Liam schooled his face. “Did you nae hear yerself agree to wanting to seduce the lass, fill her with yer seed, have wee ones, a dog, a home, and a future?”
“Och, I dinnae agree to any sort of…shite,” said Duncan, his jaw setting as he fidgeted in his chair, refusing to meet Catrina’s gaze.
Liam pointed at him, laughing hard. “This is great. I cannae wait to tell the family.”
“Do nae make this yer final resting place, cousin,” warned Duncan.
Liam kept laughing, unafraid of the threat. “Is that before or after yer done playing house with the hot waitress who likes to read?”
Duncan’s attention returned to Catrina, instantly making her body warm. He stared hungrily at her. “After.”
His response only served to make his cousin laugh more.
Even Catrina found it funny. Her lips twitched.
Diane hugged her again, breaking the moment. When Diane stepped back, she cleared her throat. “I should head out now. These guys are all squared up with their tab so start a new one for them. Duncan has been in here every night for almost a week and I’ve seen him drink about everyone under the table without issue.”
Catrina lifted a brow. “Not sure that is something I’d be proud of.”
“Then yer nae Scottish,” said Liam with a smirk. “’Tis obvious yer English, lass.”
“Cat,” said Ralph from near the bar. “They need assistance. Again.”
She looked up at the college boys and then back at Diane. “How many times do you think they’ll use lame pickup lines or try to sway me to whatever cause of the moment they’re backing?”
Laughing, Diane pointed rather obviously at Duncan. “If they’re smart, they’ll stay away. The look on his face says he’ll squash them like bugs.”
“Aye. My cousin shites bigger than those bloody boys,” said Liam, nothing but pride in his voice.
Catrina snorted. “Wow. There’s another winning trait. If we add that to his drinking skills, we have a real champion. Really can’t wait to take his last name.”
Liam grinned. “Yer all right there, lass.”
“I try.” She glanced nervously at Duncan to find him glaring in the direction of the college boys.
“If anyone drinking coffee-flavored beer so much as looks at you, I’ll break them like the twigs they are,” he warned.
“Erm, thanks?”
Liam whipped out his phone and began texting.
Duncan grunted. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Telling Cillian, who will tell Coyle and Korey. They’ll tell the rest of the clan. We’ve a great phone tree set up.”
“How much does Cillian want to be the last twin standing?” asked Duncan. “I can make that a reality for him.”
Liam kept texting and laughing.
Catrina headed in the direction of the college guys again. Her ass cheeks heated as she walked, making her wonder if Duncan’s gaze was on her rump. She didn’t dare look back to see.
Chapter Nine
Duncan leaned in his chair, watching as Catrina sashayed toward the bar. His cock dug at his jeans and it was anything but comfortable. The woman’s scent—a mix of roses and honey—lingered in the air, making his body tighten and his inner beast react.
The wolf wanted out more than ever. Except running free in the moonlight was no longer its number one objective. Now the lass held the top spot. His wolf was interested in Catrina, nearly as much as he was.
That had never happened before.
The wolf typically didn’t give a flying fuck about women. It just liked to get its rocks off through him when he had sex, but it never took any real, keen interest in one. The reality was, neither he nor the wolf had wanted sex in close to two decades. He’d not really thought much of it until now.
Now it did.
It wanted to fuck, and so did he.
And they both agreed Catrina was the woman they wanted that reality to happen with.
As disconcerting as that was, it paled in comparison to what had fallen free from his lips only moments before. He’d talked about wanting to wed the young woman.
Marriage was not something he ever mentioned out loud.
Ever.
Yet Liam had pointed out in Gaelic exactly what Duncan had said.
Liam waved a hand before Duncan’s face. “Cousin, are you in there?”
He slid a hard gaze at Liam.
“Cousin, yer scent,” said Liam, pouring another glass of whiskey. “It changed when you saw her, as did hers.”
“What do you mean?” demanded Duncan, unsure he wanted to hear the answer.
