Corrigan Fire Bloodfire - Helen Harper Page 0,25

attacks when you rub her fur the wrong way, he replied drily then pushed off the wall and left.

I gestured Mack towards the chair in front. For a moment I thought she’d demand to conduct the entire interview while standing but she sat down, holding her knees together and clasping her hands neatly in her lap. If I didn’t know better, I’d almost have thought she was nothing more than a meek little Catholic schoolgirl.

‘So, Miss Mackenzie, we finally have some alone time to talk together.’ I smiled at her in an attempt to put her at ease. A trace of fear crossed her face, which surprised me. I might be the Brethren Lord but I was fairly certain I’d not actually done anything to merit such a reaction. If anything, after her fighting display, I should probably be the one to be afraid. I decided to be honest and open, at least for the time being. ‘I have to admit that I find you rather fascinating. One minute you are being knocked down by a tap from a little girl, and the next you are defeating a werebear in his own shift form.’

She still didn’t respond. Instead she stared at me wide-eyed as if she expected me to pounce on her. The thought was remarkably alluring, but I pushed it away and tried not to get overly irritated when she looked down as if in submission.

‘And then, of course,’ I continued, ‘there are your night-time sparring matches on the beach.’

Her head jerked up and she glowered at me. Relieved to finally get a real reaction out of her, I met her eyes, silently encouraging her to hold my gaze. ‘So what is a shifter of your talents doing tucked away in sleepiest Cornwall, and why are you so desperate to stay here?’

Her shoulders relaxed. ‘Er, well, I like the quiet, and then there’s Tom, of course.’ She said the last part as if it were an afterthought.

‘Ah, yes, the boyfriend.’ I stood up and moved round the desk to get closer to her. Perhaps it was the wooden barrier that was making her so jumpy. ‘Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged the two of you as a couple.’

She pulled back, attempting to put as much space between my body and hers. Then, completely misreading my query, she spat out, ‘Do you think I’m not good enough for him?’

‘Not at all,’ I quickly answered. It was more that he didn’t seem good enough for her. ‘I just wonder how someone like him could keep someone like you…interested.’

‘Oh, I’m very interested,’ she told me, with a genuine spark in her eyes.

I quashed down my disappointment and quickly returned to my chair. So much for that, then.

Her face took on an earnest expression. ‘Lord Corrigan, I don’t want to waste your valuable time. I have no desire to leave Cornwall and believe that I have made that apparent to you already. Perhaps your time would be better spent with those shifters who would like to join you in London.’

I really wasn’t going to get anywhere by trying to persuade her otherwise. Telling myself to give up on her as a lost cause, I focused on something else. ‘That may be but there are other matters that I would like to discuss. Tell me what you did on the day of your alpha’s death.’

‘On the day of his murder, you mean.’ There was still a hint of challenge in her tone. Then she sighed and rubbed her eyes. I had to resist the urge not to lean across and give her a hug. ‘I went for a jog, then to the eastern perimeter. There had been some rumours about something there.’

‘And did you find anything?’

‘No.’

‘And then what?’

‘I came back to the keep. When we realised that John hadn’t returned, I went out with the others to find him. Then we did. Find him, I mean.’

‘I see.’ I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. Despite my every effort to tiptoe round her, she was still prevaricating. I felt something inside me snap. ‘You’re lying, Miss Mackenzie. Or certainly not telling me the whole truth.’ I glared and then, almost without thinking, used my Voice. Tell me everything.

I would have taken it back but she opened up her mind, sending me an image of what happened that night. I could feel her grief washing over me in waves and I felt a bitter anger on her behalf that Anton had accused her of being