After the dramatics of the morning, the group ended up having a long breakfast. But Rhyndor and Callum didn’t join them. Rhyndor took Lilly to one side and told her it would take him and Steffan a long time to get to the chatting to one another phase, and he thought it best if he and Callum headed back to their cottage. He told her to stay with her sisters and get acquainted with Mia.
She’d enjoyed the meal and the chance to get to learn about Mia. But every now and then, a shard of panic burst in on her, taking her by surprise, slicing into her and disturbing her equilibrium. She didn’t understand it, but she thought a bit of time alone might help her get her head around everything. Once they’d finally finished the meal, she’d made her excuses and returned to her room.
The events of the morning kept playing over and over in her mind. The whole thing terrified her, but it seemed resolved. So why did she keep getting these horrible flashes of anxiety?
Closing her eyes, she rested her head on the pillow, and Callum’s face came to mind. Him looking so relieved, so…vindicated as he’d talked openly about how he’d believed all along she’d be the one to bring Rhyndor’s warrior out. She sat up. Son of a bitch! He didn’t want her. He only wanted her to use as some sort of pawn in his game to bring his male lover truly back to him. She’d been…what? The helpless female he’d hoped would be attacked at some point? He’d said something else, hadn’t he? Before. Something about how she’d be good for Rhyndor, bring out his dragon…or reawaken his dragon, something along those lines. Oh God. She’d been used. Maybe now that Rhyndor had his fighting mojo back, Callum wouldn’t want her around.
And what if he still did? None of this could end in a happily ever after for her. Her sister was mated to her matched male’s mortal enemy. Okay, so they’d kind of buried the hatchet…for now. But family dinners would be awkward. And despite having a ball chatting it up with her sisters, her time here mostly proved to be stressful or downright frightening. Back home, the worst anxiety she experienced came whenever Zach dumped her. And it was horrible, truly. It would simmer away for weeks or even months on end until he came back to her. But she’d gotten used to it. She understood it, could cope with it. This? This roller coaster ride of crazy exhausted her. Her future might not lie with Zach, but it didn’t lie with dragons either. She needed to forge her own path in life.
Her phone beeped, and she checked it to see it Missy’s photo pop up on her text page. Talk about perfect timing.
Missy: Are you coming back or not? Zach is pining. I think this time he realizes what a total dick he’s been.
Her heart sped up. It had been all she’d ever wanted. But now?
She sent a halfhearted text back: Yeah, until next time.
A wait of a minute, then a buzz: No, I swear, bestie. He’s changed. I think this might be it. If you come home!
She let her fingers hover over the keys then began to type: I’ve met someone here. I like him a lot. Not sure what to think about Zach now.
She told a half-truth and waited for her friend’s response.
What? Who? What’s he like? OMG. Do you have a pic? But, babe, think about it carefully. If he’s worth it, he’ll wait. You need to have closure one way or another with Zach. Come home, come to the party. It’s going to be epic. Fly back out there when you’ve had time to sort things out properly with Zach. You’ve wanted the guy all your life. You’ll never forgive yourself if you let it go. You two are like Romeo and Juliet.
Lilly didn’t want to point out to her friend how the story of the star-crossed lovers ended. Should she go home? The idea of the comforting familiarity stole into her soul. Not because of Zach. Not anymore. But because her head was spinning from everything she’d learned these last few days, and she needed a break. A break from this place, from the strangeness and the drama and the intense feelings the two men she’d met stirred within her. She might be running away from her troubles, but sometimes running was all you could do. And she needed time to get her head together. But how to get home? A loud knock on her door made her jump.
“Come in.”
Mia and Claire rushed into her room. “So…it’s all been a bit horrible today,” Claire said with massive understatement. “How about we girls go for a day shopping in town? Nathan says he’ll drive us into town with Steffan, and they’ll go for a drink while we do our stuff. Then we can meet them later, and they’ll bring us home. I think he’s a bit concerned about us going alone in case of this Celine bitch sniffing around. Which I doubt, but you appreciate our males. Protective.”
