The Protector's Heart (Wilde Creek Three) (17 page)

They stopped walking and Acksel met Isaiah.
The other pack had formed a semi-circle around the open area. Dade
said that Isaiah’s pack wasn’t much bigger than Wilde Creek’s pack,
and Malachi saw no females in the group. Acksel hadn’t brought
along their entire pack because it wasn’t a show of strength
between packs, but a mate challenge, which had an entirely
different set of rules — among them, no interference from pack
members.

Malachi scanned the group and picked Damien
out easily. He looked like a younger version of Isaiah. He was tall
and lanky — not as tall as Malachi and certainly not as
well-muscled, but Malachi wasn’t going to underestimate the male.
He stood casually, his arms crossed and a blank look on his face as
if he didn’t have a thought in his brain, but his eyes were sharp
and Malachi knew that Damien was used to people believing he wasn’t
as dangerous as he actually was. Unlike his father, Damien was
clean-cut, but his ugly went soul-deep as far as Malachi was
concerned.

Isaiah spoke loudly. “The Dorlan Pack
welcomes the Wilde Creek Pack for this challenge. Challengers,
please step forward.”

Malachi kissed Nila and slipped out of his
coat, handing it to her. He watched her put it on, and then joined
Acksel. Damien slunk forward, sneering at Malachi and then looking
past him to Nila.

“Female!” Isaiah bellowed.

Malachi snarled, and Acksel put his hand on
his chest and kept him from leaping forward.

Acksel looked at Nila. “It’s safe here, Nila;
its part of the challenge.”

Malachi bared his teeth but stopped pressing
against Acksel’s hand. Nila hurried forward and stopped just behind
Malachi. He reached for her hand and she grasped it. Her fingers
were ice cold, and he knew it was from fear as well as cold.

Isaiah looked at her with complete disdain.
“The challenge is for mating rights to the human, winner takes
all
. No complete shifting, no weapons, and no killing. The
winner is chosen when the loser is unconscious or gives up.”

Malachi smiled at Nila, but she didn’t return
it. Her eyes were filled with worry and fear, and he could see that
she was trembling. She’d spent a long time being afraid of
Damien.

“I’m making things right for all three of
us,” Malachi said softly, tweaking her chin with his thumb and
finger.

“Be careful,” she whispered.

He nodded and she and Acksel stepped away
from him, joining the other wolves from the pack. Cracking his
neck, he looked at Damien as he stood, his hands loose at his
sides.

Damien smirked. “I see the marks you left on
her neck. I’ll be sure to cut them off slowly when she’s kneeling
at my feet tonight.”

Malachi recognized that he was baiting him
into making the first move, but he was too well trained to do that.
He’d just beat him a little harder for the threat. His wolf
growled, stretching and rolling under his skin, and wanting to harm
the male who had hurt their mate for so long.

It was time to end her suffering.

* * * * *

Nila watched as Malachi and Damien stared at
each other. Only a few feet separated them, but they were so
different. Malachi was strong and self-possessed. He looked like he
could stand there in his Under Armour shirt and loose jeans all
night. Damien looked like he was about to twitch out of his skin.
The sneer he’d directed at her almost nightly during their time
together was plastered to his face, but there was no real bravado
behind it. She’d known he was violent and had first-hand experience
with it, but aside from hearing the odd bit of gossip in town about
pack fights, she hadn’t ever seen him fight with another male.
Maybe he only liked to beat up women.

Her gaze strayed to Isaiah, who looked both
aggravated and bored. It probably killed him to see his son
fighting over her, since he hadn’t considered her worthy of even
having his last name. She wondered if Damien’s mom had been beaten
by Isaiah, too, and that’s where Damien learned the behavior. Were
all the mated she-wolves in their pack mistreated, with the alpha’s
blessing?

Malachi raised his hands, curling them into
fists just a second before Damien bellowed and threw himself
forward. They clashed, and she cringed as they fought hard.
Damien’s fists flew with blinding speed, but Malachi was faster.
Damien’s fists never seemed to really touch Malachi, but Malachi’s
fists, on the other hand, always landed where they were supposed
to. Damien’s head snapped back as Malachi’s punch landed on his
chin. Damien grunted, spitting blood on the ground and snarling as
he came back with both hands swinging. Malachi kicked him, his
booted foot catching Damien in the stomach and shoving him back
several feet.

