“Ready for bed?” he asked.

“Ready for home. Take me to Virginia.”

***

Tristol moved closer to his sleeping prisoner, studying the man’s height, the size of his muscles. The capture had gone surprisingly well for such a powerful warrior. If this part of the plan worked, Tristol would bring his beloved race back to the glory they had once known, before their maker had abandoned them. He closed his eyes, remembering the soft, golden voice close to his ear, the stories of grandeur that could all be his. He would focus on strengthening his army now and find Edward’s emerald later. With Malek dead, Shay and Bree would be safe, giving Tristol time to figure out what secrets the sisters held. It was possible that neither of Edward’s daughters knew about the emerald. Edward may have hidden it. When Tristol opened his eyes, he saw the prisoner’s eyes were open, his dark gaze violent before it became shuttered. If this one proved worthy, the first prisoner could be destroyed. He had grown dangerously strong, killing several of his vampires.

“Bring him food,” he called to the guard. “I have to leave. The Dark One has summoned me.” Yet again. It was growing tedious. “Keep the prisoner a secret. No one can know he’s here. Increase the experiments.”

***

“Why are we here?” Shay asked, following Cody up the ladder into the hayloft. It was the first time she’d seen him since they arrived this morning. She had slept a great deal, trying to adjust to the time difference.

They sat cross-legged in the hay, like they used to do as kids.

“I found something I want you to have.” He handed her a picture. It was a birthday party. Shay’s hands trembled as her eyes swept quickly across the scene. A woman holding a little girl, about a year old, while a man stood beside them, laughing as the woman wiped icing off the little girl’s face. Shay could see Nina in the background, much younger, smiling, and Matilda, her hair a different shade of red than she wore now. Shay’s heart tightened, and she looked away from the man and woman, avoiding the rush of emotion choking her. She absorbed the other details, the cake with pink and green icing reading Happy Birthday Dana, and the single flickering candle. The pile of presents, tied with ribbons and bows.

She felt Cody’s hand touch her shoulder. Taking a breath, she let her gaze return to the couple and the child. Shay’s eyes stung as she searched her mother’s face, the hair color, the nose and smile, so similar to her own. Her cherished black-and-white obituary photo hadn’t given those details.

Shay’s green eyes—and Bree’s—had come from the man. Edward was tall, handsome, his hair dark. Shay wondered if her interest in dark-haired men had started long before she met Cody. A tear rolled down Shay’s cheek, dropping onto her mother’s face. She blotted her mother’s face and imagined a light, flowery perfume, and the sound of a man’s deep laugh.

“Where did you find it?” she asked, drying her eyes.

“It was in an old book locked up in the basement. I think my dad had it with him the night they left Scotland with you. We think there may be some more things hidden in a safe deposit box. Marcas is checking. I’m sorry, Shay. I wish I could change things. I didn’t know what to do. We couldn’t be together until I was finished with my duty. There was too much danger, and it wasn’t my place to tell you something the clan had decreed must be kept secret.”

“You tried to protect me, I know that now, so did the clan. I’m sorry I didn’t know my real parents, but you did what was best. And look what I gained.”

“Nina, surrounding me with love, giving me a home. Your family, uprooting their lives to protect mine, taking care of me.” Shay put the photo aside and touched Cody’s chest, where his heart was beating strong. “And you. What would I have done without you?”

“But I wasn’t there for you, Shay. I should have made you understand how I felt about you. If I could do it over, I think I’d tell you the truth and let the chips fall, but I can’t honestly say for sure.” He shrugged one broad, beautiful shoulder. “Forgive me?”

“If you’ll forgive me for believing the worst of you when I should have known better. If I hadn’t been so stressed, believing something that wasn’t true, maybe the baby would have lived.”

Cody brushed a kiss on Shay’s forehead. “The baby will always be part of us. We won’t forget him.”

Shay nodded rubbed the small sword branded on Cody’s wrist.

“Before we can move to the next step, I need to know for sure that there’s nothing between you and Jamie.”

“Just friendship. I didn’t intend to, but I used him as a substitute for you. Every man I’ve gone out with has been a substitute for you. I’ve hurt Jamie.”

Cody smiled. “I think Jamie’s found something to ease the pain.” Cody cupped Shay’s chin. “I love you, Shay. I always have. I always will. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, grow old with you.” He pressed a finger to her lips, stopping her from speaking. “And that’s a serious consideration, because warriors live a long time.” He grinned and dropped his finger. “So if you’re going to get tired of me by the time I’m ninety, I need to know now.”

