Page 63 of Malcolm

Eliza wanted to weep at how unfair life could be, but she’d cried so much already. She’d lost the ability to do it now. She couldn’t tell him what would happen to her. Something told her he’d be the type to lose himself in trying to fix her.

“Malcolm, I?—”

“You don’t have to answer me now.”

Malcolm said, “I know this isn’t the best time, but I don't want to continue pretending. I want you. Tell the truth, lass, do you truly not want me?”

She stared at him, knowing she couldn’t lie about how she felt. “You know how I feel about you.”

“That isn’t an answer, love,” he said, drawing closer to her. “Say the words.”

She closed her eyes, releasing a shuddering breath. “It doesn’t matter how I feel.”

“It matters. It’s the only thing that matters,” he said, cupping her cheek. “I don’t care about anything else; just tell me what you feel for me.”

Warning sirens went off in her head, but she buried them.

“I love you,” she said and drew back. “But that doesn’t change anything.”

She turned and walked away, stopping long enough to say, “I’ll be asking Robert for my own cabin.”

With that, she left him in the clearing.

Enemy Within

Lordship

“Beliel has taken over the Dougal Pack.”

Lordship looked up from the large tomb on his desk. “He has,” he leaned back and glanced at the calendar on his wall. The current date numbers were slowly fading as the present date number slowly appeared. The calendar was rare from the Jordan Alley in Israel. “That was quick, has he followed up on Dr. Phens interests, Svin?”

The warlock, who sat on the windowsill, gave a short nod. He fingered the scar on his cheek: “Phen has been antsy. He says hecould only track her to the Veil between the human and wolfen lands. He had hoped that Beliel would have already retrieved her, but it would seem that the wolf has his own interest.”

His lordship returned his attention to his book: “His interest aligns with ours. How about the stones? Has the last batch been delivered?”

“Yes.” He hopped off the windowsill and walked slowly over to the desk. “Kirkle managed to send a few more bodies even under the new leadership, though he asked if we could assist him in gaining revenge against the new Alpha.”

“Who is the new Alpha?” Lordship asked, sounding bored. Over the many lifetimes he’d lived, he’d long grown weary of political intrigue. “Wasn’t the new laird supposed to be Kirkle’s son.”

“It appears the nephew of the current Alpha returned. The one who killed Damon, his name is Malcolm.”

Lordship's eyes narrowed, his lips tightening at the corners. “Another one of that damn foxes Jackals.”

“It would seem so; from what intel I could get, they sent him to investigate the sudden disappearance of the last batch of youths we took,” Svin explained.

“When did it become the business of the Councils, whether dogs disappeared or not,” Lordship angrily demanded, slapping his hand on the desk; the entire thing shook before it lit on fire. After some time, it collapsed into ash at his feet. The flame faded out on its own, leaving only smoke. The Lordship's eyes glowed.

Svin didn’t flinch at the power flow; he’d followed this man because of it. “It matters, I suppose when the packs which are involved are the greatest supplier of Magic stones to Veil City.”

“Indeed,” his Lordship said, rising, “and what of the Unseelie? Those bastards have yet to report to me about the key.”

Svin glanced at the door, his ears twitching at the sound of someone coming. “They have been searching and have checked in to say they are also on the Wolfen lands.

His lordship's eyebrow quirked. “How interesting; I wonder what they’ve found to draw them to such a desolate place.”

The door opened. “Councilman, there has been a request from the chief of police that we send them a warrant to search a few of the kelpies lodging on the river.”

His Lordship gave a short nod, barely looking at the corner that was completely shrouded in shadow. “I’ll be right there.” The door shut.

---