The Alpha's Progeny [The Alpha's #3]
Chapter 22

MALIK VLADIMIR

“So, do we know what we’re going to do about all of this?” Anastasia asked from where she was breastfeeding baby Penelope at the kitchen counter. While she did that, he made pancakes for them all.

“What? About the child sacrifices and possibly freeing an evil deity from the chains the Moon Goddess has him locked away in? I was thinking that we could do nothing and hopefully, the problem will just go away on its own,” Malik snorted as he slid a stack of pancakes in front of her.

“I don’t appreciate the sarcasm,” she sent him a pointed look but struggled to keep the slow-growing grin off her face.

“In all honesty, I could barely sleep last night. All I could do was think but I have no idea what we’re going to do,” Malik sighed as he turned around to keep flipping pancakes for everyone else.

“That’s good because I have a plan!” Anastasia grinned but was cut off by Clyde rushing into the kitchen.

“Thanks mum!” Clyde grinned as he swiped her plate before rushing out of the face without so much as a glance over his shoulder.

“What just happened there?” Anastasia blinked, staring at Malik in confusion.

“Apparently he lost a bet and now has to cook breakfast for all his friends,” Marcellus announced as he walked into the kitchen, reaching down to take his daughter from his mate.

“Except, that boy doesn’t even know how to turn on the stove,” Anastasia snorted but the sound was quick to die when Malik slid another large stack of pancakes in front of her.

“We have a lot to talk about but let me drop this little princess off at the pack house,” Marcellus cooed at the baby in his arms. “She’s got a playdate lined up with some of the other pups.”

Speaking of pups,” Malik glanced over his shoulder, returning to the previous topic they were discussing before the whirlwind that was Clyde Storm had come rushing about the place.

By the time Marcellus returned from the pack house, Malik and Anastasia had already worked out half the specifics of what they would need to do and with his input, they were confident all bases were covered.

“You think that would work?” Malik asked, hopeful but still worried. It was difficult not to be when the stakes were so high.

“Oh, it’ll definitely work!” Anastasia scoffed, evidently confident in her plan.

“So, what do we do until then?” Malik hummed, helping himself to another – also, the last – pancake.

“We have to act as normal as possible,” Marcellus turned to send them both a pointed look. “We need to keep up pretences and act like nothing has changed. Like we don’t know anything, especially with those two guards of yours.”

“Speaking of guards, do either of you know where they are?” Malik asked, having not seen them since yesterday after lunch. After that, he hadn’t managed to catch sight of either of them which was both a blessing and a curse. More so the latter, he would say.

“I have them out patrolling the borders with some of the others,” Marcellus told him. “Why?”

“Because I’ve got to ask my mate out on a date.”

-

“I had such a great day today,” Trinity exhaled in bliss, her eyes fluttering closed as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I had a great day as well, Trin,” Malik murmured back, leaning over to brush his lips against her forehead.

As they couldn’t start their plan just yet, Malik had a whole lot of time on his hands. The most obvious answer was to spend time with his mate, especially since they hadn’t spent much time getting to know each other yet. Unfortunately, her family situation meant that things weren’t as simple as either of them wished for it to be.

Malik wanted to take Trinity out on a date. A proper date. With dinner, movies, maybe a walk down the beach. As that wasn’t possible, not without the both of them being spotted and the information being relayed back to her parents, the both of them had resorted to the mall as if they were teenagers. The shops were far too obvious so they stayed hidden in the arcade where the arcade had terrible lighting and was filled with teenagers that didn’t give a single shit about anyone but themselves.

It was perfect for them.

Or rather, it was until they grew hungry and the greasy food in the arcade just wasn’t enough for them. They waited around for a while before heading to the food court. As it was so late in the evening, there weren’t many people around to witness them work their way through greasy cheeseburgers, frothy milkshakes and far too many cheesy fries.

“I know this isn’t your ideal idea of a date, but I promise things will get better eventually,” Malik brushed another kiss against her forehead. “You just need to stick out with me for a while, okay?”

“This date was perfect. You don’t need to worry about anything,” Trinity assured him with a sweet smile. “And I promise that things will eventually get better with my parents. You just have to stick it out with me.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” he murmured, unable to take his eyes off the beauty that was his mate. Before he could sweep in and steal a kiss, they were rudely interrupted.

“As sweet as your words are, you need to get away from my sister,” a loud, booming voice called out to them.

Malik forced himself to glance away from his mate. He looked up and locked eyes with a familiar pair of dark eyes, an identical pair sitting right next to him.

“And why would I do that?” Malik quirked a daring brow, making a show of tightening the arm casually thrown over his mate’s shoulder.

“Because my sister is an angel compared to the monster that you are,” Paul snapped. Any angrier and he would be foaming at the corners of his mouth.

“I think that’s taking it a bit too far,” Malik chuckled but the sound wasn’t the least bit humoured.

“Paul, what are you doing here?” Trinity huffed, finally lifting her head off his shoulder.

“You were supposed to be home an hour ago,” her brother crossed his arms over his chest. “Mum and dad have been worried sick about you. Especially because they know the Alpha is back.”

“Well, you’ve found me so you can leave now,” she snapped at her brother before pursing her lips. “How did you replace me anyway?”

“You had your Snapchat map still on.”

“So, you were tracking me,” she frowned, clearly not the least bit impressed with her brother.

“I wasn’t tracking you,” Paul denied even though it was evident that’s exactly what he had been doing. “Like I said, mum and dad were worried about you so I offered to come look for you.”

