Three-inch burn scars wrapped around each of Rose’s wrists.
Fionn took in the chains and manacles scattered at their feet.
Two of the broken manacles were made of pure iron.
“I’m going to kill them all,” he promised.
Rose tugged her hands from his, but only to rest them on his chest. Her blue eyes pleaded with him. “No more, Fionn.”
“I’m sorry.” The words were torn from his throat. “I failed you.”
Rose pissed him off by giving him a tired grin. “Whose voice do you think was in my head when I needed to get myself out of this? Whose training?”
He shook his head. “It’s not—”
“Fionn.” Her fingers curled into his shirt. “You wanted me to be able to take care of myself …” She swallowed hard, lowering her eyes. “For when you’re gone. And I can.”
Her words were like an iron blade in his gut.
“You saved my life,” Thea interrupted, reminding Fionn he wasn’t alone with his mate. Roaring at her that she was an idiot if she thought he was ever fucking leaving her again would have to wait.
Rose turned toward the wolf wrapped in Conall’s arms. The alpha was holding Thea so tightly, it was a wonder she could breathe.
Fionn looked down at Rose. She should be in his arms like that. Why wasn’t she? He scowled at her. Come to me, mo chroí.
She didn’t.
So he hauled her against him and although she gave him a slightly startled look, she slid her arms around his waist and held on to him as she addressed Thea. “I have the feeling you would have done the same for me.”
“Thank you,” Conall said to Rose. “Sincerely. I owe you a debt.”
“We owe you a debt,” Thea corrected, caressing his chest.
Fionn glared down at Rose. Do that to me, mo chroí. I need soothing.
She didn’t. Fionn gingerly lifted the wrist that wasn’t healing from a cut and placed her palm over his heart. Rose curled her fingers into his sweater and buried deeper into him.
“I’m calling in that debt,” she addressed the alpha wolves. “Go back to Scotland. Stay there. Keep your pack safe.”
“We’re past that.” Conall glared at Layton Blackwood. “Once the coven discovers this, they’ll come for retribution. It’ll be war once I call upon my allies.”
“No, they won’t,” Fionn said. “I know the Blackwoods. Nate Blackwood is not as ruthless as previous coven leaders. His son”—he gestured to Layton—“disagreed with his father’s methods. This was a kamikaze mission. There’s no way Nate Blackwood would have agreed to kidnapping Thea. He knew that would start a war with all the packs. I’d place a high bet that the rest of the coven have no clue about this. The Blackwoods know the gate is only miles from here, which offers an excuse for why the trail will lead to Ireland.
“There’s no reason for them to think any of us were involved.”
Conall frowned. “Do you know that for certain?”
“I know for certain that the Blackwoods have no idea of your involvement. I’m telling you, Nate would never sanction action against you.”
The alpha couple shared a knowing look and Thea nodded, turning back to Rose and Fionn. “They came to us after I turned and I had to prove I was just a wolf, not fae. Obviously, they had their suspicions we were lying, but with no evidence, they were given orders to leave us alone once we proved I was a werewolf. So, you’re right, we’re safe … but what about you two?”
“I doubt they know we’re involved, but even if they do, they’ll have a hard time catching us,” Fionn promised, his hold on Rose tightening.
“And Niamh?” Thea asked Rose.
Rose tensed and Fionn tried to pull her closer into him, even though she was as close as she was going to get. “Thea, I’m guessing you’re a pretty kick-ass wolf, but you’re not fae anymore. You can’t do what Niamh and I can.”
Thea winced, contemplating the dead bodies littered around the room. “True.”
“Go home to your pack. Be with your mate. Stay safe. I’ll look out for Niamh.”
Thea’s lovely dark gaze filled with concern. “It feels wrong to abandon you to this.”
Rose smiled. “Thea, you’re not abandoning me to anything. This—being fae—it’s what I am.” Her smile dimmed a little as she looked down at Lori’s body. “It comes with its consequences, and I’m not saying that’s easy. At all.” Her sad eyes returned to Thea. “But I’m not afraid of what I am. I’m not afraid of immortality.”
Thea gave an embarrassed huff as she looked to her mate for reassurance. “It was arrogant of me to assume the others like me wouldn’t want their abilities or the immortality.”
Conall kissed her forehead. “Not arrogance, Thea love.”
“I agree with your mate, Thea. But like I said earlier, even if I didn’t want this, there is nothing you can do. Same goes for Niamh.”
