The Mating Project (23 page)

"Stephan
Alexios
is here? Jesus, that man hates the council almost
as much as Malachi does. No one has actually seen him in years. They say he's
an absolute genius."

"He is.
I've been privy to some of his research papers, when he still mingled in the
human world. Such a shame he went recluse."

Maria nodded,
not trusting her voice. For the first time she could understand how the polar
bear must have felt. His mate had been executed by the council, at De Souza's
orders, in fact, so maybe it wasn't that surprising that he wanted to see the
cougar meet his end.

If Malachi
didn't make it through this, then the thought of hiding from the world sounded
mighty appealing to Maria. No, she wouldn't, couldn't think like that.

"He'll win,
won't he, Silas?" she asked.

"He
fucking has to, baby."

****

The metallic
smell of blood filled Maria's nostrils, and Silas grasped her hands and gently
uncurled her fingers. She hadn't even realized that her claws had run out and
sliced into her palms, but seeing De Souza and Malachi face each other in the
cage was enough to drive her cat insane. Every instinct in her screamed at her
to shift, to join Malachi in his fight, but she knew that was impossible.

Cole Jackson
himself had locked the cage when the two men entered, and he would only open it
again when it was all over.

A heavy gong
sounded, signaling the start of the proceedings, and Maria jumped. Silas's hold
on her fingers grew painful, and she welcomed the distraction, as every muscle
in her body tensed. This was really happening. Her mother's and father's scents
surrounded her as they put a hand each on her shoulder and left them there.
Carter and Jake sat on her other side, and they, too, nodded at her and gave a
tight smile.

Anastasia had
chosen to stay inside with the triplets, and Maria couldn't blame her. This was
no place for children.

Still, she knew
her friend was with her in spirit. Even Emmi had sent a note from her hospital
bed, where she was still recovering from her awful injuries. She was almost
ready to be released, and that thought brought a watery smile to Maria's lips.
The love of her family and friends surrounded her and gave her strength.

Cole's deep
voice rang across the assembled crowd.

"Malachi
Luca of the pack of Luca, original
canis
lupus, has
called Anton de Souza, original puma
concolor
, to the
ancient blood rite of the duel. As it is written, this is a fight to the death.
Two men will go in, only one will leave. Let justice be done on this day."

Cole stepped
back and nodded at the men in the cage, and a hush fell over the murmuring
crowd. Anton sneered at him and pulled his clothes off in preparation to shift.
Malachi looked up into the stand to seek out Maria and Silas.

I love you both. Look after each other.

The moment,
fleeting though it was, cost him dearly, because Anton shifted in a bone
jarring crunch and side swiped a still human Malachi with one huge paw.

Maria screamed
in horror, and Silas jumped off his seat as blood spurted through the air,
where Anton's claws had sliced through Malachi's chest. Malachi's body flew
through the air and connected with the metal cage with a sickening thump.
Dazed, Malachi lay on the floor, and Silas roared his outrage as Anton looked
ready to pounce on him.

"You
motherfucking bastard.
He's not playing by the rules, dammit."

Maria's father
pulled Silas back down again, and through the roaring in her ears as she willed
Malachi to get up she heard her father speak.

"There are
no rules. Anything goes while they’re in there, son. Sit down. This is not
helping."

Blindly she
grasped for Silas's hand, and he took it, as they clung onto each other.

Anton roared and
strutted, clearly thinking he had the upper hand, as Malachi still struggled to
get up. When Anton leapt Maria held her breath, and the crowd went wild as
Malachi rolled at the last minute and Anton crashed into the cage.

Maria watched in
awe as Malachi sprang to his feet and shifted mid-leap. The russet colors of
his wolf gleamed in the sunlight. He landed on the cougar's back throwing him
sideways. With the inherent grace of his species, Anton twisted on his paws,
and wolf and cougar circled each other in a terrifying display of fur and
muscle and sheer animal aggression. One parried, and the other withdrew, until
eventually they clashed in a flurry of teeth and claws. Blood sprayed as fur
and flesh tore from bone until it was hard to tell who was who. The stone floor
turned crimson, and still they fought locked in a seemingly even battle of
strength.

How long this
carried on Maria would never be able to recall later, but somehow Anton got the
upper hand. The crunch of bone was terrifying as Malachi's back leg snapped and
his wolf yelped in agony. The useless lower half dragged on the floor, and he
buckled as Anton took a swipe at his exposed belly. Again, by some sheer fluke
Malachi twisted, and Anton's claws flayed open his shoulder instead. The cougar
roared in victory and leapt. Malachi's pain-filled gaze connected with hers,
and time stood still as everything seemed to happen in slow motion. As Anton
pounced Malachi rolled on his back and half shifted. Both of his human arms
shot up and punched the cougar into his soft underbelly, catapulting him back
up against the cage. Malachi shifted back, rolled and leapt, and the cougar's
shrill screech of agony filled the air, as Malachi's teeth sank into de Souza's
exposed balls and penis and ripped the man's genitals off. He spit them out,
and the bloody mess flew against the cage, spraying the ones sitting closest to
that side in bits of blood and fur. Gravely wounded and howling in agony the
cougar fell to the floor, and Malachi ripped out his throat with one bone-jarring
crunch, before collapsing next to the lifeless cougar.

Maria jumped to
her feet, not caring about the shouts of the crowd, and she was at the cage
before the gong had even sounded to signal the end of the fight.

All her attention
was focused on Malachi. He was too still, too quiet.
Please, please, God, he has to be all right.

