AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He leans down, brushing a kiss across my forehead.
“Besides, you took my knot. You think I’m ever letting you go now?” He laughs before muttering, “Who knew a beta could smell like heaven and open up for my knot?”
My heart crashes, but for now, I let myself believe in the possibility of safety and acceptance.
39
ZANE
It’s Sunday, and I’m avoiding home like it’s a battlefield, knowing she’s there, waiting to shatter my resolve. She’s everywhere—in my head and in my dreams.
She’s under my fucking skin.
I should have come back last night. Instead, I dragged Malachi out on some bullshit mission to obtain the footage from the club, and then, I convinced him to stay with me at the office, a place we rarely ever sleep. I even canceled my Sunday morning class, which made me feel like an asshole because I am an asshole.
My leg bounces as I pull up the surveillance footage from the club Friday night, while Malachi snores on the couch not ten feet from me. I could have asked Quinn, but I can see how much he adores Aria. I’m pretty sure he would have told me to go pound sand, so it’s up to me, and it’s taken me days to do what he could have done in under an hour, but I trust my gut, and it’s never led me astray.
My eyes begin to blur, and I rub the grit from them and stand to stretch. We are in the main office in the heart of Puritan City. The building is nothing more than offices that were once full of hope for new jobs and small businesses. Unfortunately, only half of the building is full. Somehow, Malachi scored us an executive office on the third floor…probably because no one else could afford it.
The building is old and has that old-world charm—something I’d love any other day of the week, just not today. Today, it makes my skin itch. Hell, everything is making my skin itch. It feels too tight, as though I need to peel it off my body. I shuffle over to my cheap coffeemaker. It’s absolute shit, and nothing like the one we have at home.
We could have gone into Malachi’s office, but I have the good couch…only because I’m the only one who will sleep in his office. Sometimes, I just need to be left alone.
I lean against the counter and look around at the expanse of gray walls without decorations, aside from my GED. I never graduated high school, but I did get that stupid piece of paper on my wall. Hell, I never even went to college, and the only reason I never enlisted in the alpha services is because Malachi came up with this harebrained idea about keeping people safe and protected.
As I stare at the surveillance footage, a memory surfaces, as vivid as if it happened yesterday. Malachi and I, teenagers then, on a sweltering day downtown… It wasn’t much, just a row home in the middle, but we had a small patch of grass and a pool in the back. Summer was our favorite season, and someone had just uncapped a fire hydrant down the street. Malachi and I were playing basketball, and the heat was turning the air sour.
We just decided to join them when we heard someone scream. There wasn’t any hesitation. We ran. It could have ended up as the worst mistake of our lives, because we got to the fire hydrant in time to see a young girl being held down in front of the spray. We reacted, knocking into the alphas.
We’d just revealed as alphas, so of course we thought we were hot shit. We weren’t. They beat the shit out of us, but it saved the girl, and as we all sat there with the ambulance an hour later, she told us something that stuck with me for life.
Between sniffles, she gave us a lecture, and to this day, I remember it word for word, even though I never saw her again.
“You two have strength, but you’re wasting it on petty fights and street brawls. This world doesn’t need more broken alphas, it needs protectors—men who use their power to make a difference. You’ve been given a gift, and with it comes responsibility. Channel your strength and anger into something meaningful. Don’t be like these other alphas.
“Use your experiences and pain to fuel a purpose. There are so many who live in fear and need the kind of protection only you can offer. Start something that stands for justice, integrity, and protection. Create a service that defends the vulnerable and upholds the principles of honor and respect.
“Build something that ensures no one else has to suffer the way you did. Your scars aren’t just reminders of your past, they are a call to action. Answer it, and become the shield and sword for those who can’t fight for themselves. That is where you’ll find true strength and purpose.”
Malachi took it to heart, and he began drafting up Puritan City Alpha Security. It took a decade to get going, and now, a handful of years later, here we are. We worked our asses off to get to this point. She wasn’t the first girl we saved, and she wasn’t even the only one we failed.
We failed a lot of people, but it was years later, when I almost lost Malachi, that I adjusted my position in his group.
It was one of those cold, rainy nights in Puritan City that seemed to drain the life out of everything. Malachi and I were working late, just another routine shift as security guards for a high-profile corporate building. Back then, we really took any gig we could get. The city was unusually quiet, with only the sound of raindrops tapping against the windows. We had just finished our rounds and were settling in for what we thought would be an uneventful night, then the alarm system went off.
Malachi was always the first to respond, and that night was no different. He sprinted toward the source of the disturbance while I trailed behind, trying to keep up. What we found was a group of armed robbers attempting to break into the building’s secure vault. Malachi didn’t hesitate. He called for backup and tried to confront the intruders head-on.
The robbers were prepared and heavily armed. A fierce struggle broke out, with Malachi using every bit of his training to hold them off, but in the chaos, one of the robbers managed to get the upper hand. I saw it happen in slow motion—the butt of a gun struck Malachi, disorienting him. As he fell to the ground, the robber shot him in the chest at close range.
The sound of the gunshot echoed through the building, and I felt cold dread grip my heart. Malachi collapsed, blood pooling around him, and the robbers, thinking they neutralized the threat, continued with their heist. I was paralyzed for a moment, watching my best friend bleed out on the cold, hard floor.
Malachi wasn’t done yet. Even as his vision blurred and his strength ebbed away, he managed to grab his radio. With what little energy he had left, he called for help one last time. His voice was weak, but it was enough.
Backup arrived just in time. The police and paramedics rushed in, apprehending the robbers and providing Malachi with the medical attention he desperately needed. I stayed by his side as they rushed him to the hospital. The doctors worked frantically, and after what felt like an eternity, they told us the bullet had narrowly missed his heart. Malachi survived, but just barely.
During his long recovery, I visited him every day. We talked about a lot of things, but mostly about the incident. It had shaken him to his core, but it also brought a newfound clarity and purpose. Malachi realized that his survival was more than just a stroke of luck, it was a second chance.
He often mentioned the advice we’d gotten from that day years ago, the words about using our strength for something meaningful echoing in our minds. Malachi understood now more than ever the importance of protecting others and standing up against those who would do harm. This experience became the driving force behind his decision to co-found Puritan Alpha Security with me.
