The Protector's Heart (Wilde Creek Three) (24 page)

Brynn snorted. “That’s an understatement. As
alpha female I get away with the authority because of Acksel. His
power, in essence, is mine. The pack knows if anyone messes with
me, he’ll beat them within an inch of their lives. No one wants to
be on the receiving end of one of Acksel’s bad moods. My authority
is like an extension of his, I suppose. What I say goes, unless
it’s in conflict with something he’s already said, and then his
word is law.”

Eveny looked thoughtful. “If it weren’t for
me falling in love with Luke and Brynn getting preggers, the pack
would still be the way it was before that stuff happened. Everyone
is happier now that the pack’s laws are less restrictive. The
omegas enjoy being useful to the pack, and the way that Acksel has
them working together now — like with the monthly parties for the
full moon and working for pack members around town — it’s like
heaven compared to what it was before.”

“Working for pack members?”

“Some of us have real jobs — I work for
Ferrity’s Construction, for example. But others work for the pack
and are paid through a fund. Jeremiah and Adam are pretty much at
Acksel’s disposal and handle everything from shopping to repairs to
cleaning.”

Nila thought about Adam and Jeremiah and
wondered if they minded being lackeys. Looking at Eveny, she asked,
“You don’t mind being an omega?”

“Nah.” She shook her head with a smile. “Some
people get hung up on titles, but I’m not one of them. There are
some omegas who aren’t happy because injury or circumstance have
taken them out of the ranking, but for the most part we’re the ones
that keep everything together. I like that aspect of it. I get to
be part of an amazing pack, help it run smoothly, and I don’t have
any of the responsibility of the ranked males.”

Jack yawned loudly and Nila picked him up as
she stood. “Someday he might shift and then he’ll be part of the
pack as a ranked male, or if he doesn’t shift, then he’ll be an
omega. I don’t care which one, as long as he’s happy.”

“Who knows what the pack will be like in
fifteen or twenty years anyway?” Brynn said. “We don’t need to
worry about it now. All we need to worry about is our kids being
happy and safe.”

Nila agreed. Carrying Jack back to the spare
bedroom to put him in his jammies, she kissed his cheek and laid
him on the bed. “I don’t care if you ever shift, kiddo, just so
long as you take after Malachi.”

Chapter 17

Malachi loved hunting. Since the first time
his father had taken him out when he shifted at sixteen, he’d been
hooked. Being in his shift meant he didn’t have to think about
anything but finding something to hunt. Even if he didn’t actually
catch what he was hunting, it was still fun in a primal way,
although he rarely went without actually taking down some animal at
some point. When he was younger, he and his friends would hunt all
night, chasing deer and rabbits until the sun came up. Then they’d
stagger back to the alpha’s house, shift, get dressed, go home and
pass out for a day. Life was simpler back when he was a teenager,
but he liked his life now even better. He never anticipated mating
a female who already had a child from another male, but he couldn’t
imagine his life without both Nila and Jack in it.

Malachi barked at Acksel, who was nearby with
Ren and Dade. It was time for him to head home and get Nila.
Thoughts of a different kind of activity — one without clothes —
was enough to get his wolf turned off of the hunt and ready to go
back and claim Nila. The simple ceremony in front of the pack had
been not only for the pack’s benefit — to make it known that she
and Jack were Malachi’s family now — but also for their own.
Malachi’s wolf wanted Nila and Jack to be pack, because the pack
would protect them if something happened to him. Malachi wanted to
share everything about his life with Nila, and that meant having
her with him during the full moons.

Acksel chuffed at Malachi in understanding
and Malachi headed back to the house to take his family home. When
the house came into view, he found Nila standing at the sliding
back door, staring into the woods. He stopped in the shadows and
watched her, wondering what she was thinking about. His sensitive
ears picked up Jack’s voice, as he toddled to the door and pressed
his face to the glass.

“Carrot!” His voice was muffled, but Malachi
could still hear it. He grinned inwardly. Jack had felt him coming
back to the house. Even as a baby, he was showing signs of being a
powerful wolf.

