~

 

Donna didn’t understand. Everything had happened so fast, and her mind was spinning like a top. But the sight of her father leaving was a damn good feeling to have.

She turned towards Malachi, and the man looked sheepish. After winning the fight with her father she thought that he’d be standing there proud with his chest sticking out, as men did — but, instead, he looked as if she was going to tear him a new one.

“Okay, I really don’t understand what just happened,” Donna said.

“It’s complicated…”

“Uncomplicate it,” Donna searched for answers in Malachi’s eyes, but there were none.

“Can we at least go inside?” Malachi pointed the way to her cabin as if she didn’t know where it was.

“Fine.”

“Coffee?”

“You make the coffee, and then you spill your guts.” Donna took off towards the cabin on fast feet, and Malachi gave a small shake of his head in disbelief. He really didn’t understand women.

“Do I get breakfast?” Malachi hesitated in his stride as she tossed a death glare back over her shoulder at him. “Just asking.”

 

~

~

~

 

“You got your coffee now out with it,” Donna demanded.

Malachi looked at his mate. She was standing with her back pressed against the kitchen counter, her arms were crossed, and she still didn’t look best pleased with him.

“Come and sit down,” Malachi patted the cushion next to him, and her eyebrows shot up towards her hairline.

Nope, she didn’t look pleased at all.

“I’m good.”

“And yet, you’re looking at me as if I should go and hide the pitchforks and the matches,” Malachi’s chin was tipped downward, and he looked up at her from beneath his dark eyebrows — those damn eyebrows were dancing again, and she found that more than annoying.

She was supposed to be angry at him. She was trying her best.

Malachi hadn’t lied to her, but he hadn’t told her the whole truth either. Was the man like her father?

“Tempting.” That was all she said, but Malachi got the gist of it.

“Okay, I get that you’re mad…”

“I’m not mad…” Donna bit down on those words.

She was mad — or at least, she was trying to be, but the way that he was looking at her meant that other thoughts kept creeping in — thoughts that she didn’t want to consider.

It wasn’t enough that he was a shifter — she’d done her research on that on the Internet and had come to terms with the fact that she was his mate — and all that implied.

Now, he was creating an all-new challenge for her by acting like her father… Not quite her father, but she had seen a different side to Malachi in that exchange that she couldn’t quite reconcile with the man that she thought she knew.

“You look mad…”

“It must be the company I’m keeping, lately.” Donna tossed back. She didn’t want to discuss her — she wanted to discuss him.

“I suppose I deserve that,” Malachi gave a slow nod of his head in understanding.

“Could we just get to the explanation part?”

Malachi patted the cushion next to him once more, and Donna snorted in contempt. She tossed a look at the stool that stood beside her, took a step sideways, and pulled herself up onto it.

“I guess I deserve that as well,” Malachi grimaced. “I made a deal with the devil…”

“I don’t know what that means.” She kind of hope that he didn’t mean that in a literal sense.

The world had only just got used to the fact that there were supernatural beings like shifters and vampires around — she thought she might just completely freak out if the devil was actually real as well.

“My clan…” He stopped and considered his words briefly. “Before shifters were exposed to the world, my… family was considered just normal people. I grew up having to hide what I was. Imagine my surprise when shifters were announced to the world and people that had known me all their life looked at me like a monster.”

Donna had never really thought about the shifters dilemma from their point of view. How could she? She could no more imagine herself in his shoes then she could fly to the moon.

“Overnight my world was turned upside down. I reacted badly — got in some trouble — and it was decided that for the good of my clan and our business that I should leave.” Malachi watched as his mate opened her mouth to speak — but he didn’t want her pity.

“Buttholes,” Donna bit out, and Malachi almost choked on his tongue as he chuckled at her reaction. He hadn’t expected that.

“I could see their side of it. Business is business and the clan needed to be funded. People relied on the goodwill of business partners…”

“Like my father?”

“From what I am told, your father decided that was a good time to renegotiate a deal with my clan for more favorable terms.”

“Sounds like dear old dad,” Donna grumbled. “But wait — small world.”

“That’s fate for you.”

“So who is the devil that you did a deal with — and what deal did you do with the devil?” Donna asked.

“I may have left my community — my clan — but, I still have voting rights, and get a dividend from the family business every year…”

“Please tell me you didn’t cut your nose off to spite your face.”

“I still get the dividend — I no longer have voting rights.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be. It means I don’t have to go back and see them anymore. The devil — my brother, gets to take the business in the direction he wants. It is what it is, and I have no regrets.” Malachi said.

Donna felt guilty. Because of her, he had cut off the last remaining ties he had to his family. But what a family — it reminded her of her own.

“But they’re still your family…”

“Like your father is still your family?” Malachi asked.

She was right — they made a good pair.

“Well…” Donna could maul that one over until the cows came home. The upshot would still be the same — she wanted nothing more to do with her father.

“Exactly.” Malachi grinned.

It was one of his big, sexy, ear to ear grins that made her stomach flip and then flop, and a fever rise within her blood while her mind flashed up the kind of thoughts to make her toes curl.

“Okay, so I’m a hypocrite — sue me,” she shrugged. “The fact remains…”

“The fact remains that I still have my family — I hope.”

For one long moment, Donna didn’t follow his reasoning. How could he cut ties with his family and yet still have them? But then the look in his eyes practically slapped her around the back of the head, and she understood what he meant.

“You’re my family now, Donna. You and Stacey — but only if you want to be,” Malachi growled at the thought. He couldn’t help himself.