“It also gives them a chance to try to build some bridges, repair some of the damage done to their friendship,” Mia added. “And it means I can buy some decent makeup. There’s a department store to die for in the town. What do you say?”
As they’d been talking, a plan formed in Lilly’s mind. She couldn’t leave this place without asking someone to drive her out because it was warded by powerful magic, and she’d get lost. But the town had a train station. One with regular services to Glasgow and Edinburgh. She only needed to make sure she packed her passport in her purse, and she’d lose her sisters and get a flight home. They’d be worried sick, of course, but as soon as she got on the plane, she’d text to let them know. And it must be fate, the way they’d offered to take her into town. It told her she ought to go home. Sort things out with Zach, because whatever their future held, she owed it to herself to get closure on that relationship. She also knew she needed to have some time to sort through everything that had happened to her since she’d arrived here.
She smiled brightly at her sisters, hating herself for deceiving them. “A day in town sounds lovely.”
The pair started to chatter about what they’d do there, and she only half listened as she planned her getaway.
She proceeded to spend a sleepless night tossing and turning as she ran the plan over in her mind. Part of her felt so bad deceiving her only real kin in this world, but she also felt on the edge of cracking up with all that happened and needed some normality. Some time back in her own world where everything seemed normal and she could think.
*****
The next morning, she got dressed with a heavy heart, but she feared if she didn’t do this now, she’d never get away. By the time they were ready to go to town, she’d worked herself up into a real state of anxiety and spent the whole journey nibbling her nails.
Lilly’s stomach churned when she and her sisters said goodbye to the guys and entered the department store. And she’d begun to seriously second-guess herself and her hastily composed plan. The idea of walking away and not seeing the guys anymore upset her more than it should. After all, she’d only been acquainted with them for a few days. But they’d shared a hot and heavy afternoon together, and Lilly didn’t do such things lightly. They’d wormed their way into her psyche somehow, and she wanted more time with them. Which just went to show she ought to leave and get her head on straight, even if a big part of her didn’t want to.
In five minutes, she’d say she needed the loo. If one of her sisters wanted to go with her, it would be awkward, but she’d simply walk into the stall and then straight back out again. Then she’d head out of the store and go to the train station to catch the 1:15 to Edinburgh. By evening, she’d be on a plane back to the States, and her sisters would get a text to stop them from worrying. She felt like shit about it because she knew they’d freak out at first and think something awful happened to her, but she could see no way around it. If she told them, they’d either try to talk her out of leaving or maybe attempt to stop her.
Of course, she’d also get to see Zach, which made her feel sick to her stomach. Deep down, she knew they were over. For them to stay together, he’d need to be told what she was. She no longer believed he could be trusted with the information. The sad truth was, she didn’t trust Zach with her life. But Rhyndor…he’d broken his vow of peace for her. To protect her. She honestly believed he’d lie down and die for her right now, if he had to. It exhilarated her, and it scared the ever-loving crap out of her.
Then there was Callum. He confused her. She found him hot as hell. Beautiful and sexy, with a real charm to him. But she wasn’t convinced he felt the same way about her as Rhyndor did. From all she’d heard, dragon males wanted to protect and cherish their female mate, but Callum seemed more concerned for Rhyndor. She worried she’d been nothing more than a means to an end for him. A way to bring Rhyndor back to the living.
She glanced at her watch, and her stomach flipped. Now or never. “I need to pop to the ladies’.” She smiled at her sisters, who were arguing over whether revisiting the nineties was cool or not. They glanced at her and nodded.
“We’ll be here, by the horrible nineties section.” Claire rolled her eyes.
“It’s great. Reminds me of being a kid.” Mia laughed.
Lilly laughed along, then turned and headed for the escalator. Once on the next floor, she rushed for the elevator and took it all the way back down to ground level, where she slipped out of a side door. She put on the hat she’d bought earlier while her sisters were trying on makeup swatches and pulled it down low. Head down, she half walked, half jogged in the direction of the train station. God help her, she’d better be doing the right thing.
*****
“What do you mean, she’s missing?” Rhyndor looked green around the edges, and Callum understood only too well how he felt. His own lunch threatened to come back up.
