Strappy red purse slung over her shoulder, she opened the door to find Daniel leaning against the opposite wall. “You appear ready to roll.”
“Just waiting on you.” He slung his battered denim jacket over one shoulder and pushed off the wall, his disheveled blond hair falling forward over his brow. “I can’t wait to capture the Mathies.”
“Me too.” She trod down the passageway beside him. “I saw on the latest data that came in that we’re heading to Loch Bear.”
“To the bed and breakfast right on the fringes of the forest. It’s the only place where the Mathies might stay that’s close enough to their last known location. Have you got your sweet voice primed in readiness?”
“I do. What about Emma? Will you be able to make it back in time to spend the night with her?” His wife and her best friend had given birth six weeks ago to the first cub conceived in their clan in five years. They were all completely besotted with the wee boy who had the sweetest tuft of blond hair and the most stunning golden eyes. If only their clan births weren’t dismally down. It made her decision to run from her mate all the more harder since she was adding to the problem of their people’s slow extinction instead of aiding it.
“Emma understands.”
“I highly doubt it.” Their desire for their chosen one intensified beyond control on this one magical night. It was when their bears rode them the hardest.
“Well, she understands enough to let me go. I also intend to return just as soon as I’m able to.”
“When is her next medical checkup?” One of their clansmen held a medical degree and rooms on the first floor, his door always open.
“She’s got an appointment today. We’re both hoping she’ll get the all-clear. Her bear is clawing for its release.” A female couldn’t shift while carrying a child or in the weeks following her cub’s birth, not until her body was fully healed and the Change no longer harmful to one or both of them.
“I’ll make sure to drop in and see her once we’re back, that’s if you let her out of your bedroom.” She strolled downstairs then headed around the perimeter of the great hall. Near the fireplace, several of their clansmen lounged on a group of four comfy blue swede couches. She waved out but didn’t stop to chat, not when they needed to be away. She stepped outside and strode down the front steps.
Across the keep, a dozen men had broken into groups of two and shirtless, wearing only low-slung jeans or their belted plaid, they battled each other with their swords and shields glinting in the midmorning sunshine. Modern technology had changed the world, but at the heart of their clan, they still adhered to the old ways. And with their shifter-fae blood so strong, the only way to expend their immense energy was with such intense training.
She followed the cobbled path around the side of the keep and walked through the postern gate. In the rear lot, the center’s black SUVs lined up in a row, gleamed.
Daniel pulled a set of keys from his pocket and opened their vehicle. She hopped into the passenger seat while he turned the ignition on. The radio blared and she turned it down.
They drove along the winding road, left the sanctuary of Matheson land and joined the thrum of traffic on the main highway. This was the most beautiful land. Rolling fields of heather were awash with wildflowers and the craggy hills of the Highlands called to her very soul.
“Sooo,” Daniel drawled, “his name is Iain Matheson.”
“Dad told you?”
“I was there when he downloaded the footage. I’m also your partner. There’s nothing you can’t keep from me that I won’t eventually ferret out.”
“’Cause you’re nosy like that.” She smiled. In truth she kept nothing from Daniel and never had. They’d grown up together, tussled as cubs and still did as adults. “Now I need to decide what I do about tonight.”
“You’re thinking of doing something different to the norm?” Interest flared in his gaze. “You feeling the need to get laid, little sister?”
“Not if Iain Matheson is as annoying as you are to be around.” She rested her arm along the armrest under the open window and tapped the black leather. “It’s no wonder he’s been so persistent. He’s their chief’s eldest son. I’m surprised he didn’t actually find me that first night.” She’d waited out in the courtyard, so hopeful that when her mate appeared, she’d be overcome by the bond and finally be able to join with the one man who’d always been meant to be hers. Although none of her clansmen had appeared and that had rocked her soul, and her world.
“A lucky break for sure.”
“What did you think of the footage?”
“He’s one big bear, but if you need me to brawl with him, I can bring out the claws.” His tone was smooth, his grin a teasing one.
“What claws? You keep levitating your opponents then just kick back while they twirl helplessly around in the air.”