“And we’re glad you’re here,” Kelsey said, “and we’ll help however we can, and Malachi will protect you.”
While the others spoke, April could look only at him. At Kelsey’s words, he nodded; and April wanted to believe him. But she had believed Nik, and she had believed Drew, and she had to stop being the woman who believed.
Six
AfterTrevorandKelseytook their leave, Malachi sent a text to the best wolf for the job he needed done.
Malachi:Meet me at the road if you can. Need help with something.
Then he forced in the pesky contact lenses that hid his amber eyes behind a shield of blue. The things weren’t quite painful, and by now he was an expert at application, hadn’t poked himself in the eye for at least ten years. But they dried his eyes badly, and occasionally one of them stuck when he blinked. Removing them always brought a long, rumbling sigh of relief.
Rhett’s reply pinged his phone seconds before he finished with the second contact lens.
Rhett:Five min.
Malachi found his mate in the library, gazing lovingly at book spines. It was…endearing. His mouth pulled, trying to smile, as warmth for her filled his chest. Quietly he said, “April.”
She didn’t startle at his voice; that was something. But she stiffened. “I hope it’s okay that I’m in here.”
“I did offer you access to the books.”
“You did.” The tension seeped from her shoulders, and she lifted her head to meet his gaze, then gasped. “Your eyes!”
“Contacts,” he said. “I have an errand in town. When I interact with humans outside the pack, I have to conceal my eye color.”
A furrow formed between her eyes. “But why bother, if they know there’s a wolf pack living out here?”
This was a long topic to tackle, and his eyes were already drying. But April was asking. He stepped into the room and sat on the storage ottoman in one corner, which Trevor had fashioned higher than most to accommodate him. He rested his arms on his knees.
“Knowing a wolf pack lives outside your town isn’t the same as facing a top-class apex in the hardware store. I’m not like other wolves, April. For many humans, my shield isn’t enough to allow them to interact with me. The contacts do seem to reinforce the shield; with them I can at least deal with my own errands in town. But even then, my presence unsettles humans on a subconscious level.”
The calm in her scent wavered, and she dropped her gaze. He gave her a minute to say whatever was in her mind, but she didn’t.
Outside, Rhett approached, his distinct scent a blend of gamey wolf and hot metal. Right now he also smelled of confusion as he halted at the base of the driveway. But he could wait another minute.
“If you want to say something, please go ahead,” Malachi said.
She studied his face a moment before speaking. “Drew and his underlings didn’t interact with humans either, unless they had to, and if they did…they made it ugly.”
“Many wolves here hold jobs in town and interact with humans routinely. Many members of my pack are human women or young children. We’re a community, not a gang.”
“That does sound different. And Trevor and Kelsey seem…kind.”
“Their kindness is very real.”
Her scent became oddly stifled in a way he couldn’t remember smelling before, ever. Almost as though she had just tried to stifle her very self. She turned away from him and grazed the fingers of one hand along a row of books. “You have so many. It’s a real library.”
“Please choose any you like. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”
Relief lifted her scent. She would feel easier, calmer, when he was out of the house. His wolf heart stung at that, but he couldn’t expect otherwise.
“Wait,” she said when he turned to go. Sudden fear punctured her sweet citrus essence. “I’ll be here alone if he comes for me.”
“My neighbor to the east is a wolf called Rhett. He’ll keep an eye on my place until I’m back.”
“Will he notice if—if they sneak in? What if he doesn’t hear them or smell them?”
“Rhett smells everything.”
