The Protector's Heart (Wilde Creek Three)

by R. E. Butler

  “Last chance?”

  “To take you to lunch.”

  “You can see me anytime you want. I’m not going to be sitting at the reception desk all day long anymore, but I will be driving her back and forth to work, and taking her out for lunch when she wants to leave. I could…” he paused, very certain he was about to cross a line with her, push too hard and drive her away.

  “Could what?” She edged closer, tilting her head back to gaze up at him.

  “I could drive you, too.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I could pick you and Jack up, take him to daycare, and then drive you to work with Brynn. If you wanted.” Damn, he wanted her to say yes.

  Something flickered in her eyes, and he thought for a moment that it was jealousy. She wasn’t jealous of Brynn, was she? Maybe it wasn’t too far-fetched for her to be, considering how much time Malachi spent carting her around town. His mind flickered back to the conversation he’d had with Acksel earlier in the week about what would happen when he finally got Nila to agree to be his mate. Acksel said they’d work it out, but unless someone else stepped in as her personal protector, then Malachi was stuck. Nila would have to share his time with Brynn, while Malachi drove her around.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, without thinking.

  “Sorry for what?” Her head tilted, her hair sliding over her shoulder. He reached out and caressed a lock, finding it warm and silky.

  “I’m sorry that my pack job means I have to be Brynn’s guard.”

  “Don’t be sorry for being a male that your alpha trusts. Besides, this is just lunch, Malachi Slattery. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay?” She smirked at him, and he tweaked her chin with his finger and thumb.

  “Okay. What time?”

  “11:30.” Her smirk slid into a full-blown smile and his wolf grinned like a fool in return.

  She left him in the computer room, and he sat down heavily on the chair in front of the desk, amazed that things were looking up for him with his sweet mate.

  Malachi was nervous and watched the clock constantly. Brynn called him a nutcase for being so twitchy, but he could tell she thought it was a good thing.

  Before he got ready to leave for lunch, Brynn said, “Just remember that with us humans, the mate stuff can feel foreign and sound kind of crazy. Humans just meet someone they’re attracted to and fall in love, there isn’t some other furry person in our brains telling us that we’ve found ‘the one.’”

  “You said you were drawn to Acksel.” he pointed out.

  “Sure. He’s sexy, and I’ve known him forever, but where he knew I was his mate, I doubted that the stuff between us was real. It’s difficult to be in a relationship with someone who’s so positive you’re meant to be together when one of you is just feeling things out. If you go all caveman on her, you’re going to scare her away. Her ex treated her like property. If you start spouting off that ‘mine’ crap that Acksel does with me, then she might think you’re more like her ex than you really are. She deserves to be treated like a queen, and I know you’re the right male for the job.”

  “She really called you about me last night?”

  “Oh yeah,” Brynn said, grinning. “She was very curious about you and whether it was okay if you went with her to lunch. I said it was fine. I am your boss, right?”

  He smirked. “Yes, Alpha.”

  She laughed. “I love being the boss. Have fun and be yourself. She already likes you, she’s still just wrestling with her past.”

  Nila walked down the hallway at that moment, carrying Malachi’s coat. He was touched that she’d grabbed it for him. “Ready?” she asked, hopefully.

  “Do you want me to drive?”

  “If you’d like.”

  “I would.”

  They said goodbye to Brynn. Malachi offered his arm to Nila and she took it, leaning on him as they walked down the steps and out to the SUV. The parking lot was mostly slush and salt, but he still wanted her to be safe. He unlocked the passenger door and helped her in, and then he came around to the driver’s door and got in. As he turned on the engine, his phone buzzed.

  He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the screen. His company was calling.

  He mouthed sorry to Nila and answered the phone.

  “Slattery here.”

  “Good morning, sir. This is Vivi Parker at the communications center. I have an alert that the windows are being broken at 128 Forrest Road. It’s flagged that we should call you first and then the police.”

  “Call the police. I’m on my way. Did you say that windows are being broken, as in multiple ones?”

  “Yes, sir. The windows are being broken one after another, very systematically.”

  “Damn it. Call me back if any other alarms are triggered.”

  He tossed his phone into the cup holder between the seats with an aggravated snarl. “I need to take you back inside. Something is going on at your house.”

  “Take me with you.”

  “No, it could be dangerous.”

  She clenched her teeth and defiance lit her eyes. “If you leave me here I’m just going to drive myself.”

  “Damn it, you’re stubborn.” He put the vehicle into gear and pulled out of the parking space. “You’re to stay in the car and do exactly as I say, got it?”

  “Yes.”

  He grabbed his phone and called Sam, the head of the protectors, quickly explaining the situation and asking him to send any available protectors to Nila’s house. When he ended the call, he knew that he was potentially driving his mate into a dangerous situation, but he hoped like hell that whoever was breaking her windows was gone by the time they got there. If Malachi got a hold of whoever it was, he was going to lose it, and he didn’t want her to see the dangerous side of his wolf.

  * * * * *

  Nila’s phone buzzed as Malachi drove to her home. She pulled it from her purse, glanced at the screen, and then froze.

