Page 9 of Cursed Wolfsbane

Eventually, I pull back from his hold to look at him. “Why do the Knights have it out for your pack? And what’s a pack?”

“Our pack is the largest wolf pack in North America. If they take us out, they eliminate a decent chunk of wolves. The Nightshades are the only pack that comes close to our size, but they’re on the East Coast. We’re friendly enough with them but don’t see them often. A pack is a group of wolves, or other shifters, that’s kind of like a family. My dad is the Wyldhart Alpha, so he’s the authority over everyone else in the pack. Betas are the second-in-command, and there’s usually at least two of them. Dad’s brothers should’ve been his betas, but they died before I was born. His sister wasn’t interested, so Sam and Jesse,his best friends, are the betas now.” Malachi drops his hand from my face and releases my hair before settling his hands on my waist and tracing small patterns. I shiver at the sensation.

My forehead crinkles in confusion as I listen to him. There’s so much about this world I don’t know or understand. I feel so out of my depth. For now, I need to focus on only a few questions. Otherwise, I’ll drown in it all. “Why do they want to take you out? And who’s the next alpha?”

“The Knights want to eliminate all magic users and keep the magic for themselves. All supernaturals are magic users. Shifters use magic to change forms, mages use magic to cast spells, and fae use magic to create illusions, and so on. To answer your second question, I’m the next alpha. Xander and Bastian will be my betas.”

My eyes widen in surprise.Jesus.I guess I’m not the only one the Knights have a problem with. At the mention of Bastian and Xander, I remember what Xander told me about their family business. “Your family doesn’t have a business, do they? You work at WHU to buy Bastian time before he has to be your beta.”

Malachi’s brows rise in surprise. “Yeah. Who told you that?”

“Xander.”

“I’m surprised he told you anything about Bastian,” Malachi mutters to himself before focusing back on me. “But, yes, we work at the university so Bastian has a few years before we start training under Dad and his betas.”

“How long do you train for?”

“Thirty years, give or take.”

I tilt my head as I mentally calculate what age he’d be in thirty years, but I realize I don’t know quite how old he is. I’d say he’s around thirty. “That’s a long time. You’ll be old enough to retire by then.”

He flicks his midnight eyes between mine for a moment as he debates what to say. After briefly closing his eyes, Malachiblows out a breath before answering me. “We don’t age the same way humans do. Wolves live twice as long, so about two hundred years.”

“What?” I squeak. So, not only am I not human, but I’m also apparently going to live for multiple centuries. It’d be cool if I weren’t overwhelmed with everything that I’ve learned lately.

“You’re going to live a lot longer than a human, baby girl. We think it has to do with humans losing their magic, but we’re not sure. So, shifters and mages tend to live around two hundred years. Vampires live pretty much forever until they’re killed. Fae live thousands of years, typically. Each species has its own lifespan, but we all live longer than regular humans.”

“Unless the Knights or Patrick kill me first,” I point out.

A deep growl rattles in Malachi’s chest. His eyes flash amber, and he squeezes me tightly where he’s holding on to my waist. “That’s not fucking happening. Get that thought out of your head.”

I swallow uneasily at the anger I see burning in his gaze, but I refuse to lie to placate him. “I don’t want it to happen, Malachi, but I’m not naïve enough to think it can’t ever happen. Patrick’s gotten pretty close a ton of times.”

He clenches his jaw so hard I can hear his teeth grinding. Whereas his eyes were flickering between deep blue and amber, they’re now solidly the same yellow-gold as his wolf. “I know you love to disagree with me just for the hell of it.” I open my mouth to argue, but I shut it when Malachi raises an eyebrow at me. I’m kind of proving his point. “But we need to talk about something other than you being in danger. My wolf is too close to the surface, and I’m barely holding him back right now.”

“What happens if he gets free?”

“You’ll be claimed in a heartbeat.” Malachi’s eyes now simmer with a mixture of heat and anger.

“What does claiming mean?”

“It means I’d fuck you and leave my mark on your shoulder,” he growls.

“Oh,” is all I can say. My cheeks flush bright red as I’m bombarded with thoughts of sleeping with him. He’d probably be just as bossy while we fuck as he is normally. That thought excites me more than it should. I’ve always preferred to be in control when fooling around with guys in the past, but there’s something about Malachi that makes me want to let him take the lead.

Malachi’s lips tilt up in a half smile. “Yeah, oh.”

I duck my head and lie on his shoulder to avoid his knowing gaze and cool the red-hot lust that’s flooding my system. Shifting my hips, I try to get more comfortable on his lap, but all that does is grind my center over his erection. I muffle my moan in his neck and still. Moving around’s only making things worse.

“Fuck, baby girl,” he groans into my hair as his hands flex on my hips. My lips curl in a small smile. At least I’m not the only one affected.

Shoving the horny thoughts out of my mind because I’m not sure I’m ready to be claimed, I try to think about something else to talk about. “Where’d you learn to do, um, what we did earlier?” My cheeks burn at the thought of Malachi’s hand on my bare ass.

“Bastian.” I choke on my spit at his answer. Whipping my head up, I look at Malachi with wide eyes. He rolls his at me. “Not like that. I don’t spank my brother. That’d be fucking weird.”

I snort at his exasperation, which turns into giggles at the mental image of him spanking Bastian. Eventually, I get my laughter under control enough to ask, “What do you mean?”

“I discovered giving pain in a controlled environment is a good alternative for pain that actually does damage. Bastian had a lot of torment and rage from what happened to him. Healmost got himself killed more than once trying to drown out his feelings in the ring.” Malachi breaks off abruptly at the mention of his brother almost dying. His navy eyes swim with pain before he looks up at the ceiling to collect himself.

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