“Hailey, I caught an earlier train and I’m home.”
Damn. That meant this was it.
One part of her burned with excitement, eager to introduce Seth to her father. The other wanted to keep him to herself in their private hideaway.
She’d convinced Seth to stay long enough to meet her father. After that, he had no reason to stick around.
“I’ll be up shortly,” she said.
Seth had opened his eyes and watched her. After she hung up, he said, “Your father?”
“Yes. You ready to meet him?”
His eyes flickered with wariness. “I can’t say I’m thrilled about the idea.”
“Relax.” She squeezed one of his muscular biceps. “Nobody is comfortable meeting a lover’s parents the first time.”
With a nervous laugh, he said, “This warrants more than just jitters, don’t you think?”
With a smile and a shrug of her shoulders, she then climbed out of her bed and dressed, turning over her shoulder to catch him watching her. What a sight to see him in her bed, hair tousled and the sheet barely covering him. If this was the last time, she didn’t want to forget it.
They came to an agreement on how to introduce Seth as they walked to the main house. The temperature had dropped significantly from the prior days as a mist shrouded the area, leaving a bite in the air. She ventured in first to greet her father. He was sitting at his desk in his favorite room, his study, which was filled with cherry wood, old framed maps, and a plethora of books.
“How was the conference?”
“Eh.” He raised his hand, palm up. “You know. The same.”
In other words, the same speeches and the same arguments for and against the rewilding efforts. Maybe she hadn’t missed much after all. Besides, spending that time with Seth was far more exhilarating.
“So,” she paced over the red Moroccan rug before his desk. “Has Liam told you anything about what we found in the ocean the other day?”
“No.” He peered over his glasses. “What is it?”
Liam chose that moment to walk into the room. She nodded at him, grateful that he kept his word.
“Come outside.”
As they headed out through the foyer, Liam pulled her back and whispered. “It’s still in the cage, right?”
“No. No need for it, Liam.”
“What are you up to?” he murmured.
“You’ll see.” When they were outside, she called, “Seth, could you please come here?”
He came around from the corner of the house in wolf form.
Her father turned from her to the wolf and back, mouth opened and eyes wide. He covered his mouth with his hand and then dropped it. “What the—you found a wolf at sea?”
“Yes,” she said, beaming with pride. “He was injured, stung by a jellyfish, and we saved him from drowning.”
Liam eyed the wolf from afar. “What are you doing, Hailey? You can’t just let it run free. We need to take precautions.”
“He won’t harm you.” Her father and brother peered at her before returning their stare to the wolf before them. “This isn’t any type of species that you’re familiar with.”
“What kind is it?” Her father’s interest was conveyed with the awe in his tone.
She paused before revealing Seth’s secret. “Seth is a shapeshifter.”
Her father’s head jerked so quickly, she thought he’d injure himself.
Liam’s mouth fell agape. “What?”
“I know it sounds mad, but once you see it, you’ll understand.” She turned to Seth. “Seth, can you please shift now?”
How much he understood while in wolf form, she didn’t know. But the keen intelligence in his amber eyes as he moved his head in what seemed like a nod, indicated he might have received the message. Moments later, he initiated the remarkable shift to human form. She covered his naked body with a blanket while he dressed in pants and a T-shirt. She couldn’t present a naked man to her father and brother and not expect them to react.
A splendid, mouthwatering, well-endowed naked male.
“What—what—how?” Her father backed up, covering his chest and then dropping his hand.
He reacted as she’d expected, with as much incredulity as she’d experienced. She wouldn’t have believed it herself had she not seen him shift in front of her.
“Don’t be frightened,” Seth said to her father. “My name is Seth. Your daughter has been very hospitable. None of you have anything to fear.”
“What—” her father replied in exasperation. “How you did that—it’s not possible.”
“Like your daughter said, I’m a shapeshifter,” Seth replied in a calm tone. “I can shift to human or wolf at will.”
“It’s—it’s unheard of. Unnatural.”
“The wolf we found,” Liam said with a bit of awe in his voice. “Amazing.” He then snapped his head in Hailey’s direction. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I am telling you now. I wasn’t going to call you at the conference and have you rush back. Besides, this is something you need to see to believe.”
She exchanged a glance with Seth, smiling as she gave him a small nod, recalling the time she’d first seen him change. When she turned to face her father, his stare moved from her to Seth and back to her again.
His face darkened to an angry shade of red before he commanded, “Get in the house, Hailey.”
“Dad, you’re overreacting,” she protested. He was reacting to the shock, but still.
“Get in there now,” he repeated, pointing to the house.
“You’re being unreasonable,” she said. “I’ve known him for days. There’s nothing frightening or threatening about him.”
“Get her inside.” He gestured at Liam and stepped in front of her, making a human shield between her and Seth.
Liam took her elbow. “Come on, Hailey.”
“No.” She yanked her arm away. “Don’t tell me you’re freaking out, too.”
Liam shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. But freaking out might be the right description. Let’s go in and figure things out before you make a scene and make this worse.”
