Prowled Darkness (Dante's Circle, #7)(5)

He’d kicked Eliana out of his bed, out of his life, and had shut the door so tightly on that connection that he’d missed out on what could have been his future.

Holy. Hell.

Eliana was pregnant. With his child. His cub.

His mouth went dry and his brain fogged, much like it had when he’d first heard about what Eliana could be.

He hadn’t known she was pregnant when he left. Hadn’t known when he found out that Eliana could be his. He hadn’t known until he’d walked in and almost fell to his knees. There was no doubt this was his child. Not with the timing or the way the others—and Eliana—glared at him as though he were the worst kind of person. He couldn’t blame them, but he couldn’t care about their opinions yet either.

Not until he spoke to Eliana and figured out what the hell they were going to do.

“You have a hell of a lot of nerve showing up here,” a woman with dark hair and blunt bangs said. She stood up, and Malik scented pixie on her.

Well, that made sense since pixies were some of the most cutthroat paranormals out there.

“Faith, sit down,” Eliana said, her voice strong. A hell of a lot stronger than he felt right then.

“You can’t expect me to sit down while this * shows up after being missing for months.” Faith waved her hand at him, and if she’d been in her full pixie form, he had a feeling her wings would have been red with anger right then.

The numerous others at the table began to speak at once. Even the babies cried or babbled in that baby language Malik had never been able to understand. His pulse pounded at his temple but he only had eyes for Eliana. He needed to speak to her, needed to explain, needed to find a way to breathe because he couldn’t quite get enough air.

“Eliana,” he whispered.

Eliana pressed her lips together and put her hands over her stomach, over their baby. He hadn’t been here, didn’t know until it was almost too late about the pregnancy, but the fact that she was carrying his cub changed everything.

The others became louder, even standing up to walk toward him. He stayed frozen to his spot, afraid to move closer and lose Eliana forever. Though, really, did he have her at all? He’d f*cked up but it wasn’t his fault. He’d done what he had to do with the evidence he’d held at the time.

“Stop it,” Eliana said softly, though her voice was firm. “All of you. Sit down and take care of your babies. I need to speak with Malik. Alone.”

She made a move to stand up, and he took a step toward her, needing to help, but stopped as a tall and slender man made it to her first. The other man glared over his shoulder at Malik as he put his hands on Eliana’s arms.

“Thank you, Seth,” Eliana whispered.

Seth. This was Tristan’s mate, or at least one of them. That meant Malik didn’t have to rip the man’s arms off for daring to touch Eliana. He tried to keep his temper in check, fisting his hands at his sides and breathing through his nose. He had no right to feel this way, no right to f*ck everything up once more. But it seemed the predator in him was ready to claim the woman in front of him. Hell, he’d been ready when he’d thought Eliana was human.

As lions couldn’t mate with humans, he’d walked away.

Hopefully, Eliana would listen to him, would forgive him.

But he wouldn’t grovel. He would one day be Leo and a Leo didn’t beg.

No matter what might be needed.

“Eliana, let us go with you at least,” Faith said.

“Let them be alone,” Tristan put in, his eyes on Malik. This was his friend, or at least had been at one time. They weren’t brothers, weren’t warriors together, but they had once been closer than they were now. Endless time and responsibilities had separated them, but at least the man stood for him now. “For now,” Tristan added, his eyes narrowing. “They should speak alone for now as they need to get the facts straight. But know this, Malik, if you hurt her again, you won’t just have a pixie on your heels but also the rest of us.”

“And we won’t hold back for long,” the large dragon said from the side.

Of course, Eliana was friends with a dragon. Why wouldn’t she be?

Malik had never been so wrong in his life, and now he had to make sure he didn’t lose her again. Because if he messed up, he had a feeling it would be the women at the table tearing him limb from limb, not the dragon or the fae in front of him.

Eliana pushed Seth’s hands away and picked up her bag. “Let’s talk then, Malik,” she snapped. Fire slid into her eyes and he wanted to take a step back. He’d seen lionesses in a rage before, but he had a feeling they had nothing on a pregnant Eliana right then.

She moved past him, keeping her distance, and he let out a breath before following her. He didn’t miss the glares sent his way, or the fact that the bear shifter at the table was casually sharpening his claws even in human form.

Dear goddess, this crew fought for their own like no other.

And while he liked the fact that Eliana had that—them—in her life, now that she was carrying his cub and he could be with her, she was his to protect. And once the others—as well as Eliana—understood that, things could go on like normal.

As he made his way to the sidewalk in front of Dante’s Circle, he stopped by Eliana, who clutched her bag to her belly.

“You’re going to need to drive as the others drove me here,” Eliana said, her voice emotional. “I’m too big to fit behind the wheel safely.”