Colin debated, once again, whether he dared extend his stay so he’d be around to deal with George’s manipulations. But when he’d used his phone to cancel the reservations at the Space Needle, he’d seen a text message from Duncan, who wanted him to call as soon as he could. Duncan was about to do something rash. Colin could feel it.

A phone call probably wouldn’t stop him, either. But it might delay whatever daft thing Duncan planned to do concerning his girlfriend Molly. Colin was torn between the beautiful woman sitting next to him sipping champagne, and his obligation to keep his family from descending into chaos.

To further complicate matters, his father was extremely conservative in addition to being in ill health. The last time Colin had talked with his mother, she’d hinted that if Duncan went through with his threat to mate with a human, it might send his father into cardiac arrest.

The text message from Duncan weighed on Colin’s mind. Maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible if he made a quick call while Luna sipped champagne and ate gourmet finger sandwiches and strawberries that had been hand-picked by cherubs singing the Hallelujah Chorus. Luxury had its uses.

“I hate to do this,” he said. “But I had a message from home, and I think it might be a good idea if I checked in.”

“Go right ahead.” Luna gestured with her champagne glass. “I know you have a crisis going on over there.”

He grimaced. “Right. That’s why you were treated to my unpleasant rant this morning.”

“I’m over that, Colin. You have your reasons, good ones I’m sure, for thinking the way you do, and it has nothing to do with me. It’s not as if what we’re sharing now is a long-term thing.”

Hearing her talk so casually about their relationship, when her eyes told a different story, left a bitter taste. Yet she was right. Come to think of it, she had a more sensible attitude than he had. She knew exactly where they stood, while he was still trying to bargain with Fate to change the status quo.

“Let me give you a wee bit more champagne before I go.”

“That’s fine. It’s very good champagne.” She smiled at him as he refilled her glass. “But I promise not to get used to it. Tomorrow I’ll go back to the usual rotgut.”

She had a gift for making him laugh, and he was going to miss that along with every other wonderful thing about Luna. If he were more evolved, he’d be able to enjoy the present moment with her and not anticipate the eventual heartbreak when they parted. Apparently he wasn’t that evolved, because thoughts of leaving her polluted every blessed moment of being with her. Bloody hell.

He added more champagne to his own glass before carrying it and his phone to the master bedroom. As he waited for the call to go through, he pulled back the drapes and discovered Seattle spread beneath him. In a couple of hours, when it grew dark and the lights came on, it would be quite a view, nearly as good as the Space Needle.

Duncan answered on the second ring. Colin had forgotten to estimate the time change and belatedly realized it must be about two in the morning in Scotland. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“No, brother mine, you did not.” The sound of rustling sheets and the murmurings of a female voice filtered through the phone line. “But you did interrupt me.”

“Oh.” Bollocks. He’d called when his brother was having sex with the very woman everyone was so concerned about.

“Can’t be helped, now,” Duncan said. “Let me head on into the other room so Molly doesn’t have to be bored with our conversation.”

“Make very sure she can’t hear it.” Colin took a good long sip of his champagne. The last thing he needed was for the woman to overhear a mention of werewolves.

“Don’t worry.”

Colin couldn’t help but worry. He didn’t see any way this was going to go well, and he resented being forced to abandon Luna while he counseled his little brother on a proper course of action.

It didn’t escape him that Luna was no more suitable for him than Molly was for Duncan, but at least Colin hadn’t proposed mating with her. His heart might yearn for that, but it would be madness. She wouldn’t agree to it, anyway, considering how attached she was to Whittier House.

“All right,” Duncan said in a weary tone. “Here’s the situation. Molly expects me to marry her, which in her world is the way these things go. Ring, church, honeymoon.”

“I’m aware of the rituals.”

“I can do all those things, even if they’re not part of our belief system, but it’s time for me to tell her who the hell I am and find out how she feels about that. I just wanted to warn you before I told her.”

Colin’s chest tightened. “Do you have any idea how she’ll take that news?”

“She loves me. I think she’ll accept it.”

“That’s not good enough, Dunc.” Colin felt a headache coming on. If Luna were here, she’d probably mention that the vein in his temple had popped out again. “Don’t tell her yet. If she doesn’t react well, you’ll put all Weres in danger. And think of her welfare. She might have to be sequestered if she’s a security risk.”

“She’ll be fine, Colin. It’s time for Weres to start the gradual process of intermingling. Past time. I need to tell her. Even if she reconsiders and decides not to stay with me, she’s not the kind of person who would call out the mob with the pitchforks. She’s very tolerant. I know she’d help us to be accepted.”

