Page 33 of The Protector’s Heart

“Are you talking to me or Jack?” she teased.

“I’m pretty sure Jack’s plans for the day involve chewing on as many things as he can get into his mouth.”

She laughed. “That sounds about right.”

“I thought we could go buy a Christmas tree. I don’t usually decorate since we spend Christmas day with my folks, but I thought maybe this year they could come here? Christmas is in eleven days, in case you didn’t realize it from the thousands of commercials on TV.”

“I’d love to do that. I haven’t celebrated the holidays in ages.”

“After that, we can go to Mia’s. She sent me a text this morning and invited us to dinner tonight. She’s a pretty good cook.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Nila’s own family was gone, and she envied Malachi. She had been the product of a one-night-stand; her mother hadn’t even known what his name was. Her mother had gone to live with her sister, Betty, who helped to raise Nila, as her mother worked two jobs to keep their heads above water. One night her mom went to her second job and never came home. There’d been a fight at the bar she waitressed at and someone pulled a gun, and she was caught in the crossfire. Betty had done the best she could, and Diane had helped, too. When Betty died of cancer just before Jack was born, Diane had been the only person there for her.

Malachi stood and hugged her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.

“You look so sad.”

She lifted her head and he kissed her. “I was just thinking that Diane is the only tie I have to my family now. You’re blessed.”

“I know, sweetheart, but my family will be yours and Jack’s too. And the pack is like a big family, with Acksel and Brynn as the overbearing parents.”

She laughed. She reached over and turned off the burner so the eggs didn’t scorch, and hugged him back.

“Do you hear from Jack’s grandparents at all?” Malachi seemed to be choosing his words carefully.

“No. Damian’s dad, Isaiah, is widowed; his wife died shortly after Jack was born. He had no siblings. One time, before I left him, Damien shoved me and I hit my head on a cabinet and was bleeding pretty badly. He left me there, bleeding. I didn’t have a car at the time, so I called Isaiah. It was two hours before he came over with one of the pack members who had some medical training. I told him that Damien hurt me, and he said that I chose him as my husband and I should’ve known what I was getting into. He doesn’t think much of me because I’m human, and he never claimed Jack as his grandson.”

Malachi’s hold on her tightened just slightly. She peered at him, noticing that his eyes were flashing from blue to amber. “Malachi?”

“I’m not angry at you, sweetheart, I’m furious that Damien put his hands on you. You never told me that. When you talked about how bad it was, I think you skipped some things.”

“I was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid to want to believe that someone is a good person. You got out, that’s the important thing, but I want you to tell me everything.”

“Why?” Her mouth went dry and her throat tightened. She didn’t want him to think less of her for how long she stayed.

“Because I don’t want there to be any secrets between us, and also because Acksel is going to speak on our behalf to Damien’s alpha and ask him to force Damien to sign the divorce papers.”

Her breath seized in her chest and for a minute, she couldn’t hear anything over the buzzing in her ears. “Wh-what?”

“I spoke to Acksel last week about the situation. We can’t get married until you’re divorced, and I may be patient, but I’m not patient enough to wait for him to die of old age. I want you to be free to make your own choices, Nila. You’re not free right now, because you’re still tied to him.”

“Isaiah won’t care. The legal marriage is a joke to their pack.”

“We’ll handle it. But I really need to know everything. Can you tell me?”

She looked at Jack, who’d moved on from yogurt to Cheerios. “When he’s done eating.”

When they were finished, she cleaned Jack up, put him on the floor in the family room with his favorite toys, and turned on the television. She found the kids’ channel he liked and then walked into the kitchen.

Malachi was waiting for her at the table, and she joined him, taking the fresh cup of coffee he’d prepared for her. She looked at the steam that rose from the surface. Malachi placed his hand on her forearm, and the slight weight and warmth was enough to tell her that he wasn’t going anywhere, no matter what she told him.

She’d done a lot of foolish things in her life. She’d snuck into a movie theater and gotten caught. She’d skipped school and missed an important test, almost screwing up her ability to pass the class and graduate. But the stupidest thing she’d ever done was fall for Damien’s lies. His clean-cut good looks had fooled her into ignoring the beast that truly lurked beneath the skin. She’d been impressed that he was a wolf shifter, led to believe that he thought she was special enough to date even though his pack didn’t care for humans. Then she got pregnant, and married, and then…the verbal barbs came. She was too fat, too lazy, too stupid. Nothing she ever did was right, but she kept trying hard to make him happy.

“He cheated on you?” Malachi asked. His face was blank, his features carefully controlled.

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