Page 61 of Act of Passion

Malik tensed. “Honestly, I hate myself for it. The reason I didn’t say anything at first after Brooke told me I was a father was because I was processing it all, hating myself for how I’d spoken to Brooke, and for not being there for her or my daughter. And I was trying to find the right words to say to her. My brainblanked.”

“Aye. But the lass dinnae see it that way,” added Striker, folding his hands on his lap and continuing to lounge against the wall. “In her eyes, you used her to get yer rocks off, threw her out of yer life, left her pregnant with yer babe, and left her alone to raiseBethany.”

“I know.” Malik sighed. “You know how long I’ve been searching for her. Hell, you’ve helped me the entireway.”

“Aye,” said Striker. “She was nae there to see the look of horror on yer face in that hotel room when you finally were able to cage yer beast. She dinnae see you have to be tranqed by Boomer in the front entrance to the resort, when you’d learned she and Edee had been taken against their wills. She was nae there to witness you refusing to eat, to even shower and shave, when we first got back to the States, because yer only focus was finding her. And she could nae read yer mind when you learned you were afather.”

“Want to tell me how you became such a fountain of wisdom when it comes to relationships, women, and handling children?” asked Malikhalfheartedly.

Striker peeked out of one eye at him. “Och, Tut, I’m nae an expert at women. They confuse me too. But I’ve spent centuries fucking up when it comes to them. So I am an expert at how to fuck it up. I just took that expertise and reversedit.”

With a snort, Malik sat up and stretched. “The guys and I tend to forget that under all the bravado, all the joking, and all the focus on hot chicks, you’re just like the rest of us. You want something more but admitting it goes against your manly code. Makes you feelvulnerable.”

“Speaking from experience there,Tut?”

Malik stretched his legs out. “Yes. I spent my life bedding endless women. Without them, my lion would have been too on edge, too volatile. My father was the one who told me when I was in my teens that I needed to spend time in the harem room at least several times a week or risk losing myself to mybeast.”

“Malik,” said Striker slightly. “I know you do nae like the man who fathered you. I’ve been yer friend long enough to pick up on that fact. And I do nae think you were particularly fond of yer mothereither.”

“No,” replied Malik with a snort before he stiffened. “I turned into my father. He used to bed everything he could. He was, uh, different from most shifters. Even though he mated my mother, he wasn’t bound by the same rules of mating as the rest of us are. He would fuck random women all through our home, in the bath while my mother was there, having to watch him do it. It was as if he wanted to punish her for being his mate. Punish her for not being Egyptian and for the fact his sons weren’t fully Egyptian theneither.”

Strikergrunted.

“I don’t think he ever saw her as a worthy mate. Like he wanted her to pay for him being stuck with her if he wanted sons,” Malik said, his chest tightening. “I know he forced them on her. And I know she resented my brothers and me because of her hatred for myfather.”

Striker touched his shoulder. “Tut, no offense but yer father sounds like he was a bag of dicks, and yer mother does nae sound like a winner either. While you may have been like yer father to a point with all the women over the years, yer nae him. When Brooke told me you asked her to marry you and live with you, I knew you’d fallen for her. We all thought she was just a human. Not one of us smelled supernatural on her. I smell it now. But then, there wasnothing.”

Malik closed his eyes. “I should have sensed she was more. When I was with her, buried deep, fighting my beast, I swore I felt Fae power around us. It vanished almost instantly. How did I not see it for what it was?Brooke.”

“Because yer a cat-shifter and yer slow and dim-witted,” said Striker evenly. “You cannae be faulted for yer deficiencies. Look at it this way: in the end, you got a super-sexy wife, and a daughter who isprecious.”

Malik nodded. “Bethany is so beautiful, smart, andfunny.”

“Thankfully, she looks like her mother but with yer hair and eyes. Yer an ugly sod,” Striker said, keeping his head back. “I wouldnae want you as a father, but I’m nae a four-year-old little girl. She may verra well think yer great. Plus, in case yer a dick, she’ll have me, UncleStriker.”

Malik laughed softly. “Thanks. I think. Want to tell me how it is you’re so good with kids and why I never noticed itbefore?”

His friend jerked slightly, as if the question pained him. “Aye, I’m so guid with them because I’m a giant child. I can relate tothem.”

Malik highly doubted that was the actualreason.

“I know you’ve been fighting the urge to go into that room and hold yer daughter,” said the wolf-shifter.

“All I want to do is pack her and Brooke up and take them home with me. I want to give them everything they’ve ever wanted, and I want to be the father I should have been all these years. But how do I tell Bethany who I am to her? It’s one thing for her cat to recognize me, but she wasn’t awake when she did that. How do I look at her and explain that I wasn’t there for her or her mommy when they needed me most? How do I explain missing the first four years of her life? And how do I make Brooke see how much I love her? How much I want to be with her forever? And how sorry Iam?”

Striker shrugged. “Tell Brooke that you love her and let her sort out her feelings for you on her own. And you could just look at Bethany and say,lass,I’m yer father, and be done with it. Seems simple enough to me. You cat-shifters complicateeverything.”

A tiny gasp came from the other side of the door to the bedroom Edee and Bethany were in. Bethany opened the door enough to peek out with one eye. She stared at Malik like she wasn’t sure she believed what she’d justheard.

Striker sat up fast. “Shite.”

Bethany’s eyes widened more. “That’s a badword.”

Malik stood and swallowed hard. “Princess, what are you doingup?”

“I had a bad dream.” She opened the door more, narrowing her gaze on Malik. She walked out of the room and moved close to Striker, watching Malik closely. Bethany climbed onto Striker’s lap and touched his wild beard. “Give it to me straight, Uncle Striker. Is that guy mydad?”

Striker looked at Malik, and Bethany pushed his other cheek, making him focus on her. “You tell me straight or I’m waking up Aunt Edee, who told me she always wants to kick you in the shins when she seesyou.”

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