“You mean, you offered to come and get me?” she rolled her eyes.

“Call it whatever you want but you’re coming home with me,” Paul snapped back at her.

“I don’t think so,” Malik quickly inserted himself back into the situation. Before her brother could act upon his own accord, he moved to stand in front of his mate. “Trinity will go home when she wants to. She’s old enough to be making her own decisions, and that includes deciding when she calls it a night. I mean, it’s not even eight in the evening yet.”

“She’s our past curfew,” Paul tried to argue but Malik was quick to cut him off.

“Let me guess. This curfew was only invented after we announced that we were mates?” Malik quirked an eyebrow, daring him to deny what he knew to be the truth.

“That’s none of your business.”

“I’ve never had a curfew in my life before,” Trinity snorted from behind him, not sounding the least bit pleased with this supposed curfew. “You’re being really ridiculous now, Paul. Just go home. I won’t be long behind you.”

“And leave you behind with this monster? I don’t think so,” Paul snorted, a disgruntled expression on his face.

“What’s wrong with you, Paul? Stop calling him that!” Tiffany moved past him to growl at her brother, not the least bit appreciative of the way he was treating her mate. His supposed brother-in-law.

“You need to stop calling me that,” Malik growled in agreement with his mate as he turned his attention back to Paul.

“Why would I do that?” Paul scoffed and cocked a cocky brow. “What happened to calling a rock a rock? Calling a monster a monster?”

“Stop calling me a fucking monster!” Malik growled, a dark glint in his eyes as he took a menacing step toward Paul. “Let me tell you this, Paul. My father is a fucking monster. I am nothing compared to him so don’t go running your mouth when you don’t know shit!”

“Oh, trust me, I know all about you, Malik Vladimir,” Paul continued to sneer at him. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out.

How could they when Malik forced the words back into his mouth by forcing his fist down his throat?

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Paul growled as he took a step back and spat on the ground, the colour red. “I can’t believe you just fucking hit me!”

“Malik, what are you doing?” Trinity called out after him, rushing to put herself in the middle of both of them; perhaps to prevent the situation from getting even more out of hand.

“I’m sorry, Trin,” the apology was quick to rush out of his mouth. “I just couldn’t hold myself back. Not when he kept calling me a monster.”

“I know you’re not a monster, Malik,” she sighed, her face softening as she took a step closer to him. “I know you’re not a monster and you know you’re not a monster. That’s all that should matter. Not what anyone else thinks. And certainly not what my stupid brother thinks.”

Malik opened his mouth to say something but before he could get the words out, Paul returned to continue digging himself a grave.

“Like hell he’s not a monster!” Paul growled as he glared between the both of them. “And I can’t believe you’re defending him right now!” he growled at his sister; something which Malik didn’t appreciate in the least. “He just punched me! How can you defend him after that?”

“Don’t try to pretend like you’re innocent in all of this!” Trinity growled back, rolling her eyes. “I’m not condoning violence in any way but you can’t expect to run your mouth like that and not get something back in return.”

“Five minutes with this guy and you’ve changed!” Paul growled at his sister once again before finally returning his attention to Malik. “Just because my sister is defending you doesn’t mean that I’m going to go easy on you,” he spat. “You’re a disgusting fucking monster. Both you and your dad! And my sister doesn’t deserve that. She deserves to be with someone who’s not fucked up like you. She deserves so much better than you.”

“You’re right. Your sister does deserve the absolute best but unfortunately, she’s ended up with me,” Malik paused to spare his mate a look when she sent him a pointed look, evidently not a fan of his self-depreciation. “But I’m going to spend the rest of my life being deserving of her. That may not be good enough for you but frankly, I don’t care. As long as it’s good enough for Trinity, it’s good enough for me.”

“Don’t act like you know what’s best for my sister!” Paul growled. “I’m just trying to protect her. The last thing I want for her to end up like your mum.”

“What did you just say?” Malik forced the question out through gritted teeth, taking a warning step toward Paul who seemed to take sick joy in riling him up with such disgusting words.

“You heard me,” Paul puffed out his chest in defiance. “We all know that your dad killed your mum. I’m just-” he never got to finish his sentence as Malik leaped at him once again.

He immediately went for the neck, wrapping both his hands around the voice box that dared utter such despicable words. That dared take sick joy in the fact that his mum was no longer passed away. This was a sore point for anyone without a parent and for Paul to poke fun at it, to make a joke out of his dead mum, was nothing short of disgusting.

Trinity screamed in the background, trying to pull him off her brother but Malik couldn’t hear anything. He didn’t hear the way she was begging him to stop and spare her brother’s life. And he most certainly didn’t hear the way Paul was gagging and gurgling, desperately trying to gasp for air that Malik never intended to reach him.

“Malik! Please stop!” Trinity cried out, stilling trying to push him off her brother. “You’re going to kill him, Malik! Please stop!”

Kill? He was going to kill someone?

Malik gulped at her words and slowly turned his head to face her. He stared into her dark eyes, at both the shed and unshed tears, at the way she was now silently begging him to have mercy. He stared at his reflection, at the way he had his hands were squeezed tight around Paul’s neck, at the way Paul was writhing underneath him, his face turning a pale blue.

Immediately, he let go and sat back on his bottom, unable to stare at anything but his hands. His big, calloused hands that were about to take another life.

What had he done? What was he doing? What was he thinking?

He wasn’t like his dad. He refused to be anything like his dad.

-

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Layla Knight

21.08.2021