Malakai knew his mere presence was beyond enough to shut the air down. His voice was still, thick and cold at the same time, and it swept through the space like a warning from the moon goddess herself.
~Mate.~
Malakai stiffened.
That was the voice of… "Sky?"
He hadn't heard that voice talk like that in years. Not like that. Not with that tone. Sky—his wolf—was usually controlled, reserved, and stoic.
Did his wolf just cry out 'mate' for the very first time?
Malakai had trained himself to silence instincts, not to live by them. But in that moment, standing in front of a skinny man in a half-ripped skirt with healing powder stuck to his cheek, his wolf surged upward and declared:
Mate.
He didn't say a word and neither did his wolf speak again—he was an animal of few words and expressions. Malakai just… stared.
And then, from below, came a shout again "Uncle!"
The small figure that had run up to him was now hugging his legs and looking up at him with sparkling eyes. Malakai's eyes flicked down.
Right. The child.
His sister. Yes, that little child was shockingly his sister.
And behind the thin man in torn skirts, standing in torn dignity was the woman who had once been cast out from the Pack. His mother. The woman few wolves knew was a traitor, who was responsible for her own husband's death and sold her family to be with a vampire.
She looked tired. Older. Drained. Sucked. Probably lacking blood. But still… that was her, he could never forget the face of a traitor and the tormentor of his childhood.
Malakai picked up the girl gently, one hand supporting her back as if she was the only fragile thing in this cruel place. Then, without sparing another glance at the buzzing whispers or snickering women, he nodded once and turned.
"You, you, you, you, you… and you," he said, pointing to six of his men who were trailing after him. "Stay out."
Then he looked at Boris. "You. With me."
Boris blinked. What?
His knees literally trembled. He looked around. Maybe Malakai meant someone else?
Nope. He was pointing right at him.
Boris tried to act cool. But he failed. The way his skirt flapped didn't help matters either.
What was this? Was he being dragged in to be punished for "assaulting" a child with kindness? Or maybe for public indecency? Of course, with the way he was dressed and the amount of skin exposed, it was definitely worth calling indecent of him.
He followed slowly and reluctantly, his heart slamming against its ribcage. He couldn't help but think of possibilities as he scratched at his neck.
"Does he know me?"
"Why'd he call me to come with him? Does he perhaps know I'm his mate?"
"No way… that's not.. wait, is it…?"
"No! There's no way he knows I'm his mate. Even my own family wouldn't recognise me as 'Boris' with this ridiculous look!"
In his head, Bailey suddenly perked up like an annoying, excited puppy.
Boris stopped dead in his mind. "Shut up."
"You had sex with a complete stranger last night," Boris shot back mentally. "Are you now just going to throw yourself at every dominant voice that growls at us?"
Bailey huffed.
"You're delusional."
"You also thought the cinnamon roll baker was our mate because he gave us a free muffin for healing his wife a year ago."
Boris sighed, dragging his feet toward the changing room. The air thickened as he reached the door. Malakai stood there, one hand on the wood, his other still carrying the girl.
His eyes said one thing to the woman behind Boris: Don't.
She backed off without a word. 'The mother of the child backed off? Wouldn't she come with us? Does she trust her child with the Alpha so much?' Boris thought.
"Are you getting in on your own or should I do something about it?"