Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90897 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
There was silence as they all sized up one another.
Finally, Elijah dared, “Do we win?”
Niamh gave him a sad smile. “I see many paths. At the end of one, we win.”
“But at the end of others, we lose?”
Fionn glowered at him. “I don’t know how to lose.”
It was a promise.
And a little reassuring, but not entirely.
“We’ve got this.” Rose nodded at him. “We can take them all down. I know. Because Niamh’s right. We have something worth fighting for.”
23
The roads were winding, sometimes dark from the canopy of silver birch and fir trees. The firs were lush and green while the birch trees sparser but no less beautiful. At once, the road changed, the trees disappearing from the rugged hills, opening to views of a loch glistening down in a valley of the morning sun.
The morning sun.
Echo couldn’t quite believe it.
To be in the sun, to see the world in light again for the first day in years. And for it to be here, in this majestic, tranquil place.
“Lucky wolves,” she murmured under her breath as Elijah trailed the large SUV in front of them. She leaned her forehead against the passenger window, feeling the gentle heat of the sun through the glass. Tears trembled on her lashes.
“I feel you,” Elijah said hoarsely. “I never realized until now how much pain you were in … now that I feel you when you’re … happy. But … I also feel fear? For what’s to come?”
It had been a four-hour drive from Stirling to Torridon on the west coast of Scotland. A beautiful journey. So much so, the discussion about their mating had been put on hold. It was as if Elijah sensed that Echo needed time to process her new reality. For so long, she’d resigned herself to a life without light until the day came when it was time to depart this world.
Now with the possibility of eternal love and the reality of her new life as a Daywalker … Echo was spinning. Elijah had stayed quiet as she took in the world around her, the gorgeous Scottish scenery as they traveled north. And processed.
“I’m scared this is a cosmic joke. That any second now my skin will start to burn and soon I’ll be ash.”
The single-track road wound down and down toward the loch and suddenly Echo sensed it.
The buzz of werewolf power on a level she’d never felt before. It felt like … dread.
“What is that?” Elijah asked.
“That is pack power.” She looked over at Elijah as he concentrated on the winding road. “And the power of an alpha to beat all alphas.”
Elijah’s fists clenched around the wheel. “I hope Fionn knows what he’s doing.”
The large fae had called Conall to let him know they were coming.
“You don’t venture onto MacLennan land without giving them a heads-up, or you might just lose your fucking head,” he’d warned before they left Stirling.
“Remind me again that we trust these people.”
Echo smirked. “At this point, we have no choice.”
He nodded. Then … “When will we talk about our …”
“Mating?” Echo supplied quietly.
Elijah glanced at her. “Yes.”
She could sense Elijah’s turmoil. The mess of emotions rolling off him not only mirrored her own, but it made it hard for her to figure out how he really felt about their bond.
“I … think … we should concentrate on saving the world first,” she eventually said as Elijah guided their stolen vehicle to a stop beside the SUV.
Elijah scowled but nodded. “All right. If that’s what you want to do.”
Reluctantly yanking her gaze from his handsome face, her eyes caught on the tranquil loch ahead and then swung wide to the building they’d parked outside of. There were many vehicles in the lot. Signage on the building announced it as Torridon Coach House.
“What do you know about this alpha?”
Echo turned to her ma—to Elijah. “Conall MacLennan is not only the alpha of the last werewolf pack in Scotland, but he’s also chief of Clan MacLennan. They might be small, but their wolves are powerful and they’re wealthy, thanks to GlenTorr Whisky—”
“They own GlenTorr Whisky?”
She nodded. “They also come from old oil money. And his Delta Mhairi Ferguson manages their very successful fishing company. Pack wealth is shared. This Alpha doesn’t keep it for himself. Rare.”
“You know a lot about him. About them.”
“William did his research when it was clear Thea and Conall were involved.”
“Sounds like they have an interesting backstory.”
“Yeah, they do. I’ll tell you about it later.” Echo opened the passenger door at the sight of their group getting out of the SUV.
Elijah followed her out of the car, and they gathered with Rose, Fionn, Niamh, and Kiyo. They all stared at the coach house. Echo fought against raising her face to the sun, but her gaze dropped to her hand as she turned it in the light. She was so pale. Almost like marble. How could anyone possibly think she was human? Then again … they’d never seen her in the daylight.