25. Chapter Twenty-Six #3
“My leopard hates the idea of you leaving. He wants you close enough to scent, close enough to touch, and somewhere I can reach you if something goes wrong.” Malek admitted after looking toward the trees and rubbing one hand across his jaw, his gaze returning to me when he finished.
“And you?” I asked Malek as I watched his face, wanting his answer instead of another explanation about instinct.
“I want you close too. I want to know you're safe, and I hate that there will be days when I can't know that for myself.” Malek answered without pretending otherwise, his voice quieter now that neither of us was arguing.
The answer wasn't easy to hear, but it didn't feel like a threat because he wasn't turning what he wanted into something I had to give him.
“But you know you can't always have that.” I told Malek as I kept my eyes on his, giving him the chance to tell me if that was going to become a problem.
“Yes. If I turn everything that scares me into a rule for you, eventually you'll hate being here, and maybe you'll hate me too.” Malek replied after a moment, sadness showing around his eyes even though his voice remained controlled.
My chest tightened because he'd found the future I was most afraid of without making me drag it out of him.
“I don't need you to promise you won't leave.” Malek told me as he drew in a slow breath, some of the tension finally easing from his shoulders. I waited because the way he looked at me made it obvious there was more.
“I need to know if you want to come back.” Malek asked, holding my gaze without Alpha Voice, scent pressure, or anything else trying to make the answer for me.
I understood the difference immediately. Don't leave meant giving something up before I'd even gone. Come back let me take the assignment, get on the plane, sleep in another field station, spend three months working somewhere he couldn't reach, and decide for myself where I went afterward.
“Yes. I want to come back.” I told Malek, the answer coming easier than anything else we'd said since the ground collapsed.
Some of the strain around Malek's eyes finally disappeared, but he still didn't approach me.
His fingers flexed once at his side before becoming still again, and I realized he was waiting for me to decide whether I wanted contact after everything we'd just discussed.
I crossed the distance and took his hand.
“You can touch me.” I told Malek as I curled my fingers around his, making the permission unmistakable.
“Thank you.” Malek said as his hand closed carefully around mine, his grip loose enough that I could have pulled away without any effort.
“Don't make me regret it.” I warned Malek as I stepped closer, still irritated enough that listening well didn't erase how much I'd hated what had happened.
“I won't.” Malek promised as his free hand lifted toward the back of my neck and stopped just short until I leaned into his palm.
His hand settled there without pulling me closer or touching my gland.
We stayed that way until the last of the shaking disappeared, and only then did I look toward the camera hanging against my chest. The motmot was long gone, my concentration was completely wrecked, and the damaged terrace needed to go into my notes.
“I'm done shooting here today.” I told Malek as I reached for my notebook, already checking the time and the route marker I'd need for the report.
“Good.” Malek replied after catching the look I gave him, a little of his usual dry amusement returning to his face. Before we left, I radioed Mara to report the collapse. The overnight itself didn't need changing because she'd already logged it that morning.
“Station, this is Evie.” I said into the radio as I stood well away from the damaged terrace, keeping my voice professional while Malek waited farther down the trail.
“Go ahead, Evie.” Mara answered through a wash of static, her familiar voice sharpening slightly when she heard mine.
“I've got a ground failure along the western edge of the upper terrace.
Recent rain undermined the soil around the old stone.
I'm fine, but part of the edge dropped, so I'd flag this section as unsafe.” I reported to Mara as I checked the location in my notes to make sure I gave her the correct section.
“Any injury or equipment damage?” Mara asked immediately, concern clear even through the speaker.
“None. Camera's fine, I'm fine, and I'm done with that section for today.” I assured Mara as I adjusted the antenna with my thumb and glanced once toward the collapsed edge.
“Probably smart. Your overnight plan still the same?” Mara asked as some of the concern eased from her voice.
“Yeah. Same general area near the old stonework. I'll make the six-o'clock check-in like planned.” I confirmed to Mara as I looked toward the trail leading away from the ruins.
“Copy. I'll flag the terrace. Six tonight.” Mara replied as the faint scrape of her pen came through the radio.
“Six tonight.” I repeated to Mara before releasing the transmit button and securing the radio again.
By the time the temple came into view later that afternoon, I could separate the thing I hated from everything Malek had done afterward.
Alpha Voice still scared me, but Malek had accepted the boundary exactly as I'd given it, kept his scent under control while I was angry, and waited for me to initiate contact instead of deciding that saving me entitled him to it.
A scarlet macaw perched above the courtyard noticed us before anyone else did.
You look terrible, the macaw announced as it leaned forward on the branch, its bright red feathers standing out against the darker leaves behind it.
“Thank you. That's exactly what I wanted to hear.” I told the macaw as I shifted the overnight pack higher on my shoulder and continued toward the courtyard.
Quiet spotted one looks worse, the macaw added as it turned one black eye toward Malek, clearly pleased with its assessment.
“What did it say?” Malek asked as he glanced suspiciously toward the bird before looking back at me.
“Nothing useful.” I told Malek as I headed toward the worktable, hearing the macaw make a pleased noise behind me. Tavian had been cutting fruit near the low stone platform while Luca sat at the table repairing one of the storage straps. Both looked up as soon as we entered.
“What happened?” Tavian asked as he set the knife aside, his amber eyes moving quickly over me before shifting toward Malek.
“Are you hurt?” Luca asked as he stood and came around the table, stopping several feet away while his gaze checked my arms, legs, clothing, and camera.
“No. Part of the old terrace collapsed behind me, but I'm fine.” I answered Luca as I slipped the pack from my shoulders and set it beside the table, exhaustion from the earlier adrenaline finally catching up with me.
“How close?” Tavian asked as every trace of humor disappeared from his face, his attention dropping briefly toward my boots before returning to me.
“Too close. Malek couldn't reach me in time, so he used his Alpha Voice.” I told Tavian as I pulled out a chair and sat, my legs appreciating the support now that I was somewhere safe.
“And you're okay?” Luca asked as his voice lowered, concern shifting from my lack of visible injuries to what I'd just told them.
“Physically, yes. I hated the Voice. We talked about it, and there's a rule now.” I answered Luca as I rested my forearms against the table and looked between him and Tavian.
“What rule?” Tavian asked as he moved closer but stopped on the other side of the table instead of crowding me.
“Voice is the last option. Immediate danger, no time, and no safer way to stop me. If you can yell, grab me, tackle me, or drag me out of the way, you do that first.” I explained to Tavian and Luca as I made sure both men heard every part of it.
“If I can reach you, I reach you. If I can't and there isn't time for anything else, then Voice.” Tavian said as he nodded, his expression unusually serious while his hands remained loose at his sides.
“Exactly.” I confirmed to Tavian, relieved that I wasn't going to have to defend the same boundary again.
“And it stays that way unless you tell us differently. We don't change it because we're scared.” Luca told me after considering the rule for a moment, both hands resting against the edge of the table instead of reaching toward me.
“Yes. That's what I want.” I told Luca as some of the remaining tension eased from my shoulders.
“You agreed?” Tavian asked Malek as he glanced toward him, checking rather than accusing.
“I agreed.” Malek answered from a few steps behind me, his voice steady as he left the boundary exactly where I'd put it. That was enough. Tavian didn't turn it into a fight between Alphas, and Luca didn't ask me to repeat the entire conversation Malek and I had already worked through.
“Do you need anything?” Luca asked as his attention returned to me, concern still visible between his brows.