What?
Betise believes she's Duncan's soul mate. She grabbed her coat, swept a set of keys off the coffee table and ran for the door.
Impossible, when you — Savannah's thought cut off abruptly. It doesn't matter, does it?
No. It's the night of promising. The magic can be raised whether it's your soul mate or not. God, how she wished their pretense last night had been real. While she might then have bound herself to a man who did not love her, she'd rather that than Duncan being fettered to a murdering fiend like Betise. Have you searched down Heather Creek Road?
We did last night, after they'd attacked you, but we found nothing. And the truck tracks didn't head that way tonight.
Well, that's where they are. Why she was certain, she couldn't say. And if she was wrong, Duncan would pay.
Where are you?
Just coming out of Snowflake Lodge.
I'll meet you on Main. Be there in five minutes.
Savanna was there in two, and she didn't come alone. There was a convoy of four trucks in all. Neva climbed into the first one, relieved to see Ronan at the wheel. Her gaze swung left to meet Savannah's. The main bandage had been removed from her sister's face, but there were still dressings on her right cheek and over her left eye. "I'm a little surprised to see you in the back seat rather than the driver's."
Her sister's good eye twinkled brightly in the shadows. "I may be stubborn, but I'm not a fool." Her voice was dry. "Besides, I can't see well enough to drive just yet."
"Mind you," Ronan commented, a smile touching his gray eyes as he glanced at Neva, "it took the threat of a revolt to lose that foolhardiness she claims not to have."
"Why am I not surprised?" Neva slammed the door shut and buckled up her seat belt as Ronan took off. Lights swept through the rear window, briefly setting Ronan's russet hair aflame as the trucks behind fell into line.
"Probably because doing stupid things runs in our family," Savannah replied.
Neva met her sister's gaze. "That it does." Things like deciding to seduce the most dangerous man in the Sinclair pack, or pretending to perform the promising ritual. One had led her heart into danger, and the other had forced her to confront what she'd been trying to ignore — the fact that in a mere couple of days she'd fallen in love with Duncan.
She pulled her gaze from Savannah's and stared out the window. "It doesn't matter," she said softly.
It does if you love him.
I love Mom and Dad, too. I won't give up my family for the sake of a man. No matter what I feel for him.
Savannah didn't say anything. There was nothing she could say, because they both knew the truth of the words.
Ronan turned the truck onto Heather Creek Road, and they quickly left the lights of Ripple Creek behind them. Under the cold light of the rising moon, the land became a vast expanse of black and silver. It was stark, oddly beautiful, but also eerie.
Neva stared out the window, her gaze roaming across the lustrous landscape without really seeing any of it. They were closing in. She wasn't sure how she knew, but the sensation was similar to what she shared with her sister. It was as if somehow Duncan had become a part of her, as if he was reaching out for her, not only psychically but physically. She could feel him, not only in her mind, but on her body. Almost as if he were caressing her, trailing his fingers across her skin, sending little tingles of electricity through every nerve ending. She was attuned to him. Totally attuned. She briefly closed her eyes, too afraid to confront the reason why that might be. Because confronting it wouldn't change the facts. Wouldn't change her parents' opinion. Wouldn't change her refusal to walk away from them completely.
She bit her lip, her gaze moving past the trees and spying a flicker of gold in the darkness. "Stop," she said quickly and was out the door before Ronan even touched the brake.
"Neva, wait," Savannah cried.
She stopped on the verge of the road. She wasn't a fool. If Iyona and Betise could overpower someone like René, what hope would she have against them?
The night was cold and still, the snow beyond the road powdery light, glittering brightly under the moon's harsh light. The nearby trees cast deep shadows, and the smell of pine and balsam was rich in the air. She sniffed deeply. Behind those two scents was another. A warm, woody aroma that sent the blood pounding through her veins. Duncan was here somewhere. And so were Betise and Iyona, even though she couldn't smell them.
The other trucks pulled to a halt behind them, and men poured out. Savannah stopped beside her, sniffing the air lightly. "I can't smell them."
"Duncan's here. Betise will be, too."
Savannah looked past her, and Neva followed the direction of her gaze. Zeke Sinclair walked towards them, his stride long and powerful, his angelic face expressionless, and his dark eyes shuttered. For one moment, he looked so much like Duncan her heart ached. Behind him were two shadows who were just as potent, but who were hiding their anger less skillfully. Tye and Kane.
Zeke stopped in front of Neva. The sense of his power, the sheer force of his masculinity swept over her, and yet didn't stir her. She glanced at her sister and saw that Savannah was similarly unmoved. Which was a good thing, but odd, given the night and the moon.
"Where?" His voice was sharp. Abrupt.