Actually, I chuck myself at his chest, burying my face in his bare skin as my eyes pop open. His palm slides across my cheek and into my hair as I move, and my instincts hum in approval at the way his fingers cradle my skull.
“I’m sorry. I swear I’m not usually such a wimp.” My nose dances around his skin, searching for where his scent is strongest. “You smell like safety, and I’m really frazzled.”
“Don’t apologize. You’ve been through a lot,” he murmurs, leaning down to nuzzle his cheek to the top of my head. “I just need you to point me at whatever you’re running?—”
“Ah, there the two of you are,” Patrick says, appearing on the stairs at the end of the hall. He hasn’t even hit the second-floorlanding, but his head tilts, making his thick blond waves fall over his forehead. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“You didn’t,” I say quickly, trying to take a step back.
“Yeah, well, ya did,” Malachy growls, pulling me closer with his hand on my hip and the other in my hair.
“You didn’t reply to my texts. I’ve spent all morning bouncing between calls from Wilder and Emory Moretti,” Patrick says calmly.
“Why thefuckis Moretti calling you?” Malachy snaps. It’s so loud that I jump, and he frowns, tilting his face down to mine. “I didn’t mean to frighten ya.”
“It’s okay.” I pat his hairy chest, but my instincts aren’t worried about me.
All I can focus on is how to soothe the angry alpha.
Omegas are coded to calm alphas. It’s hard to explain, but it’s almost like an itch I can’t scratch when I can sense someone is upset or angry. My system won’t let me relax until I find a way to soothe them.
“I’d love to tell you why I’ve had the pleasure of talking to Moretti, not once but twice this morning. Why don’t the two of you meet me in my office? I’m going to grab Cormac.” Patrick smiles, sliding his hands on the banister and leaning toward the top of the stairs. “You can take a few minutes and get back to whatever the two of you were up to before I interrupted.” He winks and spins around.
“I have to watch Lucky. I won’t be able to sit in on whatever meeting you’re having,” I call after him.
Why would they even want me there to begin with?
“Good luck prying him away from Mimi,” Patrick says with a snort as he disappears from sight. “This involves you, but if you’d like us to discuss it without you… I’m used to making calls for my family, I can do the same for you.”
Chapter Fifteen
Malachy
Charlotte’s huge bluish-green eyes meet mine as her fingers dig into my sides. “What does that mean?”
I shrug. “There’s no telling with Pat, but he’s not sneaky—at least, not when it comes to us. He’ll tell us.”
Her teeth dig into her lower lip.
Tension rolls off her in waves that give me flashbacks of how scared she was last night.
Shit.
Her scent is bitter, betraying her anxiety, and my instincts scream at me to demolish the problem.
“Come on, up with ya.” Moving my forearm from around her lower back, I slide it under her ass and lift. She’s light enough that it’s no problem to pick her up with one arm, but she helps by scrambling up my chest and looping her arm around my neck.
There are dark circles under her eyes, and her nose and cheeks are red, betraying that she’s been crying.
She’s still beautiful in a way that’s hard to explain.
More than that, I like that she needs me.
No one does anymore.
Not since the decay took over.
Hell, I’m such a detriment since going rabid that I can’t even rule my family. I was trained to lead, but I don’t trust my own mind anymore.
