Into the Wild Dark

CHAPTER 21 - MAL

Ch. 21: Mal's Reasons

September 3 | Dawn

The morning sun cracked and spilled runny yellows and whites across the sky. I looked up from the breakfast I was cooking to stare out the window, lost in thought.

I normally didn't cook. We had staff for the day-to-day running of the house, but this morning I had to escape myself. My hands dug into the plump, yeasty dough and formed round balls of bread. Bacon sizzled and hissed behind me. Sausage patties browned in the oven. A sunny mess of scrambled eggs filled the bowl beside me. He needed the protein.

Fledgling werewolves could be temperamental at best and deadly at worst. Feeding them enough usually helped. I checked the fridge for milk, and when I turned around, Ava was perched against the island with her arms crossed.

"You scared me," I chuckled.

"What's all this?" She gestured at the flour-specked countertop. Dirty bowls and measuring cups cavorted with clean pots and pans. Cooking ingredients hadn't made it back to the pantry. I flushed as I realized how I must look with bacon grease and biscuit batter staining my clothes.

Laughing, I said sheepishly, "You're right, I'm not cut out for domesticity."

"I didn't say that; you did. But, I mean, why are you cooking in the first place? This isn't like you."

Cherie quietly joined Ava's staring contest with me. Our little sister hopped on a barstool. I was put on the spot. Shaking my head, I snorted and got back to work. "I'm just cooking something for Jack. Last night was hard on him."

"You never cared in the past," Ava observed.

"What are you talking about? We've always been hospitable to guests. The Ashivants are known for our hospitality." I plopped the last ball of dough on a baking sheet and stuck it in the oven as I checked the sausage for readiness.

"Are we playing this game?" Ava asked when I rose dusting my hands. "You know Jack stopped being a guest a long time ago. You've never coddled anyone destined to be devoured. We toy with them, flatter them, placate them, but never care."

My jaw dropped at her implications. "Ava, I don't know why you're reading so much into a simple act of necessity. It's not like we've ever had another situation like this. I'm taking food to Jack because he's staying in our home for a longer duration than our usual dark hearts, and the man has to eat."

"You're skirting the fact we have dozens of scullery maids and housekeepers to tend to that. So, I ask you again, why are you doing it?"

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell her I was tormented by the thought of harming Jack. I couldn't say I felt like I had trapped him as surely as the three of us were trapped. Or that I had barely spared Sunny's wings and only if he was wise enough to heed me.

I couldn't reveal the toughest medicine–that I had peered into Jack's soul after his transformation and found his heart darker. Because of me. He was angry, vengeful, stung by my betrayal, which had done more to sway him to his destruction than any ire he felt toward Zyr Ravani. I won, but it was a pyrrhic victory. He hated me.

"You're in love with him," Ava whispered.

Hot tears stung my eyes unexpectedly, shocking me quite as much as her words. "No," I stated, sniffing to compose myself. "No, I'm attracted to him, sure. He's attractive. Hell, Sunny is attractive, but you wouldn't accuse me of being in love with him." I laughed.

Ava perched on the stool next to Cherie and didn't blink. With that telekinetic link specific to sisters, I read her mind. "That's the kindest offer my sister has ever made a man." She knew I had saved the angel's life.