But she had, and I’d fallen for her like a meteor hurtling through the atmosphere. Like a meteor, she burned bright before disappearing into the ether a brief time later, leaving the people she touched unable to forget her.
Then Moira hit me like a nuke.
I wasn’t a lucky enough man to have two women love me in a single lifetime. Why had the universe chosen to bless me? But even worse, why couldn’t I open myself up the way Moira needed? I wanted her love. I craved it. But every time I opened my mouth to tell her, all I could see was Sarah’s prone body lying buried in the woods.
So lost in my confusion and grief, I missed the snap of the branches alerting me to another presence. I spun at the hint of familiar scent in the air to see a dark-haired woman with bright green eyes smiling at me.
“Hello, handsome Lord,” Minka Belyaev purred.
Chapter
Ten
Icame awake with a start and blinked at the unfamiliar space. Ethan’s scent washed over me, and I sank back into my pillow. A weight had lifted from me after I’d laid everything out on the line. Even if Ethan had run out of here like his tail was on fire.
I’d always been pretty clear with him about boundaries and what I wanted, but today I’d basically told him I would walk away from everything if he told me he wanted me.
And I meant it. I cared about Cernunnos, but the god already knew Ethan had the potential to drive a wedge between us.
Maybe after today, Ethan wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
I rubbed my chest, feeling that odd twinge I sometimes had when Ethan was around. There was a bond between us, one neither one of us had examined too closely. I didn’t poke at it because I knew I could do nothing. While he never acknowledged what might be growing between us, I knew he felt it too. Even if he never spoke about it.
I rolled onto my side and glanced at the clock. Past nine. Full darkness outside. Holy shit. I’d been down for the count for hours now!
The bedroom Ethan had created for me was cozy and comforting. Crisp cotton sheets, soft natural fiber bedding, a solid wood bed frame, incandescent lighting in pretty lamps and warm landscape paintings on the walls…he’d thought of it all.
That bond twinged again, this time a little harder. I sat up and rubbed my chest. Odd. I hadn’t felt a tug like that before.
I shrugged my cardigan on and padded into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. Just as I was about to pour the water, a sharp knock came from the front. Since Ethan wouldn’t bother to knock, I carried the mug to the door and peeked out.
An unfamiliar shifter stood outside. He was young and smaller than most of the others I’d seen. Younger than, maybe just out of adolescence.
“Miss Moira?” he asked when I opened the door.
Aw. Cute. I don’t think I’d ever been called that. “Yes?”
I gestured for him to come inside. The young shifter’s eyes darted back and forth before stepping over the threshold. “I won’t be long, Miss. The others want to know if you’ve seen Lord Ethan.”
I blinked. “Err. Not since much earlier in the day. I’m afraid I’ve been sleeping for a while.”
A long while, which was odd in itself. That was no regular nap. I’d been conked out for hours. The last time I’d slept that long during the day, I’d been a child.
The shifter’s eyes flashed with worry. I set the mug down on the coffee table. “What is it?”
“We haven’t seen the Lord in almost eight hours. He told no one he was leaving.”
“And that’s unlike him?”
He nodded. “His Second or his new Omega always know where he is.”
“Do you have people looking for him?”
He swallowed. “Yes, but there’s something in the forest.”
I straightened. “Something?”
“We can’t get past a certain area. Every time we try, we end up back at the main Keep house.
