War of Hearts(73)

She stopped touching him. “What?”

“It’s purely pack politics.” He wanted to assure her. “The Canids are a large North American warrior pack. Peter Canid, the alpha, and I agreed an alliance between us would benefit both packs. We have money and Canid has wolves. Strong wolves. It was to secure the pack’s safety. As our wealth grows, we become more susceptible to blackmail, fraud, challenges. Other packs, lone wolves, would be less likely to pick a fight with our pack knowing we had one of the largest North American packs as our ally.”

Thea said nothing. She just stared up at him with those gorgeous eyes, wariness he thought he’d never see in them again when she looked at him creeping its way back in.

Fuck, he hated that.

“Thea”—he bent his head toward her, his tone almost pleading—“Peter’s daughter, Sienna, has agreed to be my wife but we dinnae know each other. We’d barely just met, let alone anything else, when Ashforth arrived. But she and her father and brother are still in Torridon, awaiting my return so we can sign the betrothal agreement and move forward with the …” Conall’s voice trailed off as he watched gold bleed into the cognac of Thea’s eyes. The surrounding air stirred, growing static-like. “Thea?”

She shoved him with enough force to knock him back on his feet.

Panic made his breathing difficult.

“You son of a bitch,” she whispered and even her voice sounded different.

Cold.

Unearthly.

Her hair moved around her head like it was floating in water and Conall shot a look down the boat at all the passengers who might witness the strangeness, or worse, get caught in the crossfire of Thea’s anger.

“Thea, you need to calm down.” He strode over to her and the boat lurched unnaturally beneath their feet, causing passengers to cry out in shock. “Thea!”

He watched her squeeze her eyes closed, her hands fisting at her sides as she took long, slow, deep breaths. Her hair abruptly dropped back into place, the static disappearing. When she opened her eyes, they were brown again.

Conall would have breathed a sigh of relief if she wasn’t looking at him like he’d betrayed her. “Thea, I barely even remembered Sienna’s existence until the other day.”

If looks could kill, he’d be dead.

Thea brushed past him but Conall had to make her understand. He grabbed her arm, hauling her close. “Thea, please.”

She jerked out of his hold and his panic intensified.

He was losing her.

He felt it.

Fuck.

“But you knew.” She glared at him in disgust. “And you touched me anyway, knowing you’re practically engaged.”

“It’s not like that,” he spat out in angry desperation. “You’re simplifying it. I barely know the woman and there are no promises between us. We never signed an agreement. I didnae betray her and I didnae betray you. This …” He gestured between them. “You know neither of us meant for this to happen.”

“Yeah, well,” she said, her voice as flat as her expression, “it happened. Now it’s over.”

No! His mind vehemently denied it, taking him even by surprise. “Thea.” He reached for her, but she flinched away.

“Don’t touch me.”

A burn scored across Conall’s chest, turning fiery with pain as she continued. “You’re just like everyone else.” Her expression turned heartbreakingly bleak. “I can’t trust anyone.”

Something snapped in him. He hauled her into his arms, refusing to let go. “That’s not true.” His voice was rough with impatience. “You can always trust me.”

“Conall, let go of me.”

“I cannae.” He pressed his forehead to hers, realizing the tragic truth in his words. “Fuck, Thea, I cannae let you go.”

Her voice was small, a whisper of pain. “You have to. For Callie.”

The impossibility of his choice had never been clearer or more agonizing. “Whatever I choose … I risk a woman I care about.”

Thea tensed in his arms and then abruptly pushed out of his hold. Her eyes were hard, her countenance cool, unfeeling, her words even more so. “You know your choice. You save your sister, you marry a wolf who can give you a future and a family, and you forget about me. Just like I will forget about you.”

Conall watched her walk away. He wanted to hate her for her words. But the only person he loathed right then was himself.

He’d damaged the trust between them.

It would be easier to let things lie. Let Thea build her walls against him. Going their separate ways wouldn’t be so difficult with animosity and distrust between them instead of intimacy.

Yet as they drove off the ferry, the SUV’s sat nav leading them toward Vik’s apartment, Conall couldn’t stand Thea’s icy silence.

There was no way he’d last a day with such fucking awful distance between them.

Never mind a lifetime.





Perhaps it was childish to slight Conall but seeing the muscle flex in his jaw every time she ignored a question and looked right through him was too satisfying to stop.

She tried to concentrate on the fact that she was in Norway for the first time. Oslo was still cold in late April, so she’d changed in the cabin before they’d departed, putting a T-shirt on under her shirt for added warmth. She’d watched their approach to Oslo from the other side of the ferry, trying to ignore the ache in her chest.