“I see you hold one of the rarest of the fae skills.” He’d scoured through what historical information remained on record, even as scarce as it was. Being aware of what he might be up against when he did find his mate, had been a necessity.
“I do.” Her golden eyes, so gloriously alive, flickered with defiance and frustration. He’d need to take great care to ensure she didn’t use her skill against him. Now that he’d finally found her, he didn’t care to lose her. Or at least not before he knew exactly where she lived.
“You’ve been very hard to track down.” Hard was an understatement. If only his clan held the knowledge of where the original House of Clan Matheson resided, but when Ivan had left his home, so many centuries ago, so too he’d taken the knowledge of their location and kept it from even one soul. Arms crossed, he listened for any movement through the woods. Not one noise, other than the chirping of birds and buzzing of nighttime insects. “You said you can’t leave your partner to fight those bears alone. Who’s your partner and who were those shifters? They’re trespassing on my clan’s land.”
“Owen and Ewan Mathie. They’re brothers who are predators through and through, and must be stopped, tonight, before they can harm another. I left my partner behind. Daniel won’t be happy that I did.” Her cell phone jingled and she hauled it from her jeans pocket, pressed the speaker and answered. “Daniel, the Mathies are in the forest, about a quarter of a mile to the north of the inn.”
“Not anymore they’re not. I chased them, but then they backtracked to the inn and took off in their Jeep, right after they slashed one of our tires. I’m changing it now. I’ll never be able to catch them with the head start they’ve got. Where are you?”
“With Iain.” She eyed him, sexy narrowed gaze and all.
“Well, that would explain why you left me in such a hurry. Can’t control your little bear, eh?”
“She’s contained, but my mate isn’t.”
“You owe me a hundred bucks, Miss You-can’t-play-with-my-bear.”
“You’re not even here for me to stop your bout of playing.”
“That makes no difference. You removed him from my field of play.”
“He removed me.”
“You still lost.” A clanking sounded down the line as if her partner had dropped a wrench. Daniel grunted. “Stupid sucky tire. I’ve almost got it changed.”
“Where do you want to go from here, Daniel?” Isla asked him.
“I’ll update the chief and form a plan. For now, you do what you need to and we’ll talk again in the morning. I’m not leaving here until I know exactly where we need to head. We’ll contain the Mathies, one way or another, and soon. Very soon.”
“I’ll talk to you first thing, or call me sooner if you need to.”
“Wait.” Iain seized her hand before she could hang up and memorized the numbers on the screen, both hers and her partner’s. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow too, Daniel.”
She glared at him and hung up before Daniel could answer. “You’ve really tossed a spanner in the works.”
“Lovely to meet you too.”
“Don’t try and be funny.” She muttered under her breath as she tucked her phone away then paced the trail in front of him. Softly, she sighed and stopped. “I’m sorry. I’m not normally so rude. It’s just this isn’t the way I ever envisioned meeting you, and right now I’m currently frustrated. I don’t mean to push that frustration onto you.” She blew out a long breath then extended her hand. “The name’s Isla.”
“Nice to meet you, Isla. I’m Iain.” He slid his fingers around hers, her skin so warm and soft. Releasing her hand took a whole lot of effort. “Would you care to take a walk? Have a chat and all?”
“It’d be a nice start. Thank you.”
“We’ll follow the trail.” He set a hand at her back and steered her along it. The last rays of the sun shimmered across the darkening sky then disappeared. The full moon hung heavy and low within a blanket of black, its brightness lighting their path along with a glittering array of stars. “I apologize for making you lose your catch. I wasn’t aware we had rogue bears on our land.”
“Catching them is Daniel’s and my current assignment.” Her gaze softened as she looked at him. “Honestly, I’m sorry I was so abrupt. I try not to be rude to people I’ve just met.”
“I surprised you. That’s clear to see. Tell me a little about yourself.”
“Not much to tell. I’m as elusive as they come.”
He needed more information than that, and he intended to push as hard as she’d let him. “Have you got any family?”
“Of course. Apart from my entire clan, I have a father. He’s the chief and seer of my clan. Murdock Matheson. I’m his eldest, his one and only.” She looked ahead along the trail. “You must live close by to have caught me this early on in the evening.”
“It appears you’ve come straight to me this time. Ivanson Castle is just around the other side of Loch Bear.”
“So I get to meet you and your entire clan at the same time?”