Page 6 of Malachi
By all reasoning, it looked as though the Elders had somehow turned him. Levi was gone, as far as I could see, and in his place stood Leviticus, son of Titus, in all his obedient, ominous glory. I had no idea what to do about it, especially now that I was stuck in this house with this person, more girl than woman, for the next few weeks. There was nothing I could do except trust my brothers to take care of things. That was how they had put it. They would take care of things in Zion, while I was left to take care of things at home. By that, of course, they meant to take care of my wife. Eden.
The woman had me baffled.
They know I know.
The more I looked at those simple words, the more confused I became. It was there, right at the tip of my consciousness, to believe that this was all an act; that somehow Levi had been exposed to such atrocities and threats by the Elders of Zion he had donned on this new persona to appease them. That would make sense. But he had pushed us all off, refusing to meet us for dinners or even answer our calls. There had been almost no word from him, nothing to tell us that he was still in on the plan at hand.
His job had been to gather the proof we needed to take them all down, but he had returned home, a shell of his former self, and none of us had the answers as to why. It was disconcerting. It was baffling.
I took a slow sip of my whiskey, hoping it would soothe the frayed and frazzled nerves. The sound of creaking floorboards made me freeze mid-motion, wondering what my new bride was up to. I shoved off the worry, assuring myself that she was likely just in search of the bathroom. I wasn’t used to having other people in my house. I took another slow sip of my drink, reading over Levi’s text for the millionth time as I tried to decipher what the hell he was up to. Perhaps I should just call him.
As I was about to hit the button on his contact, the sound of a door being shut made alarm bells go off in my brain. That wasn’t just a door shutting. That was the back door. I quickly set my glass of whiskey on the mantle, heading off towards the back door, wondering what the hell was going on. Maybe it was Zeke. It wouldn’t have been the first time he showed up without so much as a text or a call of forewarning.
“Zeke?” I called out as I made my way through the kitchen. The back door was situated past the kitchen, through a small mudroom I had put in when I built the place. Half the time I came home a muddied mess from working out on my property. The mudroom helped me keep the rest of the place clean.
There was no sign of Zeke. I tucked my phone into my back pocket, flicking on the back yard lights and looking out into the night. There was a glare on the window panes, so I opened the back door, stepping out into the slightly chilly night air. My eyes scanned over the property, seeing nothing, until a flash of white caught my eye. Something was darting into the tree line where the yard portion of my property ended and the timber began.
Not something. Someone.
Motherfucker!
I thanked sky daddy that I hadn’t taken my shoes off when I had returned home. I bolted out across the yard like a flash, chasing after my new bride. Where the fuck was she going?
My breaths came in quick pants as I sprinted into the tree line, stopping short for some sign of where she had gone.
“Eden!” I called out, willing my heavy breathing to calm as I listened for a response. Granted, she had bolted out of the house like lightning. If she were running from me, why would she respond?
Think first, you idiot!
I stood in the eerie quiet of the night, taking a slow breath and calming myself. It was time to leave the worry behind and think like the hunter I was — both in practice and in play. The sound of rustling in the bush to my left threatened to call my attention, but I shoved it aside. My eyes narrowed, focusing on anything that would give answers to where she had fled.
It was hard not to feel arousal at the thought of chasing her in the dark timber. This was my home. This was where my dark side came out to play.
The sound of a soft giggle sounded to my right, ahead deeper into the forest.
“Come to me,” I whispered into the darkness.
I crept forward towards the sound, keeping my steps slow and particular, watching every place that my foot touched the ground to keep my sound minimal as I stalked my way towards her.
Through the dense trees and plant life, I walked closer and closer, my ears on high alert for any noise she might make. The quick sound of rustling moved from right to left ahead of me. She was running.
And I would chase.
I moved quickly through the undergrowth, finding my way closer to her.
Another giggle sounded as I moved forward. There was a small open space ahead, a meadow in the middle of the trees. As I slinked onward, I found her. Just as I found myself on the edge of that meadow, my eyes scanned over the open terrain, finding my wife dead center in the openness. Her arms were flung out to the sides, her face tipped up towards the bright glow of the moon. She spun around, dancing in a circle, a wide spread grin stretching over her face.
I kept my movements quiet as I crept out onto the meadow, inching my way towards her. It wasn’t until I was almost upon her that I finally spoke.
“Eden?” I questioned quietly.
She shrieked, her arms dropping as her eyes swiveled to where I stood. Her mouth hung open with a gasp.
We both stood in silence, me in confusion, her in wide-eyed surprise. And then… she giggled. She flung her arms open and danced under the moonlight like a fucking loon.
“What on Earth are you doing?” I demanded, my mind racing to find any plausible explanation for her ridiculous behavior.
“I’m dancing,” she answered, as though it were obvious. I looked at her, gobsmacked at what was happening before my eyes.