How could they do this to her? Treat Seth like this? After she’d told him how reasonable her father was, how he’d be the one human ally he could trust. She came off as a liar, making up pathetic stories. Or, she sounded deranged.
Casting Seth a quick glance, she said, “I’m sorry, Seth. Please don’t leave. I’ll talk to them and be right back.”
Seth eyed her with a wary glance, but she could read the pain underneath the stony expression. He was wrong to have listened to her, to think he could have trusted humans.
Oh God, what kind of mess had she made?
Inside, she paced the floor in her father’s study.
“How could you do that? After I told him you were the one human he could trust with his secret.”
“Hailey, what has gotten into you?” he boomed.
“Me?” She pointed to her chest. “What do you mean?”
“What would make you think it was a good idea to bring something so dangerous onto the grounds? What were you thinking?”
“Dangerous? Is that what you think? He’s not dangerous at all!” she spat. “Think of all we could learn from him about wolves—about so many things about animals and the wild we’d never have insight on. I thought you’d be fascinated, not terrified.”
“Of course I’m terrified. I saw a bloody wolf shift into a man!” He stormed toward her. “Why are you acting like it’s no big deal?”
“Because I’ve gotten to know him.” She raised her hands and dropped them onto her hips. “You always mentioned how much you admired wolves, how fascinating they are. Funny, I didn’t see any of that respect a moment ago.”
“That’s not a wolf,” he seethed. “Whatever he is—or it is—is not natural.”
After a tense moment, Liam said, “Let’s take a step back. What happened when you brought the wolf back here
?”
On hearing Liam’s voice, which was the only calm one among them, Hailey took a deep breath and exhaled with a sigh. Shouting at her father wouldn’t do anything to change his mind. He could be stubborn as a bull when fixated on something. She needed a less aggressive tactic. In a softer, more reasonable tone, she said, “I was treating the wolf’s injury, which we thought was a jellyfish sting. But when I went in the next morning, there was a man in the cage. No wolf. When I saw the wound and the similarity in the eyes, I knew he was the wolf.”
“And then?” her father prodded in a wary tone.
“And then, I treated his wound. We talked. Once his wound healed, he planned to move on, but I convinced him to stay a little longer to meet you.” When she thought of how stupid she’d been to try to impress her father, she wanted to slap herself. She turned to him. “I thought you’d be as captivated as I was.” She tried to swallow the bitter taste in her mouth. “Clearly, I was wrong.”
Her father studied her but didn’t say a word.
“Think a moment,” she said in a softer tone. “Just because we’re not familiar with this species, doesn’t mean we need to be afraid. Isn’t that what you always told me about animals so many people fear?”
“Don’t use my words against me, Hailey. Taking them out of context that way.” He wagged a finger. “What you’ve brought into our land isn’t merely unnatural, it’s supernatural. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I do,” she protested. “I know him well.”
“Please don’t even say he’s been staying with you in your cottage. If so, I don’t want to hear it.” With an abrupt wave, he added, “Don’t want to even think of it.”
“He has stayed with me,” she defended, raising her chin. “And in that time, I have never once feared him as something different.”
Her father’s face turned a shade of reddish-purple. She’d never seen him so angry. “If he even touched you…” He raised a finger and threw his hand to the side. “Don’t you think I have a tough enough battle to fight as it is? With known animal species. Now you’re setting me up for failure by throwing this at me.”
“What?” What was he talking about? “How?”
“If it ever got out that we were hiding a half-man/half-wolf here, it would destroy all our credibility. Hosting a supernatural creature? Unheard of. You know how superstitious locals are to begin with. Everyone would turn against us. Even those who support us now.”
She winced. “He’s not a creature. I hate how you perceive him so poorly when you don’t even know him. You haven’t even given him a chance before you made up your mind.”
For several moments, their eyes locked in battle. She wanted to hurl the lamp off his desk. Why couldn’t he be a bit more open-minded?
“I think we should all calm down,” Liam said. “Then we can think—and talk—about this rationally.”
She almost forgot he was there. Liam was often the voice of reason in their family, thinking analytically rather than responding with emotion. When he piped up, part of the tension diffused.
“Hailey,” her father said, his voice now calmer as he struggled for control. “One of the things I love about you is your ideals. You see the best in everyone, everything. As much as I admire it, it also scares me. Because you head out into the world with a bit of naiveté that the wrong person can exploit to their advantage.”
Despite the kind words, one echoed above the rest, which grabbed her by the throat. “I’m not naive.” God, now she sounded like a ten-year-old protesting something that wasn’t fair. But it wasn’t; that’s what made it so damn frustrating. She turned before she broke out into tears and strode toward the front door.
“Where are you going?” her father demanded.
“I’m leaving. There’s no point in continuing this conversation since you won’t listen.” She threw open the heavy wooden door.
“And for God’s sake, get him off our property,” he demanded as he followed her back outside.
“No. I won’t do it. I’m not going to kick him out.”
“Don’t worry,” Seth said, as he stepped out from the corner of the house. “I’m leaving.”
“Seth, no.” Hailey pleaded, horrified at what he must have overheard.
