Highland Shift (Highland Destiny: 1) (13 page)

Red declared the American beer they’d had with dinner suitable only for lightweights. When Elena demurred from taking a whisky, Faolan insisted, saying through a tight jaw, “It will make this conversation easier, lass.”

Elena watched the firelight flicker on Faolan’s face and waited for him to begin. Instead, it was Lilly that got things started.

“We traced the transmitter back to a small surveillance company in Phoenix before the trail went cold. The investigator working for us in Phoenix said the man who operates the company is an ex-con who is represented by Worthington, Tyler, and Walters, so we know who is behind having you followed.”

Elena’s face felt incapable of expression. She sat motionless, staring at Lilly, as if waiting for the punch line to a very bad joke. Somehow, the situation had all become more real, more deadly with that bit of information. It really was Worthington that tried to have her killed.

“What now?” Elena managed to stammer out after a minute.

Faolan growled.

Red looked at Faolan’s back,
then turned to Lilly, “Tis not quite all. There was someone here last night; I got the license number before I scared him off.” He faced Elena. “The car was rented to a fellow that we already know works for Worthington.”

Her mouth fell open to hear Red admit someone had been out there last night. He’d been lying when let her believe he’d dismissed her concerns this morning.  Faolan bowed his head, dragged his fingers through his hair, and then held on to his head, as if to keep it from splitting open. He still hadn’t looked at Elena.

Lilly took up the tale again. “Worthington knows about us, about all of us now. He knows we are connected to the farmhouse. We doona’ think he knows Faolan is the Gailtry, else he would have been here long before now. Perhaps he thinks we are treasure hunters, trying to find the same secrets he is looking for. The Worthingtons thought they had killed the last of the Gailtry and his family years ago, so the longer Faolan stays out of his sights, the better.

“Our job, Red’s and mine, is to protect the MacGailtry. His job—” she thrust her chin at Faolan “—is to preserve the family legacy.”

Elena wasn’t quite clear on what the Gailtry was, but she knew from her grandfather, adding “Mac” in front of a name meant “from the clan of,” and names were sometimes used with or without “Mac.” Lilly spoke as though Faolan was some kind of clan chief, which was an outdated notion in this day and age.

Faolan groaned quietly but did not turn around or lift his head.

“I am sorry, lass,” said Red, “but there is no choice. We have a flat near Beauly that is secure. Worthington does not know us there. You can go tomorrow and be safe. Once the land passes to you permanently, you will sell it to us. You’ll be safe enough then, as long as Worthington does not believe there is any other connection between us.”

Lilly and Red both looked at Elena expectantly, clearly waiting for her to agree. Try as she might, Elena couldn’t think of anything to say. She shot back her drink and rose to pour another. Still no one spoke. Only the crackling of the fire marked the passage of
time. Elena leaned against the doorway and looked back at them all, her mind rapidly trying to sort through this confusing moment.

Red and Lilly exchanged uneasy glances, then both turned back to look at Elena. Faolan stood with both hands resting on the mantle, his head down between his outstretched arms, apparently staring into the fire, his long hair hiding his face.

There was something unusual about this place, about all of them. People had died to protect the secrets of her farm, and Worthington was willing to kill to get it back. What kind of secrets could stir such passion? Elena sifted the evidence of underground tunnels, ancient artifacts, and animals long extinct. She tried to sort fact from fantasy. If she took a rather large leap of faith, she thought she could weave a story from the facts she knew and those she now suspected.

Faolan had planned to tell Elena his secret, but now she was sure he’d decided she’d be safer not knowing. She hated the idea that he would sacrifice his own happiness and hers in order to keep her safe. He was having Red and Lilly send Elena away because he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

If Elena tried to argue with them, they would only become more convinced they were correct. She had to think of a way to get them to tell her the truth about Faolan, about all of them. She drank a second glass and poured a third. “Faolan,” she said, looking directly at him. His back stiffened slightly, but he didn’t turn. “Faolan, tell me about the wolves.”

