***

 

Lachlan

 

My quarters were blissfully silent as I stared into the fire. The flames were meditative, working almost as well as the whisky to keep my thoughts at bay. Thoughts of her.

Why should a fae intrigue me so?

What I felt with her…it was almost like the mate bond I’d felt so briefly with the girl so long ago. Yet it couldn’t be. It just wasn’t rational.

I pushed her from my mind. Finding my packmate’s killer should be my top goal.

And finding out what the hell the fae was up to.

A knock sounded at the door, and I rose to answer it. “Come in.”

The heavy wooden door swung silently inward, and Kenneth, my right hand, appeared. “She has arrived.”

I nodded and gestured for him to let her in.

He stepped aside, and Eve appeared. Kenneth bowed out of the room and shut the door behind her. My gaze riveted to her, something pulling at me. It made me want to stare at her for hours. She was bright and brilliant, an impossible beauty.

What the hell was I thinking?

Bright and brilliant? An impossible beauty? They were ridiculous, poetic words, and I never spoke like that. Never thought like that.

What the bloody hell was happening to me?

I reached for my flask and took a sip.

She eyed it. “Seriously, I think you have a problem.”

Aye, I had a problem. I couldn’t get pissed. Had other problems, too, but we wouldn’t be discussing them.

She strode into the room and stopped in front of the massive fireplace, the warm glow lighting up her silver and pink hair like gems. My fingertips itched to touch the silky strands, and I clenched a fist. I was going off the rails, here.

Ever since the Dark Moon curse had taken my father, I’d avoided attachments, including sex. Abstinence was apparently coming back to bite me in the arse, because I couldn’t keep my eyes off Eve. And the thoughts that went through my head…

Fates, she’d run screaming.

It’d be best for both of us if she did.

I clenched my fists, wanting—needing—to get back into the ring to fight. It was the only thing that could satisfy the beast inside me. Running under the moonlight was good, but fighting was better. My wolf would never attack pack, but as a human, I could trade blows without a problem.

“Did you find out who made the potion?” I asked, looking away from her.

“Yes. She’s a potion master in Magic Side, Chicago. Works for Damian Malek. My friend Carrow is trying to arrange a meeting.”

Magic Side. It was a massive magical metropolis, and Damian Malek was its unofficial criminal king. Fortunately, I knew the fallen angel. “Tell your friend she needn’t bother. I’ll get us a meeting.”

“Really? You have dealings with him?”

“Not business.” My pack didn’t deal in anything illegal. Most of our money was made in two areas, security and whisky. In Guild City, pack members often acted as security forces for hire. We were loyal, good fighters. A natural fit. In Scotland, at our ancestral grounds and the place to which we returned in order to run beneath the full moon, we ran a successful distillery. “But I’ll arrange a meeting.”

“All right. Did you find the person who gave Danny the business card?” she asked. “Or get sketches done of the strangers in the bar?”

I nodded. “Aye to both. It appears that Danny was involved in a side business. Blackmail.”

Her jaw dropped. “The person told you that?”

“You’re surprised?”

“Yes. I don’t see why they’d admit they were being blackmailed if the blackmailer was dead.”

“The person is pack.”

“Ah, of course. You compelled them.”

“They only did what nature demands and answered their Alpha.”

“Sure.” There was something wary in her eyes. Normally, I’d call it prey instinct. I saw it in most people and didn’t think much of it. That was part of life when faced with a predator.

Not her, though. There was nothing prey-like about her. But she was worried—it was clear as day.

“What did Danny have on you?” I asked.

“Nothing. I told you, I’ve never met him before.”

“You were in the vicinity of a blackmailer with an envelope full of cash. There’s no other reasonable explanation.”

Her jaw tightened. “That’s my business and has nothing to do with the murder.”

She believed what she was saying, that was obvious enough. And if she’d been planning to pay him, it was highly unlikely she’d change her mind and poison him instead.

I strode toward her, inspecting her closely, looking for any little tell. It was a shame she was fae, or I could use my authority as Alpha to command her to answer. It wasn’t a form of compulsion—not like the vampires had—but part of the natural law of shifters.

I decided to try, anyway, instinct compelling me. “I command that you tell me what secret Danny was hiding for you.”

Her eyes flared wide, shock in their brilliant depths. “You’re trying to use an Alpha’s Command on me?”

“Tell me what I want to know.”

Her jaw clenched, and anger flashed in her eyes. Part of me wanted to believe she was fighting the command—that I had some sway over her. Instead, she spat out, “You’re a bastard, you know that?”

I shouldn’t be surprised the command hadn’t worked. I was losing my mind, trying it on a fae. She was making me lose my mind.

My life had been all cold duty until she arrived. I found it satisfying to know that I was protecting my pack. It was the safest way. The best way.

Then she showed up, and everything went to shite.

“I’ll uncover your secrets, fae. Count on it.”

She glared at me. “Did the blackmail victim have any clues?”

“No. Just gratitude for Danny’s death. Danny didn’t have many friends, it seems.”

“What about the sketches of strangers who were in Pandemonium?”

“We haven’t identified any.”

“Good thing I found the potion maker, then. She can tell us who she sold the potion to.”

“You’d best hope so.”

“Well, I’ll let you know when I speak to her.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Her eyes flashed, as if she wanted to argue. Instead, she pinched her lips together.

Good.

“I’ll get us a meeting,” I said. “Until then, you’ll stay here.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Don’t bother arguing.” Even as I said the words, I knew that I liked it when she argued. She was all fire, and the coldness in my soul responded to it even as I knew it was a bad idea.

She pointed to the collar around her neck. “There’s no reason to keep me here. You can find me anytime.”

I didn’t want her out of my sight until I knew what she was hiding. Instinct said it was big, and I never ignored my instinct. “You’re staying here. End of discussion.”

“Fine.” She huffed and crossed her arms. “But I’m not staying in your quarters.”

I gave her a withering look. “You’re not, that’s correct.”