Her father entered the house and slammed the door.
“Don’t go like this,” she told Seth.
With a grim countenance, he said, “I have to. He’s right. You knew our time together was short. We’re different species from different worlds. It’s time we go back to them.”
Then why had it felt so right? “But—but—” What was she trying to say? “I don’t care about the differences,” she said. “It hasn’t been an issue. All I know is how I feel around you and I don’t want you to leave,” she admitted.
“Aye, Hailey, a part of me feels the same way,” he replied, his voice as soft as a gentle caress. “But the differences will matter one day.”
“So we’ll deal with it then.”
He gave her such a soul-searching glance, she almost thought she had him. He cupped her chin and kissed her gently. “It’s better that I go.”
CHAPTER TEN
When Seth told Hailey he was leaving, his wolf yelped in protest. Now that he’d found his mate, he wasn’t supposed to leave her. The way she glanced at him, silently appealing to him not to go, made leaving even more difficult.
He was an idiot to have taken the risk and agreed to meet her father. Humans were dangerous, not to be trusted. Yet he’d been swept up by Hailey and how different she was, he thought he might have misjudged them.
He was wrong.
Humans killed all the known wolves in Scotland. That was why wolf shifters went into hiding. Although the past couple of days with Hailey had been idyllic, leaving the island must have been a mistake. He didn’t know where he was going to go, didn’t have a clue where other shifter packs lived. The only way he could live in this human dominated world was as a human, which neither he nor his wolf wanted to consider.
Steeling himself not to soften at the site of her pained blue eyes, he uttered, “I have to leave.”
“There has to be another way. You can stay here with me. I’ll hide you. Or we’ll go someplace else together.”
Her distress tugged at him. His wolf urged him to take her up on that offer. He considered the options as he scanned the lands before him, the meadows, moors, and forests. In a few short days, he’d made so many memories there with Hailey. They’d spent countless hours walking the grounds. They’d been happy together. He’d been happy. Had he ever been as content as he had been with her?
What he thought he’d had with Raina cracked open as superficial compared to what he’d experienced with Hailey. Raina’s words echoed in his mind; when he’d found his mate, he’d know.
I found her and I know, but it isn’t doing me any good.
She was a human and he was a wolf. Her father had recoiled at seeing Seth’s true nature. Hailey looked up to her father and wanted to make him proud, which certainly hadn’t happened when he met Seth.
Stay with her, his wolf insisted. You can hide. It doesn’t matter where you go as long as you’re with her. She’s our mate!
Seth couldn’t do that to Hailey. She had plans before he came along. Dreams. She’d told him many times about her life’s work and her eyes had lit up with that passion. He couldn’t tear her from all of that because she’d developed feelings for him. He had to leave her for her sake.
“You’ve already done so much for me,” he told her through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to reach out and draw her into his arms. What he was about to say might tear him apart, go against everything he yearned for inside. “It’s better for both of us that I leave.”
“But—where will you go?”
Her face crumbled before him, ripping his resolve to shreds and urging him to do something. Take her in his arms. Cradle her close. Anything. He steeled himself, for her sake.
“Plenty
of land out there,” he said with a forced smile. “I’ll be fine.”
“You’ll be alone.” Her voice dropped so low he barely heard her.
So he would. Away from his pack, away from Hailey. Alone. Something he wasn’t sure he knew how to handle. He’d never been alone until he’d gone on that fateful swim. Clearly, he hadn’t handled that well since he’d nearly drowned and had only survived thanks to Hailey.
She’d found him and she was his mate. That had to mean something, that they were destined somehow, and that’s what had drawn them together.
Stop, you’re searching for connections that will only make it harder to walk away.
He clasped her hand. The sensation of it in his own felt right. He kissed her inner wrist before releasing her arm. “You aren’t like what I thought humans were like.” That wasn’t right; there was more to it. “You aren’t like anyone I know, Hailey. I’ll never forget you.”
Her eyes were shiny. “Let me get you clothes and some money.”
“Clothes, aye. I appreciate it. But I don’t need money.”
They headed to her cottage and he dressed in the clothes she got for him the first day. She packed him a bag, stuffing it with food and clothes and other things she thought he’d need. She was so good to him, so caring. He took one last look around at what had been his home for a few days. Which had felt like home with her. He squared his jaw and walked outside.
She bent to pick a sprig and handed it to him. “I hear that white heather is good luck. Wherever you go, be careful.”
The catch in her voice yanked at him with as direct a pull as from a ship’s anchor. It took all his will to draw himself away.
A sob escaped her, and he closed his eyes.
It’s better that you leave.
For whom? From the way his gut clenched, that wasn’t the right move. His wolf had frozen, watching with incredulity as the scene played out. Surely, Seth wouldn’t walk away from their mate.
It’s better for her that you leave.
When he reopened his eyes, he caught her gaze. He wouldn’t leave without touching her velvet soft lips one last time. Cupping her face, he kissed her—a deep, searing, consuming one. He savored it, knowing it would never feel like this again. It never could. She was his mate. They were connected.
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