  “No security system will keep us apart,” read the text from an unknown number. She had replaced her cell every time Damien figured out her number. She didn’t know how he was doing it, because the only places that ever had her number were the daycare and work, and the only people she willingly gave it to were Diane and Brynn.

  “It’s Damien,” she said.

  “What?” Malachi asked, his voice tight with anger.

  “He just texted me. He’s the one who’s breaking my windows.” It had been easy enough to overhear the conversation with Malachi and the security company. Someone was breaking all her windows. Dread pooled in her stomach. She hadn’t wanted to believe it was Damien, but the text proved it.

  “How the hell does he have your cell number? I thought you told Brynn that you didn’t give it out to anyone.”

  “I don’t.” She deleted the text and then called the daycare to check on Jack. Everything was fine with him and no one had seen anyone suspicious hanging around. Breathing a sigh of relief, she dropped the phone into her purse and leaned back against the seat.

  “If you’re not giving the number out, then he clearly knows someone who can get him the information. Maybe a private investigator or a crooked cop.”

  Malachi turned a corner sharply. Two police cars and several other vehicles were parked on the street in front of her house, and men were milling around in the yard. Since Malachi didn’t say anything about the non-police people in her yard, she assumed they were protectors.

  He pulled the SUV to a stop at the curb and turned to her. “I’m going to check things out. Stay put and lock the doors when I get out.”

  “Okay.”

  His eyes narrowed and he reached out and laid his hand on her neck. His thumb rubbed her throat and she raised a brow at him. “What?”

  “I’m making sure you’re not in shock.”

  She smiled in spite of how nuts the situation was. “I’m okay.”

  “You’re being calm.”

  She shrugged. “He could have done a lot mo
re than break the windows. Clearly he was having someone watch the house who reported about you being here. I’m glad that it was just the windows.”

  He frowned, his thumb rubbing against her throat lightly, and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  When he shut the door, she pressed the lock button, reassured by the clicking sound of every door being locked. He stared at her through the side window for a long moment, and she wondered what he was thinking. Was he wondering if he was nuts for getting involved with her? She was beginning to think anyone was nuts to be around her.

  She watched as Malachi first spoke to the police, and then made his way around the house, apparently using his phone to take pictures of the damage. From the street, she could see the two windows at the front of the house were completely broken out. It wasn’t like someone had just lobbed a rock through them — both windows were entirely gone, the jagged remains glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

  Shit, the house was going to be a mess.

  With a deep sigh, she laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. When she’d made the decision to leave Damien, she’d known that he was unstable. At the very least he acted like a child whose favorite toy had been taken away. She thought he got pleasure from her fear, knowing that he terrified her. He wasn’t as muscular as Malachi, having more of a lean, wiry build, but he was still powerfully strong, thanks to his wolf shifter genes.

  She opened her eyes and watched Malachi speak to the other men. Even though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could tell that the men respected him. They weren’t afraid of him, that he might lash out unexpectedly just for the fun of it the way that Damien did. No, these men — these wolf shifters — respected Malachi because he was worthy of respect and deserved it.

  Twenty minutes passed before Malachi came to her side of the SUV and she unlocked the door. He opened it and a blast of cold air whipped into the interior, making her shiver immediately.

  “Come on, sweetheart.” He offered her his hand and she took it without a second thought. He pulled her gently from the interior of the SUV and guided her up the front walk. She gave him the house key and he unlocked it and ushered her inside, cautioning her to be careful of the glass. She gasped as she looked around. Bricks had been tossed through the windows, and littered the floor and furniture. Everything looked broken, as if the bricks had been thrown with more purpose than simply breaking the glass. Looking through the open door of Jack’s bedroom, she saw that the crib was destroyed.

  She didn’t even realize she was crying until Malachi embraced her, bringing her into his warmth and holding her close.

  “Shh,” he crooned softly. “It’s going to be okay.”

  She ducked her head against his chest and fisted his shirt in her hands. “How can you be sure?”

  “Because I know I’m not going to let anything happen to you or Jack.”

  “Malachi?” She said his name, and a fine tremble wove through her body.

  “Yes, sweetheart?”

  She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Why are you here with me?”

  Brynn had told her that Malachi believed Nila was his mate, that his wolf and his human side were in agreement that she was the woman meant for them. Diane had been right in saying that Damien had never treated her like anything but property. When he said that Nila belonged to him, he didn’t mean he wanted to take care of her forever, he just meant he was keeping her, whether she liked it or not.

  Malachi lifted his hand and stroked the curve of her cheek. “You’re my mate, Nila. I want you to be my mate, not because I’m making some kind of Neanderthal claim to you, but because you’re constantly in my thoughts and I can’t live without you. I want you to be my mate because you want me to be yours, because you can’t live without me, either.”

  She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Closing it again, she leaned her head against his chest and sighed. She was buoyed by his words. He’d been in her thoughts since the day they met. She’d been fighting the connection between them, but here, in his arms, the last thing she wanted to do was fight.

