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“Winter Campbell.”
“She calls herself MacKinnon.”
“Then she has lied. We were formally bonded.”
Jax chuckled. “I’m not sure that’s the best defense you have. According to Winter, she was forced into a pair bond by her father against her will. She works for Colby Reynolds up at Windsong. I very much doubt he will be willing to surrender her to you.”
“Then he and I shall have a problem.”
The sheriff stepped back, shaking his head. “Yeah. I was afraid you were going to say that.”
Turning on his heel, the sheriff went back into the main office, closing and locking the door that separated it from the cell block. Could four cells be considered a block? It didn’t matter. Sean pulled back the down comforter and slipped into the surprisingly comfortable bed.
It would seem that the task of separating Winter from the man she now called alpha might be more difficult than he had first imagined, but nevertheless, Sean vowed he would retake his reluctant bride and return with her triumphantly to Castle Curaidh.
CHAPTER7
WINTER
Winter had hoped that spending the rest of the night in her own bed would have restored both her physical and emotional equilibrium, but those hopes were shattered as she woke missing Sean in a more profound way than ever before. She dragged herself out of bed and into her attached bath. Being beta came with certain perks, one of which was not having to share a bath with anyone. She turned on the shower and stepped in, allowing the hot, steaming water to cascade down over her from the rainfall showerhead.
Once she was showered and dressed, she trotted down the steps of Windsong’s main staircase and headed into the dining room, where she was greeted by those she now considered her clan. They were mostly lynxes, but she wasn’t the only refugee Colby had taken in. What never ceased to amaze her was that all of them, lynx or not, were accepted and treated no differently than Colby’s own kind.
She laughed as she made her way through the breakfast buffet set at one end of the dining room. Every once in a while, the kitchen staff made some kind of joke imposter dish—one that was supposed to resemble some kind of weird, usually awful, dish from the person’s homeland. Colby’s clowder was unique in that there a number of individuals who weren’t Canadian lynxes and yet all lived here as a closely connected family. This morning they’d made an imposter haggis—a Scottish dish consisting of a sheep's or calf'soffalmixed withsuet,oatmeal, andseasoningandboiledin a bag, traditionally one made from the animal's stomach. It was, in Winter’s opinion, completely disgusting.
However, the staff at Windsong made the most amazing riff with a kind of breakfast casserole consisting of sausage, eggs, cheese, and shredded hash browns, baked and then left overnight before being wrapped in puff pastry and baked until the pastry was golden brown, with the ‘stuffing’ heated through. In Winter’s—and everyone else’s—opinion, it was delicious.
She gave herself a sizeable helping and added thick-cut bacon and a couple of biscuits to her plate.
I’ll eat healthy for lunch. I need some comfort food.She was surprised to see Noel. The pretty reindeer shifter didn’t normally leave the mainland unless she had news for Colby or Winter.
Noel waved. “Winter! I was hoping to see you. Can you join me?”
“Always,” Winter answered with a smile as she joined her. “What brings you to Windsong?”
“You know how Colby always talks about the way his, or rather your spy network often intermingles with that of my friends?”
Winter chuckled. “You don’t have to use euphemisms at Windsong. Several of us were brought here by the Shadow Sisters. The group is well-respected and well-liked and has spent more than one night under Colby’s roof.”
Noel shook her head. “It always amazes me how Colby keeps who he really is and what he really does secret from those who are not at Windsong… except for those of us who work in the shadows.”
“We have a common enemy—the Shadow League. There will come a day, in the not-too-distant future, when everyone will know, and all the unkind things people have said about Colby will come home to roost.”
“How does he do it? I mean I feel guilty that those in my herd don’t know and at least they don’t think badly of me. But people call him a gangster at best and a monster at worst.”
“That reputation provides a lot of safety and camouflage for what he’s really up to. And for the most part—with a few notable exceptions, those he cares about do know the truth.”
“We’ve heard that the alpha of the Curaidh Snow Leopards is headed for Mystic River. He’s been able to trace you here.”
Winter nodded. “I am aware. Any idea how he got that information or if he has an agenda other than tracking me down?”
“There are rumors he might be supporting the Shadow League.”
Winter shook her head. “No way. I might detest the bastard, but he’s as honorable as they come. There is no chance that Sean Campbell would support the League. None.”
“That’s good to hear. Those at Curaidh responded in the same manner. Their belief is that the only agenda he has is to drag you back with him.”
“That’s not happening. If I’m all he’s come for, he should be out of Mystic River before he can make too much of a nuisance out of himself.”