Malachi hurried into the yard and found his
clothes folded neatly on the porch step. He shifted and tugged the
ice-cold clothing on. Nila opened the back door for him, welcoming
him with a warm smile. Jack latched onto his pants leg and began to
babble. He’d spent enough time with him to understand some of what
he was saying.

“He felt me, didn’t he?” Malachi asked,
lifting Jack into his arms.

She smiled. “Yeah. He was playing on the
floor and then he looked at the door suddenly and I knew you were
close. I was watching for you, and he kept pacing back and forth in
the kitchen.”

“Are you ready to go home, kiddo?” he
asked.

Jack answered by yawning, tucking his head
into Malachi’s neck with a sigh. While Nila got her coat and
grabbed their things, Malachi said goodbye to Luke. Eveny was
asleep on the couch next to him, and Brynn wasn’t around, which
told him she was probably in bed already. He and Nila walked out to
his SUV. He glanced at the house and saw two protectors in their
shifts watching as they got Jack settled inside and then climbed in
themselves.

“Did you have fun tonight?” he asked.

“I was just about to ask you that.”

Chuckling, he said, “It’s always fun to hunt,
but it’s even better coming home now, since you’re waiting for
me.”

She leaned over and rested her head on his
shoulder. “I had a good time talking to Brynn and Eveny. We talked
about the pack and the new laws.”

“You can ask me anything, too, you know.”

“I know.”

He was glad his home wasn’t too far from
Acksel’s. Ten minutes after they’d left the alphas’ home, he was
watching Nila lay Jack in his crib. He’d stayed awake until Malachi
was back from hunting and then he’d fallen asleep as soon as he was
in the car seat and hadn’t woken up when he’d been carried into the
house.

Malachi turned from watching Jack to watching
Nila. She stroked a finger down Jack’s cheek and said goodnight in
a low voice. Switching on the nightlight, she paused at the door
and looked at her son for a long moment.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve wanted this
for him. For both of us.”

“What, love?” he asked.

She pulled the door shut and faced him. “A
home, a safe place for him to grow up. Acceptance. Love. All of
it’s here, with you.”

“Without you and Jack, it’s just a house,
just four walls and a roof. I didn’t know what was missing from my
life until you came into it.”

She smiled up at him. “That was so freaking
romantic.”

Chuckling, he swept her up into his arms. “I
aim to please.”

He carried her into the bedroom and set her
on her feet. He wanted to kiss her. Devour her. But first he needed
to brush his teeth. On the full moons, his wolf was always a little
closer to the surface and he didn’t want to scare her if he became
too aggressive.

“Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll be
right back.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and then walked
quickly to the bathroom. He flipped on the light and shut the door,
then reached for his toothbrush on the counter. While he brushed
and splashed cold water on his face, his wolf was panting to go
into the room and make love to Nila, to claim her again and
again.

He turned off the bathroom light and entered
the bedroom, his eyes adjusting to the moonlight streaming through
the window. Nila was naked, standing next to the bed and pulling
the covers back. He moved behind her, fast enough that he clearly
surprised her. She gasped softly and then moaned as he cupped her
breasts and pressed himself against her back. Her nipples pebbled
against his palms. He nuzzled her neck, stroking his tongue up the
column of her throat. She shivered and turned her head, their lips
meeting as the world dropped away and it was only them.

Their tongues touched and everything in him
relaxed, the tension from being away from his mate during the hunt
disappearing as the sweet taste of her and the heady scent of her
arousal surrounded him. He pulled her close and slid one hand down
the center of her body, his fingers making their way slowly toward
the apex of her thighs. His shamelessly hard cock was pressed
against her lower back and he knew he could just slide into her
with a simple shift of his hips, but he wanted her to come
first.

His fingers circled her hipbone and slid down
the soft skin of her thigh. He bent slightly, hooking his hand
around her knee and lifting it to the bed, spreading her lower body
apart. She leaned into his hand, which was tucked between her
breasts and he pulled her more firmly to his chest. He trailed
invisible patterns up the inside of her leg and then cupped her
pussy. She was hot and wet, the silky evidence of her arousal
rubbing against his palm as she moved her hips.