Colin set his champagne glass on the bedside table so he could massage his forehead. “You’re talking about a cultural shift. We’re not ready for that, yet. We may never be ready.”

“It starts one person at a time.”

“Do you love her? Are you sure without a shadow of a doubt that she’s destined to be your mate?”

“I love her, but this mating business is old-fashioned hocus-pocus. I love her for being the non-judgmental, generous person she is, and she’s a perfect candidate to start moving Scottish Weres out of the Dark Ages.”

Colin groaned. “You don’t mate with someone because she’ll be a good ambassador for Scottish Weres. You mate with her because she completes you, because she’s the female you’re destined to be with for the rest of your life.”

Duncan snorted. “Hey, what’s with the lecture on destiny and endless love all of a sudden, big brother? You don’t talk about your plans much, but whenever you do, I get the impression you’ll choose the most suitable Were, almost as if you’re hiring someone for a job.”

Colin had begun pacing during the phone call, but the accuracy of that statement stopped him in his tracks. “I might have said something like that in the past, but…it’s not the ideal.”

“You sure fooled me. I thought you were all about sensible matches.”

“I was, but coming back here and being reminded of what Aunt Geraldine and Uncle Henry had together has given me a lot to think about.”

“I’m dying to hear the results of all that intense brainstorming.”

Colin grimaced, knowing he was still mentally tied in knots over the question. “I hope to fall madly in love with someone who’s also a suitable mate.”

Duncan laughed. “Good luck with that, old chap.”

“Yes, well, we’re talking about you, now, aren’t we? Choosing a mate could be the single most important decision you make, Duncan, whether she’s Were or human. Promise me you won’t say anything to her until I meet her.”

“I don’t know if I can wait that long. When are you coming back? She’s going on vacation in a couple of weeks, and I’d like to get this settled before she leaves.”

Colin took a deep breath and reminded himself that his brother still had some maturing to do. Impatience was part of his makeup, and his zeal for changing the status quo was making him think he should mate with someone who might understand when he revealed that he was a shape-shifter. Colin didn’t like those odds, but no doubt Duncan found them to be an exciting challenge.

“I’ll get home as soon as I can,” he said. “In the next few days if possible. I’ll definitely beat that vacation deadline of hers. Just give me the courtesy of meeting her, talking with her. If she’s going to be a permanent part of our family, I’d like at least that much consideration.”

“Because you’re the big, bad alpha?”

“No, because I’m your only brother, and I love you.”

That produced a moment of silence on the other end. “All right,” Duncan said at last. “I’ll hold off until you get back here and can meet her. Once you do, you’ll understand.”

“That would be good. I very much want to understand. I’ll let you return to her, now.”

“Thanks.” Duncan paused again. “I have to say, I guess you have been thinking, because you sound different.”

“I do? How?”

“I don’t know, exactly. But it’s as if you’re listening to me for a change. I expected you to yell at me, but you…you didn’t. If you had yelled, I probably would have told you to sod off and I would have told Molly everything tonight. But…I’ll wait.”

“Thanks, Duncan. See you soon.”

“You, too.”

Colin blew out a breath as he turned off the phone, tucked it in his slacks pocket, and picked up his champagne. Close call. Sadly, Duncan’s description of his former attitude toward the mating process was dead on.

And it had been dead wrong. He could no longer settle for mere affection from a mate who was suitable. He needed passion as part of the bargain. Luna had shown him that. She might not be his destiny, but she was his equal in passion and fire.

As he sipped his champagne, he thought about her and whether she and Duncan would get along. He almost wished they would have a chance to meet, because instinctively he knew they’d be friends. That idea didn’t bother him in the same way he’d been bothered by Knox Trevelyan’s attentions to Luna.

For all Duncan’s impetuous behavior, he would never make a move on a female Colin wanted. At bottom, Duncan was a good-hearted chap with a zest for life, but that enthusiasm got him into more trouble than any Were Colin knew. Consequently he’d been a bloody pain-in-the-ass.

Although he was only four years younger than Colin, some days it had seemed like ten. But they’d had good times, too, some moments when Duncan had made him laugh until his ribs ached.

Now Colin was needed back at Glenbarra to talk Duncan down off the ledge. That meant his days with Luna were nearly at an end. With that in mind, he started to leave the bedroom, but then decided to take a quick look around first.

A glance into the bathroom revealed a promising Jacuzzi tub placed next to a window. If the view wouldn’t make Luna dizzy, they could have a good time in there. After today’s hot tub shopping, he knew that she had an imagination when it came to benches and jets.

The bedroom also looked promising. The raised platform bed was at least king-sized, maybe even custom-made to be larger. It was covered with various shapes and sizes of pillows, all snowy white.

