Page 64

And yet, with every passing second, Malik remained.

He stalked forward. Lean muscles rippled beneath a grey and red-tinged coat. He’d lost weight but still towered over every other wolf in the clearing. His eye flared wild, his jowls curled back over impossibly long, sharp teeth.

I saw no trace of the man within the beast.

“M-Malik?” I whispered, my lips trembling and stumbling over his name.

No answer.

I turned inward, seeking him out within our mate bond, butI only met an indiscernible cacophony of agony and pain and betrayal. It pierced through me with renewed vigor, growing more and more crippling with every prowled step closer.

But Ifelthim. He wasalive.And that meant everything.

I scrambled to my feet, dirt clinging to my hands and dress. I needed to get to him. Needed to confirm that this was real—that he was here and alive andmine.Needed to introduce him to his daughter.

My first steps forward were shaky, my knees wobbling and body numb from shock.

“Malik!” I screamed above the clamor around me, shoving past a broad-shouldered guard.

I hadn’t noticed the uproar in the crowd. SeveralIntonat Nocteguards crowded around Roman and, consequently, me, but an air of unease hung over the clearing. In fact, most of the pack took slow, careful stepsawayfrom their alpha. Away from the center of the clearing. Away fromMalik.

“No…” Roman whispered from somewhere behind me. Disbelief coated every word. “No, it isn’t possible.”

Malik!I cried into our bond, pushing anotherIntonat Noctewolf out of my way.Malik, I’m here. Please!

My mate’s massive head swung in my direction, his nostrils flaring. For the fraction of a second, the fury coursing through our bond—pouring from his body into my own—fractured to allow a brush of devotion to caress me. That brief reprieve filled my lungs with renewed hope, and I started to run forward.

I didn’t make it far.

A pair of hands clamped down on my shoulders—hard—yanking my body back to the center of the clearing and the protective circle theIntonat Nocteguards had formed around Roman.

“No!” I seethed, fighting against the strong arms corralling me. “Let me go to him.Now.”

The guards paid me no mind, their attention solely focused on Malik’s approaching figure.

For the first time, I realized that the wolves from Alpha Amir’s pack nowflankedMalik. They filled the space behind him, nipping at any enemy that dared step too close to him. Even Alpha Amir watched Malik approach with something like smug satisfaction glimmering in his dark eyes.

“There is onlyonealpha” Amir croaked, a smirk playing on his thin lips as he turned his gaze back to Roman. “That my pack means to swear fealty to. And it is notyou.”

“What thefuckis happening?” Roman trembled with barely suppressed rage. “Kill him!Kill them all!”

He pointed at Malik, who was close enough now that I noted several gruesome scars stretching across his wolf’s flanks and chest. Patches of fur were missing where the skin turned into a mangled miss.

And, despite Roman’s shouted orders, theIntonat Noctewarriors hesitated. Their general had seemingly returned from the dead, and vengeance rolled off him in oppressive waves. Sheer self-preservation kept Roman’s own warriors from moving.

Roman’s head swiveled, his eyes widening in fear. I saw the moment he realized that his warriors hadn’t moved. Some even slinked away, their bellies lowered to the ground in a show of subservience to Malik.

Pride flared in my chest, and I grappled with the guard that held me. This time, he released me, and a smile split my face.

Malik, I’m coming. I love you and?—

The cold touch of metal through the fabric of my dress caused my words to falter. I recognized the bite of steel, pressing dangerously against the swell of my stomach. Right above where I’d felt my daughter move just moments ago.A knife.

I froze.

“Take one more step, brother, and I’ll spill her guts where we stand,” Roman seethed, his breath hot and wet against my ear. “I’ll cut your pup out and hand-deliver it to you.”

He pressed the knife harder against the lower portion of my belly, where the curve of my swollen stomach met my hip, and I cried out at the pinch of the blade against my skin. It sliced through my dress, digging relentlessly into skin. Just the flick of his wrist would cut me open.