War of Hearts (True Immortality 1)

The older wolf’s expression grew concerned. “Aye, they’re still here. I doubt they’ll find this news particularly welcome, Conall.”

“It cannot be helped.”

Thea tugged her hand again and unless Conall wanted to hurt her, he had to let her go. He scowled down at her as she refused to meet his gaze. Instead, she stared longingly out at the loch behind them.

“Grace, go inside, please. Ask the Canids to meet me in the dining room. Make sure it’s empty. And then send out the call.”

“Of course,” she muttered before striding back to the house.

Conall turned into Thea and took hold of her hips to hold her against him. She frowned up at him as her hands came to rest tentatively on his chest.

What was going on here?

“Talk to me.”

Thea lifted her chin in defiance. “She doesn’t like me.” She said it without betraying emotion of any kind, even though Conall knew she was trying to withdraw to protect her feelings.

In that moment, he wanted to lay her over the hood of his car and show her how much it didn’t fucking matter what anyone thought beyond the two of them. Yet, he realized reluctantly that of course it mattered that his pack accepted Thea.

She may not be a werewolf, but she was an alpha of a sort in her own right.

The pack would have to want to follow her for this to work.

“She doesnae know you. And right now all she’s thinking about is what she’s been told by Ashforth, but mostly she’s just thinking about Callie. Grace’s husband Angus was my father’s cousin. We never knew my mother’s parents, and our paternal grandparents died before we were born. Grace and Angus are like our grandparents, and so Grace’s first thought will be of Callie. However, once we explain everything, they’ll come around. They have to.” He bent his head toward her, his own expression hard. “I am the alpha and they will respect my choices.”

“But you just said it wasn’t a choice.” Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

“What?”

“When Grace said the Canids wouldn’t be happy about this”—she gestured between them—“you said ‘It cannot be helped.’” Her smile was bitter and hard and cut Conall to the quick. “That’s selling it a little differently to how you’ve been selling it to me.”

Realizing his mistake, Conall cursed himself. “Thea,” he said, gentling his tone, “I didnae mean it like that.”

“Maybe you did.” She attempted to pull away and he wouldn’t let her. Her face flushed with exasperation. “It’s not as if we both were looking for this and it has totally fucked everything up. Let me go.”

His arms banded tight around her as he whispered against her mouth, “Never, lass.” He gave her a little shake, his heart pounding at the mere thought of losing her. “I will never, ever let you go, unless you want me to. And I hope that day never comes.”

She stopped struggling but was still stiff in his arms. Thea focused on his neck, specifically the scar. “I can’t go in there if you’re going to make me feel like you were trapped by this.”

Guilt suffused him. “It was a poor choice of words, Thea. It willnae happen again. I will make it clear to the Canids and everyone else that I want this.”

Finally, she met his eyes, and his arms automatically tightened around her when he glimpsed the sadness behind all her ferocious pride. One day, Conall vowed, one day he’d take away that pain in her eyes for good.

“I don’t want to be the reason you lose them. I couldn’t live with that.” She shook her head and her voice dropped to a whisper. “We can put it off, but the inevitable truth is that I’m immortal and you’re not. And I’m a danger to this pack.”

Anger burned in his gut. “I dinnae care about your immortality. Maybe I should but I dinnae. Life is short anyway, Thea, and we should be grateful that we share something few people ever get to have in this life. And if I must leave the pack to protect them, I will. What I willnae do, ever, is choose them over my mate. End of fucking story. I willnae say it again.”

“I don’t know if I can live with that.”

“Then you must, because I cannae live without you.” He cradled her face in his hands. “Right now, we all need each other to get Callie and James back. So I need to know before we walk in there if you’re willing to help me share your story about Ashforth. Not everything,” he promised, “just enough so they understand the danger Callie is in.”

Thea studied him a moment and then nodded. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make this harder for you.”

Love for her ached in his chest. “Thea, you’ve spent six years burying your feelings. No more. No matter what they are. You tell me. I dinnae want you to hide from me ever.”