Page 24 of Unforeseen Mate

“Aubry and I are colleagues…”

“Deke and Mason have been my colleagues for years, but I never rented out an entire luxury bed and breakfast for them to spend the night in…” Hayden left the provocative insinuation sitting out there all on its own.

“How the fuck do you know anything about Brie?”

“Colby and Brie—that’s cute. And I make it my business to know everything I can about the people with whom I choose to work. Brie’s second in command is Cayetana.”

“I am aware of that…”

“Are you also aware that Caye is a hellhound warrior?”

“Holy shit.”

“Well, I’ll leave you with that to think about.”

“You’re a bastard, Hayden…”

“Not likely. Hellhounds frown on that sort of thing. They say ours was the species that first discovered the causal link between fated mates.”

Colby chuckled. “I don’t know that I know of a species of shifters that doesn’t claim to be the originators of fated mates.”

“True, but demons, dragons, and hellhounds have been around much longer than the rest of you.”

“Hayden, think about what you’re doing…”

“I am. Answer me this—would you allow anyone to take Brie away from you or deny you your destiny with her?”

There was silence for a moment. “Point taken. Medics will be waiting. Do you want them to treat her on board?”

“Yes. Can they keep their mouths shut?”

“I would think so. After all, who would want the alpha of the hellhounds looking for justice or revenge? I’ll make sure they understand what’s at stake.”

Colby was as good as his word. When they pulled into Swansea, two men were waiting to tie up the boat. Once Hayden had verified who they were, he allowed them on board.

“Hayden?” said Fallon worriedly. “That one was at Strode’s.”

Hayden whirled on the man, his eyes glowing.

The man backed away, his hands extended. “I’m Dougal of the Highland lynx-shifters. Call Colby. I’ve been a part of his intelligence network for years. I was the first person to identify just who Strode was. I was the one who alerted Colby as to the danger he represented. I had to leave when I did. I think Strode was on to me. I had to fake my own death. I was supposedto head home to the Highlands, but when I heard Fallon was wounded, I wanted to help.”

Hayden nodded. “You’re the one who supplied the drawings…”

“Yes, I’d been there the longest. Did you see my note about a hidden tunnel?”

“I did. You were right. That’s how we got out.”

“If you need me to, I can leave…”

“Hayden, no,” said Fallon. “He was kind to me, or at least as kind as he could be.”

“You both have medical training?” asked Hayden.

“Yes, we both did two tours as army medics.”

“Don’t let her perky behavior fool you. She’s been bleeding off and on since we left Lundy Island.”

The medics worked under Hayden’s watchful presence and were able to get her stabilized. As the one medic made sure she had powerful antibiotics and pain medication, Dougal turned to Hayden.

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