aHunter4Trust (23 page)

“Just like they did with Nethercott.”
Tamsin’s voice was filled with sorrow.

“Sir Robert, meet Partlan and his team of
Hunters. This is Ranon, and Gur. Maloc and Turlo are driving Tamsin’s car back
from Yorkshire.” Darrogh turned to Grace. “This is Grace. She is a former FBI
agent and Partlan’s mate. She will also be joining your security team.”

Sir Robert nodded at the men, but hesitated
when he turned to Grace. “Does that mean you’re Partlan’s wife?”

Grace shook her head. “It’s more
complicated than that. Ask Tamsin to explain it to you one day.”

Her father’s eyes widened. “What’s that
supposed to mean?”

“Darrogh asked me to marry him, and I
agreed.” Tamsin kept her voice steady. “That’s all you need to know right now.”

Her father’s mouth dropped open, and for a
second she thought he was going to explode with anger. Instead, he looked at
her and then at Darrogh, before nodding. “It’s about time you married.”

Tamsin exhaled the breath she’d been
holding.

Her father’s blessing wasn’t necessary, but
it made life easier.

Darrogh must have sensed how worried she
was because she felt a wave of calm being sent her way. She walked over to Darrogh
and let him pull her close. Everything was perfect. Being bonded with Darrogh
was more than she had ever hoped for. Not only had she found a love that was
true and honest, she had found a man that she connected to physically and
spiritually. She was filled with happiness and joy.

Now, the only thing left was to meet the
rest of Darrogh’s unit and their mates.

Darrogh walked into the compound
headquarters with a sense of trepidation.

In the past, he had never considered how
his warrior lifestyle would affect anyone else. Now he had Tamsin to consider.
Even though he had explained that their lives would be different from what she
was used to, he still did not believe that she would remain with him. She came
from a background of luxury. A life spent in hiding would be a hardship for
her.

“I can accept anything as long as we are
together.” Tamsin’s voice was soft with reassurance.

“You are reading my thoughts.”

“And your body language.” Tamsin reached up
and kissed his cheek. “The only thing I care about is staying with you. You
told me that the other Hunters understood that mates cannot be separated.”

“True.” Darrogh forced himself to relax. “I
do not want you to suffer because you have chosen me for your mate.”

“We are a pair bond.” Tamsin’s voice was
reasonable. “To deny the bond would be a physical pain to both of us. That
would be misery.”

“You will have to sacrifice everything to
be with me.”

“I can do that.” Tamsin stopped walking and
forced him to turn and look at her. “Are you doubting my commitment?”

A surge of love sent from Tamsin, flowed
through him.

He straightened his shoulders. “No. I wish
I had more to offer.”

“You are all I need.”

Darrogh inhaled a quick breath as they
continued to walk from the SUV to the compound. He trusted in Tamsin’s love and
that was all that mattered. The details of their lives would work out the way
they were meant to.

The door was opened by Selena Duarte,
Catal’s mate. “You must be Tamsin. Everyone has been anxious to meet you. I am
Selena.”

Darrogh followed Tamsin inside. The main
area was large and open, with a fireplace in the center, and couches and chairs
scattered through the room. Beyond that, were two hallways and the kitchen and
dining area. Waiting in the central space was Ardal, the leader of their unit.
He looked exhausted, but happy.

Darrogh guided Tamsin into the room.
“Ardal, this is Tamsin Creighton, my mate.”

“It is an honor to meet you.” Ardal gave a
slight bow of his head. “To learn that Darrogh had found a pair bond was good
news. Darrogh is a skilled and valiant warrior.”

Tamsin leaned close to Darrogh. “That
doesn’t surprise me. Despite my foolishness, Darrogh found and rescued me. The
only reason I’m alive today is because of him.”

“He has excellent instincts.”

Darrogh was uncomfortable receiving such
commendations. A Hunter fought and followed orders because it was his duty. He
did not expect rewards. Knowing that he lived and died with honor was praise
enough.

“Your timing is perfect.” Ardal grinned.
“Fiona just delivered our daughter this morning.”

“Are they okay?” Tamsin’s voice was filled
with concern.

“Perfect. Kimi has experience with delivery
and she also brought one of the midwives from her tribe to help.”

“Kimi is Niail’s mate,” Darrogh explained.
“She is a member of the Blackfeet tribe.”

“Have you named the baby?”

“Oriana.” Ardal’s voice was filled with
pride. “A golden child.”

“That’s beautiful.”

“Would you like to meet Fiona and the
baby?” Selena asked.

“Can I?” Tamsin did not hide her eagerness.

“Fiona has been anxious to welcome a new
woman into our group.” Selena led Tamsin out of the room and down one of the
hallways.

Darrogh turned to Ardal. “You have heard
about the Albireon attack.”

Ardal nodded. “It concerns me that they
were so bold.”

“We need a plan to deal with them.” Darrogh
was focused on military concerns now. “They have infiltrated this planet at
every level. They are close to their goal of domination and then the
destruction of Earth.”

“I have heard from Eogan.”

Eogan was a fellow Hunter who had been
stranded on Earth and held in captivity for over thirty years. He had been
instrumental in aiding Partlan and Grace to escape from the Albireons at the
Pine Gap facility in Australia. Because of the interference from the
underground military base, Eogan had been unable to mind connect with the other
Hunters.

“He has escaped?”

“Yes.” Ardal’s tone was serious. “He is in
Turkey. That is a complicated and dangerous region.”

“We need to go to him immediately.” Darrogh
did not hesitate. “Eogan is a brother and needs our help.”

