[JER]
"How is she?" Jer asked Elodie. He had been wavy from his wife the entire night and she was ashamed of even going there to meet her.
He was the sole reason she was in that state and frankly, that scared the hell out of him. He had worked his ass off and now it seemed like all his desires were slowly fading away.
The previous night with the elders, they had openly shunned and blamed him for the chaos that happened in Sicario. He had tried to explain to them that he didn't know Hawi was still alive but none of them listened to him.
They hated him and even kicked him out of the council meeting. He had wanted to come home to Malika, but what hope was there for him to come to? His wife was writing and there was no one who wanted to see him in Sicario.
He was meant to go to the wolves and check on them, but with the criticism from the council of elders, Jer knew that his people were not too happy with him, especially now that Hawi was alive.
However, here and now, standing before Elodie, he hoped that Jer was some good news for him, right?
"Jer—" Elodie began and she could see the Alpha panicking.
She knew he was blaming Hansel and this time she wasn't going to ease him by telling him that it wasn't his fault. All of this was his doing and even if they don't like it, theta dh to face that little truth. It would come to them in the end and he needed to face it.
"Please, Kane. How is she? How is my Malika?" Jer asked and for a moment there Elodie felt like she had betrayed her Alpha but sleeping with his wife and fucking her senseless into the night.
Sure, Malika had begged for it, but it didn't make it any better. She had betrayed the Alpha and there was no point in denying it, not that she would ever tell that to him. If anything, this was between her conscience and her alone.
'Stupid Alpha,' Malika thought to herself as she used her powers to hear what Jer was saying. It was one of her many abilities but she never used them because she wanted to know what it meant to communicate with people.
However, now that she read his mind, she was certain she would never do it again.
She didn't want to die so early of cringing. She hated the way Jer thought of her and goddamn, it made her mad, so mad that if Hawi didn't summon her earlier, she would have ripped him apart.
"What happened?" Malika asked her tone going soft as she looked at her husband. Away from her spite, Malika could tell just how much the war had hurt Jer. He looked like a strange runner.
His eyes were dark and he had bags under them he looked like he had been to hell and back yet at the snow time his hell was just beginning. He looked hopeless looking at Malika like he noted to reach out.
So Malika did the inky thing she could. She rushed to Jeremiah Warner, throwing herself in his arms despite the way she despised him. She had mastered that art, as disgusting as it was to her.
"I'm sorry I scared you," Malika apologized and Jer just pulled her into a hug.
He loved holding he because with her he felt safe. Sure, he's the one with power but coming home to his Malika made very fight worth it. He just wasn't sure if the last night was going to be worth it, especially now that he had lost her womb.
"No, my love. I am sorry for what happened to you yesterday. I know an apology doesn't even begin to cut it but I hope you can forgive me. I will be better.
"I will do everything possible just to keep you safe my love, even if I have to side with the craziest crazies I ever met," Jer said softly as he kissed his mate's hair. He loved her so much. He loved her to the point that he would make a deal with the devil for her.
"The warlock who saved me?" Malika asked meekly as she held on tighter to Jer.
"Yes. But she is just one of the seven. They told me to give them Rukiya in exchange for protecting you and keeping you safe, and I will do just that. No one will ever hurt you baby, not even Awuor," Jer said confidently and Malika nodded in understanding.