“Are you proposing to me?”

“I am.”

“Don’t I get a mate mark?”

“Sometimes women don’t get one, but I think this is yours,” he said, and her neck tingled where he touched her birthmark. “It’s darker than it was when you were a kid.”

“You think that’s my mate mark?” Her fingers brushed his as she tried to feel the mark.

“I do. Will you marry me, Shay? Will you be mine… forever?” A hint of shadow darkened his eyes. “Will you trust me?”

She took his gorgeous face in her hands, kissing his strong jaw, the scar over his eyebrow, his straight nose, and finally his lips. “I will, I always have been, and I do. You’re my life, Cody MacBain. You were my life when I was a kid swimming in the lake, and you’ll be my life when we’re teaching our great-grandchildren to sword fight.”

He wrapped both arms around her neck and rested his head against hers. “God, I love you, but we may need to set some boundaries for this dangerous stuff.”

“Are you being overprotective again?”

“I can’t help it. You can argue with me, even bite me again, but don’t expect me not to try to keep you safe.”

“As long as that goes both ways. But how can we marry if I’m a warrior? I won’t be twenty-eight for another year.”

“We don’t know for sure that you’re a warrior. But I’m not taking any chances on losing you again. The clan will have to live with more broken rules.”

“If I am a warrior, will you be the one to train me?”

“Unless the clan assigns you a mentor.”

“Would it be a female?”

“Not necessarily. I don’t mind if it’s a male… as long as it’s not Ronan.”

Shay squeezed Cody’s hand. “Can we get back to that marriage proposal?”

“In the clan, when a warrior finds his mate, they pledge their intentions. We consider it a marriage, of sorts, until it can be done properly. Kind of like handfasting. It’s binding until the union can be blessed in a church. Will you bind yourself to me now, Shay?”

She slipped both hands in his. “I already am, but you can say the words.”

Cody’s hands were warm on hers. “I, Cody MacBain of the Connor Clan, pledge to you, Shay Logan, my heart, my life, my body, and the protection of my sword, as long as we live and beyond. Will you have me as your mate?”

Shay nodded. “I will, if you’ll accept my heart, my body, my life, and the protection of my…”

Cody’s lips twitched. “Candlestick?”

“…my candlestick.”

“I accept. You’re mine,” he said, and the intensity in his eyes and his voice made her shiver. He wound his hand in her hair. “Never run away from me again.”

“Never. But shouldn’t we have witnesses?”

“We have God and that bloody cat.” Cody looked at the big white cat perched on a nearby hay bale. Shay had asked Ronan if she could keep the cat until he was ready to go home to Montana. “You know in the olden days, a marriage wasn’t binding until it was consummated.”

“I thought we covered that part already.”

“Well, I think we had things a bit backward before. We’ll start over in the proper order. You have any objections to hay, again?”

“None.” She smiled as he settled her in the hay. “I love you.”

“And I love you,” Cody said, his head lowering to hers. The cat meowed, gave them a green stare, ran to the ladder, and disappeared.

“Guess he knows we don’t need a witness for what I’m about to do next,” Cody said, his hazel eyes darkening.

“What would that be?”

He reached for her shirt with a wicked grin. “How about I show you?”

Acknowledgments

As always, I’m so grateful to my critique partner, Dana Rodgers, for her marvelous help and encouragement, and for last-minute work sessions. I want to thank my family. They mean more to me than all the books in the world: My mother, who embodies the grace and generosity I wish I had. I’m still learning from her. My father, who is the gentlest soul I know and partially inspired the character of Old Elmer. My brother, sister-in-heart, and nephew, some of the greatest people on earth. My husband, for his devotion and creative contributions to the really cool stuff in the books. My children, who are imaginative and wonderful beyond words. My agent, Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency, for being the best agent in the world, and to my editor, Deb Werksman for believing in this series.

About the Author

Anita Clenney writes paranormal romance and romantic suspense. Before giving herself over to the writing bug, she worked in a pickle factory and a preschool, booked shows for Aztec Fire Dancers, and was a secretary, an executive assistant, and a Realtor. She lives with her husband and two children in suburban Virginia not far from Washington, D.C.

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