“Do you want me to leave?”
“No! No, of course I don’t want you to leave. I … this is all we’re going to have and I didn’t know if you’re staying with us because we all got you here, protected you or what?”
She smiled. “I thought you wanted me gone then. I was a little freaked out.”
“None of us want you gone.”
“Malachi, I consider you, Sasha, Lucy, and even Tree Man to be my family. I’m not staying here out of guilt. I’m staying here because this is where I want to be and there’s no place that could give me what you guys do. I feel like I belong here.”
“And you do,” Sasha said.
Malachi hadn’t even heard his woman arrive. She had a bruise across her cheek. “What the fuck?”
“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t duck fast enough. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Anyone know why they’re not letting us see Tree Man?”
“I know,” Millie said.
Malachi listened as Millie told Sasha exactly what she had him.
“That’s creepy,” she said.
“Isn’t it?” Millie said. “I don’t know what to make of it.”
“We’ll all head over to the quarantine tomorrow. He is, after all, one of us,” Sasha said, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Malachi was pissed she had a bruise on her face, but what he also didn’t like was how out of breath she sounded. She’d been sluggish lately, and while they were visiting Tree Man, he would get the doctor to look her over.
“So we’re a family. I’m really pleased you don’t want to leave, Millie,” Sasha said.
“As long as it’s okay with the two of you. I don’t want to come between you guys, you know.”
“It’s no problem with me,” Sasha said. “I like the idea of us all being a family. We’ve all lost so much. I think it’s time for us to rebuild our future together.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Their happily ever after… for now
The men stood in front of him, armed, ready. They’d been planning for this. If the Clan was going to reign supreme, survive this world, they had to make their own rules.
And Strike was going to make that a reality.
He was going to make it their reality.
Strike moved back and forth slowly, the bodies of his warriors as far as he could see. Some were trained, others the elderly or boys. But they all had one thing in common.
They’d die for this.
And that’s exactly what they’d all do if it came down to it, because if you weren’t at the top of the food chain, you were nothing but a body taking up space.
Strike was going to bring his army to that safe haven up north, and he was going to take everything they had.
They had to be the ones on top.
And Strike was going to make that a reality.
He was going to make it their reality when the time was right, when they were stronger… prepared to take the world.
Malachi held Sasha, her naked, soft body pressed against his. The steady, even sound of her breathing could’ve lulled him to sleep. He was exhausted, but sleep just wouldn’t claim him. He was happy, deliriously so.
Things were working well. They had a life here, safety and protection. They had food and shelter, and Lucy and Sasha were safe. That’s all he could ask for.
He shifted slightly and looked down at her. The dark crescent shape of her eyelashes falling against her alabaster cheeks had his heart racing. He wanted so much more with her.
Although marriage and weddings weren’t what this world was about anymore, Malachi still couldn’t help but feel the desire for all of that with Sasha. He wanted her as his wife, as the mother of his children. He wanted to grow old with her, to have a family.
Yeah, he wanted forever with her.
He slipped his hand under the blanket and placed it on her flat stomach, wondering if even now she was carrying his child. It wasn’t like he’d used protection any of the times he’d claimed her.
And the very thought that she’d be his always had Malachi even more possessive of her. And that was saying a hell of a lot since he already felt like a caveman where Sasha was concerned.
She stirred slightly but stayed asleep, and he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. She smelled like lavender, like the fresh lavender they used in the homemade soap they gave them in their rations.
“What are you thinking about?” Her drowsy voice stirred him and he opened his eyes.
Malachi shifted so he could look at her. “I’m thinking about you. Us. Everything. I’m thinking about what the future holds.”
She smiled drowsily and he pulled her in close once more… impossibly closer.
“Do you think all of this will work out? Do you think we can truly be safe and happy here?”