The Protector's Heart (Wilde Creek Three)

by R. E. Butler

  Nila grinned at him. “Later,” she mouthed.

  “No, not later. You’re sleeping at my house tonight and nobody is having sex there, either.” Acksel said.

  Malachi grinned as Nila whispered, “How did he hear that?”

  “I guessed,” Acksel said with a snort.

  Doc said, “If you’re done molesting each other, I’d like to check out the poultice and get you two the heck out of here.”

  Malachi rolled onto his back. Nila slipped from the bed but stayed by his side, holding his hand tightly as Doc removed the poultice. It had been a yellowish-green color to start with, but now it was nearly entirely black. Doc said it was what happened as it healed. The herbs and minerals it was made from were bespelled with magic from his brother-in-law, Noah, who was a natural healer.

  “That potion was a real potion, wasn’t it?” Nila asked.

  “Yes. Our people don’t normally need a lot of medical attention, but there are times when having some magical healing items are beneficial.” Doc gave her a look as if he were sizing her up. “Are you interested in a job?”

  “Excuse me?” Nila asked, her mouth falling open in surprise.

  “I could use an assistant. The female who lives next door to me could watch your son while you’re here. You wouldn’t have to work every day, only when I have appointments with pregnant females or any emergencies that crop up during the daytime, although I have to admit that my filing system could use some serious updating, too. I’d pay you fairly, but you’d have more time with your son, if you’d be interested.”

  Malachi couldn’t believe that Doc was offering Nila a job, but he liked the idea.

  She was quiet for a moment, and then she said, “Can I think about it?”

  “Of course.”

  Doc cleaned the residue of the poultice off Malachi’s skin and checked the area with a portable ultrasound machine. Doc talked to Nila about the healing poultice and potion and Malachi watched her as they spoke. She seemed fascinated with what she called the “holistic” aspects of the magical concoctions, and Doc offered to bring Noah to the clinic someday to meet her so she could talk to him. Malachi didn’t know Noah very well. As a supernaturally gifted human, he wasn’t part of the pack and didn’t live in Wilde Creek, but he was Doc’s brother-in-law, and that meant he was family.

  “As long as Malachi’s with me,” Nila said, at the offer to meet with Noah.

  Doc chuckled in a knowing way. “She’s got your number already.”

  Malachi smiled and shrugged. He didn’t mind that she could guess he would want to be there when she met with another unmated male. After a few more minutes, Doc declared him fit to leave.

  “Next time you go to a fight, try not to let the other guy get any hits in,” Doc said, his face alight with amusement.

  “I’ll remember that. Thanks, Doc.”

  Nila thanked him, too, and promised to be in touch soon to chat. Malachi put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as they walked out of the warm home that doubled as a clinic for the pack members and out to the waiting SUV. Acksel turned from the front passenger seat and said, “How are you feeling?”

  “Good.”

  “You could still shift when we get back to the house. I’ll go for a run with you if you want.”

  “Thanks, but I just want to check on Jack and get Nila to bed. It’s been a long day.”

  Nila curled against him, tucking her feet under her as Sam pulled the SUV away from the curb.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” he whispered.

  She snuggled a little closer and sighed. “I’m just glad you won.”

  “Me, too.”

  Chapter 13

  The next morning, Nila, Jack, and Malachi ate breakfast with Brynn and Acksel. She still couldn’t believe that she was done with Damien. She wasn’t really sure she believed he would comply with the rules of the fight and turn over the divorce papers on Friday. But even though his dad was a jerk, he was still alpha, and he’d made a promise to Acksel that the papers would be signed.

  “What are you thinking about so seriously?” Malachi asked as he dredged a corner of toast though runny eggs and took a bite.

  “I’m wondering what would happen if he doesn’t send the papers on Friday.”

  “He will,” Acksel said, leaning back in his chair.

  He seemed so confident that Nila didn’t want to question him in case it made him mad.

