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  After talking to Seamus, she wanted a little time to mull over their conversation. Out here in the wilderness, she felt safe, and so much at home. She just wanted to spend some time without her father breathing down her neck.

  “Meg, you know I don’t like you out on your own.”

  “Dad, I’m twenty-four years old, for God’s sake. I think I can take care of myself. Besides, Uncle Donovan knew where I was, and obviously, so did you.” Her father appeared so taken aback by her reply that guilt flooded through her. “I’m sorry Dad. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just sometimes I need a little space.”

  “No, Meg, I should be the one apologizing. It’s difficult to forget I almost lost you once.”

  “I know, Dad, but I feel secure here. Somehow, I feel connected to this place. I can’t seem to explain it. But, I just think that here in the open is where I belong. It’s almost as if the area’s calling to me. That sounds kind of weird, doesn’t it?”

  “To a stranger it might, but your mother said that all the time. So I guess I’ll have to get used to it again. She would come out to this exact spot, sit here for hours and gaze off at nothing. I never understood it. So weird, no, I guess it’s just the ‘call of the wild’ as your mom used to put it.”

  Megan’s father amazed her by talking about her mother so easily. Usually when her name was mentioned, his face took on a devastated look. This time the memories seemed to comfort him instead. Megan climbed down from the ledge. “Come on Dad. Let’s go to the cabin.”

  From across the lake, Seamus watched Megan. He could tell she was quite perplexed upon realizing he had departed. The man he had sensed came up to her looking irritated. He listened to their conversation, something he rarely did; the circumstances, he decided, warranted this breach in protocol.

  He still had not figured out why he felt so protective and possessive of her. She was a gorgeous woman, there was no denying that, but that did not account for his overwhelming jealousy earlier when the red-haired man kissed her. Who was he anyway? There was something familiar about him, but Seamus couldn’t quite place him without a better look. When they came out of the woods, he had his arm around her. It took a lot of control not to go over and rip her out of his hold. Then he kissed her and Seamus’s vision went red.

  Of course, there was that tiny fact that when Megan had touched him he felt as though the whole world came to a halt. He guessed it would be better to worry about that later. He had other things to deal with. This man, he now knew to be her father, was definitely not Tuatha. Maybe that answered why she knew nothing of her heritage. Why had the red-haired man not educated her? Well, someone needed to teach her the way of her people before she found out the hard way on her birthday. He could find no doubt in his mind that she would come into power on that day.

  He needed to figure out how to prepare her since she obviously had no one else. Why had her mother not told her some of those things back when she was younger? More importantly, why is it she seemed not to have any of her adolescent powers? Perhaps she had no powers because only her mother was Tuatha. No, that was not possible; he could feel the power emanating from her even from here. Could the drugs they used during her captivity have caused her to lose her abilities? He had lost his for a time, so why not her? He had so many questions and very few answers.

  He watched as Megan climbed down from the ledge and headed back toward her cabin. He turned and started into the woods, his walk stretching to a lope as he gave in to the need to run off his excess energy.

  Chapter Three

  Upon returning to the cabin, Megan sought out her uncle. She found him in the den absorbed in something on the computer. He didn’t seem to notice her at first, so she studied him. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to a trim waist, and long auburn hair, pulled back in a thong that emphasized his thin face, which was dominated by his misty, gray-blue eyes. She knew he stood about six-foot two and carried the same grace she noticed Seamus had when he walked, no…prowled. Yeah, that’s what Seamus and all her uncles did. They didn’t walk; they stalked around. It must be an Irish thing.

  As if he felt her staring at him, he turned and gave her one of his lopsided smiles. “Did you enjoy yourself up on Spy Ledge?”

  “Spy Ledge?”

  “That is what your Mum and I used to call it. Because we could lay up there and no one could see us, but we could spy on them.”

  Megan laughed at that. Somehow, she could almost see them as young children spying on others from the ledge. Knowing that also made her feel closer to her mom. “How often did you and Mom come here?”