  A throat cleared and she lifted her head from his chest and looked at a handsome man with short, dark hair.

  Malachi said, “Nila, this is Jeremiah, part of my pack. He’s going to stay here and make sure that the windows are replaced and everything gets cleaned up.”

  “What?” She blinked in surprise and turned her attention to Malachi.

  He smiled. “Jeremiah is going to take care of things. All you need to do is pack a bag for you and Jack and I’ll take you back to work.”

  “A bag?”

  “You can’t stay here tonight, sweetheart.”

  “But where will I go?”

  “Do you even have to ask? Come to my home. Everything that’s mine is yours.”

  She shook her head and pushed away from him. “That’s just insane. He broke all my windows because you installed a security system. What do you think he’ll do when he finds me and Jack at your house? I’ll go stay with Diane. She lives here in town and I know she’ll take us in.”

  Malachi’s eyes flashed from blue to amber. “My home is safe.”

  She took a step back, instinctively tensing to flee if he raised his fist. He seemed to sense her fear immediately. The amber faded from his eyes, and he jammed his hands into his pockets. “If you’re not willing to stay at my house, then I’m going to be there, guarding you.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head. “Go pack. The police are waiting for your statement, and your lunch hour is almost up.”

  He seemed angry. Well, angry was an understatement. He looked like he could punch a hole through the wall, but he had purposely made himself calm down and appear non-threatening. Once more she was reminded that Malachi was not Damien. She almost told him that she’d go to his house, but she knew if she stayed there not only would she never want to leave, but she’d be drawing Damien directly to him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

  Nodding, she walked into the bedroom and opened the closet, grabbing an older diaper bag from the shelf. She ignored the destruction and the crunch of glass under her shoes and busied herself packing, trying to decide whether going to Diane’s was really the best idea or not.

  * * * * *

  Malachi rubbed his snout on the porch railing of Diane’s home. She was like an aunt to Nila, and the woman had opened her door without hesitation to Nila and Jack. Malachi sat on the front porch in his shifted form, using his enhanced senses to keep track of what was going on around him. Three other protectors were posted around the house. He’d asked Sam to get some volunteers for the job; and Sam had immediately volunteered himself, and so had Malachi’s cousins Devin and Hayden. Malachi would figure out a way to thank them.

  Nila was stubborn. He didn’t know why she wouldn’t come to his house. The house was very safe, more so than Diane’s for sure, since she didn’t even have a basic security system. He lifted his muzzle and inhaled, sifting through the scents around him and finding nothing but nature and the wolves with him.

  The front door opened and shut quickly, and Nila sat down on the top step, a blanket wrapped around her. She leaned against him and sighed loudly.

  “I know you think I should be at your place, Mal. It’s just that my life is so fucked up right now.”

  He whined audibly and she ducked her head and rubbed her cheek against the top of his head.

  “You’re a good guy. I do feel strangely connected to you. I’ve had to try really hard not to look at you at work, but I can’t seem to help myself. I know I’ve been hiding behind the fact that you’re a wolf to keep us apart, but you’re more than this furry creature you shift into, I know that.” She exhaled slowly and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “I just need some time, Mal. Give me time to get to know you when things aren’t so messy, okay? I can’t think about a future with you when I’m afraid that Damien’s going to take everything from me. It would be a lot better if he would
find someone else to be with, but he always comes back for me. He said he’d never let me go, and that he’d make my life hell if I didn’t go back to him, and look at how well he’s done that. I can’t even marry anyone else because he won’t let me divorce him. And you know what’s really fucked up? He never treated me like a real mate. He never claimed me as his mate to the pack or marked me, he never treated me like anything but a fuck toy and a maid. I was such a fool, and now I’m ruined, I’m so hopelessly fucked.”

  Malachi wanted to tell her that she wasn’t hopelessly fucked at all, that he would figure out a way to get her free of Damien’s hold on her, but since he was in his shift he couldn’t do anything but growl softly and nuzzle her throat. She sat with him for a long time, until it grew late and she shivered from the cold. She kissed the top of his head and said goodnight, and he watched her go into the house and lock the door. Settling in for the night, he decided to talk to Acksel in the morning.

  * * * * *

  Damien watched from the upstairs window of a house across the street from where Nila was staying. The occupants of the house were gone, and he and his men had broken in through the back door to stake out the house Nila was staying in. He watched with narrowed eyes as Nila sat next to a wolf on the front porch.

  She was his! What the fuck was she doing touching another male?

  He growled. He should have brought a gun. Then he could have just picked off the males one by one and taken the bitch and his son back. He’d teach her a thing or two about obedience, and make sure she never had an opportunity to leave him again. His mind flipped through ideas on how to permanently ensure that she stayed with him. He’d been toying with her since she left. He enjoyed making her fearful, screwing with her just for his sheer amusement. He hadn’t been without female company. As the son of the alpha, he was a hot commodity and no one refused him. But he was expending his time making Nila suffer, letting her believe she was free of him and then tightening the noose. It was time to get her once and for all.