War of Hearts(95)

It wasn’t just from reading Jerrik’s accounts of a world she still wasn’t sure she believed in.

The fluttering was about Scotland. Torridon.

Thea was about to meet the pack.

Conall’s pack.

She watched as Conall slid one leg under one of hers, inviting her to curl it around him, which she did. Tangling them together.

Together, Thea reminded herself.

They were in this together.





To Conall’s relief, he and Thea made it back to Scotland without incident. The Blackwoods had either lost their trail or word of Eirik’s defeat was already making the rounds, and fear of Thea had taken root.

He still marveled at what he’d seen in Vik’s apartment. What being on Earth was powerful enough to emit pure sunlight, killing only the vampires she’d been intent on destroying?

It was magic.

Pure and simple.

It was fae.

Conall couldn’t think on it too long because he feared the danger it represented for her. Instead, he concentrated on watching her reaction as they drove toward Torridon. Upon arriving in Immingham, they’d taken the motorway all the way home past Yorkshire and the Lake District. They crossed the border into Scotland, driving past the pretty lowlands, none of which Thea could see because it was nighttime. However, the dawn broke just as they reached Inverness.

“It’s beautiful,” Thea whispered, staring out the passenger window as they crossed the Beauly Firth. The clouds hung low over the shallow mountains, turning the water of the firth gray.

“This is nothing,” he promised.

Conall knew the moment the beauty hit her. The sun broke through the clouds; the skies cleared as they turned off the main road at Kinlochewe and toward the single track that would lead to Torridon. When they turned a corner a small loch appeared, surrounded by towering mountains, and Thea let out a little whoosh of breath. Keeping an eye on the road for oncoming traffic and watching Thea was difficult, but he caught the wonder on her face and pride bloomed in his chest.

Out here the rest of the world felt far away. It wasn’t an isolating feeling. At least, Conall didn’t think so. It was a piece of the planet that had been left untouched. Majestic and peaceful.

Thea didn’t speak as they drove, her eyes wide, her head tilting back as she peered out the window. “The mountains are huge here,” she whispered, craning to see the peak of the one they drove under. Sporadic clusters of forest interrupted her view.

“Beinns,” Conall replied. “We call them beinns. This here is Beinn Eighe, two of which are classified as Munros.”

“What’s a Munro?”

“A mountain with a height over three thousand feet.”

“Wow,” she said. “Conall … it’s majestic.”

He smiled, nodding. “That’s the exact word I always think of when I’m home.”

“You never tire of it?”

“Never.” He gave her a meaningful look. “There are special kinds of beauty that not even constancy can dull.”

Her cognac eyes warmed as she realized he wasn’t just speaking about his home. “Does your pack know how romantic you can be?”

Conall grinned. “No. And they’d never believe you.”

Her laughter caused a pleasurable ache in his chest and he braced himself as they turned right past the entrance to Inveralligin, where his home was. “We’re not heading to my place just yet. We’re going to the Coach House. The Canids are staying there, and I’d like to get that confrontation over with so we can concentrate on bringing Callie and James home.”

Her expression shut down, reminding him of the woman he’d met before he’d gotten to know her. If she was donning her mask, she didn’t feel safe. That pissed Conall off. “No one will harm you here, Thea.”

“I know that.” She gave him a pained smile. “I’m just a little nervous. Wanting people to like me hasn’t really been a priority in a while. But if your pack is to be my pack, I want them to accept me.”

He took in her beautiful face, saw beneath to the tortured survivalist; to the woman who held within her a deep well of kindness and compassion, buried beneath a steel layer that had been necessary to endure what she had. “They’d have to try hard not to like you, lass.”

She shot him a flirty smile. “You’re a little biased.”

Conall grinned but stopped when her smile fell as they pulled into the car park of the Coach House. There were more cars than usual, and Conall could only hope they belonged to the pack and not humans who’d dared to venture into Torridon.

The main door to the building flew open before Conall had even fully gotten out of the car. Grace hurried across the lot, her expression taut, and he didn’t know if she would hug him or kill him.

He wasn’t certain she knew either.

At the last second, however, she threw her arms around him and Conall bent down to embrace and comfort the woman who had been like a grandmother to him his whole life.

“Days,” Grace said, pulling back, anger flashing in her eyes. “Days without word.” Her attention caught on the scar on his neck. “What … how … There’s a scar on your neck, young man, which can only mean silver was driven in there at some point.” She paled.

Conall settled his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Grace. Things … have been complicated. I will explain all. But I need you to call the pack members who are closest for a meeting here in two hours.”