“Clothes and coffee. You shower and I’ll be back in fifteen minutes with both.” He claimed a quick kiss, backed out of the bathroom and closed the door with a soft snick. He changed, donned a pair of black leather pants and a silver-threaded cotton t-shirt then laced his boots and sheathed his wrist dagger. At the door, he stopped, one hand on the brass knob as in his bathroom, the water drummed against the glass sides of the shower. Everything within him pricked at leaving her.
Except he had no choice.
Out the door, he walked and downstairs.
Within the great hall, a good hundred of his clansmen sat eating at trestle tables, their boisterous chatter relaxing him. His kin would be excited to hear his news, to know he’d found his chosen one. There was much to celebrate this day.
At the dais, his father sat dressed in a navy cotton-ribbed shirt over loose tan pants, his sword gleaming at his side in readiness for training after the morning meal. His mother sat next to him in a plum ankle-length skirt and blouse, and Finlay and Kirk joined them, their plates overflowing with bacon and eggs.
He weaved around the perimeter of the hall, pulled out the chair next to his father and grinned. “I have good news.”
Dad grinned back at him as he stabbed a wedge of sausage and smeared it through the tomato sauce on the side of his plate. “Would that news have something to do with the young woman you steered inside the keep after sunset, the one you ferreted away in your chamber and didn’t introduce to us all?”
“The very one.”
Finlay leaned forward in his camouflage cargo pants and black shirt. “Then that explains the blast of contentment I got along our brotherly bond during the night. I returned from the chase of my mated one halfway through the night because I sensed your excitement. Congrats.”
“Thanks. Her name is Isla.”
Kirk clasped his shoulder. “I caught sight of your Isla when I was in the control room. I got the same blast of contentment that Finlay did. She’s a pretty wee bear.”
“She’s also the eldest daughter of her clan’s chief. Murdock Matheson. He’s a seer, his mate having passed not long after Isla was born.”
“That had to have been hard.” Dad slid one arm around his mother’s shoulders and drew her closer. “What skill does Isla hold?”
“She can compel and she’s very strong. I couldn’t move a muscle when she told me not to move.”
“And why would she tell you not to move?” A teasing twinkle lit his father’s eyes.
“We were setting boundaries at the time.” Boundaries of a good sort. “She and her partner are working a case that brought her right to our doorstep. Capturing her last night, and just as the moon rose, was a stroke of good luck.”
“Where’s her partner now?” His mother stirred a teaspoon of honey into her cup of tea, her wavy hair, the same dark shade as his and his brothers’ hair, swishing about her shoulders in a soft bob.
“His name is Daniel and the two were going to chat again this morning.”
“You’ll need to take great care if she holds the skill of compelling.” Dad munched on his sausage. “Did you complete the bond?”
“We spent much of the night talking. Isla explained why she’s run these past five years, and that she has no intention of losing her father. I’ve assured her she never will, although I’ve yet to learn the whereabouts of her home base.”
“Give her time. She must first learn to trust you.” Dad picked up a piece of buttered toast and bit into it. “Your mother and I will gladly reassure her she has her freedom, if that’s what you wish for us to do.”
“Of course she has her freedom.” Mum reached across Dad’s lap and squeezed Iain’s arm. “You should also consider taking a week or two off, take her away and spend some time with her. Just the two of you. Unlike every other mated pair in our clan, you two haven’t known each other your entire lives.”
“As long as no one here minds that I do, I’m in total agreement.” Being alone with Isla was exactly what he needed. “Mum, Isla arrived with nothing. Do you think you can rustle up a change of clothing for her?”
“I certainly can. What else might she need?”
“Breakfast, and a large cup of coffee, black, no sugar.”
“Lovely.” She rose and kissed his cheek. “That sounded like an invitation to go and introduce myself to her. I’ll bring her down with me when I return.”
Kirk poured a cup of steaming coffee from the flask in the center of the table and nudged it toward Iain. “If her father is the seer of her people, what’s the likelihood we can talk to him about our missing mates, Finlay’s and mine?”
“I’ve already mentioned your search to Isla and about how otherworldly it is. I’ll bring it up again the moment I can.” He’d do anything he could to aid his brothers in their pursuit of their chosen ones, just as they would do the same for him. “I need you two to keep an eye out for her partner. Daniel holds the ability of telekinesis and can lift a man with his mind along. I don’t doubt he’ll turn up here before too long. He and Isla are close, very close.”