Bound by Forever - (True Immortality #3) Page 0,42
scar was visible down the left side of his face, from the tip of his eyebrow to the corner of his mouth, where someone had clearly slashed him with silver. If humans were wary of Kiyo, he could only imagine how they feared this wolf.
But none of that was the reason Kiyo knew who Conall was.
The Scot was the spitting image of his father.
“Kiyonari.” Conall halted before him.
“Kiyo,” he corrected.
Conall gave him an abrupt nod. “You’ve been hired to protect Niamh but she’s run from you?”
The question was asked without censor. “She had a vision … I don’t know what it was about, but I think it’s the reason she took off without me. Had I suspected for a second—”
Conall held up his hand. “You dinnae need to explain yourself to me. They’re tricky creatures, these fae women. Believe me.” He grinned, the action transforming his face entirely. “I have firsthand experience of their trickery.”
“Your mate?”
“Aye.” Conall nodded to the SUV. “Get in.”
Kiyo followed him to the Defender, pulling out Niamh’s comb from the duffle before he stowed it in the back next to a large backpack he assumed was Conall’s. Once settled in the passenger seat, he handed the comb to Conall. The wolf took it, his brows drawn together in thought.
Waiting impatiently, Kiyo watched as the hard concentration left Conall’s expression and he flicked Kiyo a weary look of acceptance. “I assumed we’d be leaving Scotland,” he gestured to the backpack, “but hoped that we wouldnae.”
“But we are?” Kiyo asked, though he’d assumed so as well.
“We are. My mate will be pleased.”
Noting the alpha’s sarcasm, Kiyo waited silently as Conall pulled out his cell and hit a speed-dial button. With his wolf ears, he heard it with clarity as the call connected and a husky female voice with an American accent answered. “What’s happening?”
“Thea, love, I’m heading out.”
“Where is she?”
“Not sure exactly. We’re heading south. She doesnae feel too far … so perhaps France.”
France? What the hell could Niamh want in France? Kiyo searched his memory for any mention of it.
“It’s always dangerous.” An edge entered the alpha’s tone. “You have scars on your body from silver bullet wounds that prove my point.”
Kiyo heard Thea give a huff. “It feels wrong to stay out of it. I owe Rose and Niamh.”
“And I’m fulfilling that debt for you.”
“Conall—”
“Thea,” he bit out, flicking Kiyo an annoyed look. “Please. It’s not just you anymore.”
There was silence. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ll stay. But I want to hear from you every four hours.”
The alpha smirked. “I can do that.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” the wolf said, completely unabashed to admit so in front of Kiyo.
He sighed inwardly. It seemed he was surrounded by fools in love.
When Conall hung up, he turned to Kiyo, all business. “Let’s park the car. We need to get a flight to London.”
Traveling with Conall MacLennan had been somewhat easy at first. The wolf had asked Kiyo if he’d ever visited Scotland. He answered that the Highlands were among his favorite places to visit, which seemed to please the Scot. But Kiyo already knew that pride of their country was a huge part of a Scot’s national identity, and nothing endeared you more to them than to compliment the beauty of their homeland.
When Conall noted he must not have visited Torridon before, for he would have sensed him there, Kiyo nodded vaguely. After all, he couldn’t tell the alpha that he’d met Conall’s father and grandfather back in 1961 when he’d stumbled across Pack MacLennan on his travels. At the time, he’d been running in wolf form through the woods near Torridon when he’d come across a cornered alpha. Another alpha and a beta had the alpha pinned. Without even thinking about why, Kiyo had joined the fight.
That cornered alpha turned out to be Conall’s father. Although strong, he was young and inexperienced. The two wolves were from a pack in the Lowlands of Scotland. Kiyo had insinuated himself into a war. When the Alpha of Pack MacLennan discovered Kiyo had saved his son, he welcomed him into his home in Torridon. Always a lone wolf, Kiyo had been intrigued by pack life, but he knew it would never be for him.
Still, he stayed awhile. Long enough to see the end of the Lowland pack. It was a small pack, having lost members and much power over the years. The