War of Hearts(31)

Weariness consumed her as he came to her, his claws and canines retracting as he lowered to his haunches. “Are you all right, lass?”

She gave a huff of laughter, amused that he would ask when the last time they saw each other, she’d broken his neck. “Oh, I’m super.” Groaning, she got to her feet and scowled at the torn fabric of her shirt, trying to cover up as best she could. “Guess I know how that feels.”

“That was a close call.”

Thea looked into his eyes. He thought he was saving her life. Even if she was never truly in danger, his intention was to rescue her, so did that mean she owed him her life? Again?

You don’t fear him because there’s nothing to fear.

Suddenly the telepathic girl’s words made sense. When Conall first approached her, her body didn’t respond in warning before he revealed himself. Again, when she was hiding in the hostel in Wroc?aw, she hadn’t sensed him until he was outside her door.

And in the theater.

Sure, she’d been a little preoccupied with the guy who had his fist in her chest cavity, but she’d felt the vampire in the music bar, yet she hadn’t felt Conall. Wouldn’t she have felt him as soon as he entered Prague if his goal was to hunt her?

Which it was.

He’s important. His future affects your future. He’s important, Thea.

She’d said, “The wolf.” Did that even mean Conall?

And should Thea drive herself crazy trying to figure out the vague prophetic words of a stranger?

One thing was for sure, Thea could never outrun this werewolf, and he’d proven he was a force to be reckoned with.

She glowered at him, hating him for believing Ashforth’s lies. Or maybe he just needed to believe them. “Who is it?”

The wolf’s brows drew together. “What?”

“Who is the person you’re trying to save with my blood?”

Conall’s face blanked, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “This isnae the time or place for that discussion. We need to get out of here. Are you healed?”

“Completely.”

He shook his head. “I’ve never met a supernatural who heals as quickly as you.”

Remembering his broken neck, Thea eyed his strong throat. “You seem to heal fast too.”

“I shifted.” He reached out to take hold of her biceps. “The wolf in me is stronger. Shifting accelerates the healing process.”

Letting him lead her up the aisle, she eyed his broad back. “So the bullet wounds are healed too?”

“Aye.”

Thea tugged on his hold and he stopped, turning to her. “Dinnae fight me, lass.”

You don’t fear him because there’s nothing to fear.

“I owe you my life again.”

Conall smirked. “Aye. I know how much you hate that.”

“I also know that it wasn’t altruistic.”

“Correct.” He leaned toward her. “You mean one thing to me.”

“Living, breathing, blood transfusion.”

“Exactly.” He hauled her more roughly down the aisle. “For that, you’re lucky. Few people would get away with breaking my fucking neck.”

Panic rose in Thea as she swiped up her dropped backpack and let the wolf hurry her out of the theater and into the main part of the old palace. She tried to get a hold on that anxiety, to think fast.

If Conall could track her, there was nowhere she could go to escape him. But if he didn’t mean to hurt her, only to use her blood, then perhaps there was a way for her to get out of this. She knew he had some kind of contract with Ashforth, and one he wasn’t willing to break for Thea because he believed Ashforth’s lies.

The obvious option was to trust the werewolf with the truth.

Thea shuddered at the thought.

No. It was out of the question.

She never allowed herself to go back to that place, and she didn’t trust the wolf to take him there with her.

The only thing to do was to bide her time.

An insidious voice whispered in her ear that it wasn’t the only option available to her. If she killed Conall, she would be free again. Surely he knew that?

He’s important. His future affects your future. He’s important, Thea.

Thea attempted to throw away the young woman’s prophetic words.

For now, the goal was to make Conall believe she needed him somehow. Men always thought women needed them. Maybe she could eventually convince him to work alongside her and they’d both get what they wanted.

If not … well … if it came down to her or the person he was trying to save, Thea was choosing herself.

Ultimately, if she had to, Thea would kill Conall, if it meant her survival.





Conall flicked a look at Thea as he took her to the four-star hotel he’d checked into upon his arrival. They’d taken the time, and therefore the risk, to clean the blood off her face and his hands in a public restroom in Lucerna Palace, and she’d changed her shirt. Luckily, no other vampires had sought them out.

Conall wasn’t afraid of Thea running because he saw the moment in her eyes when she realized she could never run from him.

And he also knew the moment she’d realized her only option was to kill him.

That meant Conall was on high alert.