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I’d been in such a hurry to reach him, but, um, I hadn’t thought this far ahead. I asked the first things that popped into my mind. “How have you hidden your immortality without moving out of Scotland? Did you play the part of your father? Fake your death a few times?” What did it matter? This was life and death.
“There are ways.” He squeezed me. “No stalling. Talk about why you’re here.”
Right. “First, I apologize for interrupting your busy day.”
“Upendingmy busy day,” he corrected, but he didn’t sound upset. Just cautious. “Apology accepted. Jump to core issue.”
“Yes. Well. Thank you for accepting my apology.” I cleared my throat. “I’d like to revisit an old topic. Semi-old.” Terrible start. “Do you remember when I asked you to fly with me to the United States?”
Tension stole over him. “I do.”
“What if, hypothetically, I have friends there, and they are in constant danger? I mean, not danger, danger, but emotional devastation at the hands of an evil villainess type character. And what if we could save their hearts and mine tons of grief with a simple plane ride to another country? Would you, possibly, change your mind about the trip?”
He relaxed some, his features softening. “I would remind you that we cannot enter Malachi’s territory without starting a war.”
“But he entered yours.”
“Ours,” Callen corrected. “And he didn’t trespass. He entered neutral territory for an age-old ceremony.”
The stones? “Why can’t you and I travel the same way? Surely there’s neutral territory in America.”
“There is, yes. But the reasons we can’t are twofold. Humans don’t always survive transport, and I refuse to risk your life. Also I need permission, which Malachi won’t give outside of a mating ceremony.” Brushing his knuckles along my jawline, Callen said, “Just tell me the name of the villainess, and I’ll handle the problem.”
“Like, you’ll have her killed?” I gulped.
He arched a brow, allbabe, please.And it was oddly sexy. And wrong. But mostly sexy. “Is that how you’d like the problem solved?” he inquired.
“No!” I clasped his cheeks with both hands. “Repeat after me. I, Callan Bruce, will not kill the villainess or have others kill her. She used to be kind and loyal and honest and okay, yes, super flawed. She morphed into a monster through no fault of her own.”
He narrowed his lids, his lashes nearly fusing together. “I can make no such promise. If she bothers you, she bothers me, and those who bother me tend to wind up in an early grave.”
The threat rolled off his tongue, leaving no doubts of its validity. I quaked, and it wasn’t because of fear or upset. How had he just gotten sexier?
“Tell me about these friends,” he commanded.
Ugh. I covered my face with my palms. This wasn’t going in the direction I’d hoped. “We’re veering off topic.”
“Why donna I have them brought to us?” he asked. “We can pamper your friends. Or we bring the villainess here and teach her the error of her ways. Or both.”
Hope exploded inside me, reminding me of a Fourth of July firework display. This was exactly what I’d wished for since the beginning! Except, he deserved to know what had happened. I hated deceiving him.
Should I spill the entire story now? Thatwaswhy I’d come.
I wrung my fingers, muttering, “I need to think.”
His grip on me lightened. The next thing I knew, he was gliding his palm up and down my side. My nerves frayed even as my pulse fluttered.
“Let me show you something.” He swiveled usin the chair and pulled me closer, pressing me against him at an angle. His body all but surrounded mine as he unlocked and opened a drawer to withdraw an ancient tome. “We both know you are referencing soul switching. Only the oldest generation remembers this, and that’s the way we prefer it. For others, the command of an honorable king to refrain from doing that which should not be named is supposed to be enough. But you are my exception.”
My heart fluttered as he flipped to different pages, revealing drawings that depicted groups of men, women, and children mauled in villages long past. I sucked air between my teeth. “What is it you want me to see?”
“The reason soul-switching was outlawed centuries ago. These were the first among us to realize such an ability is possible. They took advantage of it, switching with others to break a law or bed another’s firebrand. After a while, no one trusted anyone else. Suspicion led to fear and fear led to madness. Our kind cannot thrive without trust.”
My blood ran colder with each new word.How many times and ways had I broken his?
“That is also how the first shifters came to be,” he said. “The switches caused the bond between mates to weaken. Tempers flared, and many fated ones were killed. The ensuing grief and guilt pushed the warriors to invite evil into themselves, and they turned into vicious wolves with a desire to ruin the marital bonds of others. War erupted, and thousands died.”
Any hope of a happily ever after withered to ash. For the sake of the people I’d grown to care about, Isobelmustreturn, without Callen learning of the switch.If he snapped and gave in to his wolf, if he became the very being he despised…
