Her father and brothers were honest men, and she loved them.She’d readily agreed to her mother’s desperate plan, fueled by months of scrimping and saving from the pottery proceeds they sold to tourists in Stoneford.
“Do you like Niall?”Liam asked.
Sienna cocked her head, intrigued.She had a fantastic memory but didn’t recall a Niall.
“Suzie likes him, and that’s all that matters.”
“I’ve enjoyed the gathering, but I’ll be glad to get home.”Liam took a sip of his beer.“Not even the long flight fazes me.I’m ready to jump back into routine.”
“I hear you.It’s been a blast, but I’m eager for my comfortable bed.The excellent success rate will please the council, though.”
That told Sienna something else.Unless these shifters gossiped, Scott and Liam wouldn’t have heard about her family.Neither had found a mate.Perhaps she could speak with them and ask if they’d consider her.A sigh escaped, and she drank more of the chardonnay.No, they’d ask questions, and she couldn’t lie.It wouldn’t be right.She ignored the flare of desperation and her sense of failure, taking another quick sip of wine.Besides, it sounded as if they were heading home after the gathering.
“Another three days,” Scott said.“At least we can hang out with Niall and Suzie.The general mood and unruly behavior of the remaining shifters puts me on edge.The unpaired singles scan us like they’re ordering off a menu.”
Sienna’s snort escaped before she could stop it.He wasn’t wrong, and the bitter irony of her own situation settled over her.Even now, gazes crawled over her body and whispers passed from ear to ear—the dismissal unmistakable.Just another desperate hunter, caught in the same frantic pursuit.
Sienna savored the citrus-tartness of the French wine, watching as the two men departed.Scott seemed promising.Confident without arrogance and kind to the staff.He hadn’t stared at her as if she were a curiosity or turned away in disgust.More importantly, he hadn’t heard the rumors.
Her family needed someone strong and kind.Brave.Someone who could pass as a human when necessary.
A wild thought struck her.Scott didn’t know about the Teague bloodline.What if…?
She exhaled and shoved the idea away, but it crept back, insistent and mouthy.Her parents had sacrificed everything.Her brothers were counting on her.What if she could convince Scott to come to Stoneford?To meet everyone and see for himself they weren’t the monsters people whispered about?
But even as she rationalized, she understood she was toying with a darker, more desperate plan.
“Hello.”A smooth male voice interrupted her thoughts.“I don’t believe we’ve met.”
Kevin.She’d seen him earlier, hanging with that smug pack who cackled too loudly, drank too much, and stared long enough to make her crave a shower.
“Sienna,” she said.“From Cornwall.”
“Kevin.From Australia.”He leaned closer.“My friends dared me to talk to you.Said you were off-limits because of some curse, but I think you’re gorgeous.”
There it was.Not interest, but shallow thrill-seeking wrapped in false charm.
“If your friends had to dare you to approach me, you’re not the man I want,” she said coolly.“And while they’re gossiping about my cursed bloodline, ask them how many of their daughters have jobs, or how often their mothers go without food to keep the lights on.I’m not ashamed of my family, Kevin.But you should be ashamed of your friends.”
She straightened, offered a cool, polite nod, and walked away.
The snickers came, of course, and ribald laughter.But she didn’t care.
Not anymore.
She climbed the stairs, Kevin’s words echoing in her mind.Off-limits.Cursed bloodline.The casual cruelty shouldn’t surprise her anymore, but it did.
She passed a trio of shifters in the corridor, who stepped back as if she carried contagious cooties.Let them whisper.Let them recoil.
Her middle brother’s offhand joke from their morning breakfast conversation returned to her—the one they’d all laughed off as absurd.Why don’t you grab one and drag him home?
It didn’t seem so ridiculous anymore.
By the time she reached her room, her mind was racing.Scott didn’t know about her family’s reputation.He seemed decent.And in three days, the gathering would end, and she’d return home empty-handed to face her parents’ hidden disappointment.
Unless…
Game on.
