Chapter 2
LACHLAN MACBETH
Itune out the ladies and sigh as I look down at my new mate, remorse and something not unlike sorrow forming in my insides.
She could be cursed for years, and the idea that it’s my fault for even wishing for her makes it that much worse, because if I’d not wished for my mate, she’d at least be breathing.
Her round cheeks are pink and flushed, even obviously cursed as she is, and I realize I’ll do whatever it takes to get her awake.
If only to see what her bonnie eyes look like when she laughs.
Tears shimmer in the corners of my gaze until my vision blurs at the sight of her unmoving form, and my fists curl at my sides as the sounds of shouting increase.
I’ll move the heavens and the earth to bring her back to me.
My gaze swivels back to Frank, Odette’s one-time lackey, and my agitation rises. Maybe I don’t have to move the heavens after all.
I’ve been trapped in Vlad’s moat for longer than he’s been breathing, and whether Frank Stein likes it or not, I could chain the lot of them to the ocean floor and call Odette myself if that’s what it takes to free my mate.
I’m now stronger than they are by half, and they wouldn’t be able to stop me.
I may hate to see the womenfolk cry because of it, but I’ve no doubt the men would do the same to me if I were all that stood between them and theirs. Besides, they’d learn to get free, eventually.
I startle at the light touch on my arm, and glance down into Whitley’s familiar face, her brows pinched with worry.
“If we can’t call Odette, then someone needs to find another witch to wake up Lachlan’s mate. This is almost cruel,” she says loudly, her voice somehow rising above the cacophony.
“Whitley’s right. I’ve more right than most to bitch about Odette’s magic since she turned me into a bloody puppy. But Lachlan just broke free, and it’s wrong that he has to wait now to meet his mate,” Connor says, his gaze locked squarely on Frank who stands idly by the door.
I’m humbled by them both, and reluctantly realize Whitley’d never forgive me if I chained her mate. I grab her hand in mine, and her warm palm squeezes mine back. Everything will turn out as it should.
“You’re lucky she was able to change you back at all. You’re all lucky. I can’t believe you didn’t call me the second Odette arrived here, ” Frank says, glaring at Connor, his face twisted in disgust and betrayal.
Connor frowns from where he sits by the empty fireplace and slowly meets my gaze, as if remembering just how exactly his curse was broken. The last time Odette visited the castle, she’d turned Connor into a puppy for some offense.
He was changed back to human after a swift dunking in the moat, saving her from being forced to change him back.
“I was a bit preoccupied, and your last visit didn’t go so well either. But while she was here, she mentioned a true mate curse. Well, warned us really,” Connor says.
“I suppose now is as good a time as any to share notes. I know that the witch queen’s magic was once known as the most powerful in the supernatural world, but I swear to you, she can’t be trusted.
Her magic is collapsing and it’s making whatever spells she attempts chaotic at best. She’s been the cause of as many issues as she fixes,” Frank intones.
That doesn’t sound like the Odette I know. This bunch are far too young to remember, but given who the witch queen is mated to, she should never have a problem with magic. “What did she do?” I ask.
The hulking man’s muscles bunch under his fancy suit and I watch as Bernadette edges closer to him as if to comfort the large male, leaning her body against his.
“The last large spell I witnessed, she barred everyone from her home in New Orleans, even me. She said she was working with a lot of magic and didn’t want anyone to bother her.
I sent the staff carousing in the nearest town, but stayed close to keep watch.
That very night she accidentally created over a hundred ghouls in some sort of magical fit of power.
They all manifested as if out of thin air, and when they all became sentient enough to ask her what they should do, she told them she didn’t have time to babysit and fled,” Frank states coldly, his pallor turning orange.
“So, that’s why you built the village,” Bernadette murmurs, “but what about those people we saw last week, at the gala?”
Frank nods down at his mate, and his gray gaze meets mine. “Humans turned ghoul take weeks to fully turn. Odette’s magic simply made them out of thin air, the same way I came into existence. Whatever magic she works with is unnatural and it can’t help you.”
