She felt the rage inside him, felt the need to kill, and knew that the dragon inside Malcolm was fully in control and wouldn’t hesitate to defend its mate to the death. Malcolm was fighting; she could feel him resisting. She just wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough, if he was stronger than the ancient instincts rushing through him.
“Malcolm, don’t do it, you don’t have to kill him,” she screamed, rushing over to them, then coming to a sliding halt when she realized she was getting too close. “I know this isn’t the way you want this to end, cause then we’ll just have another secret to keep. Please let him go, it’s best for everyone, let him go, we’ll find another way to make him pay.”
Malcolm froze, one massive talon pushing down on Chet’s chest, his sharp beak clamped around his throat, then slowly lifted his head and looked over at her. “That’s right, let him go,” she said. “You don’t want to kill him.”
CHAPTER 23
***MALCOLM***
Malcolm slowly became aware of Rose’s voice over the noise in his head, the red fog blinding his vision began to recede, and he looked down to find himself about to kill Chet. Using the sound of her talking to him, he fought to rein in the dragon, shutting down his magic bit by bit until he finally felt it slipping away, and he was free. Putting his hands on his knees, he bent over, trying to catch his breath as the rage slowly died away and his mind began to function again.
Rose was in his arms only moments later, covering his face with kisses. “You’re back, I thought I was going to lose you,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “I knew you wouldn’t want to kill him even though he deserves it.”
“I’m okay, I just need a second more,” he said, sucking in a few more deep breaths. “Then we’ll have to do something with him. We heal fast; that won’t stop him for long.”
She looked over to see Chet rolling around on the ground in his human form and yelling about the pain, but beyond him, she saw three riders heading for them. “I think we’ve got help coming,” she said, pointing them out. “He isn’t our problem anymore.”
“I would have killed him,” Malcolm said, shaking his head. “I’ve never felt that way before. He was trying to get to you, and I just lost it.”
“But you didn’t,” she said, looking up at him. “You stopped yourself in time.”
“Thanks to you,” he said, crushing her to him. “You got through to the dragon, you got him to back down. He wasn’t even listening to me.”
She smiled up at him. “He and I understand each other,” she said, then stretched up on her toes and kissed him.
“I love you, Rose,” he said. “I love you more than anything in the world, and that’s never going to change.”
“I love you too, Malcolm, you and that dragon of yours,” she said, smiling up at him. “Now let’s go home, we have a life to plan.”
“No, way, I’m not making any plans again,” he said, shaking his head. “Something always goes wrong. Let’s just take it one day at a time and see what happens.”
She laughed, “That’s a deal. Besides, as long as we’re together, we can handle anything that comes our way.”
EPILOGUE
Walker strolled into the gym already stripping off his sweats, ready for a good run to clear his head, but he’d barely begun his workout when he became aware that he was being observed. Looking around the nearly deserted building, he found the source of the feeling. Two girls sat at the very top of the bleachers, whispering to each other and watching him. He should have been used to women throwing themselves at him because it happened all the time, but he’d had a bad week, and it felt good to know at least one thing hadn’t changed.
Then disaster struck, his feet got tangled together, tripping him, and the next few seconds were filled with a humiliating dance as he tried to stay upright. Gravity won in the end, and he found himself sprawled on the track in an undignified mess, the sound of the two girls laughing filling the entire gym. He lay there for a second, wishing he were anywhere but there, then rolled onto his back and sat up, hoping that not everyone had seen his little tumbling act.
To his great chagrin, everyone was staring at him, smirks on their faces. Thinking he’d play it up to hide his embarrassment, he jumped to his feet. Pain instantly shot through his ankle andhe was suddenly sitting on his butt again, too shocked this time to notice the people around him.
“Are you okay?” a woman asked, rushing over to him. “Did you hurt your ankle?”
He looked up to find a pretty redhead kneeling next to him, her hand hovering over his ankle, and before he could say a word, a deep sense of recognition filled him. “Do I know you?” he asked, studying her. “I’m sure we’ve met before.”
She looked over at him, then back down at his ankle. “Can you stand up?” she asked, ignoring his question. “I’m in the physical therapy program. If that ankle is sprained, we should start treating it right away.”
