Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“So, if the wolf in me has your heart, then that means the human part of me will soon have your heart as well. You and I will work well together.”
“So confident,” she said.
“I always get what I want, and I want you, Olivia.”
He sounded as if it was already done. That she would accept the position he offered and remain there with him. Part of her thought seriously about it since it was a position of a lifetime, while the sensible part of her warned herself to slow down and learn more, before she committed herself to a situation that could prove more a nightmare than a dream come true.
“I’m just as stubborn, Tiernan, in getting what I want,” she cautioned.
“That’s good, for soon you are going to realize that you want me.”
She almost laughed at the absurdity of the strange situation. “I must say, so far this visit has proven interesting.”
“The interesting part has yet to begin, Olivia.” He stood and grabbed his plate and hers and took them to the sink. “How about a tour of the castle?” He turned. “At least part of it since it is rather large.”
Olivia contemplated the alternative to his offer, spend the day in the library reading about werewolves or go on a tour of the castle with one. How crazy did that sound?
A thought struck her, and she said, “I’d love to see the claw marks on the wood floor that a werewolf supposedly made.”
“That was in the oldest section of the castle. It deteriorated through the years, and I had to have part of it taken down. But I couldn’t bear to see a piece of my clan’s history destroyed so I kept that piece of wood floor and the door that led to the laird’s bedchamber.” He walked over to her and took hold of her hand. “I wouldn’t want you to get lost.”
“Even if I did get lost, you would find me,” —she grinned— “by scent.”
He brought his head down and faintly brushed his cheek across hers as he said, “You’re right. Your scent is strong, familiar. I could find you anywhere, and I would.”
Damn, if his faint touch and remark didn’t excite her. Tender yet powerful. A dangerous combination that could capture the heart. If she wasn’t sensible, she was going to get herself in trouble.
She was surprised when he made his way back to her room, though walked past it to the end of the hall and stopped in front of the double doors and released her hand to throw a wall switch, then he opened both doors. She didn’t expect to see a small room, lit softly, and another set of double doors. He threw another wall switch and swung both doors open.
Olivia stood stunned. She had thought she had stepped back in time at the train station, but what greeted her made her feel as though she had been catapulted back hundreds of years. It took her a moment to realize that while she thought she was in the original part of the castle it was more a modern-day replica of it. The flickering torches in the wall sconces were electric, though the stone walls truly were stone and the wood door only a few steps away, various symbols crudely carved into it, had to be original to the castle.
“When it comes to my lair, I favor the old with a mixture of modern amenities,” Tiernan said.
Olivia stood speechless for a moment, not sure what to make of what she was seeing. Her curiosity helped her regain her voice, and to confirm what she assumed, she asked, “The door is original to the castle?”
“Aye, an ancestor had it made, and the symbols carved into it for protection. They’re rune symbols.”
“Viking.”
He nodded. “Aye, my ancestors’ origin.”
She turned a puzzled look at him. “But they didn’t protect the laird who killed the female wolf if I recall the tale correctly.”
“The rune protection is meant for wolves, and as I mentioned the laird at the time was not an ancestor of mine.”
“Meaning he wasn’t a werewolf,” she said.
“Aye, he laid false claim to Clan MacMadadh, and it was being disputed. He was soon to be sent on his way, one way or the other when he killed the female wolf. Her mate killed him and left his mark for all to see.” He pointed to the floor.
Olivia glanced down. “The wolf who made them had to have been enraged to leave such deep marks. He must have loved his mate very much.”
“Aye, he was young, and they had just mated. He howled for nights afterward in pain and anger, and it frightened the few people who had arrived with the false laird so badly that they left, leaving the clan to the werewolves.”
“You speak about it as if you were there. According to lore, werewolves can live exceptionally long lives. My research shows this took place in the thirteenth century and that would make you—”