Chapter Three
Malcolm sat behind the desk in the back office. He opened the browser and typed in a search for local performances of The Nutcracker in the area. He clicked on the search button and scanned the list of results. After a few lines, he clicked on a link for the Angel Ballet Company.
He sighed, wondering what the hell he was even doing. The guys would never let him hear the end of it if they found out.
Malcolm wasn’t exactly a huge fan of ballet, but The Nutcracker meant something to him. Something very important. And very few things outside of the pack meant much to him anymore.
Do you want to see a special show, sweetie? It’s all about toys and dancing and Christmas.
He grunted. Even as poor as they were when he was growing up, his mom had taken him to see The Nutcracker every year as a kid. A nice little Christmas respite from a life where he was surrounded by violence, junkies, and hopelessness. It was a small slice of beauty and joy in the darkness.
He tightened his hand on the mouse and let out a low growl. He and his mom had only ended up in such a shitty position because his werewolf dad didn’t give a shit after knocking up a Blooded and taking off. So much for the future of their people.
Malcolm’s dad didn’t care. He just ran like it meant nothing that he had a kid on the way. Given what happened, it was hard not to hate the man.
Maybe if Malcolm’s family hadn’t been so poor, his mom would have gotten the medical care she needed, and doctors would have found the cancer before it was too late.
His mother hadn’t realized she was Blooded until his first shift as a teen. Werewolves had shown up then, but she was already sick. Too damned little, too damned late.
The werewolf let out another long, low growl. It still hurt, even after all these years. Someday he’d have to track his father down and make him pay for being a piece of shit.
Malcolm shook his head, unsure why he was even thinking about his past. That whole existence was all gone now, long gone, almost as if it never had existed. Now he was in Glendale beating up bikers. Not exactly the most glamorous of existences, but at least he had honest work and honored his responsibilities.
Two days had passed since the little incident with the Cardinals fan. Much to Malcolm’s annoyance, Caleb seemed more amused than pissed at what his beta had done. The alpha should have been the one reigning Malcolm in, not the other way around. Someday that might come back to bite them all in the ass, even if Caleb had done a good job of handling the True Sons confrontation.
Malcolm’s attention returned to the webpage. His eyes scanned the screen as he took in the performance times and cost. The price really wasn’t that bad, and it’d be nice to get away from Devil’s Den and remember some small bit of happiness from his old life. Maybe it would help him stop being such a pissy bitch.
The door swung open, and his head shot up. He growled at the interruption.
A confused black-haired woman stood in the doorway. “Please tell me I didn’t just catch you looking at porn,” Sarah said. Her face contorted in disgust. She held up a hand. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”
Malcolm grunted and looked away. Getting angry with a pack Blooded because he was surprised was stupid. “I’m not Caleb.”
“Caleb doesn’t look at porn.” She shrugged. “Well, not anymore.” She smirked.
“Just saying some of us have better control.” His face tightened. Maybe running down the alpha to his woman wasn’t the smartest move.
Sarah’s grin suggested she didn’t care much. “Besides, I think we should all be happy there’s only one Caleb. I love him, but two of him in his world would be too much for just about everyone, maybe even the King.” She laughed and shook her head.
Malcolm let out a snort at that, wondering what the King of Maricopa County, a typical weredragon with delusions of grandeur, would actually do in such a ridiculous situation.
He inhaled deeply, Sarah’s floral scent enticing him. She actually was one of the strongest Blooded he’d smelled in his life. Perhaps, in another situation, she could have been his mate instead of Caleb’s, but it was too late now.
They both were smart and cautious. It would have been a good match.
Stray thoughts aside, Malcolm wasn’t jealous. Sarah and Caleb worked well together, and if anything, the beta was grateful that his alpha had another moderating force in his life. Still, every day he worked beside the woman was a reminder of the emptiness of his own life beyond the pack.
Maybe Jace was righter than he wanted to admit.
The pack provided brotherhood, but they didn’t provide much of a future. He might become alpha someday, but he didn’t really care that much. Ambition never appealed to him.
Shit. Malcolm needed Sarah out of there before he embarrassed himself. Something had crawled up his ass, and he didn’t want the woman to sense his weakness. Even worse, she might want to talk about his feelings.
“Did you need something?” he asked gruffly.
“The keg shipment is coming in soon. And I’m going to need help moving it. Thomas and Jace aren’t back yet.”
“Okay, fine. Just get me when it’s time.” He stared at her, trying to will her to leave.
Sarah stared back at him for a moment, a hint of mischief in her eyes. “Trying to use animal magnetism on me?”
“What the hell?” Malcolm shot out of his seat. Accusing a beta of going after his alpha’s woman wasn’t a mild charge.
