"What?" She blinked in surprise and turned her attention to Malachi.

He smiled. "Jeremiah is going to take care of things. All you need to do is pack a bag for you and Jack and I'll take you back to work."

"A bag?"

"You can't stay here tonight, sweetheart."

"But where will I go?"

"Do you even have to ask? Come to my home. Everything that's mine is yours."

She shook her head and pushed away from him. "That's just insane. He broke all my windows because you installed a security system. What do you think he'll do when he finds me and Jack at your house? I'll go stay with Diane. She lives here in town and I know she'll take us in."

Malachi's eyes flashed from blue to amber. "My home is safe."

She took a step back, instinctively tensing to flee if he raised his fist. He seemed to sense her fear immediately. The amber faded from his eyes, and he jammed his hands into his pockets. "If you're not willing to stay at my house, then I'm going to be there, guarding you." She opened her mouth to protest, but he shook his head. "Go pack. The police are waiting for your statement, and your lunch hour is almost up."

He seemed angry. Well, angry was an understatement. He looked like he could punch a hole through the wall, but he had purposely made himself calm down and appear non-threatening. Once more she was reminded that Malachi was not Damien. She almost told him that she'd go to his house, but she knew if she stayed there not only would she never want to leave, but she'd be drawing Damien directly to him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

Nodding, she walked into the bedroom and opened the closet, grabbing an older diaper bag from the shelf. She ignored the destruction and the crunch of gla.s.s under her shoes and busied herself packing, trying to decide whether going to Diane's was really the best idea or not.

Malachi rubbed his snout on the porch railing of Diane's home. She was like an aunt to Nila, and the woman had opened her door without hesitation to Nila and Jack. Malachi sat on the front porch in his shifted form, using his enhanced senses to keep track of what was going on around him. Three other protectors were posted around the house. He'd asked Sam to get some volunteers for the job; and Sam had immediately volunteered himself, and so had Malachi's cousins Devin and Hayden. Malachi would figure out a way to thank them.

Nila was stubborn. He didn't know why she wouldn't come to his house. The house was very safe, more so than Diane's for sure, since she didn't even have a basic security system. He lifted his muzzle and inhaled, sifting through the scents around him and finding nothing but nature and the wolves with him.

The front door opened and shut quickly, and Nila sat down on the top step, a blanket wrapped around her. She leaned against him and sighed loudly.

"I know you think I should be at your place, Mal. It's just that my life is so f.u.c.ked up right now."

He whined audibly and she ducked her head and rubbed her cheek against the top of his head.

"You're a good guy. I do feel strangely connected to you. I've had to try really hard not to look at you at work, but I can't seem to help myself. I know I've been hiding behind the fact that you're a wolf to keep us apart, but you're more than this furry creature you shift into, I know that." She exhaled slowly and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "I just need some time, Mal. Give me time to get to know you when things aren't so messy, okay? I can't think about a future with you when I'm afraid that Damien's going to take everything from me. It would be a lot better if he would find someone else to be with, but he always comes back for me. He said he'd never let me go, and that he'd make my life h.e.l.l if I didn't go back to him, and look at how well he's done that. I can't even marry anyone else because he won't let me divorce him. And you know what's really f.u.c.ked up? He never treated me like a real mate. He never claimed me as his mate to the pack or marked me, he never treated me like anything but a f.u.c.k toy and a maid. I was such a fool, and now I'm ruined, I'm so hopelessly f.u.c.ked."

Malachi wanted to tell her that she wasn't hopelessly f.u.c.ked at all, that he would figure out a way to get her free of Damien's hold on her, but since he was in his shift he couldn't do anything but growl softly and nuzzle her throat. She sat with him for a long time, until it grew late and she shivered from the cold. She kissed the top of his head and said goodnight, and he watched her go into the house and lock the door. Settling in for the night, he decided to talk to Acksel in the morning.

Damien watched from the upstairs window of a house across the street from where Nila was staying. The occupants of the house were gone, and he and his men had broken in through the back door to stake out the house Nila was staying in. He watched with narrowed eyes as Nila sat next to a wolf on the front porch.

She was his! What the f.u.c.k was she doing touching another male?

He growled. He should have brought a gun. Then he could have just picked off the males one by one and taken the b.i.t.c.h and his son back. He'd teach her a thing or two about obedience, and make sure she never had an opportunity to leave him again. His mind flipped through ideas on how to permanently ensure that she stayed with him. He'd been toying with her since she left. He enjoyed making her fearful, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with her just for his sheer amus.e.m.e.nt. He hadn't been without female company. As the son of the alpha, he was a hot commodity and no one refused him. But he was expending his time making Nila suffer, letting her believe she was free of him and then tightening the noose. It was time to get her once and for all.

