“I wish I could have told you sooner. I’m sorry.”
“Dinnae apologize to—wait.” She shook her head. “What of Coll’s betrothal to the Chief of MacRae’s daughter? He’s set to wed Elizabeth MacRae by the week’s end. He told Duncan and Ronan and I all about it last eve. Did he speak to you about it as well?”
“Pardon?” Her head spun and her belly rolled. Surely Kyla jested. “He never mentioned any betrothal.”
Kyla gripped her hand. “Coll has no knowledge that you’re staying here, or likely any knowledge of what’s happened to Matthew since he’s been nowhere near Rhue Castle in a very long time, and Duncan and I certainly never wrote of it in the missive we sent to him. He’s invited the MacRae and his daughter to join him here so they might speak their vows. An agreement has been signed and they’re set to wed.” Kyla squeezed her fingers tighter, her eyes swimming with tears. “How deep do your feelings for Coll run exactly? Tell me everything.”
“I’ve always loved him, to the depths of my heart and soul.” Without question she had and still did. Hot tears burned behind her own eyes. How could he agree to wed another woman, and then touch her the way he’d done last eve? Unless he truly had believed her presence there was naught but a dream. Damn it all. He must have.
“I can see you’re in shock.” Kyla pulled her in close and hugged her. “Now that I’m aware of your feelings for him, and of the depth they run, have you ever considered that mayhap a soul bond is at play? It might have gone unnoticed by you both until now considering his duty to me. ’Tis entirely possible.”
“Soul bond or not, he’s now betrothed to Elizabeth MacRae and I should never have expected him to remain unattached for long after learning of your marriage. He is the firstborn son of a great chief, will one day lead our clan and be expected to make a very profitable match. Elizabeth is the daughter of a chief and I’m naught more than the daughter of a warrior under his father’s command. What have I done?”
“Nay, I willnae hear you worry about what you’ve done, no’ when ’twas done in love.” Kyla scraped her chair closer and muttered under her breath, “First, you must discover if there is in fact a soul bond between you, because if there is you cannae allow him to speak vows with another woman. He’ll regret doing so, until the end of his days.”
“And how exactly do I work on discovering if there’s a bond?”
“You need to make him stake his claim by beginning the hunt.”
“The hunt?” She was well aware of what the mated hunt had been like for Kyla when Ronan had begun it with her only a few months ago. Duncan too had been forced on the hunt for Ella when she’d attempted to evade him. “I dinnae wish to evade him, but speak our issues out face to face.”
“That you cannae do when he’s clearly gone and gotten himself betrothed to another woman. Nay, when Ronan hunted me down, he never gave up on his pursuit until he’d captured me. So too, you must instigate the hunt with Coll and see if he makes chase. You’ll know the moment when the intricate strands of the mated bond begin taking form between you. It’s undeniable. You’ll be driven toward him, and he’ll be driven toward you, and since he’s now touched you as you’ve said, well, that’ll only make his chase of you even more intense.”
“He allowed me to wed Matthew.” Aye, he’d never set chase after her back then, had in fact allowed her to escape him by leaving her first, although of course the circumstances surrounding that time in their lives had been difficult considering his and Kyla’s soon to be wedded state.
“Aye, but will he allow you to escape him a second time once he learns you’re now free to wed him? I’m certainly no longer standing in your way, and that is the question you need to have answered. He most certainly does no’ love his bride-to-be. All Coll wishes to do in marrying her is to ensure our allied bond with clan MacRae is strengthened.” Kyla rose to her feet and motioned toward the stairwell. “Go and pack a bag and leave as quickly as you can. ’Tis time for the hunt to begin, and you need to extend your wings and fly, to force him into acknowledging the bond if it does in fact exist between you.”
“You’re right.” She certainly wasn’t ready to let Coll go after all they’d shared last night. If a bond existed between them, then she was about to find out. She nodded at Kyla. “The hunt shall begin this very day.”