Liam pushed the newly poured glass of whiskey at Duncan. “Yer letting off mating energy. So is the lass. Do you nae notice it?”
“Pfft, I’m nae letting off any—” He sniffed the air and caught the faint undertones of Catrina’s scent. It made his cock even harder. As he took another deep breath, he realized his cousin was correct. He was radiating mating energy. His eyes widened. “Shite.”
Liam nudged the glass of whiskey, reminding him it was there.
Duncan slammed it quickly. He plunked the glass down, doing his best to try to rein in what he was feeling. The problem was, he wasn’t sure what in the hell he was feeling. All he knew was the moment he’d locked gazes with the stunning brunette, he’d felt as though he were falling down a dark hole. A hole that had her at the bottom of it, waiting for him. His cock had reacted, wanting in her, wanting to spear her sweetly as he soaked in the sight of her, memorizing every detail.
The entire thought left his beast rising so fast, he thought for sure he’d up and fully shift in the center of the bar. He wasn’t positive any amount of druid mind-controlling magik would assist to make everyone forget seeing something that extreme. And the task of trying to shield the humans’ minds would fall squarely on Liam’s shoulders as Duncan would be in no condition to do so.
In effect, Liam would have to try to control both Duncan in wolf form and what the humans were seeing and hearing. Liam was good, but that was a big ask.
Knowing everything could go sideways in seconds, Duncan took several deep, long, shaky breaths, staring at the table, willing his beast to behave.
The runes on Duncan’s forearm began to warm, doing what they were intended to do—keep his wolf under wraps.
The wolf wasn’t having any part of it all. It bellowed within him, causing the runes to heat to the point that smoke began to emanate from them.
It hurt like a motherfucker.
Hissing, Duncan stood rapidly.
Liam mirrored his motion, whispering a chant to try to control the dark magik currently going awry on Duncan. The chant worked enough to stop the smoke coming from Duncan’s skin. It did little to ease the raging beast within him or take the sting away.
The men shared a look and Duncan grabbed his forearm, doing his best to ignore the searing pain left in the wake of the ordeal. His wolf stayed close to the surface, taunting him.
Dick.
“Time for us to go,” said Liam, grabbing for his leather jacket.
Duncan’s gaze slashed across to the bar, landing on Catrina as she cleared an empty two-person table. She bent slightly, and her long dark brown hair fell forward. Her jeans cupped her lush ass, and Duncan got a vivid image in his mind of holding her hips as he drove into her from behind.
His control shattered.
Not that it needed much to break.
Stumbling, he grabbed for anything to keep him upright as he moved in the direction of the back door. He ended up gripping the back of a wooden chair. It began to splinter the harder he grasped it. Duncan knew he needed to be away from the humans. Far from them when he lost control and turned into a wolf.
There weren’t enough runes in the world to hold off his pending shift.
Not with the state of longing that had come over him in the presence of Catrina. It hit him with as much finesse as a wooden bat.
He crashed into three men near the pool table, sending them toppling o
ver it. The other men with the guys he’d inadvertently knocked over tried to intervene and come at Duncan. Any other time, he’d welcome a brawl, even if it meant he’d have to pull his punches to avoid killing humans. But right now, he couldn’t even think about fighting. Not with as volatile as his wolf was at the moment. He’d end up killing the humans with one blow.
“Asshole!” one shouted, grabbing ahold of Duncan’s shirt.
Liam moved in quickly, knocking the man’s hands away from Duncan. “He will chew you up and spit you out. You do nae want a piece of him.”
“I think I do,” the man argued.
His buddies all formed a line as if they planned to jump Duncan.
He’d have laughed if he wasn’t close to losing the ability to walk on two feet as he turned into a wolf. A wolf that would eat the assholes in the blink of an eye. They probably tasted like flavored beer or something, which would suck.
Duncan stared at them and felt his eyes burning with the change. He knew then his eyes were no longer blue. They were amber and looked anything but human.
Wisely, the men backed up fast, their hands going into the air as if to signal they were no longer a threat.