  “We used to come here quite often, at least once a year. Ah, too many years to count. This was a very special place for us. I still come here myself quite a bit.”

  Her youthful-looking uncle seemed willing to share his feelings about her mother and Megan yearned to learn more, so she prodded him with a question. “What made it such a special place for Mom?”

  “Your mum always liked open spaces. She always felt more at home in the wilderness. She could run free here whenever she felt like it. It was here she spent most of her birthdays.”

  That reminded Megan of her conversation with Seamus. “Is there something special about my twenty-fifth birthday?”

  If she had not been watching her uncle so closely when she asked the question, Megan might have missed Donovan stiffen just for a split second.

  He stood and walked over to her, placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “Now Little Bit, every one of your birthdays is special to me and you know that. This one you will be turning a quarter of a century old, so yes, it is very important.”

  She looked deep into his steely-blue eyes, trying to discern his sincerity.

  “Little Bit, you look as if you do not believe me, what happened when you were out on the ledge?”

  “Two things, actually.”

  Donovan’s body seemed to turn to stone as he studied her. He seemed to be holding his breath waiting for her reply. Why had he become so anxious? Megan walked over to the overstuffed leather chair and collapsed into it.

  “I dreamt I was an eagle. When I opened my eyes, it seemed as if I was looking down through the eagle’s eyes. It startled me so much that I jumped up and stumbled off the ledge. A strange man caught me. It was weird, almost as if he materialized out of nowhere. Thank God he did, or I would have broken my neck or at least a few bones.”

  The small smile that had come over Donovan’s face turned into a frown. “You say he just materialized there in time to save you? Who was he? What was he doing out there? Are you are all right? He did not try to hurt you, did he?”

  Megan gave a quick laugh. Of course, he would think more of the fact that a stranger was out in the woods with her instead of that she was seeing things through the eyes of an eagle.

  “He said he was climbing to the ledge when I jumped up and fell. No, he didn’t hurt me, but he insisted I was a ‘tuath something’.” Shaking her head she continued, “I can’t remember what he called it. He said I would ‘come into my power’ this birthday, or some such thing. And when I told him he was mistaken, he said he could already feel the power in me.”

  Donovan’s expression intensified. He closed his eyes and cocked his head to the side as though listening to something or someone.

  “What did he look like? Did he give you his name?” Donovan’s words were clipped. Tense.

  The way her uncle was acting had her nerves jittering.

  “He was about two or three inches taller than you. With raven black hair, pulled back and tied with a thong. His eyes were the deepest jade-green, I’ve ever seen.” She sighed. “He was quite strong; he didn’t even flinch when he caught me. He didn’t even get winded when he carried me back up to the ledge.” Pausing to think for a moment, she then finished. “Oh, he said his name was Seamus O’Kelly.”

  “By the gods, is it possible? Can he be alive after all these years?” He gripped her arms. “I want yo
u to stay inside with your father. Sean and Patrick will arrive shortly.”

  Her heart slammed into her chest like a base drum. “Wait a minute. What’s going on? Who is this guy? And Sean and Patrick aren’t supposed to be here until next week.”

  Donovan’s laugh held no mirth. “You are quite perceptive, Little Bit. Seamus is a very important person, and our families are very close. He went missing about three weeks before you and your mother. I will explain all of this to you when I get back. Now as for Sean and Patrick, I have summoned them and they will be here momentarily. So please, do as I ask, and do not leave this cabin.”

  Donovan turned to go, but Megan stopped him when she said, “He knew I was kidnapped!”

  He spun around, “Are you sure?”

  “He asked me who my guardian was and why he hadn’t prepared me for my empower... something or other. He also wanted to know what had happened to me since the time I was kidnapped. Please, Uncle Donovan, tell me what’s going on.”

  He did not get a chance. The door burst open and in charged her father along with her uncles, Sean and Patrick.