When Elena was practicing to be a lawyer, she’d taken a lot of sworn statements. Unsurprisingly, there would often come a time during the questioning when she’d known she’d caught the witness in the lie. She would go on the hunt then, change her questions slightly, a little bit at a time, hemming him in, leaving no way out but the truth. Once the witness finally realized he was trapped, he would sigh.

A sigh swept around the room now, and Elena knew she had them. Faolan turned slowly and locked gazes, first with Lilly and Red, and then finally, with Elena.

Faolan said, “
Och, lass, you shouldna be involved in this.” Then he changed tactics mid-sentence. “Why do you ask about wolves?”

“Oh, please,”
Elena said, as if insulted.
It was a technique.
When no response was forthcoming, she took a giant mental leap from the high dive and gave them her most outlandish theory. Because if she was wrong about the secret they were sharing, then she was wrong about all of it, and all hope for love was lost.

“Okay, I’ll go first,” Elena said, in her most detached voice. “I’ve seen three different wolves since I’ve been here.” She looked at Lilly first. “The first one I saw was out on the hill, howling in the night. She made me think of the coyotes back home. It was comforting.”

Elena shifted her gaze to Red. “A different wolf saved me from the men who tried to rape me, and last night stood outside the window guarding me.”

Then Elena turned to look directly at Faolan and waited until he raised his tawny gaze. “The third wolf has looked me in the eyes from only a few feet away. And I do know those eyes. The funny thing is, according to all government sources, wolves are extinct in Scotland.”

Faolan smiled a sad smile and looked at Red and Lilly. “I will tell her,” he said with a sigh. "‘Tis a long story, lass. Why doona’ you sit down.”

Elena returned to her chair and sat, waiting for the shock to hit when she finally realized that her wild theory was somehow true. “Go ahead. I’m ready.”

“I told you what Worthington did to my family. When my father broke his sacred vow, everyone in our clan was damned. The only blood relative left living was me, but apparently Red and Lilly are either some kind of distant relatives or so close to us the curse affected them too.

“Aye, you are right, lass. We are the wolves, but we are human. We are shape shifters. There are other shape shifters out there, but few like us. We have been changing…a long time and have learned to protect others from our curse. We can turn to wolves when we want to, but there are still times we are forced to our wolf form against our will.
‘Tis only those times that we are dangerous, true to the nature of wolves. I told you there were things not of your world, and you shouldna’ know of them. We are some of those things.”

Lilly looked as though she was about to add something, looked at Faolan, and then forged ahead. “This doesn’t change anything, Faolan. She needs to go to Beauly. We must protect you, and she makes you vulnerable. Once we figure out how to break the curse, you can see her again.”

Elena answered, even though Lilly was addressing Faolan. “I won’t go, Lilly. This is my house. You may all stay here or you may leave, but I won’t be put out of the first home I’ve ever owned.” She’d always been a fighter, a scrapper, and she wasn’t going to run now, but neither would she bury her head in the sand. She stood and looked at Faolan, put on her best business face, and continued in her professional attorney manner, “I’ll ask Mr. Burns to draw up my will tomorrow leaving the entire estate to you should something happen to me. That should tie Worthington up in court long enough for you to prove the estate was yours to begin with. If nothing happens to me, we can work out the ownership after the provisional period has passed.

“And I believe Lilly when she says she must keep you safe.  If you leave, you’ll be safe. Go stay in Beauly. I’ll do everything in my power to help you bring down Worthington.
Whether through natural or more…supernatural means. Meanwhile, if the resources you need to break the curse are here, they are at your disposal. I am an excellent researcher. Let me help.”

The room was silent for a long time. Red, Lilly, and Faolan exchanged looks, and again, Elena sensed that something more passed between them before Faolan finally spoke.

