The Alpha I Chose

Chapter 17

Malcolm

The Fields home is a flurry of activity as Meadow and her family pack a few of her belongings to bring back to Stonehaven. When Meadow worries about how much to bring, I try my best to assure her that anything she’s missing we can either send for or replace.

“I think that’s everything I need,” Meadow says, coming back into the living room with a box labeled ‘random important stuff.’

I can’t help but notice the way she glances at her sewing machine and the tear that she tries to sneakily wipe away.

Walter and I carry her bags outside as Russell pulls up to the cottage. He had thankfully taken the car to fuel up when Blackwood made his appearance. The black SUV would have been hard to explain away.

As Walter loads the bags, I excuse myself to use the restroom before our trip. Stepping inside the Fields cottage, I pull out my phone and find the app I’m looking for. I do a quick search and am immediately overwhelmed.

“f**k,” I mutter, scrolling through the options. Apparently I take longer than I thought, because the front door opens behind me.

“Mal? I’m ready whenever you are,” Meadow says softly. I turn to look at her, frowning in frustration.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hypothetically, if someone were trying to purchase a sewing machine… what kind would they want?” I ask her, trying my best to not smile.

“Hypo… what?” She asks me, confusion in her eyes.

I hold my phone out to her, a listing for a fancy turquoise sewing machine with a five-star review. Her eyes widen.

“Is this acceptable?”

“Malcolm…”

“It’s a yes or no question, wild one.”

She continues to stare at me, clearly unsure how to respond. Reaching out, I gently tip her chin upward until she’s looking at me.

“That machine is clearly important to you. Being able to do something you love is important to you. While we can’t pack that whole antique setup for you to bring along with us, I can buy you a sewing machine for Stonehaven.” I give her a small smile. “Something to make it feel a little more like home.”

“You’d really buy me a sewing machine?” she asks, a bit of hesitation in her voice.

“I mean, I did kidnap you. It’s the least I can do.”

Meadow laughs, smacking me in the chest. I hold my phone out to her again.

“So?”

“It’s so perfect… but Malcolm…”

Before she can argue, I tap the purchase button.

“You’ll have it tomorrow.”

* * *

Twelve long hours later, I pull the SUV up outside of the Stonehaven packhouse. I’d made Russell pull over a few hours into the trip so that I could take over. I may have a reputation for being a hard-ass, but even I wasn’t about to let someone do twenty-four hours of driving in such a short time span.

The rest of the drive back was quiet, with Russell dozing in the passenger seat and Meadow stretched out in the back.

I glance in the rearview mirror. Meadow is still sound asleep, her cheek pressed against one of her bags and her hair a tangled mess around her face. I hate that I have to wake her.

Russell stirs beside me.

“I’ll get her bags, Alpha,” he says, stifling a yawn.

“Go to bed,” I tell him. “The bags can wait until we’ve all gotten some sleep.” I say goodnight to the old man and open the back door, reaching in to gently shake Meadow awake.

“We’re home,” I tell her. A strange feeling hits my chest as I say the words.

Brushing it off as indigestion, I step back as Meadow climbs sleepily out of the backseat. I grab her duffel bag as we head inside.

When we reach the hallway where Meadow’s room is, she turns, but I gently grab her arm, steering her back toward me.

“What are you doing?” she mumbles. “I’m tired and wanna go to bed.”

“You aren’t staying in that room anymore,” I tell her, matter-of-factly. With Blackwood actively searching for her now, I’m not taking any chances with Meadow’s safety. She stops fighting my hold and blinks up at me.

“Why not?” The sudden uncertainty in her voice makes me realize how that must have sounded.

“Blackwood is hunting you now,” I explain quickly. “Your old room is in the main guest wing. Too many people come and go through there.”

“Okay...”

“You’re staying in the Alpha wing. It’s restricted, heavily guarded, and much closer to my room.”

Her eyebrow lifts.

“Closer to your room?”

“For security purposes,” I say quickly.

“Uh-huh.” She grins up at me and I roll my eyes at her.

“Fine. Show me to my new room on the fancy-folk floor.”

“For the record,” I tell her as I lead her upstairs, “nobody actually calls it the fancy-folk floor.”

“Maybe not to your face,” she says with a giggle.

I punch in the security code for the Alpha wing and lead Meadow down the hall. I enter another code for her bedroom and swing the door open.

And I immediately freeze.

Earlier in the day after Meadow decided to return to Stonehaven, I had sent Emily a text asking her if she would mind fixing up one of my guest suites for her. I had simply meant for her to do some dusting if needed and maybe put some fresh sheets on the bed.

The girl had completely Meadow-fied the room.

Colorful pillows cover the bed. Baskets of yarn are stacked beside an armchair in the corner, along with enough crochet hooks to supply a small army. Several bolts of brightly colored fabric lean against the wall beside a desk that I assume Emily intended for Meadow’s new sewing machine.

The balcony doors are cracked open, allowing a soft breeze to blow through the room and making a set of wind chimes sing quietly outside.

There are books. Plants. Candles. A ridiculous fluffy blanket.

I stare around the room in disbelief.

How the hell had she even managed all of this in one day?

Meadow gasps and shoves past me into the room as she spins around taking everything in.

“Surprise!” a voice calls out as Emily pops her head up from an armchair. I hadn’t even noticed her there, nestled beneath yet another ridiculously fluffy blanket.

“EMILY!” Meadow squeals, abandoning her inspection of the room and racing toward her friend.

Emily barely has time to throw the blanket aside before Meadow throws herself at her.

“You did all this?”

“Well, Mal said to make it feel like your room,” Emily says, as though that explains the explosion of color surrounding us.

I narrow my eyes.

“That is not what I said.”

“It’s what you meant.”

Meadow turns to face me again, an evil grin on her face.

“ATTACK HUG INCOMING!” she shouts as she launches herself into my arms. I catch her automatically, wrapping my arms around her as she squeezes the life out of me.

This girl and her damn hugs.

“Thank you so much!” she says, releasing me quickly and turning to hug Emily again. “You guys really are the sweetest!”

“Can we sleep now?” Emily asks, yawning. “I’m crashing here with you tonight.”

“Oh yay, a sleepover!” Meadow squeals.

Shaking my head, I turn to leave the room. I let Meadow know that my suite is next to hers if she needs anything and tell her to help herself to anything in the shared kitchen. I say goodnight to the giggling heathens and step out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind me.

I step into my suite, still able to hear their muffled laughter through the wall. I find myself smiling as I head toward my bedroom.

I’m not sure why, but I like knowing she’s right next door.