“Agreed.” Ardal’s voice was firm. “I have
sent more Hunters to meet him. They will help in all ways possible.”

“What about me?” Darrogh frowned. “You will
be here with Fiona and the baby. I am second in command. Should I not go also?”

“You are needed elsewhere.” Ardal clasped
Darrogh on the shoulder. “I want you to return to London with your mate and
live in plain sight of everyone. There will be no secret that you have mated
with a human and the Albireons will do everything in their power to sabotage
you.”

“What is your plan?”

“Tamsin is a wealthy woman and has access
to many influential people.” Ardal lowered his voice. “Make your presence
felt.”

“We are to act as bait?”

Ardal shook his head. “You are a
distraction. Savis thinks that he will be able to destroy the Albireon computer
systems very soon. He needs more time.”

Darrogh frowned. He was unused to the ways
of the lifestyle that Tamsin lived, yet this would allow her to remain in her
world. She would not have to sacrifice anything to be with him. It would be
dangerous, though.

“Will you be able to do that?” Ardal’s
voice was doubtful. “I know that I am asking you to put your mate at risk, but
it is necessary in order to defeat the Albireons.”

At that moment, Tamsin came back into the
room. “What kind of risk.”

“I have a plan that involves you,” Ardal
said. “I intended to ask your permission before finalizing the arrangements.”

“No problem. What are we supposed to do?”

“I want you to live your life as normal in
London. Be very public about your connection with Darrogh. Let the Albireons
know where you are.”

“So you want us to taunt them? To rub it in
that they didn’t succeed in taking over my father’s bank?”

“I want them to focus their energies on
following you.” Ardal leaned back against a table. “It is a great risk and one
that I am certain Darrogh will not want you to take.”

Tamsin shrugged. “I’m assuming you have
activities elsewhere that you don’t want them to know about.”

“Yes.”

“Darrogh will be with me?”

“As will Kerm, Firbin, Jehon, Breanon and
Savis.”

“A full team.” Darrogh nodded. “I will be
able to protect Tamsin better that way.”

“I would not ask if it were not important
for us to gain access to their other facilities. Savis needs more time.” Ardal
stood. “I understand if you need time to discuss this.”

“It sounds perfect to me. I’d be delighted
to help out.” Tamsin’s voice rose with excitement. “Just think, we can have a
huge society wedding. I bet even the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will come.”

Ardal left the two of them alone.

Tamsin grabbed Darrogh’s hand. “My father
will be happy to know that I’m finally going to take an interest in the bank
too.”

“Is that wise?” Darrogh’s tone was
doubtful.

“We will be hiding where all of the world
can see us. As long as we stay in the public eye, it will be too risky to
attack us.” Tamsin grinned. “It’s wonderful.”

“I will have to be with you at all times.”
Darrogh did not share Tamsin’s enthusiasm. He could not deny that it would be
harder for the Albireons to kill them if the whole world was watching.

Tamsin leaned closer. “That’s what makes it
so wonderful. Just think of all the bonding we can do.”

Darrogh almost missed a step. He caught
himself just in time and pulled Tamsin into his arms. “You are teasing me.”

She nodded. “I’m ecstatic to think that
we’ll be living in London. I have a house big enough for several children and
now that I know that Hunters can have children I’m going to want as many as
possible.”

Tamsin put her arm around his waist and
looked up at him with a smile. “Just think, I might be pregnant now.”

Panic rose in his chest.

Tamsin stood on her tiptoes and kissed his
cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll wait until you can handle it. A warrior such as
yourself should be ready in a couple of years I would imagine.”

“I do not know anything about children.”

“Now’s your chance to learn.” Tamsin walked
with him to Fiona’s room. “You have to see how adorable Oriana is.”

Darrogh was not certain about adorable. The
baby’s face looked wrinkled and red. He could not deny that Fiona was beaming. Ardal
was standing at her side, looking down at the two of them with adoration and
pride. Change had never been good for Darrogh. He would have to trust in Tamsin
and his fellow Hunters. So far this planet had given them many gifts. Having
children was one of them.

Darrogh cleared his throat.

Fiona and Ardal both looked at him.

“I must apologize for my behavior when you
were first bonded.” Darrogh lifted his chin. “I thought the only way to survive
on this planet was to keep things as they had been in the past. I was wrong.”

“You are one of the greatest warriors to
have ever lived. No Hunter has ever been decorated as often as you or survived
as many battles.” Ardal looked at him. “I have always respected your opinion
and trusted you to do what is best.”

“Thank you.” Darrogh was humbled by his
leader’s words of praise.

“I think you did remarkably well
considering that you had never been with women until you crashed on my farm.”
Fiona kissed the baby’s forehead. “I wasn’t easy to deal with either. I feared
men, and all of a sudden, I was surrounded by a unit of Hunters. I didn’t react
well either.”

“You were to be obeyed.” Darrogh could not
excuse his actions so easily. “I did not understand your connection with Ardal
before.”

“It is difficult to appreciate it until you
have pair bonded.” Ardal reached down and took the baby from Fiona’s arm.
“Having Fiona, and now, Oriana, has taught me more about what being a Hunter is
than all of the tenets of the Sacred Code.

It was true.

Until he had bonded with Tamsin, he was
only following orders.

Now he had a purpose and peace.

In his years of fighting, he had never
dreamed that such a thing was possible. All he had expected was to die an
honorable death. Now, he wanted to stay alive so that he could protect Tamsin.
She had shown him that there was more to life than just battle and survival.
There was hope and love.

THE
END

Thank you for reading aHunter4Trust. I hope
you enjoyed Darrogh and Tamsin’s journey.

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