Page 20 of Fated In Forever
One glance told me Blake was hearing the same thing, as Evie chattered away, pointing out Dravin waking up, that Eldric always seemed to end up unconscious, that she thought the redhead was Wolf’s mate.
We always have. I offered carefully, wondering what had changed in the last few hours. What was he talking about—coming back from the dead?
And you know we always will.
Good. Because if either of you fucks hurt her, or allow Ravok to get anywhere near her, you’ll pay with your lives.Along with Malachi’s warning came a wash of emotion—emotion I was sure he didn’t mean for us to feel. Grief and loss and jealousy, but mostly, a fierce, almost feral protectiveness.
“Oh. Brendan’s going to perform a ritual, to help Malachi get back his old mortal body,” Evie said suddenly, glancing back toward where the monster waited in the shadows. “He should be here soon. Once he’s ready, we’ll start.”
More healers rushed in, bending over Dravin, who tried to shove them away, tending to Wolf, while the red-haired female scolded him about not being more careful. I wondered if Evie was right. They did seem to act like mates.
Blake's eyebrows rose as he took in Malachi's monstrous silhouette. “Well, this is new. Last I checked, tall, dark, and terrifying over there could barely form a coherent thought. Now he’s gotten all bossy in a matter of hours.”
“People change, you know.” Evie said quietly, but there was something defensive in her tone that made my chest tighten further. Yes, wehadmissed something. Something big.
I nodded respectfully in Malachi's direction. “Thank you. For keeping her safe.”
Malachi inclined his massive head once, a curt acknowledgment, even as his eyes roamed over us, despair mixed with anger, and right then I knew.
This bullshit ritual of Brendan’s, Evie’s bubbling hope—all for nothing.
There was no saving Malachi from whatever transformation Ravok had started.I will come back from the dead and kill you both slowly.Draven knew he was doomed, and had tasked us with keeping Evangeline safe.
Fucking Ravok. I’d had that soulless fuck inside my headonce, and he’d left an indelible mark on me. On my magic. On my soul. Whatever harm he’d done to Malachi went even deeper, in a soul consuming sort of way, because whatever was happening to Malachi Draven couldn’t be reversed.
He knew the truth, now I knew, too, but…my gaze drifted over to Evie. She had no idea what was coming, high on hope and…smelling a little too much like that enormous monster over there.
She started it.Malachi said, a bit defensively.
Blake surged forward.You’d better not have finished it, asshole, or I’ll cut your cock off and stuff it down your…
I threw my arm across Blake’s chest. While I felt the same surge of jealousy, mine was tempered by something I might have called pity.
Whatever happened between the two of you…I forced myself to hold Malachi’s stare.Whatever happened was Evie’s choice, which means I have to accept it, which means…I took a steadying breath.Which means…
“We’re ready.” An older male with graying temples stepped between us, his stern expression and stiff shoulders all business. “The training room is ready, Nikolai has refortified the wards and I found everything we’ll need, even though you didn’t give me a lot of time to prepare.” He glowered in Malachi’s direction.
We’d just arrived, hadn’t met a single soul, yet Malachi was the one acting like an outsider, the monster lurking at the edges of the light, and another wave of pity hit me. He might be an untrustworthy asshole, but he didn’t deserve this shitty fate.
And I had a sneaking suspicion his fate was far worse than any of us imagined, especially Evangeline.
The echoes of healers and conversation faded as a tall, dark-haired male stepped into the room, with a raven hairedfemale on his arm. He exuded a quiet power, the kind I’d like to think I possessed, though not at the moment, blood splattered and battered and exhausted. His dark green eyes assessed everyone in the room in a single sweeping glance, resting on me for a moment before shifting over to Blake.
This had to be Rowan Forge, the new king of this clan, a male I’d only heard rumors about.
“Who is that?” I asked Evie, and she went up on her toes to get a better look.
“No idea.” she mused. “But he kind of looks like Finn Forge, the Knightsguard commander. That’s Aisling, though,” her eyes drifted from the brunette over to Nikolai. “But I thought she was with Nikolai, unless…”
As Silver went off on a tangent of who was sleeping with who, I couldn’t take my eyes off Malachi, watching Evie with such longing. And maybe I was a bastard, but I tightened my arm around her, pulled her closer.
Malachi made us swear to take care of her?
We would lay down our lives for her.
And while they might have shared a fleeting…moment, even he knew this was where she belonged—with people who could give her the life she deserved.
Because monsters were meant to remain in the shadows, no matter how much they longed for the light.