“Nay, lass, I won’t be leavin’ either.” He looked at Red and Lilly. “We can talk more about this on the morrow, but I’ll not be changin’ my mind.”

Red and Lilly stood to go, clearly recognizing the determination and dismissal in his voice. Lilly paused to hug Faolan before they left. Her face was creased with worry. “We’ll be out there,” she said as they walked to the door.

“I know,” he answered.

When they were finally alone, Elena turned to look at Faolan, “There’s still more, isn’t there?”

“Aye, lass.”

“Will you tell me what it is?”

“’Tis nothing to be worrying yourself about. I’ll not hurt you, you know. Are you afraid?”

“Will you make love to me, Faolan?”

“Nay, lass. I told you I wouldna be takin’ your maidenhead. That you must save for the now.”

Elena felt the tears well in her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She sat back down, feeling defeated. “Then yes, Faolan, I’m afraid of you, because you have the power to hurt me. It was all an act the other night, wasn’t it? You meant for me to pass out!” 

Faolan crossed the floor in two quick strides and knelt between her knees. He reached his arms around her waist and looked deep into her eyes. “Elena, if it were only a matter of desire, know that I would be yours. If it was only
my
soul in question, I would forsake it, just to have one night with you.” His hands slid up her arms to her shoulders as if to shake her. “Elena, doona’ ask for what is not mine to give.”

Coming to her feet, Elena yelled, “I never asked for your heart. I never asked for promises! All I wanted was sex!
A lousy stupid night in your bed. My first time and it could have been with someone I cared about and who I thought cared for me. Instead, you used me!” Her voice dropped to a whisper, “You let me do things to you… you did things to me, but you knew you were never going to make love to me.” Her face twisted into a mask of pain and bitterness. “No, you wouldn’t make love to me, but you made me love you.”

Elena turned and walked to the fireplace. This was more than she could handle. She wasn’t even freaking out that he was a shape shifter. She was having a much harder time accepting that he had gotten her drunk so he wouldn’t have to have sex with her.
I will not crumble; people’s lives are at stake here. Worthington will try to kill me and maybe Red and Lilly, too. I don’t want to think what he’ll do to Faolan.

Faolan grabbed Elena from behind and turned her roughly around. His face was fierce, and the eyes of the wolf looked out at her. He clamped her face between his hands and kissed her, hard. His lips pressed against her unyielding mouth, crushing her with the force of his kiss. Bruising her, punishing her.

Elena jerked her head back. “I will not be used,” she said through clenched teeth.

The fight went out of him as quickly as it had come, “Nay, Elena. I would not use you.
‘Tis why I won’t take your maidenhead. I am promised to another.”

Elena’s head snapped back, the pain as intense as if he actually had struck her. Her stomach roiled and she thought her knees would buckle. She forced back the sob that wanted to escape. “You’re engaged? You said your heart belonged to no one.”

“I doona’ know what it is I am supposed to do,” he yelled. “My father died too soon, he didna pass on the knowledge, and I am left to search for answers, forced by the full moon to hunt like a wolf, forsaking my true love to find another with the true heart!

“I am cursed, Elena, and I must break it,” he said in a choked voice. “The spell is somewhere, maybe in these books.” He waved his hand toward the stacks of books. “We also know from legend I must mate the one with the true heart. I doona even know how I am supposed to find her, but that answer may also be in here.”

His confession stunned her to silence. Compassion filled her heart, for the boy who’d lost his family, for the man who’d lost his way. It wasn’t fair. She wanted to raise her fist to the fates, to throttle those long-dead ancestors. Instead, she fought to push away every selfish feeling she had. “I’ll help you, Faolan; we’ll find the answers,” Elena said, softly.

Faolan looked at Elena, an expression on his face that she didn’t recognize. “I willna have sex with you, Elena, but believe this, if you believe naught else. I did make love to you. I made love with you.”

A wolf howled in the distance. They stared at each other for another long minute, and then Faolan turned and left the house.