Page 30 of Alpha Bully

“His name is Malik,” Harper says. I lift her away slightly so I can see her face.

“That man’s called Malik?” I repeat.

She nods, tears falling down her face. “He said I was going to die,” she sobs.

My heart clenches and then turns stone cold. I pull her against me as I take in the other’s equally stony expressions. “He was lying, you’re safe. Daddy’s got you. He’s the one dying.”

Rushing Harper back to the truck and heading toward Ava, only one thought dominates my mind. I will do anything to keep my family safe. And that is what Ava and Harper are, my family. Now I’ve just got to make sure Ava sees us that way, too.

Chapter 19 - Ava

“Mama,” Harper cries as she comes tearing through the door. The nurse had already explained that Callum and the others had her and were on their way to the clinic, but I knew I wouldn’t really believe it until she was in my arms.

Harper leaps onto the bed and buries her head in my arms. A sob escapes me as I ignore the burning pain from my healing injuries to pull her closer. Then, after a moment, I lift her slightly away so I can check her over for any injuries, my eyes darting to Callum for reassurance.

He stands at the door, looking a mixture of relieved and full of rage, his shoulders almost sagging as he takes in our reunion. “She’s okay,” he assures me, “The doctor is going to come in and check her over here, but she seems alright. Her gift seems unaffected.”

“Unaffected by what?” I ask, and then listen in horror to what happened. A sob breaks free as Callum details what they saw during the rescue and the monster that had been holding Harper. I pull her closer, and Callum walks to the bedside, crouching down beside us and pulling us both into his arms. I breathe in his masculine, steadying scent. My wolf, who hasn’t calmed down since they woke me from the sedation, calms for the first time as Harper, Callum, and I embrace in silence, and I realize that it’s not possible to feel more whole as a family than I do right now.

Eventually, Harper begins to squirm, restless from being held so tightly, so Callum steps back, and she snuggles against me in the bed. “So, it wasn’t the Collinses?” I ask, deeply confused.

Callum shakes his head. “Byron stayed on with the others to interrogate the surviving rogues,” he replies, and I wince as Harper settles against my healing wound. Callum looks concerned, but I urge him to continue. “Apparently, the Collins were mouthing off about the trouble Harper caused with her gift, and it caught the attention of some kind of shapeshifter, Malik. He was already on the island. We knew the rogues were suddenly more organized. We just didn’t know why.”

“Malik?” I ask.

Callum nods. “We don’t have the full picture yet, but it seems he steals magic, growing his own powers. He arrived and immediately took out some of the witches that live near Tristen’s pack, but no one noticed because they were rogues.”

“By took out, you mean killed?” I ask, holding Harper tight.

“When the magic is removed, the person dies,” Callum confirms, his face stony. He reaches out and takes my hand. “She’s okay, though. We got there in time.”

“She’s just a little girl,” I say, tears falling down my face as I try to stay calm for Harper’s sake. Then, whispering over her head, I ask, “Is he coming back?”

“I’m not going to let that happen,” Callum replies, still holding my hand. “Tristen’s pack has a coven who has agreed to provide protection; a witch is arriving tomorrow. He’s also bringing in what’s left of the rogue witches to keep them safe.”

“But if the witches were attacked themselves, how can they help protect Harper?” I ask, my mind racing with a thousand questions.

“The rogue witches came up with some kind of talisman; that’s how the rest survived. We’ll know more tomorrow,” he says, and I see the weight of all these revelations coming down on him. “We’ve never seen anything like Malik before. The rogues that survived seem like true followers. Disciples, almost.”

I look down at Harper, her soft golden curls hiding her face. She seems to have fallen asleep; no surprise when I consider all she’s been through. “The Collinses never mentioned anything about Malik or magic. They just seemed annoyed or scared by Haper’s gift.”

“I don’t think they’re central to the rogue uprising,” Callum shrugs. “The ones Byron has interrogated didn’t have any information on them. If Malik had known about Harper before you fled, he’d have just taken her from there. Word must have gotten out after her fire caused the damage at their property.”

The blood in my veins turns to ice at the thought. If I’d stayed at the Collinses’ after Harper caused the fire, Malik might have attacked there, and no one could have saved Harper.

Callum seems to sense what I’m thinking and squeezes my hand. “No one is ever going to hurt her, hurt either of you ever again, I swear.” He glances down at our interwoven hands and takes a deep breath, “Ava, I—”

He’s interrupted by the doctor, who knocks and cautiously enters. “Can I check Harper now?” she asks, as Callum stands. “I can come back.”

“No, it’s important. Let’s get her checked over,” Callum says, turning to me. “We can talk later.”

Harper stirs as I gently wake her for the doctor to begin her checks. At first, she seems disoriented, and it breaks my heart as she recoils from the doctor’s touch. “Shush, it’s okay,” I soothe her as she clings to me, and sparks begin to fly from her fingers as her distress builds.

Suddenly, she looks toward Callum, and he instinctively reaches for her. “How about I hold you the whole time,” he says, and she nods. I watch as she calms in his arms as the doctor carefully listens to her heart and checks her for injuries; luckily, these appear to be mainly just scrapes and bruises that are already healing.

“And we can see her gift is still intact,” the doctor muses as tiny sparks continue to flicker. Turning to Callum, she says, “Have the witch stop by the clinic too, if she will, to update us.”

He nods, thanking her before she finishes checking Harper, and turns to me. “If those wounds are healed enough, we should be able to get you home tonight, too. As long as you promise no more heroics.”

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