He left his men to watch the house and wake him in the morning, and flopped down on the bed in the master bedroom. Unzipping his jeans, he reached for his c.o.c.k, which had gone hard as granite when he'd started thinking of all the ways to make Nila pay for walking out on him. He fisted himself and closed his eyes, imagining the scent of her tears and her pain-filled cries as he meted out his punishment for walking away from him. He'd start by taking his son away, and then he'd break her until she had no will of her own. He chuckled darkly. Enjoy your last night of freedom, b.i.t.c.h.

Chapter 7.

Nila felt unsettled all day. She'd almost called off work and kept Jack home, but Malachi promised she'd be safe, and she believed him. He'd sent a protector to the daycare to keep a discreet eye on things, which helped her feel better about leaving him there, and she'd seen a strange car in the parking lot of the clinic and recognized one of the males from those who had patrolled around Diane's home last night.

Malachi had been a rea.s.suring presence with her during the day. Even when she was with patients, she was aware of him at the reception desk, keeping an eye on things. No longer only guarding Brynn, but also guarding her. The day crawled by, but by the time she was ready to leave, she felt like she could breathe a little easier. She'd expected Damien to retaliate further, maybe smash the windows again or slash her tires like he'd done two months earlier.

She and Jack had ridden with Malachi that morning. He'd taken Jack to the daycare first and then picked up Brynn. He'd seemed lost in thought for the drive to the clinic, but she'd had a lot on her mind, too. After her revealing one-sided conversation with him the night before, she'd decided that she wasn't going to give Damien the satisfaction of scaring her into walking away from Malachi. It had been tempting to just push him out of her life and go back to the way things were with just her and Jack, but the truth was she didn't want that life anymore. She didn't want to look over her shoulder forever or sleep on the couch anymore, and she wanted to really share her life with a man who respected and cared for her. That man was Malachi. He'd shown himself to be more of a man than Damien ever had, and she'd be a fool to walk away from him.

As she pulled her purse from her locker, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She lifted it and glanced at the screen. It read 'Mem Hosp'. Her mouth went dry and panic seized her. Why would the hospital be calling?

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Am I speaking with Nila Caruthers?" A brusque female voice asked.

"Y-yes."

"Miss Caruthers, I'm calling from Woodland Memorial Hospital. You are listed as the emergency contact for Diane Gordon. She was brought into the ER earlier."

"What happened?"

"You'll have to speak to the doctor on call. Come to the ER entrance and check in with the reception desk and a doctor will meet you."

The call ended and she stared at her phone. Malachi was suddenly there, and she turned to look up at him. "It's Diane. She's in the hospital."

His eyes narrowed. He reached past her and pulled her coat out, holding it for her. "Come on, sweetheart, let's go."

He wrapped his big hand around her elbow and walked her out to the reception area. Brynn stood, looking worried. "Is everything okay?"

"We need to go. Call Sam and Acksel and tell them to meet us at the daycare."

Brynn nodded and pulled her phone from her purse as Malachi led Nila out of the clinic and to his SUV. He opened the back door; Brynn climbed in and then Malachi led Nila around to the pa.s.senger side and helped her in.

He left them in the SUV and moved swiftly to the other car with the wolf and spoke to him for a quick moment before climbing in behind the wheel of the SUV and starting the engine.

"Devin is going to follow us," Malachi said.

"Sam and Acksel will meet us there." Brynn said. "Tell me what's going on."

Nila turned in the seat and looked at Brynn. "Something happened to my friend Diane, and she's in the ER. I don't know what it could be, except that someone hurt her."

"Your ex?" Brynn asked softly.

Nila nodded tightly and felt her eyes sting with tears. Malachi's arm slipped over her shoulders and he squeezed. "Hey, it'll be okay."

She leaned against him, the seatbelt biting into her hip and chest, but she wanted to be close to him. "Why is this happening?"

He didn't answer her, but he didn't have to. She knew exactly why it was happening. Damien was going to get to her one way or another, but first he was going to go after the people she cared about. She looked at Malachi; the grim determination on his face, the tight set of his jaw.

He glanced at her. "Don't."

She blinked in surprise. "Don't what?"

"Don't look at me like you're saying goodbye because things just got f.u.c.ked up. I'm not going anywhere."

She pressed her forehead into his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Good."

It took only a few minutes for her and Malachi to pick up Jack. By the time they exited the building, there was another SUV in the parking lot and Brynn was talking to Acksel.

"I already moved the car seat," Acksel said.

Malachi had explained to her inside the daycare that Brynn was going to take Jack home with her so that she and Malachi could go to the hospital. Malachi was concerned that Damien might try to take Jack if he were with them at the hospital.

