Prowled Darkness (Dante's Circle Book 7) (3 page)

He hadn’t known Amara was lightning-struck—not until word had eventually spread that she was now the queen of the siren realm.

He hadn’t known that Amara’s friends were also lightning-struck. Therefore, he hadn’t known that if those particular women found their mates, they would become the paranormal that held the most dominant strain in their DNA.

He hadn’t known that the one woman he’d thought he could love—the one woman, if he let himself believe, he
did
love—was lightning-struck.

He’d kicked Eliana out of his bed, out of his life, and had shut the door so tightly on that connection that he’d missed out on what could have been his future.

Holy. Hell.

Eliana was pregnant. With his child. His cub.

His mouth went dry and his brain fogged, much like it had when he’d first heard about what Eliana could be.

He hadn’t known she was pregnant when he left. Hadn’t known when he found out that Eliana could be his. He hadn’t known until he’d walked in and almost fell to his knees. There was no doubt this was his child. Not with the timing or the way the others—and Eliana—glared at him as though he were the worst kind of person. He couldn’t blame them, but he couldn’t care about their opinions yet either.

Not until he spoke to Eliana and figured out what the hell they were going to do.

“You have a hell of a lot of nerve showing up here,” a woman with dark hair and blunt bangs said. She stood up, and Malik scented pixie on her.

Well, that made sense since pixies were some of the most cutthroat paranormals out there.

“Faith, sit down,” Eliana said, her voice strong. A hell of a lot stronger than he felt right then.

“You can’t expect me to sit down while this asshole shows up after being missing for
months
.” Faith waved her hand at him, and if she’d been in her full pixie form, he had a feeling her wings would have been red with anger right then.

The numerous others at the table began to speak at once. Even the babies cried or babbled in that baby language Malik had never been able to understand. His pulse pounded at his temple but he only had eyes for Eliana. He needed to speak to her, needed to explain, needed to find a way to breathe because he couldn’t quite get enough air.

“Eliana,” he whispered.

Eliana pressed her lips together and put her hands over her stomach, over
their
baby. He hadn’t been here, didn’t know until it was almost too late about the pregnancy, but the fact that she was carrying his cub changed
everything
.

The others became louder, even standing up to walk toward him. He stayed frozen to his spot, afraid to move closer and lose Eliana forever. Though, really, did he have her at all? He’d fucked up but it wasn’t his fault. He’d done what he had to do with the evidence he’d held at the time.

“Stop it,” Eliana said softly, though her voice was firm. “All of you. Sit down and take care of your babies. I need to speak with Malik. Alone.”

She made a move to stand up, and he took a step toward her, needing to help, but stopped as a tall and slender man made it to her first. The other man glared over his shoulder at Malik as he put his hands on Eliana’s arms.

“Thank you, Seth,” Eliana whispered.

Seth. This was Tristan’s mate, or at least one of them. That meant Malik didn’t have to rip the man’s arms off for daring to touch Eliana. He tried to keep his temper in check, fisting his hands at his sides and breathing through his nose. He had no right to feel this way, no right to fuck everything up once more. But it seemed the predator in him was ready to claim the woman in front of him. Hell, he’d been ready when he’d thought Eliana was human.

As lions couldn’t mate with humans, he’d walked away.

Hopefully, Eliana would listen to him, would forgive him.

But he wouldn’t grovel. He would one day be Leo and a Leo didn’t beg.

No matter what might be needed.

“Eliana, let us go with you at least,” Faith said.

“Let them be alone,” Tristan put in, his eyes on Malik. This was his friend, or at least had been at one time. They weren’t brothers, weren’t warriors together, but they had once been closer than they were now. Endless time and responsibilities had separated them, but at least the man stood for him now. “For now,” Tristan added, his eyes narrowing. “They should speak alone for now as they need to get the facts straight. But know this, Malik, if you hurt her again, you won’t just have a pixie on your heels but also the rest of us.”

“And we won’t hold back for long,” the large dragon said from the side.

Of course, Eliana was friends with a dragon. Why wouldn’t she be?

Malik had never been so wrong in his life, and now he had to make sure he didn’t lose her again. Because if he messed up, he had a feeling it would be the women at the table tearing him limb from limb, not the dragon or the fae in front of him.