It’s true that magic is never free. I know that more than most, and the immense amount it would take to create beings would put anyone into a deep rest.
If what he says is true, could it be that she somehow inadvertently cursed my new mate that night long ago?
The only thing that matters is waking her. “If I can’t call Odette, then how am I to wake her?”
“Have you thought about kissing her?” Aubrey’s soft voice calls out, as if it’s a simple thing to do to kiss an unconscious woman.
“What?” I blurt, my stomach flipping in response.
“Well, that’s what worked in Snow White and Sleeping Beauty right? True love’s kiss breaks the spell. I mean, it works in most fairytales,” Aubrey says with a shrug, crossing her legs over the other while she perches on Vlad’s lap.
“Except, this isn’t exactly a fairytale,” Bernadette mutters back to her friend.
“It’s worth a try, though,” Whitley announces.
My stomach lodges somewhere in my throat at the thought of our first kiss having such an audience, and I swallow roughly.
“Wait! We need a plan,” Aubrey shouts, and her cheeks warm when we all swivel to look at her. “All of us found out we were supernatural mates in weird ways. Shouldn’t we give Lachlan time to tell her who and what he is on his own?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Vlad grumbles behind her.
“It means, I found out you were a vampire when you bit me, and it was the same for Whitley with Connor. So, I think we should at least try to buy Lachlan some time, don’t you think?”
Vlad sighs heavily, grumbling under his breath as he crosses his arms over his chest.
Aubrey gives him a smile. “It could be fun.”
“Pfft, I give Vlad less than forty-eight hours before outing himself,” Connor calls out from his seat across from the couple.
“I’m not playing your aggravating games or pretending to be human,” Vlad fumes from his chair.
Frank clears his throat loudly. “We don’t need to be here for this. We could head home,” he says, nudging at Bernadette’s back.
“I’m not missing this for the world. Besides, we can’t leave yet. Aubrey and Vlad are coming with us to visit in a couple days,” Bernadette replies up at him with a grin, sending Frank’s jaw dropping while Vlad sputters.
“Connor and I will be here either way to help. We’ve got to be here for the construction crew,” Whitley offers shyly, before joining her mate by his chair. “We’re renovating the cathedral and turning it into a home for us.”
Joy effuses me at finding my friend so happy and comfortable with Connor, especially with how tumultuous their relationship first began, and it dawns on me that it’s not been long since the couples in the room have come together.
Despite that, they all seem to have a strong attachment to one another.
It gives me hope that my matehood will be the same, except I’ve no intention of making the same mistakes these bloody idiots made of themselves. I’ll be open and honest with my lady.
“So, everyone is on board then? We can all try to be normal for a few days and it’ll give them time to get to know each other,” Aubrey says.
Agreements go up around the room, and warmth spreads through my being at how easily they’ve accepted me into the fold. I’m touched by how much the women want to help, it’s not something I expected, but the idea of pretending to be something I’m not, doesn’t sit well with me.
Even though I can concede why they think the lady would need some time, starting our relationship on a lie isn’t how I want to let this play out.
I understand my mate is human, and one should ease into these sorts of things, but I’ve also watched how quickly women can forgive. Every couple in this room is a working case on the subject, and each had their own issues to overcome to be together.
I’ll do what I must to ensure my mate is happy, but I refuse to make their mistakes.
I know as soon as she opens her pretty blue gaze again, I’ll be wrapped around her finger, or anywhere else she wants me. Whatever she needs me to be, I’ll be, because nothing else matters but her happiness.
“We’ll be right here if you need us,” Whitley says.
I glance back and find I’m now the only male in the room, while the womenfolk have smiles stretched across their faces.
“Could you try to act like you’re doing something else, or at least try to not look so bloody eager?” I ask them.
They all begin nodding. Aubrey picks up her phone while Whitley starts cleaning that side of the library, but Bernadette just arches a brow at me and pulls a small bag of popcorn from under the table.
“Where did you get that?”
“I made it,” Whitley says with a shrug.
