Page 15 of The Protector’s Heart

She felt herself blush and turned her attention to the food. While they ate, Malachi told her about his family, and how he’d just recently come back to Wilde Creek to live and rejoined the pack as one of the protectors.

“You’ve mentioned that before. What is a protector?”

He swallowed his bite of food and took a drink of iced tea. “There are two main groups within our pack—the protectors and the omegas. Protectors are those who’ve proven themselves to be good guards. Our job is to keep pack members safe. I’m Brynn’s personal protector, but other protectors guard the alpha house, drive Acksel around, and patrol in the town and the pack’s territory.”

“Why did you want to be her protector?”

“She’s my sister’s best friend, and Acksel and I have known each other our whole lives. As my alpha female, her safety is important to me. But it’s not the most important thing in my world.” His voice deepened and he gazed at her intently.

Her mouth went dry. “What?”

His lips pursed for a long moment and then he said, “You’re important to me, Nila. I don’t want you to hate me just because of my DNA.”

Her chest tightened and her breath froze in her chest. “We’re just having dinner.”

His face shadowed darkly and she saw the hurt in his eyes before he schooled his features and looked down at the plate, stabbing his fork into a chunk of pork chop. He didn’t say anything else, and her appetite swiftly disappeared. She’d insulted him. Again. He finished eating faster than she thought possible, and then he stood, left the kitchen, and returned with a strange metal bar with rubber on both ends.

“I want to show you the new security stuff, and then I need to go.” His voice was calm and clipped, and it made her chest hurt.

He shoved the metal bar under the back doorknob, so the rubber-pronged end surrounded the doorknob handle and the angled rubber bottom pressed into the floor. “This is a security bar. It can withstand 350 pounds of pressure. It won’t necessarily stop someone who’s really determined to get in, but it will slow them down. I have one for the front door, too. When I’m gone, you should install it.”

He showed her the small white boxes on the inside of each window, explaining that they were alarms. If someone broke one of the windows, the alarm would sound. He gave her the new security code, explained how to arm and disarm the system, and then he said, “I canceled your other security program. This is my company’s system. If someone tries to get into your house, or you press the emergency button, my 24/7 monitoring service will alert the police and send help.”

She felt him pulling away from her emotionally, and it left her feeling colder than the snow on the porch. “Malachi, I —”

He turned to look at her as he adjusted the collar of his coat. He waited for her to say something, but she didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.” She hugged her arms around herself. In a heartbeat, Malachi’s strong arms were around her. She stiffened involuntarily, but his gentle hold didn’t change. He didn’t try to force her to do anything, he just held her. It was the most comforted she’d ever felt.

“I’m not him, Nila, and I never will be. However long it takes for you to see that, just know that I’m not going anywhere.”

Her defenses crumbled and she tunneled her hands under his coat and hugged herself close to him. Tears fell as she buried her face in his chest, gripping him like her life depended on it. She cried long enough that her throat grew raw and her eyes burned. He did nothing but rub her back and hold her close, letting her cry on him.

“I-I made you angry before. I’m s-sorry.”

“What?” He cupped her cheek and lifted her face until she was looking at him. “Mad? When did you make me mad?”

“At the table, and when I didn’t let you in right away.”

He brushed the tears from her cheek with his thumb. “I wasn’t mad at all, sweetheart. My wolf was being pretty vocal earlier, and I didn’t want to show you that side of me.”

Her hands tightened on his back, the material of his shirt gripped tightly in her fists. “I know what you are, Mal. I don’t want to hold my past against you, but I don’t know how to stop myself.”

“We’ve got time. I’m not going anywhere unless you tell me to.”

“Okay,” she sighed the word and pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. He held her for a long time, just the two of them in the family room, and then he gave her a final hug and said goodbye, making her promise to use the security bar when he left.

As she closed and locked the door, setting the alarm and using the security bar, she realized she was shocked at his behavior. He hadn’t tried anything with her. She was upset and vulnerable, and he left. She wasn’t really sure what to make of it.

Picking up the phone, she called Diane.

“Hello honey,” Diane said, answering in her always-cheerful manner.

“Hi. Are you busy?”

“Never for you. What’s up?”

Nila proceeded to tell Diane about the situation with Malachi. Diane was silent for a long moment. Nila collapsed onto the couch, tired from the emotional upheaval of the evening and all the pacing she’d done while she talked.

“Let me ask you this: is this Malachi fellow kind?”

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