Eliana pushed Seth’s hands away and picked up her bag. “Let’s talk then, Malik,” she snapped. Fire slid into her eyes and he wanted to take a step back. He’d seen lionesses in a rage before, but he had a feeling they had nothing on a pregnant Eliana right then.

She moved past him, keeping her distance, and he let out a breath before following her. He didn’t miss the glares sent his way, or the fact that the bear shifter at the table was casually sharpening his claws even in human form.

Dear goddess, this crew fought for their own like no other.

And while he liked the fact that Eliana had that—them—in her life, now that she was carrying his cub and he could be with her, she was
his
to protect. And once the others—as well as Eliana—understood that, things could go on like normal.

As he made his way to the sidewalk in front of Dante’s Circle, he stopped by Eliana, who clutched her bag to her belly.

“You’re going to need to drive as the others drove me here,” Eliana said, her voice emotional. “I’m too big to fit behind the wheel safely.”

He licked his lips as he studied her face. She was paler than he remembered, but that could have been from the shock of seeing him. Her shaggy red hair was longer now, brushing her shoulders in layers. When he’d last seen her, it had looked as though she could afford to gain a few pounds. Now, she was round with his child and had filled out nicely. He wanted to reach out and cup her face or even put his hand over her belly, but he didn’t.

He didn’t know what to do and that wasn’t like him.

In fact, he hated it.

“Eliana…”

She held up a hand. “Not now. My ankles hurt and I have to pee. Again. I don’t want to go back in there though because I don’t think Tristan will be able to hold back the mob a second time. So, did you drive here? Or do we need to take a cab? Either way, let’s go. We can go to my place because you sold yours.” She raised her chin as he tried to process the fact that she’d been to his place after he left. Or rather, what had once been his place. “Yeah, I went to your old condo. Sue me. I was trying to tell you about little squirt here. But whatever. So, cab or car?”

He blinked. “Little squirt?”

She pointed at her belly and raised a brow. “Car or cab?”

Apparently, she wouldn’t be talking about any true details until they went to her place and he’d have to be fine with that. Because, frankly, his mind was still whirling over the fact that she was
pregnant
. He’d gone into the bar to find her so he could figure out what they were going to do about mating.

He’d never once thought she could be pregnant.

That changed everything.

And yet, it didn’t change a thing.

He cleared his throat as she shuffled from foot to foot. Her ankles were hurting, she’d said. So maybe he needed to once again get his head out of his ass and take care of the woman carrying his child.

“I drove,” he finally said. “Here, let me help you.” He took her elbow, hopefully keeping her steady. He honestly didn’t know what to do to help her. He may have been around some pregnant women in the Pride before, but he’d never really thought about how to help them beyond protection.

When she didn’t pull away from him, he counted that as a small victory and led her to his Range Rover. She raised a brow at him when she saw the SUV, and he shrugged.

“I sold the Mercedes.” He’d picked her up in that car when they were dating, and had sold it once he’d thought he would be spending the next few years with the Pride, working on his destiny. “I’m renting this.”

She flinched slightly as he said it, and he wanted to curse at himself. Way to make it plain that he wasn’t staying for long. And frankly, remind her that he’d left in the first place. He hadn’t even
told
her that he wasn’t staying, and yet the car sort of made that statement for him.

Instead of trying to explain, he helped her with her seatbelt and closed the door. He took steadying breaths as he made his way to the other side of the SUV and jumped in. This wasn’t what he’d thought he’d be doing once he made his way back to the human realm, but now, he couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do.

He had to fix this thing between him and Eliana. Because if he didn’t, he wasn’t sure what he would do.

They were silent as they made their way to Eliana’s home. It wasn’t lost on either of them that he remembered how to get there even if he’d never been to Dante’s Circle before. He’d never actually been in her home as he’d never wanted to let things get too serious, but he’d picked her up from there numerous times. They’d only ever slept together in
his
bed. And his shower. And on his table.

But he’d never made love to her in her home.

He’d tried to keep that distance.

And, apparently, he’d fucked up in doing that. He’d fucked up in a lot of things with Eliana.

