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Chapter Six
Blake
I hate that Tamsin can still affect me like this. Hate it with a burning, feverish fire that runs through my veins. In the very marrow of my bones.
Why, after all these years, do I still care for her?
She’s not the same girl I once loved. It’s like a mannequin of the wild, passionate witch that grew up with me. Something is missing inside of her, a vibrancy that once was there. She’s been successful, saved a lot of people, achieved her dream career. But she just seems off.
I need to admit that the woman I’ve yearned for is gone.
People change. It’s not a difficult concept. But my mind shows images of her on repeat. Especially of our one night together, the night we’d joined, both body and soul.
It was right after my clan initiation. I’d spent a week up in the hills, in a desolate stretch of the Highlands, searching for my spirit wolf. After it had joined with me, and I’d shifted into my wolf form for the first time, I’d raced down out of the hills to find Tamsin. I still remember the look on her face when my wolf charged up to her.
After I’d shifted back, Tamsin led me to a grove of trees near an old, abandoned church. She’d stripped off my clothes, and then her own, and we made love for the first time beneath boughs of white apple blossoms. I remember her pale limbs wrapping around mine. Her white-gold hair and dove-colored eyes. The sounds that she made and the way her body trembled as she climaxed. Tamsin lying across my chest after, the smell of sex and crushed grass hanging in the air.
Just the memory of it has me hardening like a claymore. Usually someone’s first time is awkward, especially when both parties are virgins. But it had been as natural as breathing. A perfect moment in time.
And I still want her, goddamn it.
I can bring the old Tamsin back. I was barely a man back then. I’ve learned more than a few tricks since. And if I have to get Tamsin naked and fuck some sense into her, I’ll do it. I’ll remind her what we had. That it’s worth fighting for.
Of course, it complicates things that she’s drawn the attention of the Night Guild. Deep down, I’d really hoped I was wrong. That she’d deny my accusation and it was merely some wild coincidence. Now she’s in danger of the worst kind. I still don’t have the full story from her, but I know this: if any motherfucker comes around here looking to harm her, they are going to sincerely regret it. I won’t let anyone hurt her. Especially not when I have a second chance to make things right.
So far, I’ve kept things quiet about Tamsin and the Night Guild, only telling Colin, Daniel, and Aengus the full story. But if push comes to shove, I’ll have to loop in the other clan covens as well. There are a half dozen in this part of the Highlands. In addition to my clan and Tamsin’s, the Blackstocks and the MacPhersons, there’s also Clan Cameron, Clan MacDonald, Clan Chattan, and Clan Stewart nearby.
The witch and warlock covens form almost their own sub-clans within the broader clan names, and don’t mix much with the non-supernatural folk. Each has their own signature magic spell. For the Blackstocks it’s our wolf-shifting abilities. For Tamsin’s clan it’s the ghost spear, a magical weapon that’s extremely handy in a fight. Clan Cameron is known for summoning the dead, while the other three specialize in different elements or natural objects from wind to water to stone.
I certainly hope things don’t come to a battle, but the Highlands covens are formidable foes. If the Night Guild won’t leave things alone, they’ll come to find that out soon enough.
Before long, my house looms ahead. I walk inside and the dogs greet me happily, smelling Thistle on my hands. With a sigh, I sit down by the massive fireplace and set it ablaze with a wash of magic. I let the heat from the fire melt my frozen bones, and I mull over next steps.
I should be hearing back from my contacts in the supernatural community soon. We have our perimeter patrol up already. Now it’s just a waiting game to see what gets stirred up first. My inner wolf claws at my insides impatiently. Waiting has never been my strong suit. But once I get enough information, I’m not just going to sit here in my desolate stretch of land and see if the Night Guild comes knocking.
No, I’m going on the offensive. I’m going to take the fight to them.