Like they ever were to start with.
Liam snorted, clearly thinking the same thing.
Duncan growled, and Liam yanked him in the direction of the back door, essentially dragging him the entire way. When they burst through the door and onto the gravel-covered parking lot, Liam shoved him hard, causing Duncan to stumble and fall. The stones cut into his palms, and that should have been enough to assist Duncan in gaining control of himself once again.
It wasn’t.
His cousin stared down at him with a look that said he was less than amused by the situation.
He wasn’t the only one.
Fur sprouted over Duncan’s hands and started up his arms. The runes on his skin reacted more, burning profusely. He felt his back muscles beginning to strain, indicating an unplanned shift. They were always unpleasant. When it wasn’t consensual, the act of changing forms hurt like hell. What should have been fluid and seamless felt as if he was being torn apart from the inside out.
Hissing, Duncan ended up on his knees, his arms out, the runes searing his flesh, his head back as he strained against whatever was happening to him. He knew he looked as if he was cursing the gods.
Desperate, he stared at Liam with wide eyes. “H-help me.”
“Aye.” Liam nodded. “Sorry, but you’ve left me no choice,” he said as his foot connected with Duncan’s chin.
The next thing Duncan knew, the asshole kicked him in the face so hard that Duncan flipped onto his back. Pain shot through his jaw, cheek, and neck. He ended up staring at the night sky, dazed from the blow. The strike was enough for his wolf to back down.
At least for now.
Slowly, Duncan got ahold of himself and rubbed his jaw gingerly, knowing full well it was fractured. He lay there a bit longer, feeling the bones mending.
“Och, you dinnae have to go to that extreme,” said Duncan, all the while knowing Liam actually did have to resort to that level of violence. The wolf would listen to nothing else. Its needs were basic. Primal.
It hunted.
Killed.
Ate.
Fucked.
Slept.
At no point did it sit around and talk about its feelings.
“Aye, I dinnae have to kick you so hard, but it was fun.” Liam stood over him, shaking his head, his lips forming a thin line as he did. “You should call Grandmother.”
“Why? So she can yell at me for having the control of a teenager over my beast all of the sudden? So she can scold me for even thinking to use dark magik runes? Runes that are nae worth a shite evidently?” he asked, sitting up slowly, looking down at his forearm. The skin there was raw, and he wondered if he’d be forever branded with the rune marks. “Thanks, but I’ll pass on calling Grandmother. Knowing her, she has already sensed something is off with me from afar. I’d nae be shocked if she called me.”
“Phone her, cousin,” Liam said sternly.
His brows met. “Why?”
“So you can find out if the lass in the bar is yer mate,” said Liam with all seriousness.
Duncan was so taken aback by his cousin’s words that he fell in his attempt to stand. No one looking at him would ever in a million years think he was a competent warrior. He looked more like a clown. “What? Mate? No. I cannae have a human mate. The lass is nae a supernatural. Are you mad?”
Liam folded his arms over his chest, looking bored with the line of conversation. “Kennard struggled with his wolf in much the same way when he met Maggie. Cillian and I had to drag him out of a coffee shop before he did something stupid, like lose control and shift in front of humans. Kind of like you almost just did.”
“Do nae be ridiculous,” Duncan shot back, pushing to his feet. He rotated his jaw; it was still sore, but it was nearly healed. A perk of being immortal. “She’s nae my chosen one.”
The words didn’t feel right coming off his tongue. He almost took them back but closed his mouth tight to keep that from occurring. Something was wrong with his wires. They weren’t just crossed. They were tied in a fucking knot.
“And you know this how?” asked Liam, his arms still crossed, a smug look settling over him.
Duncan was tempted to knock the expression from his cousin’s face.
“I just know.” There was no denying the fact he sounded like a child. But he was right. Catrina couldn’t be his chosen one. She was human. It didn’t work that way.
Ever.
Something was interfering with his receptors. Could it be that he’d drawn too much upon dark magik in the past weeks and this was the side effect?
