Chapter 13: Malachi

MALACHI

"You can be a real asshole, Kai. Leave Briar alone," my little cousin warns me. We both know I'd win in a fight, but Ronan seems ready to try his luck for Briar.

"You have a crush on her?" I ask, dreading the answer. I hope, for his sake, the answer is no. My brothers feel the same pull I do to her. I'll share her attention with them. Anyone else, though, I'll rip limb from limb if they think of touching her. She's mine. The beast roaring in my mind wholeheartedly agrees.

"Ew, no. She's like Rory to me. Why would you even ask that, man?" Ronan's face scrunches up in disgust. I breathe out a sigh of relief. That's one less problem I need to worry about tonight.

Tonight's main problem is lucky I'm not turning her ass red for her stupid decisions. I about had a heart attack when I saw Briar down half a bottle of vodka in one long drink. That's way too much alcohol at once, even for one of us.

What the hell was she thinking?

Oh, that's right. She wasn't.

I saw the moment it dawned on her that she fucked up. Her ice-blue eyes widened in realization before she started shoving at me. Not that it did any good. Briar's not weak by any measure, but she's no match for me or my brothers.

I only barely bit back my groan at how good her small hands felt on me. It was even harder not to beg her to keep touching me.

"Just checking," I rumble. Clapping Ronan on the shoulder, I leave the kitchen. I stride to the stairs, climbing up to the second-floor catwalk. From up here, I can see almost the whole first floor. I easily spot Briar dancing with Rory. I'll leave her be as long as it's only Rory she's dancing with. If she dances with another man, all bets are off.

I watch her dance for a couple hours. Briar's as carefree as I've ever seen her, due to the vodka, no doubt. I wish she'd tell me what's going on, so I can fix it for her. Whatever it is that has her eyes drowning in shadows doesn't seem to be a current threat to her safety. The second it is, I'm done waiting. Briar's going to tell me whether she likes it or not.

I'm pulled from my thoughts when I see Briar moving through the crowd. She's swaying slightly as she moves.

How drunk is she?

As she approaches the stairs, I make my way down to meet her, before her drunk ass gets in any trouble. "You drunk?" I ask as she reaches the bottom stair. Briar startles, not having seen me leaning against the railing.

"Absolutely," she tells me with a grin.

"At least you're honest." My hands itch to touch her. I shove them in my pockets to avoid the temptation.

"I'm always honest, except when I'm not," she says with an adorable smile and big blue eyes gazing up at me. Fuck, she's cute. I didn't know my shriveled, black heart could feel emotions like this anymore.

"That's how it works for everyone, baby girl," I reply with an indulgent smile. The pet name slips out before I can stop it. Oh well. I doubt she'll remember it with how wasted she is.

Her dark brows furrow, but she doesn't say anything else.

As content as I am to stare at her all night, I'd rather do it away from all the fuckwits down here. They're staring at her, and it's starting to piss me off. I have to remind my beast of the many reasons we can't just murder anyone who looks at her. The longer they stare at her, the fewer reasons I have to give him. "Where you headed?" I ask, hoping she says upstairs.

"I dunno. I'm just tired. And I hate all the people down here," she informs me, with her full lips turned down in a pout.

"Wanna go upstairs? The guest rooms are off-limits for the party. You can hang out until you're ready to go home."

"Sure. I'm spending the night, though. I don't have a home, anyway. At least not anymore," Briar tells me quietly. The pain swimming in her icy eyes guts me. Unable to resist, I crush her against my chest. One of my hands tunnels in her silky raven hair, holding her to me. "This is nice," she mumbles, voice muffled.

"Yeah?" I ask as I rub soothing circles on her back with my other hand.

"Yeah. We should do it more often," she informs me seriously. A laugh bursts out of me at that. If only she knew how much I wanted to do this, and a hell of a lot more, every day. She'd freak out.

"I'm gonna pick you up now, baby girl." When she doesn't protest, I grab her by her thighs. As I hoist her up, her legs automatically wrap around my waist. Briar throws her arms around my neck and nuzzles her head into the crook of my shoulder. I can't hold back a groan when I feel her hot lips press against my throat, tongue peeking out to taste me.

This girl is going to be the death of me.

I only have so much self-control.

"You taste good," Briar tells me, her warm breath fanning across my neck.

I hum in response, having nothing even remotely appropriate to say.

Deciding I need to get her upstairs immediately, I take the stairs two at a time. Hanging a right at the second floor, I turn toward the wing of guest rooms. I head to the door at the furthest end of the hall.

Pulling open the white door, I step inside the tastefully decorated, if a bit bland, room. My eyes sweep over the gray walls, wood floors, and geometric bedspread as I make sure no one's in here. Other than us, the only things occupying the room are the queen bed and matching white nightstands. Closing the door, I walk over to the bed and sit on the edge of the plush mattress. I don't let Briar go. I'm not ready to stop holding her just yet.