“She disappeared in the middle of our shopping trip.” Claire wiped at red eyes. “What if someone has taken her?”
Steffan paced and blew out a long breath. The tension between him and Rhyndor still existed, but things were cordial at least. “What if it is to do with Celine? Maybe she’s somehow followed what you’re doing. She won’t be happy if we’ve made peace…of sorts.”
Rhyndor stabbed his pointer finger at Nathan. “You were supposed to watch them.”
Nathan bristled, and his jaw clenched. Callum braced himself in case of more fighting, but a loud beep had them all glancing at Claire’s phone dancing on the work surface.
“It’s Lilly!” She read the message, and her face fell. “She’s heading back home. Says she’s sorry to have worried us, but she needs space and time to think. It’s all too much for her.”
Callum’s heart sank. That little shit Zach that she’d allowed herself to become obsessed with would be there. Fuck. He slammed his hand down on the counter and winced. Suddenly it hit him. Deep distress. It roiled in his gut, and his heart ached and tore apart. Shit.
He had not until this moment realized what she meant to him. Oh, he’d wanted her. But he’d been so focused on Rhyndor and getting his male back to his normal self, he’d viewed Lilly as not much more than a weapon in his arsenal. He wanted her with them, wanted to take her, to fuck her, and for her to give Rhyn his fire back, but beyond those things, he hadn’t allowed himself to think.
He ran a finger around the rim of his collar. Fuck, he couldn’t breathe too well.
“Callum, you okay?” Rhyn’s concerned face swam in his line of vision.
Callum had completely underestimated this mating bond. Utterly. He might be about to throw up. Not wanting to humiliate himself in front of the whole room, he pushed Rhyn to one side and staggered out of the kitchen and down the hallway, Rhyn thudding after him.
He made it to the small toilet in time to bring up his lunch. He heaved and heaved until there was nothing left. When he was done, he wiped his mouth on some toilet paper and turned to look at Rhyndor. “I didn’t think it would hurt this bad.”
His bonded male gave him a kindly smile and passed him a washcloth. He ran it under the cool water tap and wiped his face and mouth properly.
“Shit. I had no idea. We’ve not fully bonded with her yet, and it just hit me. She might not come back. She might end up with that piece of crap, Zach, and we both know he’s not worthy. I want to go in there and kill him myself.”
Rhyndor’s brow furrowed. “Who, Zach?”
“No.” He leaned against the wall, gathering his strength. “Steffan. I had no clue until this moment what you truly took from him. Christ, add in the poison you injected into his leg… I mean, he says he’s letting the past go, but what if he doesn’t.”
Too late, he realized the import of his words. Saw the wince of pain slash across Rhyndor’s face as if he’d struck him physically. “Shit, Rhyn. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… Fuck, I always put my mouth in it.”
“It’s your foot. You put your foot in it. And I need some air myself.”
Rhyn turned and stalked down the hallway to the front door.
Callum hung his head. Fuck it all. He’d made things awkward between him and his bonded male, and he’d also treated Lilly badly. He understood as much now. He’d used her to try to bring his male back to him, without realizing what she meant to him and without letting her know. And he’d sneered at her for her feelings for Zach, too. Add in the shitshow when Steffan turned up, and no wonder the poor girl turned tail and ran away. He needed to make it right. But how?
With a heavy heart, he headed back toward the kitchen, where they seemed to be spending most of their time these days whenever they were in the big house. Nathan gave him a concerned glance.
Callum passed a hand over his face. “I’m okay now.”
Nathan nodded. “You should go after her.”
“What?”
“Yeah. You should go after her and bring her back. We left Claire out there, and it proved dangerous. Rhyndor is still going to be on Celine’s shitlist if I know anything about that witch. Steffan too. Lilly’s not safe.”
“Seems we have an enemy in common.” Steffan scratched at his heavy scruff. “Maybe when you sort things out with your girl, Rhyn and I ought to put our heads together.”
“You’d work with him?” Call him suspicious, but Callum didn’t buy it.
