This Shadow of Mine

Twelve

Twelve

The next week was spent with Malakiah tiptoeing around Evy. Every word she spoke went straight to his heart as gushy as it sounds. He didn’t know how to react to her now that he knows the real feelings she has for him. Which were much more potent than he thought.

When he found out his father was unfaithful to his mother at the ripe age of fifteen, he was none too happy. In fact, he had even burned every picture of the vile man when he found out.

He couldn’t bear to look at his mother for days after that. He deserved to know why his biological father wasn’t in his life, and she kept that from him.

Eventually, Malakaih caved under his mother’s grief and silent scrutiny, and forgave her. But nothing was the same after that. He couldn’t help but always compare himself to his father when the thought of him came up. He made sure he wasn’t anything like him from the little information he was given of his father.

By doing so, he wanted to devote every waking-and sleeping- minute to Evelyn Hazel Harvey. The only problem was he didn’t know how to approach her without expressing that he heard her conversation with her little sister. Something told him she would be none too happy if she knew he was being even the slightest nosy.

So here he was, watching Evelyn get ready. Evelyn- the feisty and bossy mate of his- who was trying to be sly by quickly glancing at Malakaih as she moved around the room.

Finally, one of them was able to break the awkward silence.

“Okay, why have you been acting I might break if you speak to me? It’s getting weird. You watch me like a stalker.”

Well, here goes nothing, he said to himself.

Cherish your last few minutes, my friend, his wolf laughed at him. I’m going to paradise if we die, you go to hell!

Malakaih ignored his wolf, taking a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself to actually tell the truth and not skitter around it.

“I’m just going to go out with it.”

“Out with what?”

“I heard you talking to Isabelle one night last week.”

Evy squinted at Malakaih, accusation coating her features. He was a dead man. That was established. “The night- the night you were talking to her about… me.”

“You better run Nekoda, I don’t like peeping toms.”

He didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence. Good thing the window was open.

Needless to say, it was more exhilarating chasing someone you actually want to kiss like crazy instead of maul. Malakaih was exceptionally fast in his wolf form. All thanks to his Alpha status and blood. But because Evelyn was born of two Alpha’s, oh, he better run.

They’d been running for a while, and the house was miles back. Evy loved how much land her father acquired over the years. It gave them plenty of room for the whole pack. Especially when a few wolves wanted to branch out to the edges of the territory.

Too deep into her thoughts, Evy didn’t notice that Malakaih had gone out of her sight. She let herself go to her senses. He must be very skilled in stealth, because the only sounds that came to her ears were bugs and the occasional burst of wind.

Dammit, Serenity growled, now he’s going to chase us.

Something nipped at her hind. Evy spun around, and there was Malakaih, sitting like an ordinary wolf, watching her.