Page 57 of Freed Wolfsbane

“Many of the things I’ve done in the name of protecting my family and the pack keep me up at night and have stained my soul, but I can’t say I regret them. I did what was necessary, even if it wasn’t easy.” He cuts off and stares into space for a long moment, like he’s reliving all the things he’s had to do. “And I will always do what’s necessary to protect you and keep you happy, baby girl.”

“I know,” I whisper, because I do. I know he’ll do anything for me, even if I’m not always happy about his methods. “I’m here if you ever wanna talk about any of it, Malachi. I’m not squeamish about blood, injuries, or torture.” Maybe I was bothered by all that stuff at one point, but seven years of having to stitch myself up, seeing my own bones, and healing gruesome injuries took care of that.

His mouth twitches up at the corners, and he presses a sweet kiss to my forehead. “I might take you up on that. Not the torture part, because I have my dad to talk to about that, but I could use another opinion on some of the pack decisions I have to make. Now, back to you. What are you terrified of?”

“Letting everyone down. I don’t know if I’m enough, Malachi,” I admit in a whisper.

It feels like no matter what I do, I’m disappointing someone. And I’m tired of it. Just once I want to get things right, but nothing about the prophecy, fighting the Knights, or navigating four relationships comes with instructional manuals. Unfortunately.

“You, baby girl, are so much more than enough, just as you are. You’re enough for me and the rest of your mates, for your sister, for Mom and Dad, Rory and Ronan, and all the people that were rescued because of you. You won’t be letting anyone down if you can’t destroy the curse, but I know in my bones you are more than capable of it.”

“But I piss you off and drive you insane and make you worry and never listen to you,” I point out. “How can I be enough for you?”

“Yeah, you do. And you wouldn’t be you without all of that, so I love all those parts of you. Even when I have the urge to shake some sense into you, you’re still enough for me. In fact, you’re perfect for me.” Malachi’s lips quirk up in a half smile. When he sees the skepticism on my face, he sighs. “Do I ever piss you off and irritate you and make you wanna scream?”

I snort. “Yeah. You ordering me around can get old pretty fast.”

“But do you still love and want me even with those parts of me that frustrate you?”

“Of course, Malachi. You wouldn’t be the man I fell in love with if you weren’t insufferably bossy sometimes.” He raises an eyebrow, and realization dawns on me. I love him exactly as he is, and I don’t want him to change, even when he annoys me. I guess the feeling goes both ways. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” A full-blown grin lights up his face, and it steals my breath. I so rarely get to see him this unguarded with pure joy radiating from my most serious mate. It makes my heart skip a beat, and I smile in return, feeling a little lighter than I did before.

I nervously play with the close-cropped hair at the base of his neck and look away. “You really think I have what it takes to stop the Knights?”

Gently grasping my chin, he lifts my face up so he can look at my face. “I do. I know it in every fiber of my being. You just need to believe in yourself as much as everyone around you does. And you have to work with us, instead of impulsively handling it yourself. No one can handle everything on their own. That’s just setting yourself up for failure.”

I nod and rest my head on his shoulder again as I mull over his words.

He’s right. There’s no way I can defeat the Knights and stop the curse on my own. The Knights have a ton of resources, so I highly doubt I’ll be able to break into Dido’s tomb without help. Plus, there are parts of the search, like translating the documents and interpreting clues, I can’t do without my mates.

The prophecy only mentions me, but it never says I have to do everything alone. I got so used to doing everything on my own after my mom died. Even though I have people who want to help now, my knee-jerk reaction is still to make snap decisions and tackle everything myself. While I’ve gotten lucky so far, I know Lone Rangering it won’t be enough to break the curse.

The only way I stand a chance of defeating the Knights is by working as a team with my mates, Uncle Vale and his pack, and even the mages. It’s going to take all of us to have a hope of stopping Ryker and his minions.

CHAPTER28

BRIAR

“So the map leads to Carthage?” I ask as I peer over Saint’s shoulder at the paper I still can’t read. The giant circled “Carthage” written on top of his notes is a pretty big clue as to what it says, though.

Saint is working on translating the map because Malachi has some alpha stuff to take care of. While he’s in training to take over the pack, he has to help Vale with pack responsibilities from time to time. He hasn’t had much opportunity to focus on pack stuff because he was spending so much time trying to find me. After our conversation yesterday, I can’t help but wonder what all he has to do today.

Since the translation is relatively simple, Saint was confident he could handle it himself. He already figured out that the map was created sometime in the late nineteenth century.

Xander, Bastian, and I have been hanging out in the study with Saint. They’re providing moral support because Elemental is also taking a day off from the hunt for Ryker. Although, I’m pretty sure if we find Dido’s tomb, we’ll find my least favorite Knight.

Saint finishes scribbling something on one of his pages of notes before nodding. “It appears so.”

I narrow my eyes at the map because I could’ve sworn Carthage isn’t a modern-day city. “Does Carthage even exist anymore?”

Bastian hops up on the table next to me and swings his legs cheerily. “The city? Nope, but the ruins of it are in the city of Tunis, which is the capital of Tunisia.”

Fantastic.

The map is to a city that doesn’t exist anymore. I honestly don’t know why I expected anything else. Everything about this freaking prophecy is convoluted, confusing, and almost impossible.

“When exactly was it destroyed?” I ask, not sure I really want to know.

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