Page 19 of The Protector’s Heart

“Okay.”

His eyes narrowed and he reached out and laid his hand on her neck. His thumb rubbed her throat and she raised a brow at him. “What?”

“I’m making sure you’re not in shock.”

She smiled in spite of how nuts the situation was. “I’m okay.”

“You’re being calm.”

She shrugged. “He could have done a lot more than break the windows. Clearly he was having someone watch the house who reported about you being here. I’m glad that it was just the windows.”

He frowned, his thumb rubbing against her throat lightly, and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

When he shut the door, she pressed the lock button, reassured by the clicking sound of every door being locked. He stared at her through the side window for a long moment, and she wondered what he was thinking. Was he wondering if he was nuts for getting involved with her? She was beginning to think anyone was nuts to be around her.

She watched as Malachi first spoke to the police, and then made his way around the house, apparently using his phone to take pictures of the damage. From the street, she could see the two windows at the front of the house were completely broken out. It wasn’t like someone had just lobbed a rock through them—both windows were entirely gone, the jagged remains glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

Shit, the house was going to be a mess.

With a deep sigh, she laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. When she’d made the decision to leave Damien, she’d known that he was unstable. At the very least he acted like a child whose favorite toy had been taken away. She thought he got pleasure from her fear, knowing that he terrified her. He wasn’t as muscular as Malachi, having more of a lean, wiry build, but he was still powerfully strong, thanks to his wolf shifter genes.

She opened her eyes and watched Malachi speak to the other men. Even though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could tell that the men respected him. They weren’t afraid of him, that he might lash out unexpectedly just for the fun of it the way that Damien did. No, these men—these wolf shifters—respected Malachi because he was worthy of respect and deserved it.

Twenty minutes passed before Malachi came to her side of the SUV and she unlocked the door. He opened it and a blast of cold air whipped into the interior, making her shiver immediately.

“Come on, sweetheart.” He offered her his hand and she took it without a second thought. He pulled her gently from the interior of the SUV and guided her up the front walk. She gave him the house key and he unlocked it and ushered her inside, cautioning her to be careful of the glass. She gasped as she looked around. Bricks had been tossed through the windows, and littered the floor and furniture. Everything looked broken, as if the bricks had been thrown with more purpose than simply breaking the glass. Looking through the open door of Jack’s bedroom, she saw that the crib was destroyed.

She didn’t even realize she was crying until Malachi embraced her, bringing her into his warmth and holding her close.

“Shh,” he crooned softly. “It’s going to be okay.”

She ducked her head against his chest and fisted his shirt in her hands. “How can you be sure?”

“Because I know I’m not going to let anything happen to you or Jack.”

“Malachi?” She said his name, and a fine tremble wove through her body.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Why are you here with me?”

Brynn had told her that Malachi believed Nila was his mate, that his wolf and his human side were in agreement that she was the woman meant for them. Diane had been right in saying that Damien had never treated her like anything but property. When he said that Nila belonged to him, he didn’t mean he wanted to take care of her forever, he just meant he was keeping her, whether she liked it or not.

Malachi lifted his hand and stroked the curve of her cheek. “You’re my mate, Nila. I want you to be my mate, not because I’m making some kind of Neanderthal claim to you, but because you’re constantly in my thoughts and I can’t live without you. I want you to be my mate because you want me to be yours, because you can’t live without me, either.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Closing it again, she leaned her head against his chest and sighed. She was buoyed by his words. He’d been in her thoughts since the day they met. She’d been fighting the connection between them, but here, in his arms, the last thing she wanted to do was fight.

A throat cleared and she lifted her head from his chest and looked at a handsome man with short, dark hair.

Malachi said, “Nila, this is Jeremiah, part of my pack. He’s going to stay here and make sure that the windows are replaced and everything gets cleaned up.”

“What?” She blinked in surprise and turned her attention to Malachi.

He smiled. “Jeremiah is going to take care of things. All you need to do is pack a bag for you and Jack and I’ll take you back to work.”

“A bag?”

“You can’t stay here tonight, sweetheart.”

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