She rolled her eyes. “Calm down. It’s just a joke. Geeze.”
Malcolm frowned. “You got something else you need to say?”
“Yes.” There was too much damn mischief in her blue eyes.
His mind raced. She had some sort of plan. He just needed to figure out what it was. Did it have something to do with Caleb?
Sarah sprang into motion, rushing across the office until she was behind the desk. Malcolm twitched but stopped himself from springing out to intercept or punch her. He wasn’t about to tackle or hit his alpha’s Blooded, or, hell, any Blooded unless she had a silver knife in her hand.
“Kind of a bad idea to surprise a werewolf,” he growled. “You know better than that.”
Sarah smiled. “I also know that I trust you with my life.”
Some satisfaction washed away his irritation, but the anger flared back once he realized she was looking at the screen.
“No, not, porn at all.” She sounded surprised.
Malcolm grunted. “Of course not. I fucking said it wasn’t.”
She sighed. “Yeah, but you were acting so suspicious, so I just had to know.”
“I thought you just said you trusted me.”
Sarah nodded. “Sure, I trust you, but once a scholar, always a scholar. My mind is driven by curiosity. I just can’t take not knowing something.”
“You know what they say about curiosity.”
Sarah smirked. “But I’m not a cat. I’m wolf Blooded.”
Malcolm chuckled. “You got me there.”
She fell silent for a moment as she read over the page. “Oh, The Nutcracker. I went a few years back at the Orpheum. Loved it. I saw a film version when I was a kid, but there’s just something about being right there and seeing the dancers. The power of a live performance. And my seats weren’t even that good.”
Her mention of the ballet grounded Malcolm right back in his embarrassing predicament. He had no good way to explain why he wanted to go to the ballet without revealing more vulnerability than he desired. He only managed a grunt in reply.
Sarah eyed him. “No offense, but I didn’t really think you were into this kind of thing. It seems a bit, I don’t know, high-brow for your taste. I love all you guys, but you’re a pretty low-brow crowd.” She gestured toward the door. “I mean this is a biker bar after all, and you punched out a drunk and had two guys throw him out just the other day.”
“The guy came at me first,” Malcolm said. “And I didn’t tell anyone to throw him out. They just did. Saved me the trouble, though.”
“Okay, okay. I believe you. Just saying none of that screams ballet fan.”
They stared at each other for a moment.
“My mom used to take me,” Malcolm said quietly. “Before she died. It’s just something nice from when I was a kid.” He nodded toward the door. “Before I left my human life behind completely.”
Sarah’s face softened, and she gasped into her hand. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I’m sorry for prying.”
“It’s not a big deal. I haven’t gone in a while.” He shrugged. “But it might be fun.”
“And you don’t think anyone else will want to go?”
He stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “Seriously? You want me to ask the pack if they want to go to a Christmas ballet with me?”
“Okay, good point.”
Malcolm chuckled. “You know, I’ve got to admit something.”
“What?”
“I didn’t like you when you first showed up.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s not like you did a great job of hiding that. Subtle, you’re not.”
“Look, I’m just trying to say I’m glad you’re here now. I’m happy that someone else with a brain is with the pack and with Caleb.”
She smiled. “Why thank you, Malcolm.”
“So, since you have a brain, you should realize you can’t tell the rest of the pack about this.”
Sarah groaned. “Come on. It’s not like you have some sort of dark secret here, and if they know the reason why—”
“No,” Malcolm snapped. “Absolutely not. No damned way.”
She blinked.
Malcolm rubbed the back of his neck. He was being a bitch, and he shouldn’t be taking it out on Sarah.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “The guys just can’t know about this. I don’t want to deal with their shit. Didn’t mean to be a dick to you.”
Sarah nodded slowly. “I get it. I do.” She smiled. “I think you should go, and I promise I’ll keep it to myself.” A thin smile appeared on her face.
Malcolm shifted slightly under her gaze. “What?”
“Maybe you can go online and meet someone and take her.”
“What? Why? This is about my mom.”
Sarah folded her hands behind her back. “And it’s also about Christmas time, a time where a lot of people get lonely.”
He snorted. “Lonely? I’m in a full pack. I have too many people around me.”
“There are different sorts of lonely.”
Malcolm gritted his teeth. Of course. If he couldn’t hide his problems from Jace, there was no way he would have been able to hide it from a woman.
“I’m not lonely. I’m fine.”
Sarah gave him a sly smile. “Let me just ask one question.”
“What?”
“Do you think Caleb is more relaxed now that he’s with someone?”
Malcolm kept his mouth shut.
Sarah offered him a little wave and stepped out of the office.
He rubbed his temples. Why was everyone so concerned about him getting laid?