Chapter 49 Malec
Malec
“Don’t come near me.”
The command flies out before I can stop it, the moment I realize she’s actually stepping closer—tempting fate like it’s a game.
I fucked up. Big time.
I let her see me. I nearly killed that bastard too soon. But I couldn’t take it—his hands on her, his sick thrill. And I knew he’d figure out her trick if I didn’t act fast.
She’s too damn reckless. And now, it’s too late to hide my marks. So I just stand there, rooted in place, fighting every surge of heat rising inside me, trying to calm it down before I reach the point of no return. Before I take both their souls… and blow this whole damn bar off the map.
Her eye makeup is smeared, dark, and raw around her eyes as she scans me from head to toe.
She cried.
I close my eyes and inhale deeply, holding it. Then I release on the count of four. Again. And again. A damn breathing exercise for my raging emotions.
Then I open my eyes again—only to find Roran standing too damn close.
Too close. Fuck.
“Take one more step, and you’ll have to bear the consequences.” I warn.
I should step back, but I’m glued in place by those—surprisingly—curious, wide blue eyes.
Not fear. Not disgust. Just a steady, studying gaze that tears at something deep in me.
“Are you afraid of a woman? Of me touching you?” Her eyes lift from my glowing marks to mine.
“You didn’t answer me. Why is your body glowing?” she whispers when I don't answer, a small gasp catching in her throat as she takes another step closer. That same spark of curiosity still dancing in her stare.
My nostrils flare as I inhale deep, trying to lock the energy down with everything I’ve got.
Bay, hurry the fuck up. “Myko, where are you?”
I can’t let her touch me.
I can’t let her close.
I won’t let her get hurt.
“Roran.”
Her name comes through clenched teeth as I breathe through my nose, feeling the pulses of energy rising—louder, hotter. “Touch me, and you’ll learn why they fear my bloodline.”
It sounds more like a threat than a warning, but I don't bother to correct it.
She flinches, finally stepping back. I exhale deeply.
Good.
But her hand stays in the air a second too long, hovering like she almost touched fire.
She did. Almost.
“What are you?” she breathes, after a second that drags too long.
“Your worst death if you touch me. Stay away.”
I try to keep my voice even, but the way her eyes cut through me feels like a punch to the gut—so I find myself adding, “Please.”
Her breath hitches, and something shifts in her gaze—hurt.
“You’re the one who took me in.”
Don’t I fucking know it?
“Save Diana, and I swear I’ll stay out of your way. I’ll work wherever you put us. I won’t get involved in your business. I promise.”
Now she’s avoiding my eyes, and I don’t know why, but the burn in my chest is worse than the sting of my marks.
“You’re not doing this shit anymore,” I say, changing the subject before I say something I’ll regret—another promise I might not be able to keep.
“I had to try and get the location—”
“No. This was a stupid idea, and you’re not doing anything like this again, that’s for sure. But I meant standing in front of a gun for me. Don’t ever fucking do that.”
Her eyes snap back up, and I’m not sure if her flushed cheeks are from embarrassment or her smeared makeup.
“I wasn’t thinking. I saw the gun and... I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting killed because of me,” she admits.
I know she means it. And that’s why I’m even more pissed.
Instinctively, I reach forward to cup her chin—but the glow in my arm snaps me back to reality, and I take a full step back.
“Promise me you’ll never do that again. I’m not worth your life. And believe me—he wouldn’t have been able to kill me even if he’d fired.”
She nods, moving awkwardly.
“Huh!” she blurts suddenly, shoving her hand straight into her winged bra with zero shame, like she’s actually trying to push me over the edge on purpose.
But then she pulls out a key.
The same damn key she slipped into my pocket when we first got here.
She steps toward Novax, pats down his pants until she finds what she’s looking for, then slips the key into his wallet and shoves it back.
I frown, but I don’t move.
When she keeps her distance, I can breathe. I can control the surges. The waves settle. The glow fades.
Thank the oceans. I actually did it without Myko; I thought I was going to lose it.
“Don’t thank them yet,” he mutters. “Your father’s going to be way more dangerous than you blowing up a few human souls. He didn’t let us leave. Said you should start handling your own messes when you don’t listen. He’s… mad.”
There it is. So much for his ‘I’ll stand behind you even if you start a war’ declaration.
Just another test.
I sigh.
“The keys here aren’t hard to reach, but they all have trackers,” she explains. “Part of my father’s twisted little game. He loves playing hunter with people who betray him.”
Stupid move—it could already cause damage before he knows it—but at least he’ll know who to blame.
“For some reason, Novax thought I was Diana. He couldn’t figure out how I escaped the Red Dock. So if he goes there, we’ll be able to track him.”
A smirk stretches across my face.
“So you had a backup plan. In case the drug didn’t work,” I say aloud, as if to confirm my thoughts.
Her soft laugh catches me off guard. My heart slams in my chest—and I don’t even know why.
“I told you I wouldn’t leave without the location,” she says. “If he took me, I planned to send you a hint to track the key on me. I figured you’d probably check the one I gave you and realize what I meant.”
“But we need to push him to go there now,” I mutter, already calculating. “We need something to trigger it.”
“Men’s egos are harder than their dicks after a lap dance,” she deadpans as if she did it thousands of times, and it makes me want to burn this place to the ground even more.
“We let him wake up to Tatiana. She’ll mess with his head—make him think she was here the whole time.
Men hate being challenged. He’ll have to go check if Diana really ran or if he’s just losing it. ”
She rises up on her heels again, and just like that—my marks fall quiet. Dormant.
She’s smarter than she looks.
Cunnier.
And I fucking love it.
“Now help me get him back on the sofa.”