I've been holding myself back from touching her for months. It's easier to keep myself in check in class. But when we're alone in my office? It's nearly impossible. For two hours every week, she's right there. We're alone, but I can't do a damn thing because she has no idea what she is or who we are to her.

Sighing at the clusterfuck of our situation, I bury my face in Briar's thick hair. I inhale her lavender and sunshine scent. Holding her like this, I feel more at peace than I ever have.

After a few minutes of us sitting like this, Briar starts squirming on my lap. The semi I always have around her turns into a full-blown hard-on as she rubs her ass back and forth on me.

Fucking hell. I don't have enough self-control for this.

Gritting my teeth, I grab her hips to stop her movements. What I really want to do is grind her down harder against me, but she's drunk. Now is not the time. "Do you need something, Briar?" I ask in as level a tone as I can manage.

"I need to pee," she whispers, sounding sleepier than she did downstairs.

I stand up, still holding her, and stalk over to the attached bath. It takes every ounce of my willpower to set her down when all I want to do is keep her in my arms. "Here's the bathroom."

She darts inside and slams the door. I lean against the wall next to the bathroom and scrub a hand over my face. After a few minutes, Briar opens the bathroom door. She walks out, blinking tired eyes at me.

"Wanna lie down, baby girl?" I move to stand in front of her as I talk. She has to tilt her head back to keep eye contact with me.

"Mm, yeah." She glances at the bed before focusing back on me. Surprising the hell out of me, she pulls her tank top over her head before letting it drop to the ground.

When her delicate hands move to the button of her jeans, I make a strangled sound. "What are you doing?" I ask in a gruff voice.

"Getting undressed for bed." She pushes her jeans down her legs before toeing off her boots. Hopping from foot to foot, Briar gets her pants off. She's standing in front of me in nothing but her bra and panties.

Like the bastard I am, I don't look away. Instead, I appreciate how the navy lace of her bra and panties stands out starkly against her pale skin. Briar's tits are a perfect handful, not too big or too small. Her narrow waist dips in before flaring out at her hips.

My gaze keeps straying to where the column of her neck meets her shoulder. It would look perfect with two crescent indents of my teeth, marking her for everyone to see. As soon as I think that, my beast starts going wild. He wants us to mark what's ours. I can hold him back for now, but I don't know how much longer that will last with her being practically naked before me.

Reaching behind me, I pull my shirt over my head. My T-shirt should be more comfortable to sleep in than her strappy top. "Arms up," I order Briar. When she complies, I slide my tee over her arms and head. She lowers her arms and pulls her hair out of the neckline. Briar reaches behind her to unhook her bra, letting it slide to the ground.

My shirt hits her at midthigh, looking like a dress on her. I can't help the flare of satisfaction I feel in my gut at dressing her in my clothes and covering her in my scent.

She stands there staring up at me, eyes wide and guileless. I realize she's waiting for me to tell her what to do. Her obedience does not help my raging hard-on. In fact, it makes me even harder, which I didn't think was possible.

"Get in bed." Briar does as I say, quickly climbing under the covers.

I should keep my pants on and lie on top of the bedspread, but we've already established I'm an opportunistic bastard. I step out of my shoes, shuck my jeans, and climb in beside Briar. Lying on my back, I wrap one of my arms around her. She lays her head on my chest, curls around me, and promptly falls asleep.

Briar's only been sleeping for a few minutes when Ronan comes barging through the door. He quickly takes in Briar wearing my shirt and lying on my bare chest and comes to the wrong conclusion.

"What the fuck, Kai! I told you to stay away from her. Not fuck her!" Ronan whisper yells, trying not to wake Briar. "She's our friend! I told her I'd take care of her tonight. Fuck! Why couldn't you fuck around with someone else? And since when do you fuck college girls?"

Ronan paces in front of the bed, shoving his hand aggressively through his hair. He looks torn up, tugging at the ends of his hair.

On one hand, I feel bad that he's so messed up over something that didn't happen. On the other hand, I'm pissed that he's acting like Briar doesn't mean everything to me. "First, I didn't fuck her. I don't fuck drunk women. Second, I didn't fuck around with her. She's mine."

Ronan scoffs. "What? She's your girlfriend now? Yeah, right. You're her professor. And we all know you don't do relationships. For fuck's sake, Kai!"

"No. She's mine. And Xander's and Bastian's," I tell him evenly. His eyes eventually light with understanding at what I'm trying to tell him. I can't say it outright, not with so many ears here.

"Oh shit," he breathes. "How long have you known?"

"Since the first day of class." I knew she was mine as soon as I caught her intoxicating scent.

"Why haven't you marked her?" Ronan's face is wrinkled in confusion. If this were a normal situation, I would have marked her within hours of meeting her, but nothing about Briar or her situation has been typical.

