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  She ran in the opposite direction down the hall and darted into the first doorway she came to. And not a moment too soon–the front door opened at the same time that the voice from the front room said, “Sebastian, it’s you. I thought I heard something.”

  Her long-lost cousin at last. Well, if she had anything to say about it, she wouldn’t meet him this time any more than she had in the past.

  “I’ve come to see the prisoner.” The deep voice rolled over her like honey and sex, deep and enthralling.

  What the hell?

  “She’s upstairs,” the front room voice said. Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

  She had to get out of here now. As soon as it sounded like they’d reached the upstairs landing, she peeked into the hall. Not a soul in sight. She hurried down the hall as quietly as she could and walked right into hell.

  The smell. Holy Gods. Her mate. Arousal rushed through her from her fingertips to the ends of her hair making her want...no, need...to go straight up the stairs and find him.

  Gods damn it, she didn’t need this. Not now. And not with a bloody English wolf. She could almost hear the fates laughing at her.

  “Where the bloody hell is she?” That voice that made her shiver with desire bellowed through the house. “Fine. They want a war, I’ll give them a war.”

  Sebastian? Who else would say that–but how could Sebastian be her mate? Mates were never close family.

  It didn’t matter. She might want to run to him but she couldn’t. She had to get the hell out of here. She could figure the rest out later.

  Footsteps sounded on the landing as she slipped out the door onto a typical London street. The house she’d been in was just one of a row of houses that extended down the road. She took a right and ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could.

  #

  Lachlan wasn’t going to get his intimate dinner. Keira watched him pacing at the front of the room as the wolves debated what to do next. Lachlan had said he could talk fast but he wasn’t talking fast enough. The servants were already bringing dinner into their meeting room.

  Lachlan’s eyes met hers across the room, his brow crinkled. She smiled. In the SUV, the thought of dinner alone with him had been exciting. Now she knew it would be a mistake. The more time she spent with him, the more he drew her in. She needed to stop this madness in its tracks.

  Just then, Iain’s cell rang. He glanced at the screen. “Brodie.”

  “Put it on speaker,” Lachlan said.

  Iain touched his screen then placed the phone in the center of the table. “Brodie. You’re on speaker.”

  “I’ve news.” Brodie’s voice had the clipped speech of a British accent–no doubt necessary for his undercover persona. “I reached Greer and gave her what help I could. While I was doing that, your news conference came on and Sebastian saw it. He went immediately to see Greer but she’d already escaped. Now he’s running about like a madman, telling us all to get ready. We’re to drive north tomorrow morning and attack you directly.”

  Brodie continued. “He’s also acting odd. I don’t know what it’s about but something’s changed. And not just the mad rush to go to war, either. I can’t put my finger on it.”

  “We can’t let him get all the way to the Stronghold,” Iain said.

  “No.” Lachlan strode to the table. “We need to find an uninhabited area and meet him there before he can get any further. Show me a map.”

  Colin pulled a map of the British Isles out of a pile of maps on a side table and spread it on the table in the center of the room. At least four feet wide and six feet long, it took up much of the table top.

  Everyone–Lachlan, Iain, Keira, Colin and a few other wolves–leaned forward to look at the map. Lachlan pointed to a wide green area in the north of England. “What’s that there?”

  “Northumberland National Park,” Keira read.

  “A park would be uninhabited,” Lachlan said. “And we could let the public know to steer clear.”

  “Can we get there before Sebastian does?” Keira said.

  “I can find out.” Colin fiddled with his phone while the others continued to look at the map. “It’s a six and a half hour drive from London and a four hour drive from here. We might be able to beat him but we’d need to move quickly.”

  “I don’t see any better options,” Lachlan said. “If he comes further north, we’ll be fighting in the midst of all of these towns or worse, in Edinburgh.” He tapped the map. “This is the place. Give me the current status of our forces.”

  During the next hour, they munched on the cold dinner brought in by the servants while they figured out how to get all of their troops mobilized and in place by mid-day the next day. The troops had been amassing for some time and Iain had made sure they had enough transport vehicles, so they weren’t in as bad a shape as they could have been. Still, moving thousands of troops at short notice was no small feat.

  Keira knew she should leave. At the very least, she needed to call Harris to let him know Gill had gotten in touch with her. But she knew what Harris would say–no need to stay with the wolves; go find Gill and get back to base. And she couldn’t quite bring herself to leave Lachlan when he was about to go to war. She’d leave him afterward. First, they needed to win.

  #

  Keira’s scent was driving Lachlan crazy. Every time he passed her, every time the air in the room wafted in his direction, he smelled her...and wanted.

  He’d been naive to think he could keep this meeting short and retire to his bedroom with Keira. He’d been naive not to realize the effect the press conference would have on Sebastian. But in his defense, this was the first time he’d fought a war.

  They’d laid out all of their plans and figured out how all of the wolves could move down to Northumberland National Park. Iain would get the troops moving. They’d pack now and leave in groups so as to form a convoy rather than one large clump of trucks that created their own traffic jam. They’d avoid cities but otherwise try to stay on decent roads. The first of the wolves should reach the park before dawn.

