Page 3 of Kodiak's Heart

“I need to know you’ll protect yourself,” she fired back softly. “We need you. Ruby and I. So don’t do anything stupid.”

“Not in my plan,” he promised. “I need you to be smart, too.”

“With the Holloways?”

“Don’t let them know what you are,” he warned.

“You don’t trust them?”

“I do. With my daughter’s life. She’s four. You’re twenty-four. The last of your kind. An alpha’s daughter with the mightiest of bear spirits inside. You’d be a prize to any man who could claim you.”

“You think they’d try to force a mating?” She knew Titus would have if he’d had any clue just what she was. “That I wouldn’t be able to stop it without you there to back me?”

Malachi’s head lifted, and a real smile touched his lips. “I think I wish I could be there when Laramie Holloway meets you. Even without him knowing what you are, I think you’ll knock the new alpha on his ass.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Em argued.

“You know why you need to keep it secret. You’re your father’s daughter. The only Kodiak female in existence. If word got out, a forced mating would be the least of your worries, and we both know it.”

She did know. The importance of hiding it had been drilled into Em her entire life. If knowledge of what she was surfaced, she’d become the most hunted shifter in existence. She’d never be safe, and she’d bring that danger to the door of anyone who tried to help her. Malachi. Ruby. Em would take the secret of what she was to her grave to protect those she loved.

“I won’t let the Holloways know what I am,” she promised.

Malachi blew out a deep breath and shook his head. “Hell, maybe, your dad had it all wrong. Maybe, you shouldn’t be hiding. Maybe, you should be searching for a man powerful enough to keep you safe.” He gave her a thoughtful look. “Maybe, the best thing would be Laramie Holloway mating you.”

“Not without my consent,” she stated with a growl as her bear pressed against her skin.

“If you don’t guard your temper, those eyes of yours will give you away. Besides, I don’t remember Laramie as the type of man who’d force a woman to be his mate,” Malachi assured her. “Just guard those expressive eyes of yours.”

Her father had often told her the same. Her pale, blue eyes glowed iridescent when her bear rose to the surface. A dead giveaway, even to a human, that she was more than she seemed.

“I’ll do my best to appear the perfect picture of a weak human seeking protection.” She batted her eyes, trying to resemble her remarks.

Malachi laughed. “I don’t think you could look weak and helpless if you tried. Ask to speak to Laramie. Only Laramie. Tell him I sent you. I promised I’d call when I left him a message, and I will. But not as quickly as I thought. Tell them Ruby is mine. They’ll smell me on her and her on you. He might assume you’re my mate. I’ll leave the truth of that up to your discretion.”

“You want me to pretend to be your mate?” Em questioned.

“If you feel the need to use my name as protection,” Malachi offered with a shrug.

Em shook her head. “They’ll accept us because Ruby’s your daughter.”

“And you’re her mother,” Malachi added.

“Amber—”

“Is gone,” Malachi interrupted. “We both need to accept that. I’ll do my duty and avenge her, avenge your father and my family. Then my sole focus will be that little bear in there. Even then, you’ll be her mother. You’ve been her mama in every way that matters since the moment she was born. Amber wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

Em swiped a tear off her cheek. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”

“I know,” he replied. “Get to Wyoming. The Holloways will protect you. Knowing the two of you are safe will help me focus on what I need to do.”

Em gripped his hand hard. “Be smart. Be safe. Remember that baby bear of yours is counting on you to come back to her.”

“I will,” Malachi vowed, his gaze meeting hers. Cold promise lit his gaze, along with something else. He seemed almost apologetic.

She prayed fate wouldn’t steal Ruby’s father from her, as well. It would be a cruel blow the little girl should never have to face.

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