When he pulled into her driveway behind her beat up old truck, he barely had time to turn off the engine before she had her seatbelt off and was trying to wedge herself out of the Rover.

“Wait a minute,” he snapped. “Let me help you before you get hurt.”

“Too late,” she whispered, and he cursed. “I’ve been getting out of cars on my own for a long time, Malik.”

“But you don’t have to do it alone now,” he said, hoping she understood he meant more than just the vehicle.

She shook her head. “It’s never as easy as that.” But she waited for him to help her out of the Rover. That had to count for something.

His hands shook as she slid down his body, her belly protruding and scaring the shit out of him. When he felt a slight push at his own stomach, he froze.

Eliana blushed and tried to pull away from him. “That’s just little squirt making his or her presence known. Just a kick. You don’t have to freak out.”

Malik’s tongue went dry. He swallowed hard so he could speak. “It’s my first kick,” he whispered. Something else she’d said triggered his mind. “You don’t know the sex of the baby?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” she answered. “I don’t know why now that I’m trying to figure out the nursery and everything. But I just went green and yellow.” She shrugged. “And as for the kick? You could have felt them all if you’d been here, but you weren’t.” With that parting shot, she slowly made her way to the front door.

Malik let out a breath and closed the car door, locking it behind him. Well, he’d gone a little too fast just then, but it wasn’t as if he’d done this before.

In fact, he wasn’t aware of anyone who had this particular problem. It wasn’t every day that a lion shifter next in line to the throne, dealing with a possible uproar and war in his Pride, found himself a soon-to-be father with a not-so-human potential mate after he’d left her all alone because he’d been forced to hurt her. There weren’t any manuals for this sort of thing, so Malik was just going to have to wing it and pray to the goddess he didn’t screw everything up.

Eliana let herself in and waved to the living room where there were two large chairs and a couch that looked lived in rather than ornate like the ones in his current home. He preferred these.

“Take a seat, I need to pee.” With that, she left the room and walked toward a hallway that must go to the bedrooms. Malik ran a hand over his face.

Okay, as long as he didn’t growl or roar, he should be okay. But telling a male lion not to be a lion wasn’t exactly the easiest thing in the world.

He sank down into the cushions of the couch and tried to catch his breath. He was going to be a
father
. He’d barely had time to contemplate the fact that Eliana could be his because of her circumstances, and now there was a baby—little squirt—added to the mix.

He snorted at the nickname. That sounded like Eliana’s doing and he liked it. A lot.

“What are you snorting at?” Eliana asked when she came back into the room.

Malik immediately got to his feet and walked toward her. She froze but didn’t put her hand up to keep him away. “I was just thinking how much I like the name ‘little squirt.’”

She blushed again but didn’t say anything. It seemed she was waiting for him to speak or at least explain himself.

He sighed and reached out to cup her cheek. This time, she pushed him away. “Eliana.”

“No. You don’t get to do this. You can’t just come back into my life after
crushing
me. I don’t know why you had to leave, but I’m out, Malik. I’ll let you say your piece, but I already made up my mind.” Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them away. “I had to do that because of the baby and I can’t just change it because you’re back. It’s not fair to me, and it’s damn sure not fair to our child.”

He shook his head. “I had to go, Eliana.”

“You told me that it meant nothing to you. That
I
meant nothing to you.”

He winced, remembering the words he’d been forced to say when he’d forced her out of his place. “It was the only way I could think of to shut you out of my life. I had to go. I know you don’t understand, and I know I hurt you more than I can bear, but I hurt myself, too.”

She flipped him off. “Boo hoo. You hurt yourself? Well, screw you.”

He took her hand and kissed her middle finger. When she let out a growl of her own, he let her hand fall. “My kind, the lions, cannot mate with humans. It’s not only forbidden, but the mating mark doesn’t work. It’s not prejudice, it’s actually impossible. So when I started to fall in love with you—” She opened her mouth to speak, and he put his fingers over her lips. “Let me finish. When I started to fall in love with you, I knew I had to leave because it would hurt us more in the end. Or, at least, that’s what I thought. I didn’t know you had a chance to shift into something paranormal. I didn’t know
we
had a chance.”