Page 78 of Act of Passion

Brooke teared up. “Will he be okay? Will he healfully?”

“With time, yes,” said Auberi. “For now, he rests. Though, I’m sure he will like hearing your voice. I, like some others, believe he can indeed hear you if you were to talk tohim.”

She looked towards Bethany’s sleeping frame. “I want to see him, but I’m terrified to take my eyes off her. I’m afraid The Corporation will come for heragain.”

Auberi chuckled. “They would never dream of setting foot upon this property. For one, it has state-of-the-art security. For two, the alpha within is thousands of years old. He can and will kill them with ease. They know asmuch.”

Brooke’s jaw dropped. “He’s howold?”

Malik groaned. “Uh, aboutthat.”

She stared at him and then sucked in a big breath. “Tut is right. Great, my husband is basically a reanimatedmummy.”

Auberi laughed and then went to Malik, drawing him into a hug. “Congratulations, old friend. May your union be blessed with many more children and a life of love. Now, take her to PSI so she can see her ex-boy toy. Try not to eat anyone while she’s doingit.”

Malik shoved him lightly. “You’ll stay to watch over thegirls?”

“Of course, until this Elm is dealt with, we’ll keep extra security on your home and your loved ones.” Auberi turned to Brooke and shocked her by hugging her tight. He put his lips to her ear. “He has never given his heart to another. Take care of it. And please don’t make us cancel pokernights.”

She laughed and squeezed him gently. “I’ll take care of it, and I’d never dream of canceling poker night. But you should know, tea parties are apparently a thing here and no one is spared. If you’re invited in, don’t eat the cookies and do your ownmakeup.”

He stiffened. “Noted.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Malik stood justoutside Gram’s hospital room. PSI had a medical facility that was lightyears ahead of what was available to humans. Often, medications and new medical techniques were developed within the walls of PSI and refined for use onhumans.

There was a large glass wall between Brooke and Malik. She was in the room, sitting by Gram’s bedside, her hand on his. The sight didn’t set Malik’s lion off. It saddened him to know Brooke hurt and that a man who’d protected his family was injured andsuffering.

Brooke’s cheeks were stained with tears as she stood and leaned over Gram, kissing one of the few spots on him that wasn’t being treated for burns. Areas that should have already healed, but hadn’t. “I’m so sorry,” shesaid.

Malik’s hearing could easily pick up on her words even though she was talking in a lowvoice.

“Thank you for what you did for Bethany. I will never be able to thank you enough. And I’ll never be able to explain how much you mean to me,” she said, crying softly. “I never understood what you meant when you said that we loved one another as much as nature would allow. I get it now, Gram. I get you fully understand how mating works. A part of me wishes I could have loved you the way you deserve to beloved.”

Her words cut Malik to thequick.

He lookeddownwards.

“And another piece of me feels so incredible guilty for feeling that way,” she confessed. “I couldn’t understand what was missing all these years. You were so good to me, to my daughter, to my best friend. You tried so hard to get me to let you take care of us for good. I know helping us put you at risk at work. And I know that without you, I’d be dead and my daughter would be in the hands ofmadmen. “

Malik continued to look down, his body tense withemotion.

“Words will never be enough for me to express what that has meant to me, Gram,” she said, sounding as if she was crying harder. “Please be okay. Please fight to get better. Edee mentioned bad blood between you and Malik. I don’t know what the bad blood is, and I don’t care. All that matters to me is that one of my best friends in the world and my husband getalong.”

Malik looked up to find her standing next to Gram’s bedside, touching him lightly, crying. He wanted to go to her and pull her into his arms, but he knew she needed this time withGram.

“And Gram, I need to hear that you forgive me for doing what felt right, what felt natural. That you forgive me for lovingMalik.”

Malik swayed at the sound of her admitting she lovedhim.

Someone cleared their throat behind him and he turned to find Jamesthere.

James nodded towards the glass wall. “Hard pill toswallow?”

“How can I be upset with her for caring about him when he was there for her when I wasn’t?” Malik asked. “He should be fully healed bynow.”

James reached into his pocket and withdrew a syringe that was partially melted. He handed it to Malik to inspect. “This was found on the scene. I analyzed it and I think it’s something Donovan Dynamics cooked up to suppress a supernatural’s gifts. Gram is testing positive for it in his system. I don’t know how long it will last, but I think it’s stopping Gram from healing as we would. We’re doing our best to quickly reverse engineerit.”

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