Chapter 30: Mine... until Dawn

He hadn’t been joking when he said nobody was leaving the bed all night.

By the time the night was finally over, Della had no doubt that he was now everywhere. She could feel his lips even on the tip of her toes and the centre of her skull.

As the sun began to rise, after what seemed like the most lost, senseless night of her life, Malachi finally let her rest.

She laid with her head against his chest, too tired to say a word. Cuddled together, she fell asleep in less than two seconds.

Malachi remained where he was, his fingers moving absentmindedly through the strands of Della’s hair.

She had curled more into him without thinking. One hand rested over his heart as though it belonged there, her breathing slow and impossibly peaceful.

Peace.

The room had not known that word in years.

His gaze lingered on her face. He looked at the bruises that were still faintly visible beneath her skin. Her cheeks were still red, red from the whole night. From screaming, from blushing, from... moaning.

His thumb traced the line of her temple, "...What have you done to me?" he murmured, almost to himself.

No answer came, there was only the steady warmth of her body against his.

This should have been a mistake.

It was a mistake.

He had spent years building walls strong enough to bury Katherine, grief...every weakness a ruler could never afford.

But one night, and one seemingly impossible woman had walked into his room and somehow those walls no longer felt indestructible.

He could easily ignore the effects of the mate bond. Or, so he thought. In here, with her, within the walls of the room, it was much more effective.

He already knew that, because nothing else could explain why the silence between them felt...comfortable.

Why holding her had felt more natural than letting go.

Why every instinct in him now whispered—

Mine.

He shut the thought down immediately.

No.

That wasn’t him.

That was the bond talking.

It had to be.

Because if it wasn’t, then he was in far more trouble than he wanted to admit.

A faint sound echoed outside, and it caught his attention. A hand instinctively fell over Della protectively, shocking even himself.

Malachi’s eyes snapped toward the door, and he listened to the footsteps approaching. Measured, light, quick, and the sound of the person’s breath.

It was Rowan.

He recognised the rhythm immediately.

Without another word, he carefully slipped Della’s hand from his chest. She stirred a little, and his movements stopped instantly. For several long seconds, he simply watched her. When she settled again, he quietly pulled the blanket higher over her shoulder.

"...Sleep." The word escaped before he realised he’d spoken.

Then he stood up.

Getting dressed felt strangely...wrong, and he kept looking back at the bed, at her, every two seconds as though leaving the bed itself was a decision he didn’t want to make.

He hated that feeling.

By the time he fastened the last buckle on his coat, his expression had become unreadable once more.

The Alpha was back.

Only then did he open the door.

Rowan stood outside, and the Beta’s usual composed expression cracked for the briefest moment. His nose twitched, and his eyes drifted toward the room behind Malachi, then back to his Alpha.

He had to quickly hide his... bewilderment.

"...Morning," Rowan said carefully.

Malachi arched a brow in question.

Rowan decided—for the sake of his own life—not to comment on why Adelaide’s scent now clung so thoroughly to the Alpha that it overpowered almost everything else.

Instead, he bowed, "We have two problem,"

Malachi’s expression hardened immediately, "Speak."

"More rogues crossed four border settlements last night."

His eyes narrowed.

"They were different this time."

"Different how?"

"They weren’t hunting livestock, or actually even killed anyone at all. They ignored the houses, the villages, and just kept moving,"

Malachi felt something cold settle in his chest.

"...Toward where?"

Rowan unfolded a map he’d brought and began pointing at every place the rogues had emerged from. Too many of them, "Our scouts tracked every movement." His finger landed on a dense stretch of forest, "They all converged here."

Malachi’s expression instantly sharpened when he saw the exact spot Rowan’s finger was pointing at. If they had really converged there, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

Because beneath that forest, beneath that exact spot, Gideon was being held in chains.

"Are you...sure?" Malachi asked slowly.

"Yes," Rowan paused, "What is wrong, Alpha?"

The only people in this world who knew about Gideon’s existence were Malachi and Della. And except if Rot-bloods now possessed the ability to communicate with rogues, then it means... something terrible was about to happen.

Or was already underway.

He hoped he was wrong, and that it was just a coincidence. That no one else knows about Gideon’s existence. Because that would also mean they know...he is wolfless.

"Double the patrols," Malachi said quietly.

"They’re already on the move."

"Triple them."

Rowan nodded once, then folded the map away, "The second problem..." He said, his voice now noticeably graver, "Cornelia."