“I’d work with the devil himself to keep Mia safe.”
Callum bit back his growl at those words. His male wasn’t the devil, not remotely.
“So, we what? Hop on a plane to New York and drag her back here?”
“Whoa, Cavemen-R-Us.” Claire waved her hands in the air. “You do something along those lines, and you’ll piss her off for good. I agree she needs watching, so go and watch her. Make sure she’s safe, but don’t drag her back here. Watch her, and if a good opportunity presents itself, then try to talk to her. But don’t get all up in her face and go all macho on her ass. She’ll resent you for it. I would. You need to take this slow, use some finesse.”
Finesse? They were dragon males, for the sake of the gods. They didn’t do finesse. Still, Callum ought to try if it meant getting their Lilly back. Right then, he needed to go after Rhyndor. He’d said something terrible, albeit unintentionally.
Steffan went to sit down and winced as he did so. “What’s wrong?” Callum nodded at the leg Steffan favored.
“Still hurts like a bitch where your lover boy unloaded a fuckton of poison into me.”
“I’m sorry it still gives you trouble.”
“Trouble?” Aiden spoke up. “It’s still poisoning him! A bit more than trouble.”
Oh, fuck. Rhyn would lose his shit if he kept seeing Steffan in pain. One more guilt nail in his coffin. Unless… Callum’s brain whirred as he thought about it. Rhyn put the poison there. Maybe he could reverse the magic? He’d heard such tales from his grandmother when young. But she’d passed to Neffee a long time ago. They needed to talk with someone who held great medicinal and magical knowledge. Rhiannon. The Warder of Steffan’s clan, or Robert’s clan, as it was more accurately known, should know. Fuck, the woman was ancient and powerful as anything.
If Rhyn did manage to save Steffan from the poison, he might see it as a way of letting go of some of his guilt over what he’d done. Callum computed all the ways it could go wrong, but the idea also held great possibility. Rhyn had his mojo back; Lilly had seen to it. Now, he needed the guilt, if not gone, at least muted somewhat, and then he’d start to truly live once more. If Lilly came back to them, they’d hopefully find their own version of happy ever after.
“What’s Rhiannon’s number?”
Steffan frowned. “Why?”
“Because we might be able to do something about that leg of yours.”
Steffan glanced from him to his leg and back again. He shook his head. “Doubt it. Been in there for centuries.”
“Honey,” Mia interrupted. “It’s worth a try.”
Steffan pulled his phone up and tapped at the screen. Then he read a number out, which Callum memorized easily.
“I’m going to talk to her. Let you know what she says.”
He headed out of the room without waiting for any answers and strode across the grass toward their small cottage. He hit the door almost at a run. “Rhyn! Hey, Rhyn!”
His beloved male came out of the living room. “What? Is it Lilly?”
“No. I’ve got an idea.”
“Oh, crap. Whenever you have an idea, it always seems to make things worse.”
Callum ignored him and pushed on. “I’m sorry for what I said. I honestly didn’t mean to hurt you. But…it made me think. You can’t bring Steffan’s mate and bonded male back. And he and Nathan can’t bring your bonded male back. You both took something from one another, and it can’t be undone. But maybe the poison eating away at him can. My grandmother used to talk to me about it. To say how the one who placed the poison can take it away, but it’s powerful magic. Maybe, with help, you can do it?”
Hope flickered in Rhyn’s beautiful eyes. “This would mean a great deal to me. I’d feel as if I’d done a small thing to right the many wrongs I committed under the witch’s spell.”
“I asked for Rhiannon of the Welsh clan’s number. If anyone knows, she will.”
Rhyndor shifted his weight from one foot to the other a few times. “Fuck it. Call her. Put it on speaker.”
“We’ll speak to Rhiannon, and then we go get our girl, agreed?”
Rhyn nodded.
Heart pounding, Callum dialed the number. Rhiannon loved Steffan dearly, Callum knew as much, and he hoped she didn’t tell them to go to hell.
It rang so long, he went to go hang up, when she answered. He remembered her voice, despite them not speaking for decades.
