If Only

14. Malachi

"Malachi?"
"Yes, Emily?" She asks as our fingers interlock, walking down the paved roads to the small town hidden in the forest.

"Why are we doing this? I can just go back home and get stuff. You don't need to spend any more money on me."
"Stop that. You are not going back to your fathers. And I want to show you my shops since you know you didn't show me yours." I lean into her, pushing us slightly off the road. She lets go of my hand to shove me away from her.
"Yeah, well, we had other things to discuss than shopping. We still do." She sighs, taking my hand back in hers.
"I know we do. But it can wait. We can talk after we figure out if we are mates or not for real." "You said we were?"
"I said I'm pretty sure." Emily stops, the sudden motion pulling on my hand.
"What if we aren't?" My fingers trail under her jaw, bringing her bright green eyes up to me, under the sun, under my forest, safe and sound.
"What do you mean?"
"If we aren't? What happens?"
"Can we discuss this when it happens, if it happens? But, Emily, I don't think you understand how much of a mess I was when we found you, half-dead on the pathway, or waiting for you to wake up when Elizabeth told me you wouldn't, that you were gone. That's a pain I never want to go through again. I felt like nothing would ever warm me back up. That I would just be a shell of a man. I keep telling you, but I don't think you're hearing me."

She leans into my touch, closing her eyes, for a moment relaxing into me. "You got it bad, huh?" She teases, glancing back up at me, before stepping out of my touch.
"You have no idea. Elizabeth says it's worse for the males, or that's what she is getting from her research. There hasn't been a mated pair since the eighteen hundreds or something. She is going off what is written, most of which is just gibberish. But come on, we can talk about this after." Emily laces her fingers through my offered hand as we walk side by side into town. I can't help watching her as she lets go, spinning slowly, looking at the small town. The wooden cabins doubled as small shops, with the upper floors used as homes for the owners, we might not have everything, but we have enough. Her eyes meet mine in wonder, the lights pulling out the light red in her braided hair.

"It's so-" She trails off, opening her arms to the light fall wind, leaning her head back with a soft smile on her lips, my jacket falling off her shoulders.
"It's so what?"
"Warm."
"You would think that snow leopard. It's cold."
"It's not cold."
"You have my jacket." I point it out gently to her, hoping she hears the playful tone.
"You're an Alpha, you're telling me this is your only jacket?" Her arms pull the opening tight around her.
"Yup," I smirk as she holds out her hand for me.
"Well, it is a good thing we are going shopping huh?" She laughs, pulling me off, not knowing where she is going.

In the first shop, she pulls me into the transparent glass cases showing off the shining gems, diamonds, rings, necklaces, and watches, the shop bright with its wooden floors.
"Ah, Malachi! Have you come-" I shake my head at Jerry, gesturing my eyes to Emily strolling around the cases. His half-closed green eyes pull up with a smile, don't blow it now, Jerry. He limps over to her, a slow limping walk from an injury that would never heal from the war. Fucking snows and their traps, I shake my head, throwing the thought out. Your mate is a snow, stupid. Jerry wipes his hands off a white towel from his black apron, covering his blue jeans and the white button-down dress shirt tucked neatly into them.
"Hi, there. I'm Jerry." He holds his hand out to her; she shakes it gently,
"Nice to meet you. I'm Emily."
"Oh, we all know who you are, sweetheart. Not every day you hear about a little snow finding her way to the big bad forests." Jerry laughs, "You see anything you like?" Jerry opens his hands to his cases.

"It's all beautiful-"
"Jerry, leave her alone." I laugh, waking up next to her, my hand slipping into hers,
"Come on, Alpha. Having your Luna wearing my stuff is publicity that I can't buy."
"Jerry, you are the only jewelry shop in town. I'm not sure what publicity you need." I laugh. He holds his wrinkling hands up, laughing.
"Yeah, a man has to try."
"Uh-huh." I lean into her, "but really, whatever you want." She pulls back from me, her eyes wide in shock.
"No. You said clothes, not-" Her eyes wander over the low cases,
"No. I said I would take you on a date. I never said just clothes. You did."
"Malachi..." She stops as she turns, her eyes catching on a necklace. A simple silver plated, open moon with a small light blue stone in the middle and tiny silver stars with diamonds accenting the points hanging off it.

"Jerry." I nod over to where she is looking. His hands gently pull out the necklace, holding it on the back of his hand, letting her look at it. I walk up behind her, as Jerry puts it in my open palm, as I open the clasp, the small charm falling against her chest, and connect it behind her neck, pulling her hair out of the way.
"Malachi." She whispers, her fingers playing with the charm. "It's too much."
"Stop that." My fingers trail down her cheek.
"You want me to put it on your account?" Jerry laughs at us,
"You still have it, from?" I answer back, not taking my eyes off of her,
"Yeah, I do." He nods back at me.
"Then yeah."
"Thank you, Alpha Callahan," Emily answers, pulling her eyes off me.
"Thank you, Jerry."
"No, problem. I'll have that other one done in maybe a month? I need a size, though."
"Yeah, I'll get it to you." I smile, taking Emily's hand as we leave.
"Alpha, this is too much. You didn't even ask how much." Emily's words stop as I pull her into me, my fingers lifting her chin to my eyes.

"Stop with the Alpha Callahan bullshit. It's Malachi, babe, or whatever you want to call me. Emily, please."
"I'm sorry." She nods shyly at me, pulling her chin out of my touch, stepping away from me, her eyes cast downward, submitting.
"Emily." She slowly meets my eyes with hers.
"No one will think twice about you touching me or me touching you here. You have nothing to be sorry about, I promise. So please don't do that."
"Do what?" She asks as she looks around, waiting for the eyes to judge her,
"Submit to me because you think you messed up."
"I did, though."
"You didn't. And submission is earned, not taken. I have done nothing to earn it from you." I hold my hand out to her, and she smiles, taking my hand in hers as we continue our date.