The time it took
for Cole to unlock that damn cage seemed to take forever, and the minute he
did, she sprinted through, Silas right behind her.

She slipped on
the bloody ground and fell to her knees, and someone shouted for a medic and
someone else kept screaming Malachi's name. The noise stopped when she buried
her face in his fur, and she realized that it had been her screaming. The
faintest heartbeat gave her hope, and Silas's hand joined hers clasped in
Malachi's fur as they both urged him to hang on, to breathe.

"Please
don't leave me.
Please
,s
Malachi, breathe, stay with us."

****

Through
the pain filled haze two familiar voices invaded his brain, and Malachi smiled.
They were arguing again, it seemed.

"He
should be better by now. Are you sure this damn quack knows what he's
doing?"

"Maria,
baby, be reasonable. Your father has paid for the best damn shifter doctor
there is. You know what he said. It takes time. Malachi will heal. He's strong,
and he's got a lot to live for. Besides if he doesn’t get better I'll kill him
myself."

Maria's
cat's growl vibrated the bed, and Malachi's grin deepened as he propped one eye
open. Well, the only eye he could pop open. The other one was tightly swollen
shut and refused to cooperate, no matter how hard he tried.

He
was just in time to see his princess sucker-punch Silas in the belly.

"And
how is that helpful, you dumbass human?"

Silas
wheezed in answer, and Malachi winced for him. Maria packed a hell of a punch.
Silas's eyes widened when he realized Malachi was awake, and Silas's eyes
filled with tears. Something in his expression must have alerted Maria, for she
turned, screeched, and then launched herself on top of Malachi.

His
pain-filled grunt as his body protested made all the color drain out of her
face, and she burst into tears.

"Oh,
no, I'm sorry. I didn't think. Where does it hurt? Silas, call that useless
quack. Where the hell is he? I—"

Princess, you're giving me a headache.
Stop shouting.
Silas, man, shut her up.

His
thoughts stopped her mid flow, and Silas pulled her into a hug and kissed her.
Maria clung to him, and when Silas finally let her go, Maria looked
delightfully pink cheeked and tousled.

Always happy to
follow those sorts of orders, Malachi.

Silas
winked at him, but Malachi could feel the man's relief seeping from him, and he
held out his hands. Both Silas and Maria grabbed one each and held fast, and
Malachi shut his eyes again.

Dumbass.
Maria is right.
It' s
a
good name for you.
Might call you that in future.

Maria
giggled, and peace settled over Malachi.

You might regret calling me that when
you're fully recovered, wolf boy.

Oh, I'm counting on it,
human.

Stop it, you two. Jesus, how old
are
you?
 
Five?
Who needs kids with you two around?

Maria
sounded annoyed, even in his head, and he squeezed her hand. She leant in to
drop a kiss on his nose, and a new scent invaded his nose, one that made his
heart beat faster and filled his soul with joy. Did she know, he wondered? Had
Silas told her? Had anyone?

The
gentle denial for him alone was followed by their mutual joy.

We'll tell her together when you're
better. Now, sleep, man, and get well. Our girl is a handful at the best of
times, and I'm told she'll only get worse.

Malachi
closed his eyes and let sleep claim him. He couldn't wait.

I love you both.

We love you, too, right, little cat?

Naturally.
See, complete dumbass.

Epilogue

Three months later

Malachi
stared at the piece of paper and shut his eyes. Finally the day had come. The
missive written on official council paper and signed in blood by all the
remaining originals proclaimed Malachi's re-instatement. As the original wolf
shifter he was expected to take up his position on the council, and Cole had
appointed him the new head of the Mating Project, with Silas as his assistant.
The human couldn’t take on the role of head of the project, but everyone knew
Silas was the driving force and the brain behind it now.

Cole
Jackson and his team had worked tirelessly on the information provided by
Malachi, and most of the underground cells had been eradicated. In the process,
many a traumatized female had been rescued, and the true scale of the problem
was only just becoming apparent.

Malachi
felt sick to the stomach, every time he allowed himself to think too much on
the fact that his own father had been involved in these activities. Every fiber
in his being still railed at him to stay away from the council, but, as Maria
and Silas had pointed out to him on more than one
occasion,
he had a duty to fulfill.

One
that had become even more important due to Maria's pregnancy.
Their baby
would need protecting. Early scans had shown the little girl to be a wolf,
which would put her in direct scrutiny of the council's laws once she came of
age.

Silas,
Cole, Maria's father, and an increasing number of other council members,
originals, and pure bloods were campaigning hard to overthrow the practices put
in place by the old Mating Project. Genetics were still matched to achieve the
best results, but the aim was to let nature take its course.

It
would take time, but, he hoped, the ancient ways would make a full comeback and
with it fertility rates would increase.

A
door opened and shut, and with it came the scent of a tired Silas. He stomped
down the stairs, yanked open the fridge door, and pulled out two beer bottles.
Malachi took one off him and feasted his eyes on Silas's ruffled appearance.

He
was one lucky wolf to be mated to not only Maria, but this man, too.

Silas
took a long draught of the beer, shut his eyes, and sighed.

"Man,
I tell you, our girl and pregnancy do not mix."

He
ran a hand through his messy hair and winced when he touched a fresh scratch at
the side of his face.

"I
only suggested she might need a lie down. She screeched at me. '
I'm pregnant, not fucking ill, and I'll
decide when I need to rest. Stop mollycoddling me!'
Jesus, I'd thought
she'd kill me. Next time you tell her. At least you can shift, too, and have at
it."

Malachi
grinned, and Silas scowled at him.