Prologue
Tavish MacAlary glancedat his watch.He had a few hours before the moon reached its zenith, but he didn’t want to chance leaving too late.Looking out the window from his office, twilight had just begun to settle over the city.Lights obscured the transition, but he knew the moon slowly made its way toward the zenith.He could feel its power over him.The call to transform beckoned him with a siren lure he couldn’t ignore.
He was probably the only wolf shifter in the world who hated to shift.Hated becoming a mindless beast led by his baser instincts.When he was growing up, he’d been told how great it was to be a wolf, and to have his strength inside you.Having the wolf be your companion.All but false truths, and it meant nothing to him.When he shifted for the first time, there wasn’t a sense of connection.No magical rush of power.No wolf voice in his head to greet him—only silence and pain, followed by anger because he’d been lied to.He’d felt just as much an outcast in his transformed body as he did in his human skin.
Over time, he realized not every shifter needed others of his kind.He was perfectly content to be alone.
Standing, he hit the intercom buzzer to his assistant, Charles, before cleaning up the scattered contents of his desk.A brisk knock sounded on his door before it opened.Charles stepped inside the office and closed it behind him.
“Call my driver,” Tavish ordered.
He expected Charles to leave immediately, but the man lingered.Tavish looked at him, one eyebrow raised as he waited for the man to speak.
“Sir, we found her.”
The simple sentence knocked the breath out of him.Finally.After three years of regret and annoyance, he couldfinallyclose an irritating chapter of his life.
“Where?”
“The United States, in a place called Sheridan, Colorado.”
“Send me all the data you have.”Tavish took a deep breath.“Damn it.I have to get past this fucking full moon.”
“I’ve arranged for your plane to depart tomorrow.”
“Needless to say, cancel my meetings next week,” he ordered.“Don’t reschedule just yet.I’ll let you know when I’ll return.”
“Very good, sir.”
Charles inclined his head before turning to leave.Tavish stared unseeingly at the closed door, lost in memory.He had no idea what his wayward wife looked like because they had an arranged marriage.A union his grandmother insisted on as a condition to gaining the majority interest in the MacAlary business.He’d insisted on one caveat—there’d be a no-fault divorce if either found their moon-fated mate.Not that he believed in mates, where a ridiculous smell could make people lose their minds to lust.
Hopefully now that Mairi Monroy had been found, he could move on with his life.
****
Tavish woke up slowly, painfully aware he lay on his side.The cool morning mist lingered over his nude body like a wet blanket.He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes, surveying the bare branches of the trees overhead in an effort to figure out where the hell he was.Hopefully on his land because he didn’t relish walking bare-assed naked through his neighbor’s backyard.
Slowly, he sat up, wincing as muscles protested.Dead leaves and moss-heavy dirt clung to his body, causing him to itch in unmentionable places.He rose and started in one direction, glancing around in an effort to get his bearings.As he pushed through the tree line, he recognized the rolling hills, and a sense of relief washed through him.He was on MacAlary land.
Making his way to the south, he came across the small cabin where he had a stash of clean clothes, water, and soap.He washed up as best he could, looking forward to the hot shower waiting for him at his ancestral home, Rundlaith Keep.Slipping into a pair of dark jeans, a thick white sweater, and hiking boots, he trekked over his land, glad the change was once more behind him.
He arrived at Rundlaith about midmorning, and his steward came to greet him at the southern gate entrance.He held a cup of coffee, and with a nod of thanks, Tavish took the mug to sip the hot brew.It settled in his bones, warming him up.
“Is my plane ready?”he asked.
“Aye, m’lord,” the steward murmured.“It’s set to depart as soon as you arrive at the airstrip.”
Tavish halted the cup of coffee halfway to his mouth.“I’ve asked Charles to reschedule my meetings.Coordinate with him if you need anything.”
“Do you know how long you’ll be gone, sir?”
“Hopefully not long.All I have to do is get her to sign the papers.”
He finished his coffee, handed over the cup, and strode toward his castle.Rundlaith Keep had been built in the early 1600s, on the bank of Loch Carron in the Scottish Highlands, to protect the MacAlary lands.However, the area was so remote it saw very few battles.A few nearby chieftains thought to flex their muscles only to be turned away by the fierce MacAlary clan.No one knew they were actually wolf shifters, and it was a secret they safeguarded since there were no longer wolves in the UK.
An hour later, his jet lifted him into the air to transport him to the USA.He tried to concentrate on work, but his mind kept slipping to the faceless woman who had taken up far too much space in his head.
