Page 53 of The Protector’s Heart

He smiled, and she walked out of the bedroom with him. She found Jack on Malachi’s lap in the kitchen. Malachi was feeding him cut-up chicken nuggets from a large plate that also contained cheese cubes, halved grapes, and carrot coins.

“Mama,” Jack said, grinning around a mouthful of chicken.

“Hi, baby.” She bent and kissed his forehead.

“What’s the diagnosis, Doc?” Malachi asked. He was smiling, but his words were serious.

“She should wear the bandages until tomorrow, and if they’re healed over, which they should be, then she can remove them. Ibuprofen for pain, and it wouldn’t hurt if someone let her rest tomorrow and kept an eye on Jack.”

Mia and Brynn both said, “I’ll do it.”

They laughed and agreed to watch him while she took it easy. Adam took the infuser from her, and Nila watched him go to the stove and turn a burner on under a teapot as he listened to Doc’s instructions for the tea.

Adam was handsome—tall and muscular with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, the color of faded denim. As he turned from the stove to open a nearby cabinet, she noticed he had a scar on his neck that traveled up his jaw and curled over his cheek. She’d seen enough injuries as a nursing assistant to recognize a burn scar when she saw one, and her heart went out to him. He’d clearly been burned severely, and if he was scarred then it must mean that he was young when it happened and hadn’t been able to shift to help heal himself. Although she could admit she didn’t really know that much about wolves and their physiology.

“I’ll check in tomorrow evening,” Doc said, and Brynn walked him to the door, speaking quietly.

“Sit, sweetheart,” Malachi said, pushing a nearby chair out with his foot.

The tea kettle whistled and as she looked at Malachi while he fed her son in his alpha’s kitchen, and the only thing she could think of was that she’d finally found a place she could call home. It wasn’t about the walls or the roof or the furnishings, it was about the people. She’d found a home with Malachi and his pack, and she didn’t ever want to be anywhere else.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Malachi waited for Nila to fall asleep on the guest bed before he slipped away and shut the door. She and Jack had passed out after drinking Doc’s special tea, and although she’d walked into the bedroom while he carried Jack, she hadn’t stayed awake very long. Jack slept soundly in the playpen next to the bed, and Nila had curled up next to Malachi. She stayed awake long enough to bare her soul to him, crying softly and breaking his heart a thousand times as she struggled with the guilt over her actions. When she’d told him everything, she seemed to relax. Whether it was from the tea or from her heartfelt confession, he didn’t know, but he was glad she finally found some peace.

He walked out to the family room and found Acksel and the other pack members who had joined him in getting Jack back. He paused next to the couch, too damn overwhelmed by the events of the evening to really say much of anything, but he did manage a heartfelt, “Thanks.”

Acksel was letting Brynn fuss over his injuries, although Malachi didn’t think he’d been hurt too much. He glanced at everyone and noticed that none of his friends had been gravely injured. He was thankful for small miracles.

Malachi sat down on the couch next to Mia and said, “Is there anything I need to know?”

Adam and Jeremiah brought the kitchen chairs into the family room and everyone sat down. They left and returned with beer and a tray of roast beef sandwiches.

“Thanks guys,” Brynn said as she reached for two sandwiches, giving one to Acksel.

Malachi twisted the top off a beer and took a long drink. Acksel watched Brynn devour the sandwich, shaking his head with an amused grin. Turning serious, he said, “Isaiah showed up after the fight was over. He said he didn’t know what Damien was planning to do and didn’t condone it. He ordered his people back to their homes, and then he seemed to realize that Damien wasn’t there. Ren showed up with the body and took the blame.”

Malachi’s eyes widened as he looked at his beta. Ren shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what would happen to Nila if Isaiah knew that she’d killed Damien, regardless of whether it was an accident or not. If he wanted physical retribution, I figured I could handle it better than she could anyway.”

“I don’t know what to say, except thank you,” Malachi said, feeling completely humbled by his pack member’s actions.

Ren smiled. “Someday you can repay the favor and take the fall for me, okay?”

“You got it.”

Acksel cleared his throat. “I’m sure it’s no hardship, but Isaiah said that he doesn’t want our pack to step foot in Dorlan again, even if the zombie apocalypse has come and the world is ending. He never wants to see Nila or Jack again and, in front of his pack members, he renounced his genetic tie to Jack.”

Brynn swallowed a large bite of her second sandwich and said, “What does that mean?”

Dade scrubbed his fingers across his stubble-laden jaw. “It means that he no longer claims Jack as his flesh and blood.”

“Um, he can’t just make a statement like that; it’s a scientific fact that they’re related.”

“Not according to pack law. It’s an old-school thing, love,” Acksel said. “If he hadn’t renounced his claim on Jack, then Jack could have possibly shown up at his pack some day and asked for sanctuary.”

“Like at a church?” Brynn gave another confused look.

“Yes, like at a church. A relative is required to offer sanctuary if it’s asked for, unless the relative has publicly renounced their relation, which Isaiah did. Now, Jack is on his own, severed from contact with that side of his family. Nila never has to worry about Isaiah or anyone else from Damien’s pack or family members coming for Jack.”

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