If it was, would he find himself fighting the urge to lay claim to every woman who tickled his fancy? Not that any had really appealed to him in the last two decades…
Fuck.
Liam shrugged. “Fine then. If yer nae interested in the lass, I’m going to work my way between her and her jeans. Enjoy yerself out here, while you suffer from something you do nae want to admit is true. Tell me something though. When yer done denying who she may be to you, will you be able to get the image of me fucking her out of yer head?”
As his cousin turned to head into the bar, a rage the likes of which Duncan had never experienced before came over him. Yes, the men had always argued, kicked each other’s asses, and then been fine. It’s what the O’Caha boys did.
Duncan didn’t want to just fight with Liam. He wanted to kill him.
He charged Liam and tackled him, knocking him into the back of the bar before they both fell onto the gravel parking lot.
Duncan punched Liam in the face, and Liam returned the blow. The men were matched in both size and strength. It wasn’t their first time in a knock-down drag-out fight.
“If you even think of touching her, I’ll—”
Liam grinned up at him. “You’ll what? You said she’s nothing to you. That means she’s fair game. I’m horny. She’s a fine-looking lass. She’ll do nicely to fill my needs.”
Duncan’s mouth burned with a pending shift. Thoughts of biting his cousin’s throat out filled his head. He could end the man and never worry about him daring to touch what was his.
Catrina.
Mine.
Duncan froze.
Liam stared up at him with a shit-assed grin. He waggled his brows. “Dawn on you yet?”
“Fuck you.”
Liam laughed.
Chapter Ten
The back door of the bar opened, and Catrina appeared, holding a bag of trash in one hand. A curious expression came over her before she snickered, wiping it away quickly with the swipe of her tongue. “Sorry to interrupt your special time together.”
“Special time together?” Duncan stilled, realizing he was lying on top of his cousin, in a position that looked compromising to say the least. Worse yet, Liam’s tartan had come up in the tussle. And si
nce nothing was under the man’s kilt, Duncan was very close and personal with his cousin.
Liam laughed and offered a cocky smile. “At least buy me dinner first. I’m starving.”
“Yer a dick,” said Duncan, getting off his cousin. He jerked Liam’s tartan down to keep Catrina from seeing anything on the man she shouldn’t. His gaze flickered to her. “It’s nae what yer thinking, lass.”
“So the two of you weren’t having a special moment? Maybe finding a magik spot together?”
“Magik?” he questioned.
She grinned. “Yeah. You know, a special place the two of you go to for alone time.”
His eyes widened. “Och, no! No magik spot. Nae with him.”
“Hey, I’m sexy,” protested Liam. “Loads of folks would want a special magik spot with me.”
She looked at them, rolled her eyes, mumbling something about men being idiots, before she had the nerve to step over Liam as she went in the direction of the large waste bin.
The next thing Duncan knew, he was running to her and taking the bag of trash. It was far heavier than he’d been expecting. Yet she’d lifted it with one hand, showing no signs of straining. Right now, she looked anything but impressed by his assistance.
“You shouldnae be doing this. ’Tis a man’s duty,” he said.
“Sorry. Missed that section of the rule book. Silly me. I thought being self-sufficient was a good thing,” she supplied, the slightest hint of a smile indicating she was teasing him.
He nodded down at her as he lifted the lid of the waste receptacle and tossed the bag in. “May be time to brush up on the rule book.”
Catrina grinned and withdrew a small bottle of clear liquid. She squirted some on her hands, and then held the bottle out for him. It was then he realized it was hand sanitizer.
He took some and handed it back to her, the strong scent of alcohol making his wolf recoil.
“Willing to help me brush up on the rule book?” she asked, a suggestive note to her voice. “Study session. If you’re not too busy having special moments with Liam.”
Hell yes, he wanted alone time with her. “Aye.”
Her smile widened. “I don’t know. Can you find room in your busy schedule? Rolling around with your cousin looks like it takes up a chunk of your evening.”
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