Damien howled and she saw fangs in his mouth.
His hands lengthened and his body bulked slightly as he took on
part of his wolf shift. She’d only seen it once, when he’d taken
her to his parents’ home on the night of a full moon and left her
inside while he went out to carouse. Someone had wanted the female
he was talking to, and he’d shifted slightly and mauled the male.
She’d been terrified, and so had the female, who screamed and
begged for help as Damien dragged her into the woods.

“Son of a bitch,” Acksel growled. “No wonder
he said
no complete shifting
.”

Her heart jumped into her throat. She didn’t
know a lot about wolves, but she knew that they were stronger than
humans, even in half-form. She wanted to run out and put herself
between Malachi and Damien, but she knew she couldn’t interfere.
Malachi would win. The other option meant her life was over.

* * * * *

Sneaky son of a bitch
, Malachi thought
as he watched Damien partially shift. In his book, that was
cheating. You either fought as a man or a wolf. This wasn’t some
street fight with no rules, this was a sanctioned mate challenge.
Damien was no honorable male. Not that he’d ever thought he was in
the first place. Anyone who tormented and hurt a female was a total
scumbag.

One clawed hand swung out at him and Malachi
dodged it, aiming for Damien’s stomach with his fist, enjoying the
grunt of pain as he hit his target. Claws grasped his shoulders,
but Malachi twisted loose as Damien’s frustration grew. Damien
lurched forward, and Malachi jerked to the side as the male rushed
past him. The world spun suddenly as Malachi was jerked off his
feet by a clawed hand gripping his ankle. He hit the ground hard
enough to knock the breath from his lungs. He was dazed, but he
knew he couldn’t lay there until he got his bearings. Rolling
abruptly, he missed being stomped on by just a fraction.

Damien leapt at him and Malachi wasn’t fast
enough to avoid being caught under him. The other male snapped his
teeth, fangs glinting, and Malachi palmed Damien’s chin and pushed
against him, knowing that if he got his jaws around his neck,
things could go bad in a heartbeat.

Damien grasped Malachi’s ribcage and
squeezed. The claws broke through his skin and Malachi grunted at
the pain, feeling his blood begin to run down his sides and soak
his shirt. The pressure was intense; he felt something crack on his
right side, and grunted.

He saw something in Damien’s eyes then — a
menacing promise of what would happen to Nila if he ever got his
hands on her again. The corners of his mouth curled up over his
fangs, and he snapped and lunged again. Malachi snarled in rage,
smashing his palm into Damien’s chin and grabbing his exposed
throat with his other hand. As quickly as he’d been pinned, Malachi
turned the tables on the male, flipping him over and squeezing his
windpipe. Malachi wanted to dig clawed fingers into his throat and
kill him. Squeeze hard until his fingertips met through the blood
and meat of his neck, and make sure that he never breathed the same
air as Nila again. But this wasn’t a fight to the death.

Malachi ignored the claws as they raked down
his sides, focusing on the deepening red of Damien’s face as he
struggled to breathe. He grew weaker with each moment. Malachi
could hear his heart pounding, and his movements turned from
attacking to defending as he used his last bit of consciousness to
try to push Malachi away.

“She’s mine. I claim her and Jack as my own.
Touch them and die.”

Anger sparked in Damien’s eyes for a brief
moment; then he went limp, and his eyes lost focus and closed.
Malachi was still tempted to kill him. His wolf wanted the male
dead.

Acksel and Isaiah came to stand before him as
he slowly released his hold on the male’s neck and stood up. He
didn’t want to show any weakness, so he clenched his teeth together
and ignored the lightheadedness that the blood loss caused him.

Isaiah knelt and touched his fingers to
Damien’s throat. He glanced up with a grimace. “He lives. By the
rules of the mate-challenge, the human female is yours to do with
as you will.”

Acksel pulled a manila envelope from inside
his jacket and said, “The papers.”

Isaiah nodded at a young male, who darted
forward and took them from Acksel. “I’ll ensure they’re signed and
delivered on Friday, to the human’s place of business.”