Nila didn't want to leave her son, but she knew Malachi was right. Malachi opened the pa.s.senger door of the SUV and Nila strapped Jack in. He babbled at her, and then looked over her shoulder to Malachi.

"Carrot?"

Nila glanced backward. Malachi was grinning, and it made her stomach flip. He was s.e.xy, and this situation sucked big old donkey b.a.l.l.s. In a perfect world, she would be going home with Malachi and spending the night with him while Jack slept in his crib in the next room. But her world was far from perfect.

She pulled a sippy cup of juice from the diaper bag and gave it to Jack along with a few of the toys she kept tucked inside. She kissed his cheeks and whispered that she loved him, and then she slipped from the SUV and told Brynn what things he liked to eat for dinner.

Brynn hugged her. "He'll be fine with us, honey. I hope your friend is okay."

She stood with Malachi and watched the wolves get into the SUV, Brynn sitting in the second row next to Jack.

"Let's go," Malachi said, nodding to Devin, who was going to follow them.

She let him lead her to the SUV and shut her inside, and then they were on their way. She didn't know what she would see at the hospital, but she hoped that Diane was okay.

Malachi listened as the ER doctor explained that Diane had been beaten severely when she left her house earlier that day. Neighbors had found her after she crawled to their house and called for help.

"She's heavily sedated now, but you can see her. She'll be here for a few days, and then she'll need to be released into someone's care."

Malachi answered before Nila could. "We've got it covered."

The doctor nodded and left, and Nila turned and leaned heavily against him. Immediately he wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you ready to see her?"

"No. I'm scared for what happened to her. You heard what the doctor said." She lifted her head and looked at him, her eyes wide with fright. "I never wanted this for her. I screwed up."

"How?"

"I should have gone home with you. You wouldn't have been caught off guard by Damien and his buddies and beaten within an inch of your life. I put her in danger. She could have been killed because of me."

He saw panic and guilt tighten her features. He growled lightly and cupped her face. "You didn't cause anything. Your ex is a vicious nutcase. No male of honor attacks a female for any reason. You made a choice, and Diane welcomed you. She's your friend and there's nothing wrong with helping friends."

She swallowed hard and blinked tear-filled eyes at him. "I can't take care of her during the day, I can't lose my job."

"I said it's handled, trust me."

She smiled briefly and tears surged over her cheeks. He brushed them away and kissed her forehead. "Go see Diane. I'm going to make some calls."

She gave him a watery smile, took in a shaky breath, and pushed open the door to Diane's room. Malachi waited until the door shut before pulling out his phone.

By the time visiting hours were over, Devin was sitting on a chair outside of Diane's room to guard it, and arrangements were made for Diane to go home with Kammie, one of the omegas.

Nila held his hand as they walked out of the hospital. "What's an omega?"

"A non-ranked wolf." He opened the pa.s.senger door and helped her inside, and then shut the door and climbed in behind the wheel. "How much do you know about pack hierarchy?"

"Next to nothing," she admitted. "I only know the alpha is the boss."

He smiled at her as he pulled away from the hospital and headed to Acksel's home. "That's very true. So the alpha is the boss. Under him is the beta, who handles discipline issues among other responsibilities, and is the authority when Acksel isn't around. Our beta is Ren. Then there's the theto, who's like the beta but accountable to him, and is the head of the protectors. The protectors, like me, are ranked underneath the theto, from the fourth position down. Then you have the omegas. They're not ranked, either because they're female or they're males who are too weak through injury or age to be of use to the pack, or decide not to engage in rank fights."

"The females are automatically omegas?"

"Yes. Females are part of the general omega population and aren't ranked, except for Brynn, who's the boss of everyone except Acksel."

She snorted a laugh. "I think she believes she's the boss of everyone."

He grinned and reached over for her hand, which she freely gave. "I've heard of packs where females are ranked, but it's not our pack's way. The females and the pups are important, the life blood of the pack, and the protectors are to keep them, and the other omegas, safe."

"Are wolves ranked right away when they shift?"

"No. We're automatically omega. The alpha allows rank fights during the full moon, and a male can fight his way out of omega status and become a protector."

"So it's just alpha, protector, and omega?"

"It works best when it's simple."

"You're a protector."

"Yep."

She didn't say anything for a moment, and he glanced at her when he came to a stoplight. "What?"

"I was just wondering how hard it was for you to fight your friends in the rank fights."

He shrugged. "It's not fun, but the pack works best when people are ranked appropriately. When I came back, I fought for the fourth rank because that's what I was when I left, and I knew I was the best male for the position."

"You don't want to be theto or beta?"

He shook his head. "Their positions come with a lot of responsibility. I like being fourth because I'm still highly ranked but I don't have the burden of leadership."