Easing from their kiss, he watched her face
as he curled his middle finger and slowly pushed inside, the hot
walls of her pussy gripping his finger. Her eyes darkened and her
mouth fell open. He felt her relax against him and she lifted her
arms and locked her fingers behind his head, holding herself
upright, her body on display for him.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he whispered
into her ear, letting his teeth sink into the lobe gently before
licking away the slight pain.

“Malachi,” she moaned.

Rubbing her clit with his palm, he slipped
another finger into her pussy, stroking her slowly. He closed his
teeth on the side of her neck, pressing hard enough for her to feel
them but not hard enough to break the skin. Her body began to
tremble as she drew closer to climax; he could smell the heady
sweetness of her body as it heated. He slipped his fingers from her
pussy and rubbed the soaked tips around the tight bud of her clit.
She trembled in his arms as he pushed her forward to bliss, and her
nails sank into his neck as she came, a sharp cry of pleasure on
her lips. Her body bowed, her breasts jutting up as her clit
throbbed under his fingers and the sweet scent of her climax filled
the air.

He unwound her hands from the back of his
head and stretched her forward on the bed, one foot on the floor
and one leg bent at the knee and resting on the mattress. She
curled her arms under her head and smiled, wiggling a little on the
bed.

His hands curled around her hips, and he
watched as his cock pressed into the hot, wet heaven of her body.
When their bodies met, they sighed at the same time, and he
grinned. Gripping her hips, he watched her face as he pulled
completely out of her body and then, waiting only a brief moment,
plunged inside again. Her eyes shuttered and she sank her teeth
into her lower lip. Pulling out and pressing in again, he closed
his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging wolf
inside him that wanted to fuck her hard and fast.

He released his grip on her hip and smoothed
his hand over her back. She trembled under him, her pussy clenching
his cock, and he tweaked her side until she giggled.

“Not sexy,” she groused, straightening on her
arms and pushing back against him.

He growled. “Feels pretty sexy to me.”

Her hair slid off her shoulder as she peered
at him. She slipped one hand underneath her and he was about to ask
what she was up to when he felt her cup her pussy, her fingers
separating so they framed his cock. “Oh, fuck, yes,” she moaned the
words, her fingers massaging his shaft, the tips grazing his
balls.

“I think I’m supposed to say that,” he
chuckled. He pulled from her pussy, feeling her fingers on his dick
the entire time. Splaying his hands on her hips, he tightened his
grip and began to move, flexing his hips in time to the wild thrum
of his heartbeat which pounded in his ears. Her fingers moved back
and forth against him, and he knew she was rubbing her clit, too.
He rode her hard, pushing himself to give her everything she
needed. He wanted her to fall apart while he was inside her, to
feel her clenching him again and again.

He thrust harder. Faster. Gripping her
tighter, he shook the sweat from his eyes and pounded into her,
until his vision began to blur and his heart threatened to pound
out of his chest. Her fingers curled and she cried out, her body
locking down on him like a vise. He came hard, his whole body
shuddering as he filled her.

Slumping over her, he pressed a kiss between
her shoulders and waited for his bones to resolidify. She wiggled
away from him, rolling to her back and scooting up the bed until
her head rested on a pillow. She beckoned him, and he joined her.
She curled up next to him, her head resting on his chest. He
stroked her back and cuddled her closer. This was his heaven. There
wasn’t anything better than being with Nila. They’d been through
hell to get here, but the thorn-filled journey was over and their
new journey — their life together — was just beginning.

“Sweetheart?”

She didn’t answer, and he realized she’d
fallen asleep. He smiled. He’d loved her
that
well. Reaching
for the covers, he pulled them up and closed his eyes.

He’d never been happier.

Chapter 18

Four Weeks Later

Nila sat at a large table at Luna’s and
watched Brynn open another bridal shower gift. Inside the pretty
silver and white paper was a set of pots and pans. Everyone
oohed
and
ahhed
over them as Brynn thanked the three
she-wolves who had gone in together on the gift.