Malachi nodded and turned toward Nila, who
was standing between Dade and Sam, tears streaming down her
face.

She stumbled forward and closed the distance
to him, but she didn’t touch anything but his forearm. “Let’s get
you to a hospital,” she whispered.

“We’ll go to Doc’s,” Dade said, joining
them.

She bit her lip. “If you’re sure?”

Malachi was grateful when Dade answered for
him. “It’s for the best.”

The pain that Malachi had been ignoring was
starting to overwhelm him, and it wouldn’t look good if he passed
out leaving the fight.

Sam opened the passenger door. Nila climbed
in first, and Malachi flopped onto the seat next to her. In minutes
they were on their way. Nila turned to face him and reached for
him, her fingers hovering over his cheek. “I want to touch you but
I can’t see enough in the dark to know where,” she whispered
thickly.

He covered her hand with his and pressed them
into his neck. “I’m already healing, love.”

Her thumb rubbed back and forth on his skin,
and he smiled at her, even though it made his lip split open
further, and blood ran down his chin.

“Thank you.”

“It was my honor and duty to see you safe.”
He chuckled when he realized how corny that sounded. Trying again,
he said, “Sweetheart, you’re my mate, my other half. Anyone that
threatens you has to get through me, first, okay? I want you to be
able to make your own choices and to stop looking over your
shoulder for the rest of your life. I’d go to the grave to see you
free from your past.”

That was a really harsh truth, and he could
see that his words affected Nila. Even in the dark of the vehicle
he could see tears glittering in her eyes.

He bit back his groan as he reached for her
and pulled her into his arms. He urged his healing nature to work
faster, but his body didn’t listen to him. Broken ribs, deep
bruises, claws marks — they all took time to heal, but he didn’t
want to wait until he was well to comfort her. She sobbed quietly
against his shoulder, and he closed his eyes, wishing that he was
already healed and they were already home.

“I’ve got him,” a voice spoke from a distance
as Malachi felt himself being lifted in the air and laid down on
something soft. He fought to open his eyes, but when he did, he was
met with a blinding light.

“Oops, sorry, Malachi,” Doc said, flicking
the penlight away.

He felt the air moving around him and it took
his mind a minute to figure out that they were at Doc’s and he was
on a hospital bed being wheeled into the clinic. His vision kept
blinking in and out, and he really wanted to just go back to being
unconscious, even though he was mildly embarrassed that he’d passed
out.

“What do you need, Doctor?” Nila asked as the
bed stopped moving and the scent of strong cleanser filled his
nose. Her tone was brusque and businesslike, but he could hear a
thread of worry.

“You’ve had training?” Doc asked.

“I’m a nursing assistant.”

Doc hummed in surprise. “Let’s find out.
Malachi? Malachi? Open your eyes, son.”

Malachi forced his eyes to open, not sure
when they’d even closed again, and blinked to clear the blur.

“Do you want to shift or do you want me to
heal you?”

He felt Nila’s hand squeeze his arm, and he
knew he wanted to be healed as soon as possible. He needed to get
Nila, pick up Jack, and take them both home and keep them safe.

“Heal.”

“Right, this is not going to be fun for you,”
Doc said.

“Wait, what?” Nila asked.

Malachi’s vision cleared enough for him to
see her perfectly. “Faster.”

“Shouldn’t you shift? I thought…”

Her voice trailed off as Doc came to the
bedside and handed Nila a small vial of clear liquid. “Put this on
his wounds. It’s a healing potion that will speed up his natural
abilities. He’ll be able to walk out of here in an hour.” Doc
glanced at him and said, “It won’t be a fun hour, though.”

Malachi didn’t care. Shifting meant he
couldn’t talk to Nila for several hours, and the stress of shifting
while wounded would make him tired and he’d probably pass out. He
was already pissed off that he’d passed out in the SUV on the way
to Doc’s; he didn’t want to do it again. The healing potion would
keep him awake, and he’d be better able to protect her and take
care of her.

Nila uncorked the bottle and sniffed at the
contents. “It smells a bit like eucalyptus.”

Malachi ground his teeth together for a
minute as his vision blurred out from the pain. When he could talk
without cursing, he said, “Sweetheart, please.”