Page 56 of The Protector’s Heart

“What are you thinking about so seriously?”

“About staying home.”

He looked at her and she smiled knowingly. “You’re not him, and you never will be. I trust you. I know you won’t cheat on me. If you want to stay here, do it because it’s something you want to do, not because you think I’m going to have a meltdown when you go off into the woods.”

Her gaze was steady, and there wasn’t a hint of her trying to pretend that she was anything but honest in that moment. He loved that she trusted him, even when her history told her wolf males were dishonest to the core. Besides, if he didn’t bring her to the pack tonight, he wouldn’t be able to claim her and Jack, and that was something he wanted to do badly.

He glanced at the marks on her neck and his wolf made a humming noise that seemed to sound a lot like a purr when it rumbled from his chest.

Jack’s head shot up from where he’d been studiously watching the stuffed animals, and he lumbered to his feet. Malachi went down to one knee and Jack pressed his palm to Malachi’s heart. “Carrot?”

He growled again, louder this time, and Jack grinned. “Woof.”

Malachi’s wolf huffed in indignation. His growl sounded nothing like a dog. Nila chuckled and said, “No, kiddo, woollfff,” she sounded the word out slowly.

Jack looked at his hand and then at Malachi and said, “Woof.”

Malachi grabbed Jack, hoisting him into the air and he squealed in delight.

“One of these days he’ll get it right,” Nila said.

He set Jack on the floor and said, “I want to go tonight, and I want you and Jack there to watch me shift, and I want you to be waiting for me to come back from the hunt so I can bring you home and we can…you know.”

“Go to sleep?” she asked with what he supposed she believed was an innocent look.

“Eventually,” he said, grinning.

* * *

Nila wasn’t honestly worried about Malachi. He had too much character to cheat on her. When they walked into Acksel’s home, he left her with Brynn, Mia, and Eveny, and went to speak to Acksel and the other wolves inside the house. Eveny, who she hadn’t met officially, gave her a hug and said, “Welcome to the pack, Nila. I’m so glad that Malachi has finally found someone willing to put up with him.”

“He’s not so bad,” she promised.

Jack reached for Eveny, and Nila let him go. “Wow, what a cutie pie. No wonder you want him here all the time,” Eveny said to Brynn.

“Besides being a fun kid, it’s neat to watch Acksel with him. I hope we have a boy.”

Mia shrugged. “Girls are easier.”

“Says the girl who painted her bedroom walls solid black during her junior year of high school and her ‘goth phase,’” Brynn said.

“I’ll never live that down,” Mia complained.

“I don’t care what we have as long as he or she is healthy and happy. Acksel said there’s only a 50/50 chance that our children will shift, depending on whether they take more after me or him.”

“I think it would be easier if our kids could shift, but if they can’t then at least they’re growing up in a pack that accepts them, unlike others that are strictly full-wolves only,” Eveny said. She walked away with Jack to a handsome blond male, and Brynn said that he was Luke, her human mate.

“Malachi told me about the changes to pack law. It was because of her, and you, that things are they way they are now, right?” Nila asked Brynn.

“Yes. If Acksel and I weren’t mates, then he wouldn’t have made all the changes that he did, but because he wants our pack to be inclusive and not exclusive, he changed all the laws pertaining to mates and children. One of our children may one day lead the pack.”

Because Brynn was human, Acksel wouldn’t have been allowed to take her as his mate without being banished. Since he was alpha, instead of taking the banishment, he chose to change the laws that dictated that action. Some pack members left because they didn’t like those changes and wanted the pack to remain wolf-only. She was glad that he’d changed the laws, because she benefited from it as Malachi’s mate. She wasn’t considered a complete outsider. Although she’d never be part of pack meetings or have authority in any way, she was welcome at the gatherings and had the protection of the pack members, and so did Jack.

“I can’t imagine Jack ever shifting into a full wolf, but Doc said that it’s most likely going to happen, since he partially shifted already.” She was envious in a way, of the freedom and the power that came with being a shifter, and she was glad her son could enjoy it. It would be better to be a half wolf who could shift than one who couldn’t. “Thanks for letting me and Jack hang out here tonight.”

“You two are welcome anytime. Now that you’re leaving the clinic, I’ll miss our chats.”

“Are you going to keep working through the pregnancy?”

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