Page 18 of Anywhere

“There’s always worse. Remember, find a way to make him fall in love with you. Find your third, or I will have someone destroy your guitar and order all guitar makers to ignore any request from you.”

My eyes went wide, and I stared at the phone. “You wouldn’t dare destroy my Clarisse.”

“Fail, and you’ll find out, won’t you? This has been a great catch-up, son, but I have to go and deal with real issues, like how to keep our borders safe.”

The phone clicked in my ear, and I had to swallow down the anger before I threw the phone across the room.

Fuck me!

Rhys

“What da hell is goin’ on?” I asked and looked over at Gregory, who had the same troubled expression that I was sure was on my face.

“I dinnie’ know,” Gregory answered as he stroked his beard.

The report stated that three villages had been attacked by an unknown force. The buildings were flattened, and no one was left alive. We had no alarms go up across the island, and no one left to report anything. It was like a magical whirlwind descended on the villages, destroyed them, then took off.

“Do we know if dis be the work of da covens? Maybe dey finally had enough of livin’ in da wilds.”

I shook my head and stared at a map that showed the villages’ locations. “I dinnie tink so. Da covens keep ta themselves and no lookin fir trouble. If anythin’, dey’d hide farther from us ta keep us from takin’ deir lasses. Dey not gonna make demselves a target,” I said. “Naw, dis feels personal.”

“Aye, like an attack,” Gregory said. “But who and why now?”

I folded up the map and gripped it in my fist. “I dinnie know, but I’ma gonna find out.”

“Naw, ya should’na be goin alone,” Gregory said as Rook stormed into the office.

“Uncle, I need to speak with you,” he said, then lifted his head.

Our eyes locked. The bloom of heat and power was instant, and I despised this connection with every fibre of my being. I wanted to be attracted to him about as much as the goats grazing outside. The next ritual moon needed to hurry up and get here so that I could go back to my life and not feel this empty damn void and the pointless spark of hope every time Rook walked into a room.

“Dinnie worry. I was jus leavin’.”

I didn’t even bother walking past him. It was better if I kept my distance. Walking out the terrace entrance, I could hear Gregory calling after me, but I wasn’t stopping. Knowing him, he’d try to send Rook with me, and that wasn’t happening. I’d rather eat roadkill than be stuck in a car with him for any length of time.

I jogged around the corner of the castle, making my way to my car, but skidded to a stop at the sight of Rook leaning against the door. Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me!

“Standing still doesn’t make me disappear,” he said, looking way too smug with his lip curled up.

“Dinnie be temptin’ me. Makin ya disappear is kinda what me wants. I’m just contemplatin’ da how.” I marched forward, and each stride brought a different image. Punching him while I bent him over my car and fucked him hard was topping the list. “Whadda want?”

“I want you to take me with you,” Rook said.

I smiled, then laughed. “Aye, sure. Ya’re jokin’, right?”

“No, I’m serious. You can show me around, and maybe we can start over,” Rook said.

My stomach did a nervous little flip. If I could, I would’ve growled at my own body and grounded it in a dungeon cell. The thing was acting ridiculous. He wasn’t the one I wanted, yet the almighty spirits had spoken. So now here I was, pining after him like a lovesick teen. I was starting to resent them for doing this to me. Like I hadn’t had enough shit happen over my life, I had to be stuck with him? They couldn’t let me have the one thing I wanted. As far as I was concerned, it shouldn’t matter that Mari didn’t have red hair or the birthmark of the chosen.

Anger burned in my gut. “Naw, I dinnie want ya ta come, but thanks.” I walked around the car to the driver’s side door.

“What do you mean, naw?” Rook said as he turned to keep staring at me. “I’m offering an olive branch here. I don’t know how else to apologize for what I did.”

Taking a deep breath, I laid my hands on the roof of the car and stared at Rook. “Did or doin’?”

“I don’t understand the question.” Rook ran his hand through his hair, and of course, it only made him look sexier. He had a great jaw and the most intense blue eyes I’d ever seen. My body took the opportunity to tell me what it thought. I glanced down at the tent in my kilt. I’d never wanted to cut the fucker off until that moment.

“It be a simple enough question. Did, as in ya did it and yer sorry and wanna take it back, or doin, as in yer sorry, but ya still no wantin’ dis union? Ya see, there be a difference. One leads down a road dat I’m no sure I want, but da other leads directly to me runnin’ ya over with me car,” I said.