  In the meantime, Lachlan needed to call the General to let her know what was happening. Colin was going to have Mattie call the press to tell them to keep people away from the park. And Colin would call the park office himself to try to warn away any staff.

  And once they all got off the phone, they’d join Iain. More than just troops, they needed to move supplies–food, weapons, ammunition. And Lachlan would leave with one of the early groups, to lead the troops once they reached Northumberland.

  Keira stood near the wall. She’d offered to help and he’d said she could help him. At least he would keep her near, even if it wouldn’t be quite the evening he’d hoped.

  “Anything else?” Lachlan said.

  The wolves around the table shook their heads.

  “All right, then. Get to it.” As his wolves filed out of the room, Lachlan crossed to stand near Keira. He waited until the room was empty then pushed the door shut with his foot. “Alone at last.”

  “There’s no time,” she said.

  Lachlan slid his arms around her waist, pushing her against the wall. “Time enough for one kiss.” Before she could answer, he pressed his lips against hers. She was a mite shorter than he was, so he lifted her and pressed her hard against the wall.

  Heaven. Her mouth slanted under his, lips opening to allow him access. He took it, brushing his tongue against hers.

  Keira moaned deep in her throat.

  Pressing harder against her, he felt his cock against her stomach. Her legs came around his waist to pull him even tighter. He threaded the fingers of one hand through her hair to hold her head in place while he plundered her mouth.

  His brain knew she hadn’t agreed to the mating yet but his body didn’t care. He wanted to mark her. His teeth slid down becoming sharp fangs.

  Keira pulled back. “What the hell?”

  He clenched his jaw, trying not to demand that she submit to him.

  S
he touched one fang with her fingertip. “Why did these come out?”

  “To mark you.” His words sounded a little garbled around the enlarged teeth.

  “You mentioned that before. But what’s it really mean?”

  She didn’t know? How could anyone not know? Lachlan took a deep breath and forced the change back so his teeth would return to being fully human. “It’s part of mating. I’ll bite you, preferably in a spot where every male who looks at you will know you’re mine.”

  “So it’s a caveman thing.”

  “No, it’s a werewolf thing.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “What do you want? We’re part animal.”

  “Just part?”

  He leaned into her. “Ha ha.” His lips grazed her throat just before he placed a kiss on her shoulder. “Where were we?”

  “We need to go help with the deployment.”

  Lachlan rested his forehead against her neck. She was right. And if the mating urge weren’t clouding his thinking he’d be out there already. After one last kiss on her shoulder, he pulled back. Time to get to work.

  A couple of hours later, Lachlan and Keira were just about to leave when Lachlan got a call from a number he didn’t recognize. He didn’t have much time but it could be from the General or someone else calling about the war. He picked up.

  “Lachlan?”

  “Greer. Are you all right?” It felt so good to hear her voice.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for sending your man. I got free but now I’m stuck. My purse was in the car and Aunt Lorna and Moira took off with it. So I don’t have any money or any way to get to Scotland and I can’t trust anyone around here.”

  “If we wire you some money can you get to it?” He wanted her out of there as soon as possible.

  “Yes. I’ve got all the details of where to send it.”

  “Good. Once you’ve got the money, I want you to fly. You can’t drive or take a train. You’d be going straight through a war zone.”

  “I can’t fly without ID.”

  “Shit. Well, you can’t get a car without ID either.”

  “I’ll figure something out. But tell me about this war zone.”

  Lachlan filled her in then took down the information about the wire transfer. “We’ll get it to you as soon as possible. Whatever you do, stay safe.”

  “Will do.” They hung up. He quickly called Iain to get the wire transfer going.

  “Ready?” Lachlan said to Keira.

  “Yep.” She swung herself into the cab of the supply truck they’d be driving.

  He had arranged it that way so they’d at least have some privacy while they drove to the battlefield. If they couldn’t make love, at least they could talk.

  Lachlan climbed into the driver’s seat and started up the truck. Damned thing made a huge racket. It got slightly better when he slammed the door shut. “It won’t be quite as easy to talk as I’d hoped.”

  “We’ll make do.”

  He snagged her around the waist and pulled her hard against his side. “How about you just whisper in my ear?”

  “Whispering won’t work so well.”

  “True. You could lick my ear instead.”

  She smacked his thigh. “I shouldn’t do anything that might cause you to drive off the road.”

  “There is that.”

  Trucks started to move, driving through the Stronghold’s gates one at a time. When it was their turn, Lachlan maneuvered the truck into position and joined the line. “We’ve got four hours. Let’s talk.”

  “You want to have a heart to heart while we’re on the way to war?”

  “Is there a better time?”

  She settled against him. “Fine. What would you like to talk about?”

  “What would it take for you to stay with me and give this thing a chance? I know you’ve still got one foot out the door. I also know you’re attracted to me. So lay it on the table. What’s stopping you?” He pulled his arm from around her so he could turn the wheel as the road curved and went over a rise.

  Chapter 10

  Keira laid her hand on Lachlan’s thigh. “I don’t see a future for us. Feeling attracted to each other isn’t enough. I have a calling that has me wandering around the world while you have a position that keeps you stuck in one spot. Even if we were willing to try something, the logistics don’t work out.”

