. Dr. MacAllister wasn’t quite as big and intimidating-looking as Malachi, but he had an implacable air to him, like he couldn’t imagine anyone going against his instructions.
And Elizabeth wasn’t going to. She wasn’t about to risk her baby.
“It’s my understanding that you’ve been under a lot of stress lately,” Dr. MacAllister added. “That would have exacerbated your symptoms, and hopefully this new environment will help. But the absolute best thing you can do is stay in bed, drink lots of water, and eat as much as you can tolerate. You’re about to hit the second trimester, so your nausea should start to abate.”
God, she hoped so.
“All right,” Elizabeth said, as confidently as she could manage. “Thank you, Doctor. My insurance—” Was she technically still on her insurance from her position with Victor? Oh, no—
But the doctor was shaking his head. “No charge today. A personal favor to Malachi.”
“Oh.” Uneasy, Elizabeth settled back against the pillows that Hayley had piled up by the headboard.
She really didn’t like all of this—she didn’t even know what to call it. Charity, maybe. That was probably it.
She’d never been in a position to be the recipient of charity before. She’d always done well, been successful all on her own, without needing other people’s help like this. It wasn’t comfortable.
It’s probably good for you, she thought to herself.
That didn’t make it comfortable, though.
“Well...thank you,” she said.
Dr. MacAllister smiled. “No problem. I’ll be back, and I expect to see improvement.”
She nodded obediently, and he slipped out, leaving her to think over her situation a little.
Alone, in danger, and pregnant. Well, okay, that wasn’t entirely true. She wasn’t alone—she was in a town full of people who apparently just wanted to spend their days helping others.
There had to be something else going on here. Was the whole town a cult? Was there some horror-movie plot twist waiting for her? More realistically, were they trying to butter her up to get intel on Victor? She wanted to tell someone that they didn’t have to butter her up; she’d tell them all about Victor, his family, his pack, whatever they wanted to know. She certainly didn’t have anything to lose by doing it, not this late in the game.
A soft knock at the door startled her. “Come in?”
Malachi poked his head in. “Just wanted to check on you. See how the visit went. If you need anything.”
Elizabeth
shook her head, feeling overwhelmed. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” He came inside, but stayed by the door. “I don’t want to push, but—”
“Then don’t!”
Her own vehemence surprised her. And him, apparently, because he jerked back as though she’d hit him.
She bit her lip, ashamed. “I’m sorry.” This nice man took her into his own home and called a doctor for him, and she paid him back by yelling at him. Great. Great job.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, quiet and composed once again. “I’ll leave you to get some rest.”
Elizabeth had to bite back a, Wait...! as he eased the door closed behind him. What did she want him to stay for? She didn’t even know.
Maybe if she did what the doctor had said, and rested, all of this would somehow start to make sense.
She wasn’t confident about that, though.
Chapter 6: Malachi
Malachi maintained the necessary discipline while Reid was with Elizabeth and did not listen in. He sat downstairs with Hayley and deliberately paid attention only to her, even though he very badly wanted to know whether Elizabeth or her unborn baby were in any danger.
But he wasn’t entitled to pry into Elizabeth’s private business like that. Even if it had been legal for him to do so, it would’ve been wrong.
He didn’t know why he couldn’t seem to convince himself of that.
Protect her, his dragon hissed. Be with her! Stay with her and protect her!
Maybe that was why. What is wrong with you today?
Unsurprisingly, his dragon didn’t have an answer for that.
“So is she going to stay in Oak Ridge forever?” Hayley was wondering. “Have the baby here?”
“No idea, kid,” Malachi said, wishing it were otherwise. “She doesn’t have any family here, and I’m sure she didn’t get that fond of a picture of it, from the perspective of Victor’s pack. But I would’ve thought that meant she wouldn’t come here at all. So maybe she’ll decide to stay.”
“We’ll just have to make sure she wants to,” Hayley decided.