  Brynn said, “Worry about Friday on Friday, okay? Let’s talk about how adorable your son is.”

  Nila looked at Jack as he sat in a highchair that Brynn and Acksel had bought for their own baby. Jack was going to town on banana slices and strawberry yogurt.

  “I hope he was good for you last night,” she said as she tucked a lock of hair behind his ear.

  “He was a dream. There was one thing, though.”

  “What?”

  “He kept asking for carrots, but when I gave him some, he wouldn’t eat them.”

  Malachi’s face flushed and Nila tried to keep from laughing, but she couldn’t help it. Her amusement bubbled up inside her and spilled out her mouth. It felt good to laugh. She felt like she hadn’t done much laughing in the last few years.

  “I’m missing something,” Acksel said.

  “Yeah, well, it’s private,” Malachi groused.

  Nila stifled another wave of laughter and helped Jack grip the plastic kid-size spoon better so he could shovel the yogurt into his mouth faster. “He loves his carrot.”

  Malachi kissed her cheek. “Carrot loves him, too.”

  After breakfast, Malachi drove them home, and when she put Jack down for his nap, she insisted on checking over Malachi’s wounds once more.

  He humored her as she tugged the shirt over his head and tossed it to the bedroom floor. “You already did this last night and again this morning,” he pointed out. He didn’t stop her, though, as she gently poked and prodded where she’d seen so much damage the night before. Although Malachi was a better fighter, Damien had used his claws on him, and he’d also landed several good punches and kicks.

  “You saw the ultrasound, sweetheart, you know I’m okay, inside and out.”

  She ran her fingertips over the smooth skin of his side. She could still see the deep gouges and smell the blood that had flowed freely from them. Her clothes had been covered in his blood by the time they got to Doc’s, but she hadn’t cared. She really hadn’t even noticed until Sam brought in clothes for them to change into, which he’d sent one of the omegas to their home to gather. Then she’d seen the evidence of what he’d endured.

  After they’d arrived at Acksel’s home, she’d checked on Jack and found him asleep in the playpen in the spare bedroom. Then she pushed Malachi into an attached bathroom and insisted on helping him clean up. They’d stayed in the shower until every bit of blood was washed from their skin and then fallen asleep together while Jack slept soundly next to the bed.

  “I can still see it,” she whispered.

  He picked up her hands and kissed her palms. “I’m okay. You’re not going to work today, and neither am I. Sam is handling my shift at the clinic with Brynn, so it’s just the three of us.”

  “It’s technically just the two of us right now,” she said, stepping close and looking up at him.

  “So it is, love.” He smiled, cupping her face and lowering his head to kiss her. She let herself go into his warmth, letting him lead where they’d go in this precious time alone. He’d given himself for her last night. He could have died, or been seriously injured, but he was standing in front of her without a mark on him, and she would be forever grateful for her mate and protector.

  * * * * *

  Friday came fast, and Nila felt like there was a gun pointed at her head all morning. She wasn’t sure that Damien would sign the papers or that Isaiah would send them. If that didn’t happen, she didn’t know what Acksel would do, but Malachi had hinted that it wouldn’t be good. Alphas apparently took their promises very
seriously.

  Every time she was called to the front to get a patient, she expected to find a furious Damien there, ready to attack. She knew she was being silly, but old fears died hard.

  At lunchtime, Malachi pulled her into the breakroom and held her. “It’ll be okay.”

  “How can you be sure? The day is half over and we haven’t heard anything one way or the other.”

  “Because Isaiah might be an asshole, but he’s still an alpha and their word is important to them. Isaiah is old-school and follows the laws. He swore that the papers would be delivered, and I trust that they will be.”

  “What happens if they aren’t?”

  He shrugged slightly, a non-committal movement, but she could guess what might happen. A war between the packs. More blood. More pain.

  “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions. Worrying doesn’t solve problems.”

  “That’s very philosophical.”

