Page 65 of The Silent Mate

Malik stopped, the muscles beneath his peppered coat vibrating with an inaudible growl. His eyes, once brimming with unrestrained violence, now solely watched the knife in his brother’s hand, and a flash of fear struck down our bond.

I didn’t move—didn’t dare to evenbreathe.Silent tears poured from my eyes, but I fought to keep my shoulders from shaking with the sobs that threatened to rack through me. As if sensing my distress, the pup—the one shred of hope and joy in my life over the last several months—wiggled inside my womb.

Then, I heard it.

The most beautiful, terrifying sound. Malik’s voice, filling my mind, in a low, raspy snarl.Let her go.

Every shifter—human and wolf alike—tensed throughout the clearing. His voice must’ve penetrated every mind, carrying the unmistakable authority of an alpha.Therightful alpha.

Roman’s lips pulled back over his teeth, and he laughed, cruel and raucous. “So you can kill me? I don’t fucking think so,monster.”

I’m issuing a formal challenge for the Intonat Nocte Pack,Malik warned, risking a single, small step closer.Youmustface me. Your fight is with me, not Aria.

At my back, Roman stiffened. Like a coward, he shook his head and laughed again, though unease slipped into the sound.I will not fight you. You’re no alpha. You’renothing.

“Guards!” Roman shouted, his voice an octave higher than normal. “Kill this male! Kill every outsider.Now!”

I held my breath. Again, no one moved.

In fact, someIntonat Noctemembers turned their glares and snarls on Roman. To refuse a formal challenge was treasonous to the very laws that bound our kind. It went against every rule, every sacred tradition. Not to mention, it betrayed Roman’s rotten soul. His cowardice.

Hisunworthiness.

Release her,Malik demanded again, the words echoing like thunder between my ears.

Roman’s hand shook, the blade digging into my stomach as his control wavered.No.

Malik’s responding snarl earned a handful of whimpers from wolves throughout the clearing. Their natural instincts warned them to obey and servethe strongest among them. At last, they realized that wasnotRoman.

Something warm dripped down my abdomen, trickling down my thighs and staining my dress. Roman cut me. The wound wasn’t deep. Notyet.

Still, Malik stopped his slow ascent. Wild fear ran rampant in his gaze.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Roman warned, his breathing ragged and shallow. “Sweet Aria and I are going to go for a walk. Alongwalk. No one will follow us.”

Snarls and growls of discontent flooded the clearing, but Roman continued.

“You all will wait anhourbefore leaving this clearing,” he demanded. “Then andonlythen, will you come looking for her. By that time, I’ll be long gone, and Aria will be safe. You can have this damn pack. You have my word. Do we have a deal, brother?”

Malik’s gaze flickered to mine, just for a moment.

No,I whispered into our bond, careful not to broadcast the word to the entire pack.Don’t trust him, Malik. He?—

Malik shuddered, and the depths of his love for me radiated through our souls’ tether. When his voice filled my mind again, he spoke to the entire clearing.No. Let her go, and you have my word that I will not kill you. I will let you live, but you will leave and never return.

The knife eased from my stomach, and I could practically smell the relief leaking from Roman’s body. “You swear it? Swear it on your pup’s life. You will not harm me.”

A long, pregnant pause. Malik dipped his big head once.I swear it.

At last, Roman’s knife fell away. He shoved me forward, and I barely managed to catch myself on my hands before colliding with the hard ground. My entire body protested at the rough treatment, but I scrambled away from the unhinged coward, desperate to reach Malik’s side.

I crawled halfway to him. When I looked up again, his wolf no longer stood in front of me. He’d shifted into his human form. His naked body held so many new scars—horrific, brutal scars that twisted and marred his chest and abdomen, his neck and face. He looked skinnier but stood tall, dominating the clearing despite the obvious extent of his injuries from months ago.

He was here. And he wasmine.

A ragged sob slipped from my lips as he rushed to meet me, falling to the ground in front of me. My body sang as he wrapped his arms around me, hauling me into his bare chest. His scent washed over me, tobacco leaf and mint, and I wanted to drown in it.

Aria. Aria. Aria,he whispered like a man possessed. His hands grappled with me, like he wouldn’t be satisfied until our bodies melded into one.

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