“Fine. Just give me a moment,” I say, as sweat materializes in my palms and I begin to feel greatly exposed.
My gaze swivels back to the couch, landing squarely on the soft curve of the unconscious woman’s cheek.
My heart stutters in my chest. Fear of what’ll happen if I kiss her and she doesn’t wake suddenly slams into me like a ton of bricks, and I kneel down by my new mate’s side to try and kiss her awake.
“She’ll wake up. But if she doesn’t, don’t worry. I’ll make them call another witch, even if I have to chew someone’s limb off to make them do it,” Whitley says.
I take a deep shuddering breath and shove down my emotions as deep as I can. She doesn’t need me acting as a scared lad.
I caress the soft strands of her silky blonde hair, feeling the warmth radiating from her skin.
If she does awaken, she’ll need me to be there for her, not bawling like a babe in need of its mother. “Please wake up, my flower,” I whisper against her lips, closing the distance between us to touch my mouth to hers.
My gaze shuts as I pray to the gods with all of my being that this works.
Bright lights swim behind my closed eyelids, and time seems to slow to a stop, the rest of the world disappearing as I kiss her. Tingles start at my mouth, and I open my gaze to see a bright blueish green light floating between us.
The spell is broken.
I break the kiss and pull away, watching as her lashes flutter before opening.
A rightness centers in my chest, and I stare in awe of this lady. I may not know her name yet, but her eyes are the very color of my loch, and I know without a doubt, she’s mine.
“Who… who are you?” she asks, her gaze darting over me.
“I’m—”
I swallow, suddenly ill at ease with outright telling her exactly who and what I am, as nervousness rises within my middle, chewing at my insides with abandon. I can’t tell her now, but soon.
“I’m the pool boy,” I blurt, heat rising at the back of my neck at the bald-face lie.
The beautiful lass’s brows knit together, her expression twisting into that of confusion before she yawns abruptly, obviously zapped of energy.
“What? No, you can’t—,” she whispers, her gaze drooping hard with fatigue as she falls into a deep, but restorative sleep.
A deep snore lets out from her, and my cheeks begin to hurt from the breadth of my smile.
The Lady of the Lake’s spell so long ago rendered me asleep for longer than most human lifespans, and there’s no doubt the young lass is exhausted.
Breaking spells isn’t the easiest thing to do, I well know it.
I sweep the straw-colored hair from her face when another soft rattle starts from her nostrils.
“What just happened?” Bernadette says, breaking the silence of the room.
“She’s asleep. After I found myself trapped inside the moat, I fell into a deep rest for more than a century. She’s fine, just needs some rest,” I tell her, trying to answer her question as much as remind myself.
“Okay, good. Well now that that’s over with,” she replies sarcastically.
“Her name is Elena Pierson according to the papers I found in the pocket of her bag. And after having a quick look, it turns out Miss Elena left out yesterday morning for Europe from Boston. She’s got three biology degrees, and has written a few articles on aquatic life in her field of study, specifically aquatic entomology.
Graduated top of her class apparently, and I found tickets to see a dolphin exhibit in Inverness, ” Doyle says, settling her bag at my feet by the couch.
Elena. “She was already on her way to Scotland,” I breathe as I look down at her.
The werewolf shoves his hands into his pants as I rise to my feet to thank him.
“Yeah, she’s got a printed ticket in her bag. She’s left quite a few plastic sample jars dotted around the moat you might want to take a look at,” he continues.
“Nae, she can show me herself when she awakes. I’ve no doubt it’ll be soon,” I say.
“Let’s get her settled in then. Bring her to the west wing, Lachlan, I’ve got you each a room set up,” Whitley says, smiling softly by the door.
“That was… neat,” Bernadette says, before getting to her feet and leaving the room.
I turn to my bundle on the couch, and grin from ear to ear as I move to gently pick her up, and follow Whitley to where she leads.
Cuddling Elena to me, I adjust her to miss the doorway on our way out, admiring how thick her legs and hips feel. My mate is full-figured and shapely.
She’s thicker than porridge. I bloody love porridge.