Page 22 of Fated to Him

Time to get out of here.

Whatever it means to be a mate, I want no part of it.

I slowly sweep one leg out from under the covers, and as my toes touch the hardwood floors, Malakhi stops snoring.

I freeze, my eyes locked on the side of his face, and my heart hammering in my chest.

Malakhi mutters something about a skunk stealing grated cheese that makes me frown down at him. He shuffles around a bit, making the sheet slide down his bare chest to reveal even more golden muscle. The sight briefly distracts me, and then his snoring starts up again.

Weird.

I leave him to his dreams of skunks and cheese while I get back to escaping.

This was likely why he told me we would sleep in the same bed tonight. He said it was in case I shifted, and he could be around to help me. I told him no wolf was waiting to burst out of me even though it was starting to feel like something strange might be happening.

There was no arguing with him.

Before he turned off the lamp on the bedside table, he looked me dead in the eye and told me I wouldn’t get five steps from the cabin if I ran.

It’s why I was counting to a hundred. I needed to make sure he was deep, deep asleep before I made my move. That time is now.

I’m out of bed and tiptoeing across the bedroom to the door in an oversized white t-shirt when a snarl rumbles out of my mouth.

I clap my hand over my lips and twist around to stare at Malakhi as I ask myself what the hell is happening to me. The prickly sensation I had during dinner returns. It’s not just centered on my arms this time. It’s spreading all over my legs and back. I’m cooking from the inside out, sweat making my t-shirt stick to me. And I snarled. That is not normal.

Malakhi keeps snoring, which at least is something to be relieved about.

My heart thumps loudly in my chest as I hesitate over what to do. He was so sure I would turn into a wolf, and I’m terrified that he’s right. What if I’m in the middle of serving drinks, and I snarl in a customer's face? Or a wolf bursts out of me? What would happen to me then?

But if I stayed? That shifter called me a half-breed and tried to kill me.

I can manage on my own the way I always have, or I can stay here and wait for someone else who views me as less than to rip my throat out. Maybe the next time, I won’t have a tree nearby to climb.

Go, Delilah. Staying here isn’t safe.

I make it halfway across the cabin’s main room when claws stab my belly.

I go to my knees, press my palm over my mouth and curl into myself as I choke back my scream.

When I glance down, I’m not bleeding, and I don’t have claws sticking out of me. But something is happening to me. Something awful.

In the next room, a mattress spring squeaks.

Is Malakhi awake? I think he might be.

The small sound drives me to my feet. Ignoring the fire eating me from the inside out, I stumble to the front door, wrench it open, and throw myself out.

8

MALAKHI

The second Delilah steps out of the bedroom, I blink my eyes open and angle my head toward the doorway.

I’d almost given away the fact I wasn’t sleeping. If I hadn’t thought to mutter the first thing that came to mind, she’d have known it.

Letting her out of my sight is risky. She isn’t human anymore. There’s a wolf inside her, itching to get out, and wolves are fast. Yet Delilah hasn’t shifted, which is unheard of when a newly bitten shifter’s wolf will usually reveal itself within the first couple of hours.

She’s not shifting when I’m watching her, so I’m curious about what will happen when I’m not.

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