Page 27 of Malcolm

“Malcolm.”

She stood to chase after him only to see he’d stopped short.

A young woman stood in his pathway; her hair was a darker brown than his. Her eyes were a soft green, and it wasn’t hard to see they were related. Her eyes immediately filled with tears as she reached out towards him, but Malcolm retreated a steplowering his head before he walked around her and quickly exited.

Eliza wasn’t sure what to do. The way the woman looked after him as he walked away suggested that she had something to say. She turned her attention to Malcolm’s retreating back. He obviously wished to be alone.

Reluctantly, she turned back to the table and sat down; she would talk to him once he returned. Until then, she’d eat and return a doggy bag to their cabin.

Secrets Unearthed

Malcolm

“He hit you again?”

He glared at his sister as she stood in the doorway, her eyes downcast and her body trembling as he glared from her to the male who sat at the head of the table. As usual, Damon was holding court with those who enjoyed hurting others like him. “Leave it, Malcolm. I made him angry.”

“What?” Malcolm couldn’t stand the insidious scent of fear coming off his sister. She was Damon’s mate, yet he treatedher lower than shit. The Mating mark having been forced on her, the bite mark on his sister’s neck rarely faded because the bastard continued renewing it. “That bastard just enjoys hitting those weaker than him.” He hissed, taking a step forward only for his sister to block his path.

“Stop it,” she whispered harshly. “If this is how you’ll act, go home.”

He trembled, trying to fight the blind rage that ran through him. If only his damn father—he looked at the man who was his progenitor, and as usual, bottles surrounded him at the long table. His eyes were glazed, and he stared at nothing.

“Damn them,” he snapped before abruptly turning away, “Damn you all.” He shouted.

He was powerless. The rules of their people were absolute. His sister had been kidnapped, raped, and marked all because his father had given him permission. What about her? What about what she wanted?

“I knew I would find you here.”

Malcolm didn’t turn away from the view before him. He’d been so absorbed in the waves of his emotions that he’d inadvertently come to the hillside overlooking the complex. It also occurred to him that he’d left Eliza behind. He cursed. He knew she wasn’t in danger, especially since she was on his people's land, but he felt pathetic for letting his emotions get the better of him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded, not looking at his uncle, who sat beside him. “I wouldn’t have resented you.”

It felt like something pivotal had changed while he lived away from his old home. Only that pivotal change had happened involving him. “I thought you never wanted to become the Alpha?”

“I didn’t. I never wanted it, and then I married a human, which made it even more something I didn’t want to do.”

“So why did you do it?” he asked, half-turning to face Robert.

“You are the one who said this life of being confined and hiding wasn’t worth shit. And now you’ve become their Alpha? Ridiculous.” Malcolm couldn’t hide the resentment in his voice. “And what is this abouta-sgeithein two weeks?” He shook his head. “I know what you’re after.”

Robert’s expression remained unchanged when he faced him. “I did what I had to do. I didn’t like it, damn I hated it, but you know what? Fixing everything and getting rid of the roaches who were bent on keeping our people in the dark age, had a purpose.”

Malcolm scoffed. “And what purpose was that?” He wanted to stop sounding so bitter, but why couldn’t his uncle have returned before he’d chosen to kill Damon? Why couldn’t he have come and knocked sense into his brother, Malcolm’s father, first?

He hated how childish he sounded.

Malcolm was beyond the age of clinging to his uncle's pant leg, but where had his savior been then? The things he’d done since he’d killed Damon had not only tarnished his soul but his reason. The more blood he spilled, the more he lost touch with his humanity, to the point he wasn’t sure he could change into a wolf, the specific need to kill something or anything.

“I know…I sound bitter,” he sighed.

Robert didn’t speak for a minute; when he did, his voice was somber. “Do you know why your mother left?”

He looked at his uncle and frowned in confusion. “What?”

“Your mother,” his uncle said calmly. “Did you ever learn why she left?”

“Wasn’t it because of dad’s drinking?” Malcolm asked.

---