At Conall’s questioning expression, Thea shook her head. “I can’t change them to wolf. Only a mate can. That’s why I survived your bite.”
“What?”
“It’s true,” Fionn offered, his voice hoarse with the emotions churning inside him. “I heard it personally from within the queen’s private court.”
“Fuck,” Conall cursed, giving his mate a commiserating squeeze. “I’m sorry.”
She shrugged and then threw Rose a wry smile. “Doesn’t seem to be a problem, anyway. Rose is powerful.”
Fionn took in the room again, grimly. He was proud that Rose could defend herself, but he worried about her conscience. She wasn’t born to be a warrior like he was, to compartmentalize death at her own hands.
“Enough chitchat. We need to leave,” Conall said.
“Right.” Fionn gestured to the room, sending his magic out to every single body. As one, they crumbled to ash.
“Holy shit,” Thea whispered.
“Looks like you only touched the tip of the iceberg of your powers when you were fae, Thea,” Conall muttered, looking a little awed himself.
“Uh … yeah,” she agreed.
“Why are we worrying about the Blackwoods?” MacLennan shot a look at Fionn. “If you can do this.”
“Because the Blackwoods are powerful enough to trace their coven to here. Even if they don’t find bodies, they can use spells to discern whether they’re alive or not. This”—he gestured to the ash—“is to hide the evidence from the humans.”
“It’s like what I did to Eirik.” Thea stared at the pile of ash that was Layton Blackwood. “But without the glowing-sunlight thing.”
“No, what you did is different. It’s easy to turn what is dead to ash. Harder to do it to a living thing.” Fionn considered Thea. “You must have been very powerful as a fae, Thea.”
“Yeah, still … I prefer this version of me. Way less complicated.”
“Right. Like I said, chitchat’s over. Let’s go.”
At Conall’s order, Rose pulled away from Fionn and followed the alpha couple out of the room. She held her head up and didn’t look at the piles of ash.
Fionn followed behind her, dread filling him.
Why had she pulled away?
Fuck. Fionn growled inwardly, his hands tight fists at his sides. This was the downside to the mating bond—the overwhelming, complicated mix of emotions eating at his insides.
Forcing himself to stay alert, instead of gluing his attention to his mate, Fionn followed the small group upstairs and out of the empty warehouse. There was no one else here.
They’d killed every supernatural who’d been guarding the place.
Once outside, it was decided Fionn and Rose would escort the alpha
couple back to the village so they could collect their rental car and get the hell out of Ireland. The couple’s pride seemed a little pricked by Rose’s stubborn refusal to leave them until she knew they were well on their way, but Thea gave in first. And then convinced Conall too.
Despite Rose’s sudden distance with Fionn, there was no way in hell he was leaving her side, so he escorted the wolves as well.
An hour later, Rose and Thea hugged goodbye.
“You know where I am if you need me,” Thea said.
“Yeah. And I’ll find a way to make it so you can contact me if you need me too,” Rose said.
The women hugged again as Fionn gave Conall a nod that issued the same overture. Conall nodded back, returning the offer.
Finally, they drove off in a rented Land Rover, leaving Fionn alone with his quiet mate.
He looked down at her wrists.
They’d be scarred forever, a constant reminder of what Layton Blackwood had done.
Fionn had never felt the burn of iron, but he’d heard it was excruciating. His fury began to build again at the thought of Rose enduring such torture.
She glanced up at him, tucking her tousled hair behind her ear, before placing her palms out and upward. His frown of confusion was forming when a familiar silver box appeared in her hands.
An Breitheamh.
A different kind of anger surged within him.
This kind directed at Rose.
“This is why I left this morning.” She held the box out to him. “I couldn’t conjure it from within the boundary spell. They caught me unawares as soon as I crossed the wall. But I wanted to give this to you.”
He glowered silently at the box.
“I won’t keep this from you. Not anymore. But you should know that even though I’m giving you this …” The hoarseness in her voice brought his gaze to hers. Tears shone in her beautiful eyes. “I love you, Fionn. I love you more than I thought I could ever love anyone.
“But I can’t let you kill the last fae-borne. I just can’t. So, I’ll be there to stop you if you try.”
Furious with her, but mostly with himself, exultant at her confession of love, and still gripped with fear of what could’ve happened to her—what had happened to her—Fionn snatched the box out of her hands.