“Rhiannon. This is Callum, of the Scottish Clan. Nathan’s cousin.”
Her sharp intake of breath traveled clearly down the phone. “Callum, we thought you were dead. You disappeared. Where are you?”
“I’m back home. It’s a long, long story, and right now, I need your advice. But first, I need to tell you something, and I need you to hear me out.”
“Okay.” Her wary tone belied her words.
“I’m back at the Scottish clan, with Rhyndor.” This time she swore, low and nasty. “He’s here with me, and Steffan and his mates are here too.”
“What?” She fair screeched the word, and he smiled at her losing her cool. The woman rarely did.
“Yep, we’re all here. The males have come to an…agreement. They’ve put their differences to one side and—”
“I’m sorry, young man.” Rhiannon’s icy tone brought him up cold. “But I find this hard to believe. Steffan will never forgive the male you speak of.”
“Rhi,” Rhyndor spoke, and there was nothing but silence from the other end of the phone. “It’s true. It’s a long story, as Callum says. But when I did those things, I was under Celine’s enchantment. I wasn’t in control of what I did. I’ve spent decades trying to atone for it, in my own way. Steffan knows it all. I want to help make right what I can. I want to get the poison out of his leg. Callum says there may be a way.”
“Rhyndor. I never thought to speak to you again. I’ve hated you a long time…but if what you say is true, then two great warriors have lost much at the hands of this witch. There is a way to help Steffan, but it puts you in danger. You must take the poison back into your own body. Because it is your poison, it won’t be as powerful in your system. You have a chance to defeat it once and for all, but you do take a risk. Because if you can’t, if you’re not strong enough, the poison will grow within and make you weak.”
“No, forget it.” Callum went to hang up the call, but Rhyndor snatched the phone from him and began to walk and talk.
“What do I have to do?”
“It involves invoking great magic. Not all of it good. You risk alerting Celine, too, if she picks up on the dark arts involved.”
“That’s okay. I owe the bitch. I want to know where she is. Before she enchanted me, I think she killed my mate-to-be, knowing it would make me weakened to her magic. She killed my future mate, enchanted me, and her actions led to the death of my bonded male at the hands of Nathan. She can come for me. I’m ready for her.”
“No, you’re not.” Callum cursed himself for ever thinking of this. He faced losing Rhyndor and Lilly now. And he didn’t want to live without either of them. Despite having only known the female a few days, she’d seeped her way into his soul.
“I can tell you how to perform the magic. You must say the rites exactly as I tell you and use the exact herbs, too. Perform the ceremony, and once it is over, you change into your dragon form. Then, using your claw, you reopen the wound and ask to take the poison back into yourself. Finally, you seal it with your dragon’s fire. The first three days are critical. You’ll find out then if you can easily fight off your own poison. Do you have an email address?” She laughed. “How strange it seems. Emailing you centuries-old magic. But still, it’s the most time-efficient way to do it.”
They exchanged the pertinent information, Callum pacing, his stomach roiling. As soon as Rhyndor hung up the phone, Callum began to speak.
“You can’t do this. It’s too dangerous. We’ve finally found our mate and have a chance at happiness, and you’re willing to blow it to save Steffan?”
“Yes.” Rhyndor put his hand on his arm. “It’s the right thing to do, Callum. The only thing to do. I can at least go some way toward making this right. I won’t ever be free until I do.”
Callum sighed. Fuck his life. A day ago, he’d believed everything was finally in his grasp, but he’d overplayed his hand and not considered the whims of others. Lilly wanted to run back to the douchebag she fancied herself in love with, and Rhyn wanted to fall on his sword. And he couldn’t stop either of them.
“What about Lilly?”
Rhyndor hitched up a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “We go get her back, of course. Did you think I’d leave her in the clutches of that spoiled little shit? We go get our girl and bring her back, and then I make this right with Steffan.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy. You have to believe in it, is all.”
“So…we go speak to Steffan and then book a flight to New York?”
Rhyndor nodded, and Callum sent up a prayer to the gods that they had not started down a path to Rhyndor’s destruction.