  “Logistics? You’re rejecting me over logistics? If the problem is something like that, we can figure it out. Just agree to give us a chance.”

  “It’s more than that.” It was more than that. Or it had been. It was about not wanting to lose the partnership she had with her sister...but that was before Gill shut her out. Oh, and– “It’s about me not being what you want in a mate. I can’t be some sort of fancy-schmancy lady of the castle. I’m a warrior and a scholar and that’s it.”

  “Who says I want a lady? Fate gives us our perfect mates. Fate gave me you. I want you just as you are.”

  She didn’t want to admit how that touched her. “Nice sentiment but what happens when there’s some state function or something and I don’t have the first clue how to act?”

  Lachlan slid his hand along her leg until it rested against the inside of her thigh near her knee. “Two things. One, if you really hate those functions then I’ll only ask you to go to the most important ones. Two, if you feel out of place, Aunt Lorna and Moira can give you pointers. They’re good at that stuff. But either way, I’m fine with it. I don’t need a wife who’s a political animal. I need a wife who’s strong enough to lead by my side. And you are.”

  Again, he hit just the right chord. “What about the wandering? As Alpha you can’t exactly leave for months on end.”

  He squeezed her thigh. “I can’t be apart from you for months on end. So either I need to go with you or you need to take shorter jobs or something. Maybe a combination. I do travel sometimes on business, so it’s not like I can never leave the Stronghold.”

  “Why can’t we be apart?”

  “It’s a mate thing. We can be apart for a while but beyond that, my wolf would start to mourn you. That or stalk you. Either way it wouldn’t be good. Mates aren’t meant to be apart.”

  And he didn’t see the problem there? “My sister is my partner. When I’m out on a job, I’m with her.” And yet where was she?

  Lachlan squeezed her thigh again. “I think your excuses are really thin. Either you want to give this a try or you don’t. If you want to try, we can solve all of the problems you’re raising. And if you don’t then none of the rest of it matters.”

  “You’d be better off with someone else.”

  “That isn’t true. But even if it were true, it doesn’t matter. I’ve found my mate. There can’t be anyone else for me.”

  “Never? You mean if I decide I don’t want to give this a shot, that’s it? You’re a eunuch for life?”

  “Something like that.” His tone sounded flat.

  “What does that mean?”

  He was quiet while he followed the car in front of him, his big thumb rubbing her knee. “Wolves without their mates go mad.”

  His aunt had said the same thing. “Mad.”

  “Most end up killing themselves.”

  Shock and pain ricocheted through her, her eyes filling with tears. Lachlan, dead? She couldn’t let that happen. “You’re strong. The strongest. That wouldn’t happen to you.”

  “Strength doesn’t matter. My friend Darius– Well, he nearly went mad not too long ago. It would happen to me too. Or, like I told you, I might end up stalking you until you either give in or kill me to get away from me.”

  She stiffened. “I’d never kill you.”

  “There’s an easy solution. Give me a chance.”

  It did seem easy, until she thought about her life and Gill and everything she’d worked for so long. “When I was a little girl, I was marked for the teams. A lot of dragon slayers work in supporting roles but those of us with the real killer’s instinct go out i
n pairs to hunt down the dragons and kill them. So when they realized Gill and I had that killer’s instinct, they put us into training.”

  “How old were you?” Outside, the countryside slipped by, miles and miles of hills and grass with mountains in the distance and the occasional loch in a valley.

  “Five. We trained for ten years before they started sending us on missions with an older pair who continued our training in the field.”

  “At fifteen?” His voice rose.

  “Fifteen is old enough. We knew what we needed to. Besides, young bodies have better reflexes and more stamina. What I’m saying is that being a dragon slayer has been my whole life. I haven’t known anything else. And Gill has been by my side the entire time.” And still she didn’t mention her real reason for pursuing Damon Knightley, but maybe she should.

  “How old are you now?”

  “Thirty-two.”

  “And when do you think you’ll retire?”

  She laughed.

  “You’re the one who said all that about young bodies. Thirty-two is pretty old compared to fifteen. Maybe it’s time to hang up your hat.” He squeezed her knee.

  “I’ve never thought about it. I’m none the worse for wear. Plus, we still have work to do.” Now, now was the time to tell him. “I never told you why we were looking for Damon Knightley.”

  “To kill him, of course.”

  “No. To warn him.” And see how well that turned out?

  “Warn him about what?”

  Keira took a breath. “I’m trusting you. If you ever tell anyone what I’m about to tell you...if it ever gets back to the dragon slayers, they’ll kill me. Gill, too.”

  “I’d never do anything to endanger you.”

  “Good.” In spite of his words, her stomach still fluttered a little as she started to speak. “When we first started slaying dragons, we believed what we were doing was right. All dragons were bad and needed to be wiped out. But over time, we started to doubt. Some of them didn’t seem like bad people. Some of them were parents. The children hadn’t shifted yet so we didn’t have to kill them but looking at them and knowing someday we might have to end their lives...it didn’t sit well.”