Page 57 of The Rabbit's Foot
He gave Alp a look that screamedduh.
When he placed a hand on Damon’s arm, Alp got a narrowed-eyes look. “She’s the most competent and confident person I’ve ever known, beside Mal. She is obviously your other half, and the two of you are lucky to have found each other.”
Damon’s gaze softened. “Thank you. She and the boys are my world. I always lived for my pack, until Cece showed me there was more to life. Now? I thank the Maker every day I have them, and I would do anything to keep them.” He let out a long, slow breath. “I know she’s here to watch over me. She’s our best fighter, and I feel better having her here, but the thought I could lose her? It scares the crap out of me.”
“You want to get a roll of bubble wrap and shove her in it, so no one or nothing can touch her,” Mal said, his voice husky, but his gaze locked on Alp.
“Yes,” Damon hissed. “I want to rip out the throat of anyone who comes near her. When she approached me about allowing the two bears into our pack, I was against it. She sat me down, took my hand in hers, and explained to me that they’d been assigned to guard their leader’s children. They failed. For that, their leader had them beaten within the scantest bit of their lives and left them out in the snow to die. Cece came upon them while she was running, and by herself, she dragged them back to where she’d parked. She wrestled them into the truck and brought them to me.”
Mal couldn’t imagine anything worse than failing your leader. Then again, he’d done it. He bailed on Damon, and though the man said it had been what he wanted, that didn’t soothe Mal at all.
“At first, I refused to get involved. I told her they weren’t wolves and she should have left them to die. The look I got from her was so fucking cold, it chilled me to my soul. She told me in no uncertain terms that if wolves were supposed to be the fucking pinnacle as I’d claimed, then we damn well better start realizing that being on top meant taking care of those below us, not abandoning them. She was so mad, I had to….” He sighed. “She told me she couldn’t stand to look at me and made me sleep in the spare room. She didn’t talk to me for four days, during which time she tended to Ivan and Teddy by herself. Seeing her, watching as she cared for these two men, I came to realize I was wrong and, as always, she was right.
“I marched into that room, took the towels from her, and insisted she go get some rest, because I’d been told she hadn’t slept more than an hour here and there while she tended to her new boys. She told me that what their leader did to them was a death sentence and that she wasn’t going to have it, so I needed to, and I quote, fuck off, because she wouldn’t leave the bears alone. I told her they wouldn’t be, that I would care for them myself. She smiled at me, gave me a kiss, and everything in me settled once more.
“Now that I think back on it, I’m ashamed. What good is it for us to hold ourselves as an example, when we—I—was treating people so shabbily?” He blew out a breath. “For six years, they’ve been exemplary pack members. They do what they’re told without hesitation, and they’re nothing but kind and gentle with everyone. I could have missed out on that because of my stubbornness.”
When Damon’s cheeks pinked, Mal knew he’d seen his mate.
“Go on, talk with her. Tell her you love her. If this is the last chance any of us have, the words shouldn’t go unspoken.”
He nodded, then strode off in her direction.
Mal took the opportunity to pull Alp into his body. He inhaled his mate’s scent, pulling the precious smell into every pore of his being. “Alp, I—”
Before he could continue, Alp clutched the back of Mal’s neck and pulled him into a scorching kiss. Mal put his hands on Alp’s ass and lifted him from the ground, never breaking contact. Alp opened for him, and Mal swept his tongue inside, tasting the sweetness of his mate.
“I love you,” Alp whispered. “So very fucking much. If this is our last day, I—”
“This is not our last day,” Mal growled. “I won’t let it be. Nothing on the Maker’s earth will keep me away from you,” he vowed, even though he knew it was one he shouldn’t be making. He couldn’t control what was going to happen. He wasn’t even sure the Maker could.
Alp stroked Mal’s cheek. “Regardless, I love you,” he affirmed. “You are, without a doubt, the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He grinned. “Well, maybe second. My mom makes some wicked carrot ice cream.”
They stood there, Mal holding Alp to him, feeling their hearts beating together.
If he was to die, this, this moment, the two of them becoming closer than Mal thought was possible, was worth it.
* * *
Alp sat in the back of one of the trucks, along with a lot of other men. They sat, grim-faced, their gazes locked on the floor. When he looked around, he noticed Ivan and Teddy huddled together, their lips moving. He got up and walked to where they were seated. “You guys okay?” he asked.
Teddy jerked his head up. “Yes, we’re fine,” he replied, but there was no confidence there.
Alp sat next to them. “You can talk to me, you know.”
Ivan shook his head, and Teddy turned away, but not before Alp noticed the sheen of tears.
“Are you afraid? Is that it?”
Ivan snarled. “We are not afraid!”
“Then what?” Alp pushed.
Teddy sighed and looked up at his brother. “Tell him,” he said. “If we are to die today, it would be good to get it off our chests.”’
Concern flashed across Ivan’s face. “Are you sure?”
A quick nod.
