Page 18 of Unforeseen Mate

Abraham shook his head and went to stand, looking out the window. “If I’m to keep control of Nora, I’ll need to insist that Dr. Kent remain alive and here with us on Lundy. Nora has proven to be unreliable on her own. So, either she chooses herfriend and eliminates Hutchinson, or she chooses Hutchinson. If it’s the latter, we’ll need to dispose of Dr. Kent and take Hutchinson into our custody. Without some kind of leverage, I fear my dear Nora will turn on us.”

“How much damage could she do? After all, she is what—a clouded leopard? You’re a dragon. She is no match for you.”

Abraham smiled as he turned to look at her over his shoulder. “Perhaps, but I will sleep easier knowing I have a secure leash and a muzzle on my pretty spotted kitty.”

“Do you think she’ll choose Dr. Kent?”

“Hard to say. But if I know Nora and that meddling lynx-shifter, she’ll try and play both ends against the middle and keep them both. I will require absolute proof that Hutchinson is dead.” Abraham turned back to the view out of his window. “Perhaps I should require she bring me his heart.”

“That’s a bit gruesome, sir. If Nora follows orders and chooses Dr. Kent, then proof is required, but I wouldn’t want to push her.”

He drew himself up. Those he employed to serve him were beginning to question his superiority. Abraham didn't like it. “Do you think a mere feline-shifter—of any kind—could prevail over a dragon?” he snarled.

“I think, sir, that Nora will not be acting alone. If, as your spies have suggested, Nora has joined the Resistance, they will have dragons, cave lions, and others.”

“Not all of the dragons have chosen to back the Resistance. Some have stayed on the sidelines. And some have seen the writing on the wall and long to see the Age of Dragons return.”

“I see you have stepped up security around the island and the manor. Are you expecting some kind of covert operation?”

“Not really, but then I never expected Nora to turn. She might be trying to buy time for the Resistance to try and rescue Dr. Kent.”

“You don’t think she’d come herself?”

Abraham shook his head. “No. She wouldn’t trust Hutchinson’s safety with anyone else; besides, if she shows up without proof of Hutchinson’s death, she knows she will have signed all of their death warrants.”

“Would it bother you to kill them?” asked Mrs. Crane.

“Hutchinson and Dr. Kent? Not at all, but I will admit I would hate to have to kill Nora. She truly was my masterpiece—the best assassin I ever trained.”

“You cared for her?”

“Cared?” Abraham scoffed. “Heavens no. I simply hate to think I wasted all that time and so badly misjudged her character.”

CHAPTER 8

HAYDEN

Somewhere Off the

Coast of England

Even if he didn’t have an infallible sense of direction or an antique sextant to steer by the stars, Hayden would have known he was closing in on Fallon. If he reached out to her along the link, he could feel her fear, but more than that, he could feel her mind working, looking for a way out. He supposed he should be angry or concerned that she wasn’t waiting for him to come charging in on his white horse to save her, but then, hellhounds had a different hierarchy than most other shifters.

Hellhound females had always been warriors and guardians in their own right. It was why, when someone had begun to try and systematically take them to the brink of extinction, they had targeted their females—and the younger ones had been their primary target. The damage that had been done had been extensive, but what worried Hayden the most was that there was still no clear answer as to who had been responsible.

At first, he had wondered why Colby had chosen the boat he had. The Laughing Lynx was a ketch-rigged motorsailer—a boat that could be powered either by sail or engine, making stealth a definite possibility. Noise, including that of a powerfulmotor, carried across the water. He cut the motor and unfurled his sails and approached the island from the windward side. If he could get Fallon out, they could slip away silently under sail power. Hayden found a small hidden cove, lowered the sails, and anchored the boat.

He knew from the maps of the island that the inlet in which he’d dropped anchor was well-hidden from the manor house. Packing a small roll with clothes for them both in case he had to use his shimmer, Hayden made his way up the sea cliff. He would need to find a safer way to bring Fallon down to the boat.

There was a full moon, but fortunately, it had chosen to play peek-a-boo amongst the ghostly clouds, gliding in and out of them like a phantom galleon. He slipped past Strode’s guards without having to use his shimmer. Dragons were said to be able to detect magic like most could detect a scent on the wind. While hellhounds didn’t see shimmering as any more magical than shifting, he knew that most creatures did. As dragons had always been covetous of the hellhounds’ ability to move between the different realms, he suspected they had developed some kind of sixth sense to detect a hellhound’s presence.

Flattening himself against the damp stone walls of the manor house, he crept along, listening for any signs that he was about to run into a patrol. As a pair of guards made to round the corner, Hayden ducked into a darkened doorway and held his breath as they moved past. The guards were laughing and seemed not to have even the smallest clue that he was near.

The guards continued their rounds, leaving Hayden to get his bearings. This doorway would lead him onto the main floor of the house. There were no stairs nearby to take him to the floor on which Strode was holding Fallon. He peered around the edge of the niche in the wall and started toward the correct door.

Finding it, he picked the lock and let himself in, locking it behind him. He waited to ensure he was undetected and moveddown the hallway to the back stairs reserved for use by the servants. Using the night shadows as if they were old friends, he moved along quietly. He’d reached the top of the stairs and had turned toward the room in which he could feel Fallon’s presence.

Without warning, a guard appeared from a different door. Before the man’s brain could even take notice of the danger, Hayden pulled him into the death embrace—restraining the man so that his mouth was covered, his nose was pinched closed, and his ear was close to Hayden’s mouth.

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