"Because she doesn't know."

"She doesn't feel the pull to you?"

"I'm pretty sure she feels the pull, but she doesn't know what she is."

Ronan leans against the wall, looking dazed at that. It's practically unheard of for someone not to know what they are. Something is very wrong in her life for her to be clueless.

"How does she not know?"

"I don't know, Rone. We've been trying to figure that out." Even with all three of us working on it, we still haven't gotten any closer to knowing why. It's like Briar Wylder's a ghost. We can't find anything more than basic info on her. Until we figure out why she doesn't know, we don't want to say anything about it to her. It'll be a shock to learn she's not human. We want to have answers for her to explain why she never knew what she was.

Ronan pulls his lips between his teeth, trying to decide whether to say something. He comes to a decision as he softly informs me, "I think someone's hurting her."

I stiffen at his quiet statement. "What makes you say that?" I bark, angry at myself for potentially misjudging the threat to Briar.

"At least once a week, Briar walks stiffly between classes. She'll wince when she sits or puts on her bag. She also eats way more than usual on those days, like her body's working overtime to heal something." Ronan takes a breath before continuing. "Rory and I have been trying to get her to spend more time with us. We don't know what else to do other than keep her away from whoever is hurting her."

Ronan hangs his head, like he's ashamed he hasn't been able to do more. He's not the one who should feel bad.

I am.

I'm the one that's supposed to protect her. Yet, I've been letting her get hurt every week for months?

Fuck!

I need to calm down. If I get any angrier, I'm going to wake her up. Judging by the dark circles under her eyes, she needs all the sleep she can get. Closing my eyes, I count down from ten in my mind. When I'm calm enough to talk quietly, I tell Ronan, "Thanks for letting me know. We knew something was going on, but we didn't think it was an active threat to her."

"I just wish we could do more for her." Ronan pushes the heels of his hands to his eyes. His mouth is turned down, and he looks almost as devastated as I feel.

"You've done what you could, Ronan. Don't beat yourself up." It's the truth. He's just a kid, a decade younger than me, and she's not his. There really isn't much he can do. My brothers and I, however? We can and will put a stop to it. I'll give Briar today. Come Monday, she's telling us what's going on. Her time to keep secrets is over.

"You spending the night?" Ronan asks.

"Yeah, and I don't think it needs to be said, but keep this to yourself."

"Can I tell Rory?"

"You can tell Rory, but no one else. Not even your parents. Ours don't know yet. Your mom will run straight to our dad if she finds out."

Ronan chuckles at that. His mom is a notorious gossip. She means well, but she loves to share big news with everyone.

It's not that I don't want my parents to know. They'll be overjoyed when we tell them, and they'll absolutely love Briar, but Briar should be the first person we tell. It feels wrong to announce it to our parents when she doesn't even know.

What a fucking mess.

"Do you want me to lock the door on the way out? I need to get back down and check on Rory."

"Please do."

"Oh, and Kai?" I look up from Briar at his question. "I don't give a fuck about the hierarchy or that you're my cousin. If you hurt her, I'll end you."

"I'd expect nothing less, Rone."

With one last look at Briar, Ronan leaves the room. The door snicks quietly on his way out.

I brush a strand of hair out of Briar's face, before tucking my free hand behind my head. Staring down at her, I know I could stay like this forever. In sleep, she has the peace she's missing when awake. "No one's going to hurt you again, baby girl," I whisper to her and place a kiss on the top of her head. I'm willing to do anything to keep my vow.

I close my eyes for a moment, not intending to fall asleep.

When I blink open my eyes, bright sunlight streams through the window. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, I see it's eleven in the morning. I slept a solid eight hours, which never happens.

I'm not sure how much longer Briar will be asleep. I should probably move her to Rory's room, so she doesn't freak at waking up next to me.

Letting out a soft groan, I gently untangle myself from her. She doesn't wake as her head hits the pillow. I put on my jeans and turn back to the bed. Reluctantly, I gather her up in my arms bridal style. I don't want this night to end. While I could do without the drunkenness, holding her in my arms all night was probably the closest I'll ever get to heaven.

With a heavy sigh, I make my way out of the guest room. Reaching Rory's room, I bend down slightly to turn the doorknob without jostling Briar. I walk inside and see that Rory's still asleep. As quietly as I can, I round Rory's pink and gray bed. When I reach the other side, I carefully set Briar on top of the covers, ensuring her head is resting on a pillow. I bend down and place a lingering kiss on her head before standing.

When I straighten up, I'm met with Rory's wide eyes. "Talk to Ronan," I mouth to her. I wait for her nod before making my way out of the room.

There isn't much I can do for Briar right now, other than make sure she has a good breakfast this morning. She's going to have one hell of a headache. Greasy food should help.

Feeling better that I have something to do, I head to the kitchen to start on breakfast.