“Uh-huh,” I said. “Okay. Talk to me about this dude. What does he do for a living, where is this place located, and, the most important question, is he part of the Scottish mafia?”
Her eyebrows rose to her hairline. “Is there a Scottish mafia?”
I shrugged but felt the tug of amusement. “I don’t see why not.”
“Um, no. I can say with certainty there is no organized crime going on with Caelan.”
“Okay, well, is he like… a billionaire? Please tell me you’re not sleeping with him to get information on your family. Please tell me he isn’t like your… sugar daddy. I mean, not that there's anything wrong with that, but I don’t want you giving up the goods to an old-ass man in hopes of finding information—”
Darragh started laughing so hard tears tracked down her cheeks. “No. I can say with all honesty I am not doing that.”
“Well damn,” I muttered in mock disappointment. “That would have been one hell of a story, right?” I left that open-ended, hoping she’d tell me whatever it was she was keeping from me, and as I looked at her face, I could see whatever it was… was pretty big.
“How long do you think you’re gonna stay there?” I asked after I finished off my coffee, wanting to tack on, Not long, I hope, but I kept that to myself.
“I don’t know, actually. I guess it depends on if we find out any information.”
I figured that would be her answer. “Well, I hope you're not there too long, because I’m a selfish bitch and want my best friend back. It’s lonely and boring here when you’re not around.” That was an understatement, even with my new life plan to explore and live.
I didn’t miss how Darragh changed topics, the conversation shifting to “safer” things. And I let her lead it that way. If it made her feel like she was on even, steady ground right now, I would embrace whatever route she took.
5
Cian
I wasn’t a man, not human, but something else, more powerful. Deadly. The strongest Otherworld creature that was known to walk the planet. So when my wolf rose up and took supremacy for the first real time in all my life, I stopped and took notice… let it consume me.
Mine.
My Lycan’s distorted growl reverberated through my skull, my body locked tight, my focus sharper than it had ever been in the over two and a half centuries I’d walked this world.
It was her voice that had my inner beast rising in a way I’d never felt or experienced before, a pain unlike anything I could have imagined. I’d thought he was strong before, but hearing her voice made him exponentially so, as if I housed a hundred Lycans within me, and I’d destroy anything or anyone who thought to keep her from me.
My hand was lifting on its own as I gripped my shirt, right over my heart, the organ racing, pounding something painful and fierce as I moved closer to the source of the loveliest, most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.
And then I was standing there staring at Caelan’s mate, the phone she had in her hand panning around the interior, showing off the wealth and luxury of the Scottish Lycan king’s estate.
My animal pushed and clawed forward. I felt my eyes flash as he took supremacy.
She’s ours. We found her.
“Darragh?” my mate whispered in a soft, feminine voice, the panic clear. I knew I didn’t look quite human right now. I didn’t feel human.
I rubbed the spot over my heart repeatedly, unable to look away from the phone, at the pixelated vision of a goddess.
Long black hair, alabaster skin, eyes big and wide and shock-stricken. Even from the distance, with the shitty reception of the phone, I could make out the light freckles that danced along the bridge of her nose. She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on, and seeing her for the first time made me feel alive.
“Who is that?” my mate whispered so low it would have been hard to hear if I wasn't almost fully shifted into my beast, my senses more heightened, acute because of her. The rumbling growl of my wolf letting her know he was here, he’d protect her—we’d protect her, claim her, mark her—started to become louder. It filled the foyer in a deafening roar until it was all I heard.
I took a step forward, then another, unable to stop myself, this tether attaching itself from me to my mate, not caring that she wasn’t physically here. Vaguely I was aware of Caelan’s mate moving backward, the scent of her fear like acid in my nose. I sensed Caelan before I saw him, then a flash of his big body shooting out and landing in front of his small mate, protecting her as if he thought she was the one I was after.