Declan
My body was on high alert as I stepped closer to the window to get a better view of the man he was speaking to. The first thing that struck me was how large he was. He towered over Malachi with thick ropes of muscle on his arms, his traps making his shoulders look broader and more intimidating.
His chest and torso not having an inch of fat as he displayed his rippled abs. His chest hair trailing down the middle making the contours of his body looking harder, far more shadowed.
The denim material hugged onto his thick thighs ending just above his ankles where the fabric was tattered showing a clear sign that he wore them often. His bare feet didn't look frigid despite the cold, in fact his entire being seemed completely fine with it.
He had a lion's mane of dark hair that seemed to have a mix of raven, chestnut and walnut strands that reached to his waist. I had never seen anyone with hair like that. It looked unkept but at the same time perfectly cared for. A disaster in my mind.
I couldn't make out his face perfectly due to the distance and the shadow his hair cast on it therefore his expression was unreadable. However I could tell the argument was one sided by his relaxed posture whilst Malachi seemed to be losing his mind.
I was still assessing the situation when suddenly the stranger looked up. His hair moving back to display his face, his piercing eyes seeming to look through the thin lace curtain and straight into my eyes as I felt a violent shudder travel down my spine forcing me to hold onto the window frame to balance myself.
Heat enveloped my body as I tried desperately to take in his facial structure but a numbing ice picking pain formed on the inside of my scalp. I let out a scream in anguish as my legs gave way under me and I fell to the floor. An immediate sweat came over my body as I violently shook on the floor.
My throat became dry within seconds as I tried desperately to climb back onto my bed but couldn't find the strength to pull myself up. Everything around me was suddenly doubled as the world tilted violently as if I was spinning in a carousel.
Loud thuds came from somewhere outside my room before the door burst open and I believed I heard Malachi calling out my name. His cool hands instantly on my shoulders and holstering me up onto the bed as I let out groans in pain.
I didn't understand a word Malachi said as I heard him run around the room then out before he came back. He spread a cold wet towel onto my chest after he propped me up on pillows, he placed something onto my tongue that melted within seconds before forcing me to gulp down water.
It felt like forever before the pain subsided and when it did, my eyes flung open and I could see again. Malachi was seated by the single wingback couch close to the window as he clicked away on his phone, his eyebrows furrowed with worry.
"Argh, my head's killing me," I groaned as I pressed my hand to my forehead still feeling miserable but not bad enough that it felt like my skull was cracking.
"You had a pretty bad migraine," he stood up to pour me a glass of water from the ice chilled jug and handed it to me within seconds. "I think it's the stress and probably taking on so much work so soon."
I wanted to disagree with him but even I doubted myself. "Maybe it's the atmosphere," I sighed and placed the glass back on my bedside table. "What time is it? I'm probably late for work."
"I called Sheriff Boggs and told him you weren't feeling well. He gave you the day off," he smiled.
"You didn't need to do that," I pulled the cold towel off my chest and eyed the bowl filled with ice. Malachi had been taking care of me. "You didn't have to worry yourself about this."
"Declan, stop pushing me away," he took the towel from me and placed it back into the bowl for a few seconds before he wrung it out again then pressed against my chest. "I'm a vet, it's my job to take care of wounded animals."
I let out a dry chuckle, "well thank you for the compliment." My mind instantly wandered back to last night's events, "is the wolf okay?"
He nodded, "leg was healed up well when I went to check on him this morning. He became more restless overnight and I had to let him go this morning before he tore my surgery apart."
"That's good," I sighed, "sorry I seem to be complicating your life more and more each day."
"You've made it more entertaining," he chuckled and sat back down.
We kept quiet for a few more seconds before I cleared my throat, "were you alright earlier? I saw you looked pretty tense out there."
His smile faltered for a second and I immediately detected he was hiding something from me. Yet it was also not in my place to fully pry. "Oh, it's one of the neighbors who was passing through. He told me about a deer he found injured out by the woods. I got pretty upset about it."
Big fat lie.
"Ah," I nodded as I looked away from him and up to the ceiling. "Which side is he from?"
"North," even though his tone was gentle I could tell that he wanted the discussion to end quickly. He got to his feet and stretched a little. "Let me go get a soup started. It'll help you with your fever."
Before I could get a word in, he was out the bedroom and gently shut the door behind me. Just when I thought Malachi was an open book, he suddenly had an unexpected sequel.