Malachi looked at him.

"She’s dead."

Silence.

"Killed approximately thirty minutes ago."

"How?"

"Single blade."

"Clean." Rowan touched his own throat, "Very clean. Most likely a werewolf assassin,"

"And the guards?"

"They’re dead too."

Malachi flexed his jaw, almost laughing, "Someone silenced her."

He glanced back at Della for a moment. It couldn’t have been her, because the woman had been with him all night long. A shudder of pleasure coursed through his veins as he recalled her naked glory wrapped around him...and Malachi quickly cleared his throat to get rid of the thought.

"Let’s go,"

They headed down to the interrogation room, where Cordelia’s dead body still remained where they had found it. Last night, Rowan and the guards had come for her in her chambers and brought her here for questioning, since her testimony was now aligning with the servants, Mara.

They had spent hours trying to get the truth out of her, and knew they were close to it. Close to dawn, Rowan had decided to give her a few minutes to think it through and tell them the truth. Few minutes to give her enough time to drown in her own thoughts, then finally crack.

Few minutes enough for the assassin to kill the guards standing in front of the room, and the seamstress herself.

As they walked into the room, Cassian was already there also studying the body.

Cassian didn’t even look at Malachi, although he could feel the cold Alpha glaring at him, "They knew exactly what they were doing," He said, "One strike to the throat. The guards never saw it coming."

Malachi crouched beside Cornelia.

No emotion.

Just calculation. It was just as Rowan had said.

A clean strike to slit her throat open. No signs of struggle too means he had killed the guards outside, slipped in so quietly that the woman’s wolf didn’t even pick up anything till it was too late.

"They came for one purpose."

"To make sure she never spoke." Cassian finished, then asked to make sure as he studied Malachi again, "And based on the scent I’m picking up from you, I’m guessing the servant was with you all night, hm?"

Malachi paused.

Scent?

He had never thought her scent would overwhelm his. Usually, the woman would carry the man’s scent, not the other way around. But then...the mate bond has always been unpredictable.

No wonder Rowan had also acted a little weird when he had answered the door.

"Is there anyone in your kingdom who you suspect can do such a thing?!"

"Every guard here is a trained assassin," Malachi replied, "But not as good as this one. He’s a powerful one. If there is someone I actually do suspect, it is that the person who could have hired such a powerful werewolf assassin, would have to be wealthy," Malachi looked up slowly at Cassian, eyes dark.

Cassian tilted his head a bit to the side, "If I wanted someone dead, I would give all the wealth in my pack...to kill you,"

Rowan looked ready to pounce.

Malachi didn’t react much. He already knew Rowan didn’t do it.

"So..." Cassian straightened, looking at Rowan this time, "Where’s our other lead?"

"We’ve tried," Rowan answered, relaxing a little bit when he felt that the subtle hostility was gone.

"Tried?"

"Alpha Leopold won’t allow anyone through the doors."

A dangerous silence followed, then Malachi rose, "How long has this been going on?"

"We went to get her yesterday morning, but Leopold sent us back. We went again last night and it was the same result,"

"Is his wife his mate?" Cassian asked.

Rowan shook his head, "She became his chosen mate after the marriage,"

"Not true mates then," Cassian thought, "Why is he so obsessed with her, then?"

There was no answer as Malachi had already straightened to his feet again.

"Keep investigating this death," He said to Rowan, who nodded instantly, "Now, let’s head to my brother’s chambers,"

As they walked down the stone castle, Malachi strode in front with Rowan just two feet behind him. The servants moving in the same path quickly stopped and bowed as he walked past, while some who were far away quickly scurried away to follow another path.

Rowan noticed, and almost growled at them.

Just then, leather footsteps hit the stone and Selene appeared from the next corner, her smile blooming effortlessly when she saw Malachi.

"Alpha."

"Selene."

She bowed politely, then looked back up at him, "I heard there was trouble this morning."

"There was."

Cassian stood watching from a good distance and saw the moment Selene also sniffed Della on Malachi. He saw the slight twitch in her eye, and could tell that something was probably twisting violently in her chest right now.

Something she immediately buried beneath another flawless smile, "I hope everyone is alright," She added gently.

Malachi studied her for a second longer than usual, "...We’ll find out."

He walked past her, leaving her standing there. Her smile never faltered, and only did when Malachi disappeared down the corridor.

Selene’s hands curled into tight fists, and she fought against her thoughts. Did Malachi actually... sleep with her?!