The bed had been designed as a playground, and Colin hoped they’d use it that way. A chest sat at the end of it, and when Colin pushed a button, the top slid back and a flat-screen monitor rose from its depths.

“Planning to catch a reality show or two?”

He turned toward the doorway.

Luna rested a shoulder against the doorframe, her half-full champagne flute dangling between two fingers. “Or maybe your taste runs more toward X-rated videos,” she said. “I’m sure those are available.”

“I’m sure they are.” Holding her gaze, he pushed the button again and the flat screen whirred back down into its cabinet. “I don’t need them.” As if to prove that point, his groin stirred. He deposited his glass on the top of the cabinet.

“I didn’t hear your voice anymore, so I decided to wander in and find out if you’re okay.” Pushing away from the doorframe, she moved into the room.

He crossed to meet her and slid one hand around her waist and the other beneath her hair to cup the back of her neck. “You have a caring nature, Luna Reynaud, to ask about my problems at home.” He began a gentle massage, taking pleasure in the feel of her silky skin under his fingertips.

Her green eyes darkened in response to the simple caress. “I don’t have a sister or brother, but it must be distressing to have issues and be so far away.” Resting her palm on his chest, she reached up with her champagne flute and rubbed the cool glass against his temple. “I’ll bet that pesky vein popped out again.”

“I’m sure it did, but it’s better, now.”

“Here I was out there relaxing like a princess, and you were in here arguing with your brother.”

“It wasn’t so bad.”

She stopped rubbing his temple and brought the flute down to his mouth. “Have some more of this stuff. It’s very tasty and will wash away all your cares.” She tipped the glass.

He swallowed the fizzy champagne and smiled at her as she lowered the glass. “You’re fussing over me.”

“I am. Is that okay?”

“If feels wonderful, lass. I can’t remember the last time someone fussed over me.”

“Everyone needs it once in awhile, especially a big strong laird who takes all the responsibility for his pack on his very broad shoulders.”

“You make me sound like a hero, and I’m not.”

“Y’all are a hero to me. And probably to Duncan, too, when he stops to admit it.”

Colin nestled her closer. “I don’t know about that, but he complimented me on listening to him for a change. I have you to thank for that.”

“Me? Why?”

He savored the way she settled against him so trustingly. “You’ve challenged my assumptions and poked holes in my belief system. Before I met you, my world was divided into black and white, Weres and humans.”

“And now?”

“That kind of sharp division doesn’t exist for me any more. It can’t, because it would put me on one side and you on the other. I couldn’t live without us being…friends.” What a ridiculously inadequate word that was.

“Neither could I.” Her gaze searched his. “Does that mean you won’t object if Duncan mates with a human?”

“I’ll still object if he’s only doing it to make a statement, and judging from what he’s said, I think that’s his main motivation.”

“Will he go ahead, anyway?”

“I hope to talk him out of it, but…I have to do it in person.”

A stricken look flashed briefly in her eyes and was gone, replaced by acceptance. “That makes perfect sense. In person is always better.”

“Unfortunately, I’ll need to leave very soon, perhaps in a couple of days if I can arrange it.”

“Right.” She nodded, as if the matter was not up for debate.

“He’s agreed to hold off telling her he’s Were until I’ve met her. Once I’ve seen them together, I’ll have a much better idea of whether they’re meant to be mated. No one should choose a mate, whether she’s Were or human, to prove a point.”

“No, I suppose not.” She gazed up at him, her green eyes giving nothing away. “Why should they choose one, then?”

His heart contracted. She would have to ask the hard question. But he owed her his best answer, culled from his most recent thinking. “Because they’ve found someone they can’t live without.” He was very much afraid he’d done exactly that.

“But what if the other someone doesn’t feel the same?”

Ah, the cold slap of reality. If she’d begun to guess his feelings, she was reminding him that both parties had to be fully committed. “Then perhaps they’re not destined to be mates,” he said.

“Perhaps not.” She took a deep breath. Then she gave him a bright smile. “Well, enough deep philosophy! I see you discovered the flat screen that we’re not going to make use of. What else do we need to explore before we continue with our decadent evening?”

She was obviously ready to change the subject and the mood, and he admired her resilience. She could very well be more resilient than he was. “There’s a hot tub in the bathroom,” he said.

“Is that right?”

“It’s next to a window, though, so that could prove to be a problem for you.”

She lifted her glass. “All I need is y’all and more champagne.”

“That I can provide.” For now, at least. Maybe before he left he’d order a case of that bubbly for her. It was a poor substitute for being there personally, but it would have to do.