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I could hear her softly speaking to someone and used that moment to push myself to a standing position. I had one hand braced on the mattress to steady myself, but I felt good. My head hurt a little bit, but whatever pain medicine he’d given me helped immensely. I started making my way toward the bathroom and braced myself for the harsh light that kicked on.
“I don’t know-know him. He’s Caelan’s uncle, but Caelan has been pretty vocal about how Adryan is batshit crazy.”
Great. She stopped speaking, and even though I couldn’t see her, I could picture her biting her bottom lip, knowing there was more she wanted to say. But her anxiousness had her stalling. “What? Darragh, just say it, because at this point, there’s nothing you can really say that’s going to shock me,” I teased, or at least tried to. “He’s a batshit crazy Lycan uncle?—”
“Yeah, so he’s a vampire, not a Lycan. Caelan’s mother is a vampire.”
“Of course they are.” I walked into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, grimacing at the hot mess I was. Dark hair a tangled around my head, and a square bandage on my temple that was seeping pink in the center. Dark circles under my eyes, and my skin pasty white. I look down at the T-shirt I wore, the material even more oversize than the one I’d put on before at the motel. I picked at the fabric in the center of my chest and brought it to my nose, closing my eyes as I inhaled. It smelled just like Cian, that dark and spicy aroma that did wicked things to my body.
“Did you hear me?”
I shut the door and lifted my head to look at my reflection. “Yeah.”
Darragh started laughing. “I don’t even have to be right in front of you to know you’re lying.”
I couldn’t help but smile and was thankful I had someone in my life who could make things seem a little bit brighter when they all seemed fucked-up.
16
Evelyn
Half an hour later and I was freshly washed, my hair finger combed, my teeth cleaned with the new toothbrush and mouthwash I found in the bathroom—thank God—and the new oversize clothes on.
I tightened the drawstring of the sweatpants, smoothed my hands down the T-shirt that hung limply on my smaller form, and left the bedroom. I was nervous, not sure what exactly I was jumping into right now but knowing if danger was at the forefront, there was no better place for me to be than with Cian.
I heard the deep voices coming from down the hall and followed, rounding the corner and seeing Cian and an unfamiliar man—just as large and clearly a Lycan, given his similar build as my mate—standing in the center of the living room. From where I stood, I could see the man had a nasty-looking scar that started on the top of one side of his face and cut a line all the way down. He looked younger, late twenties, but after knowing about Lycans and their ages, I knew the male was far older. His hair was a lighter blond that was shorter in the back and sides and longer in the front, the strands hanging over his forehead and long enough to fall into his eyes.
Their heads were low as they spoke softly, their language not something I understood but was starting to assume was Gaelic, given their Scottish heritage.
As if Cian sensed my presence, even though his back was to me, he turned around, his face softening, the hard lines of concentration that had just been in his expression fading away. He was in front of me in a few steps, a massive body looming over mine yet not intimidating.
“Ye shouldn’t be out of bed.” The rough timbre of his voice shouldn’t have done the things they did to my body, causing places to tingle that should have been dormant right now, given the stress. But I let it seep into me. I took comfort in it.
“I feel better,” I said honestly.
The silence stretched out before Cian finally said, “Tog na siùil.” Cian never took his gaze off mine, but it was clear he spoke to the other man, as he left right away after the words were out.
When we were alone, just inches separating us, I had the uncontrollable urge to lean into him, but I needed answers before I gave in to this intense attraction. “Who was that?”
Cian stepped aside and gestured for me to take a seat on the couch.
Once I sank down, I felt a little of the pressure leave my head. He stood there for a moment as if he was contemplating sitting beside me, and I moved over an inch, a nonverbal cue that he was welcome to sit down. I kept it to myself that I wanted him by me.
He dropped his big body gracefully down to the cushion, and I was once again very aware of his sheer size. Even sitting, my head barely reached his shoulders.
“You’ll answer all my questions?” I finally prompted, breaking the silence. He shifted that big, powerful body around so he was partially facing me and inclined his head in agreement.
God, where to start?
“Who was that other man?”
“Odhran,” he said instantly. “He’s a Lycan in the Guard.” At my confused look, he went on to explain. “Soldiers of my kind who I train.”
“So, you’re like the leader?”
His lips quirked. “In human terms, I’m like the general of the Guard. We have a leader of our kind, the king of the Scottish Lycan clan. Banner.”
I nodded mutely. “Oh boy. So much?—”
