Page 75 of Malcolm


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They shared a laugh.

“We were terrible partners,” Larissa mused.

“We were amazing partners,” Malcolm corrected.“We just didn’t know it yet.”

She raised an eyebrow.“Is that why you sabotaged all my other potential project partners?”

“I did not—” He stopped at her knowing look.“How did you know about that?”

“Tommy Peterson has a very loose tongue after a few drinks.Told me all about how you threatened to shove him in a locker if he agreed to be my debate partner.”

Malcolm ran a hand through his hair.“In my defense…”

“Yes?”Her eyes sparkled with amusement.“Please, defend your systematic elimination of my academic collaborators.”

“I was protecting the pack from potential explosions.Your intensity combined with anyone else’s incompetence was a disaster waiting to happen.”

“So you appointed yourself my personal disaster?”

“Partner,” he corrected, stepping closer.“Even if I didn’t realize it at the time.”

The moonlight caught the softening of her expression.“When did you realize it?”

“Probably around the same time you started leaving tactical suggestions in my locker.”

“Those were criticism slips!”

“With helpful diagrams and training tips?”

“I was being thorough.”

“You were being protective.”His voice gentled.“Just like I was.”

They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, years of competition and cooperation settling into something new, something stronger.

“Ms.Everett would be insufferably smug right now,” Larissa finally said.

“About being right all along?”

“About everything.”She turned to face him fully.“Remember what she wrote in our end-of-year evaluations?”

“‘Together they could move mountains.Separately, they’ll just keep running into them.’”

“I hated her for that.”

“Because she was right?”

“Because she saw what we couldn’t.”Larissa’s voice wavered slightly.“Or wouldn’t.”

Malcolm reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.“Better late than never?”

Larissa leaned slightly into his touch, years of carefully maintained distance crumbling.“Remember the bonfire ceremony our last year of training?”

“When you refused to sit next to me during the pack histories?”His hand lingered near her face.

“Because you’d spent the whole week telling everyone I howled off-key.”

“You did.”