  He snorted good-naturedly. They ate together and talked about everything except whether the packs would end up going to war because Damien was an asshole. When they were finished eating, he walked her to the reception desk and tugged her around to sit with him behind Brynn for the last few minutes of her lunch break. Brynn spun in her chair and said, “I’m hungry for ice cream.”

  Malachi’s brow rose. “I’m a guard not an errand boy.”

  Brynn laughed. “I wasn’t asking you to go get some, I was just making a statement. Since Nila is up here, do you mind if I run back to the breakroom? I think I saw a tub of ice cream in the freezer a few days ago.”

  Nila opened her mouth to tell Brynn it was fine, when Malachi tensed suddenly, rising slowly from his seat behind the reception desk. In a heartbeat, she and Brynn were behind him as a man walked into the clinic with a manila envelope. The man paused at the open door and glanced around the waiting room. Two mothers were sitting with their sick kids, but they didn’t pay him any attention.

  He strode to the reception desk.

  “I’m to give these papers to the human,” he said.

  Nila peeked around Malachi’s body and said, “I’m the human.”

  Malachi snarled and the man’s eyes widened. Nila stepped to Malachi’s side and reached for the papers. “Check them,” Malachi said. His voice was deeper than usual, growly and angry.

  She opened the envelope and pulled out the stack of papers, quickly checking the sticky tags that marked where Damien was supposed to sign. She found his scrawled signature everywhere, even on the papers that waived his parental rights to Jack.

  Tears pooled in her eyes as the realization that Jack was really hers and she was free for good from Damien dawned on her.

  “He did it,” she said thickly, rubbing at her cheeks to wipe away the tears. “I’m done, I’m really done with him.”

  Malachi sent the delivery man away and then hugged her. “How does it feel to be free?”

  “Like I just won the lottery.”

  Brynn squealed in happiness and hugged Nila, and she embraced her friend. “Thank you for helping me,” she said, sniffling.

  “Oh, babe, of course! You can bring Jack to the house tonight and I’ll watch him while you two go celebrate.”

  Malachi chuckled. “I think you’re just trying to get Acksel used to having a kid around the house.”

  “Jack is very handy, and he’s so adorable.”

  Nila pressed the signed papers to her chest and sighed in relief. “We can drop these off at my lawyer’s office on the way home tonight.”

  “I’ll have one of the omegas take them over,” Malachi said, reaching for his phone. As he pulled it from his pocket it buzzed, and he glanced at the screen with a frown, stepping away from the desk and few paces down the hallway.

  “Wonder what that was about?” Brynn asked as she sat behind the desk.

  Nila shrugged, but something about the way that Malachi suddenly tensed made worry streak through her.

  Malachi cursed and disappeared into the breakroom so fast he was just a blur. When he raced back to the reception desk, he had her purse and coat. “Someone set a fire at the daycare.”

  “What?” she shrieked, the papers falling to the ground as panic clawed at her.

  Malachi held her coat for her, and it took her a second to realize he wanted her to put it on. “The guards went in to help get the kids out, and they realized that Jack was gone. Someone took him while the teachers and kids were panicking.”

  Her legs turned to jelly and it was only Malachi’s strong grip that kept her from hitting the tile floor. He gave her a little shake. “Sweetheart, stay with me. We need to go to Acksel’s house and figure out how to get Jack back.”

  She swallowed back the fear that lodged in her throat and put her coat on, following Malachi out of the clinic and into the bitter cold.

  She tried not to think about how scared Jack must be. Had Damien grabbed him, or sent some of his buddies? Had they gotten his jacket and hat? Was he hungry or hurt or scared? Questions wheeled through her mind as Malachi tore out of the parking lot, the engine of his SUV roaring like a lion.

  “We’ll get him back safely, Nila, I swear on my life.”

  She wanted to trust him, but she was too terrified to do anything but stare out the windshield and pray that her son was okay.

