You dont hold a very high opinion of your man.
Kalen is not my man, she snapped. He couldnt have been more clear about that.
Well, now its not that simple, if it ever was. Melina sighed and suddenly looked tired, showing an uncharacteristic crack in her usual armor. Give him a chance to come around.
The anger bled from Macs body, leaving her drained. Disheartened. Maybe I will, eventually. But first I have to figure out how I feel about having hisourchild.
Good point.
Melina shocked her again by closing the distance and pulling her into a warm, comforting embrace. Thats all it took for Macs tears to break free and flow. Her chest felt like it had cracked apart and was bleeding everywhere. The smaller, birdlike woman was, at this moment, the stronger of the two of them.
By far.
After the fucking stressful morning hed been through, hed gone down hard the second his body was sprawled facedown on his bed. Not even Mr. Evil Unseelie had been able to break through his mental exhaustion, if in fact hed tried.
The radio silence made him uneasy. It wouldnt last long. The bastard was likely crouching in wait, a spider ready to inject his venom at the worst possible moment. God, he despised being the tool of an enemy he didnt have a clue how to fight.
Walking to the bathroom, he felt a thousand years old. After taking care of business, washing his hands and splashing his face to wake up, he headed out in search of dinner. He wasnt very hungry, but it wouldnt help his cause to hole up in his room, isolating himself from the guys. Hed promised them hed fight Malik, and he meant to do just that.
A couple of minutes later, he walked into the dining room and glanced around. Most of the Pack was there, settled around several tables where the food was served family-style. Mackenzie was present too, sitting with Melina, Jax, his mate, Kira, and Sariel.
He hesitated, uncertain, his body flushing with heat at the sight of his beautiful doc.
Not yours , Malik intoned, darkly pleased.
There you are, you crazy fuck, he muttered under his breath, tensing. Dont you have some kittens to drown or something?
No response. Just a lingering touch of cold fingers brushing down his cheek, his neck, then squeezing his shoulder in warning, digging in to grind painfully into muscle and bone before releasing him. Kalen sucked in a breath at the realization that the touch had been absolutely physical. Despite the wards Kalen had placed on the Alpha Pack compound, the Unseelie could actually hurt him from a distance, if he chose. Or harm one of his friends. Goddamn him.
But not Mackenzie. Ever. Hed made sure of that.
Shaken, he took a seat across from Hammer, the teams quiet giant, and tried to relax. The big, bald man simply uttered a polite, Hey, whatzup? and went on shoveling in his dinner like hed never get another meal.
Kalens muscles began to uncoil. Unlike some of the others, Hammer never forced conversation, pointed out Kalens failings, taunted him, or poked into his biz, and for those things alone he liked the guy. Since the man didnt really seem to be waiting for an answer, Kalen didnt give one. Instead, his gaze fell on the dish of lasagna in the center of the table and he willed down sudden nausea.
He loved lasagna. Usually. But today the lumpy red sauce looked like blood, the wavy noodles and ricotta cheese like brains and gray matter. Just like what his head wouldve resembled if Nick hadnt moved the muzzle of the gun. Swallowing down bile, he scooped a square onto his plate and grabbed a bread stick from the basket beside the main dish.
The first bite of the gooey ensemble went down with difficulty, but he gagged on the second. Putting his fork down, he pushed his plate away and resigned himself to nibbling on the bread.
You okay?
He looked up to see Hammer studying him intensely, chewing his food. Yeah, Im good.
That fuckin creep screwin around in your head again?
Not at the moment. Im just wound a little tight.
Understandable. Hammer didnt look like he much bought the simple explanation, but he nodded anyway. Dont hesitate to ask for help, man. Do not try to deal with this on your own. Were a team. Remember that.
And here I was just thinking how you never get into my business, he tried to joke.
This doesnt count. What hurts one of us hurts all of us.
Like hed needed the reminder. I know, he said, his appetite now completely gone. He tossed the remains of the bread stick onto his plate. Between the Pack and Malik, Im not likely to forget, either.
Hey, it aint just youwere all vulnerable to outside threats. Thats why we work, train, and live as a unit. Thats why were in a remote building thats protected like a fuckin fortress.
And what if all thats not enough? What then?
The other man eyed him in silence for a long moment. It has to be.
But it wasnt. I found out Malik can get to any of us, anytime he wants. Despite the wards I put on this place. Shame swamped him anew as he made his admission.
What? How? A twinge of alarm showed on Hammers face before it disappeared.