  * * * * *

  Acksel’s house was bustling with activity. Nila sat on the couch while Malachi, Acksel, and a large group of men talked about Jack and her crazy ex. She was trying to be strong for her son, but she was scared senseless. She had no idea what Damien would do to Jack. She glanced at the clock. An hour had passed already.

  She reached for a cup of hot tea that Jeremiah had made for her. He and a few other men were standing at the back of the room, not participating in the discussion on how to get her son back, and she glanced over her shoulder and looked at them.

  Jeremiah stepped forward quickly and knelt behind her. “Did you need anything else, Nila?” he whispered.

  “No, I just… I’m trying to distract myself by not thinking about what’s going on with my son.”

  He smiled sadly. “I’m sorry for what you’re going through. Malachi will get him back.”

  He patted her shoulder and moved to the back of the room again. She realized she was wondering about him and the other men back there because she didn’t want to think too hard about what was going on with Jack right now. She was about one dark thought away from losing it. Damien didn’t have a paternal bone in his body. She’d only left Jack with him once when he was a baby. She’d needed to go to the doctor and Damien had said he’d watch him, but when she’d come back a few hours later, Damien was gone and Jack was screaming in his crib. Damien said later that his dad had called a meeting and he wasn’t about to take a half-breed with him, so he’d left him, and then he blamed her for being a bad mother and not being there when her son needed her. She’d never made that mistake again, never trusted Damien alone with him.

  Her phone danced on the coffee table as it vibrated, and she reached for it automatically. Everyone went quiet in the room as she checked out the screen and saw that it read ‘unknown.’ Swallowing hard, she answered.

  The first thing she heard was Jack crying. Her heart clenched and her stomach dropped into her feet. Damien said, “I don’t have to tell you how disappointed I am in you, bitch. I told you that you would never be free from me. I own you, no matter what marks are on your neck.”

  “Please don’t hurt Jack.”

  He chuckled mirthlessly. “Half-breeds are of little value to the pack, and I’m too busy to keep an eye on him.”

  She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out as fear choked her. She managed to whisper, “Damien, please.”

  “You’ll come crawling back to me by sunset, or your little half-breed takes a long walk in the dark woods. Do we understand each other?”

  “Yes,” she squeaked.

  “I’ll meet you at the place where
you first spread your legs. Come alone, or you’ll never see him alive again.”

  The call ended and she sat frozen, the phone pressed to her ear, her eyes filling with tears.

  Malachi pulled the phone away, set it on the coffee table and sat down next to her, pulling her close.

  “Where does he want to meet?”

  “The movie theater in Dorlan. It’s abandoned now, it closed two years ago.” She didn’t want to think about how humiliating it was that Damien wanted to meet there.

  She closed her eyes, leaning her head against Malachi’s strong shoulder. If this was the last time that she was going to be with him, she wanted to remember every detail. Inhaling slowly, she let the natural spicy scent of him fill her. The way he smelled to her — at the same time comforting and exciting — was something she never wanted to forget.

  She opened her eyes and looked at him, drinking in his features. He was so gorgeous. Blue eyes like a summer sky, a straight nose, strong jaw, and the stubble that resided there now made her want to rub against him like a cat.

  Malachi turned his head and narrowed his eyes. “Why are you staring at me like you’re never going to see me again?”

  Leaning back slightly, she said, “I know you heard the conversation I had with Damien with your super-sharp hearing. You know what he asked for, what I have to do to keep Jack safe.”

  His eyes flashed to the amber of his wolf and his lip curled as a growl rumbled in his chest. “I heard it.”

  “Then you know I have to go alone.”

  The low growl turned to a full on snarl. “No.”

  “Malachi,” she started, but he cut her off.

  “We’ll be there, Nila. There’s no way in hell I’m going to allow you to go there like a lamb to the slaughter. He could still hurt Jack, just to spite you. I’ll be there, and so will the pack.”

  Acksel, arms folded across his chest and a defiant look in his eyes, said, “You’re Malachi’s mate and that makes you, and Jack, members of my pack. No one threatens my pack and gets away with it.”