  “What the hell is going on, Donovan? Why are Sean and Patrick here?” Her father’s worried countenance made Megan’s heart race. What was going on?

  “I have no time to explain anything right now, Jim.” Donovan turned his head toward Sean. “Sean, stay with Megan and Jim and try to answer some of her questions until Patrick and I get back.”

  Then he turned to Megan. “Little Bit, I promise I will sit down with you when I return and tell you everything I can. For now stay close to Sean and your Da.”

  With that, he turned to Patrick and the two of them sprinted out the door.

  Seamus careened out of the woods toward his cabin, coming to an abrupt halt as he heard, “Oh, to hell with you, how can you just sit there? We need to find the bastard and get some answers.”

  He pulled his lips back to growl as the second man sucked in a breath and said, “Paddy, do not move a muscle.”

  The first man started to turn as Seamus’s growl rumbled from his throat, giving him great satisfaction as the man froze.

  He started to dematerialize as the second man said “Seamus, wait!”

  Seamus shimmered back, only this time as a man. Staring at the two men in front of him he kept his features neutral as he glared at them. Every muscle coiled ready to attack. It took a few seconds before he recognized them. Still, he did not ease his stance. “Dono? Paddy?”

  “Seamus, where have you been all of these years? We thought you were dead.”

  “Thought or hoped?” Seamus let his stance grow more threatening.

  Seamus watched as Donovan recoiled. They might have been friends for hundreds of years, but Seamus still didn’t know if he could trust him.

  “Dammit to hell, man! What are you talking about? Why would I wish you dead?”

  “Because someone has been feeding information about our people to some deplorable group so they have the ability to capture us, and I have no clue who it is.”

  Seamus watched as Donovan’s mouth dropped open and looked as if someone sucker punched him.

  Donovan stuttered and finally said, “And you think, I would do such a thing.”

  “Someone had to have known me pretty well to know where I was that day.”

  “Bloody hell, I have been your friend, no…closer to a brother, for three hundred years and you think I would turn you over to a bunch of butchers.”

  Guilt washed over Seamus as he thought about the friendship he had with Donovan. They had been inseparable for most of their lives. His month in the bowels of hell and not knowing how this group was getting their information taught him to trust no one. But the memories of his earlier life washed over him like a balm. Then Donovan’s next question brought his hackles back up.

  “Seamus, was it you who saved Megan after she was kidnapped?”

  His face hardened as he bared his teeth and growled, “What do you know about her?”

  “She is my niece.”

  It hit him then—Donovan was the man he saw earlier with Megan.

  “What! Whose daughter? Gods, do not tell me it was Bernadette.”

  “Aye, it devastates me to say it was.”

  Seamus fell to his knees and roared. “By the gods! I never saw her. The lass had been crying for her for days. Once I got Megan out, I went back. I just was not fast enough. I tried! Gods, I am so sorry.”

  Even from where he was standing, Donavan must have felt Seamus’s anguish, because he said, “Seamus, we are not blaming you. We just want help filling in some of the details.”

  After a few moments Seamus pulled himself together enough to say, “Then shall we go inside, and I will tell you what I can.”

  It did not take long for Seamus to unward the cabin. The three of them went into the great room. Thoughts of that horrible night still playing in his head and now knowing Bernadette was the one he heard screaming, “Please don’t hurt my baby,” just about brought him to his knees again. To distract himself, Seamus walked into the kitchen and got them each a drink, instead of just producing some. Once back, he handed them each a bottle of Guinness and they sat.

  It didn’t take long for the lump of lead in his stomach to become a boulder when Donovan started asking questions.

  “Tell me how they managed to keep you, Seamus. I figured they used Megan to keep Bern there.”

  Seamus took a deep breath as he shook his head. “They did not have to use the lass. They administered some type of drug to keep us in whatever form they caught us. When they captured me, I was running as my wolf. I cannot figure out how they knew it was me. I was with a pack, and none of the others went down. The only explanation I can find is one of our kind betrayed me. I can trust no one.”

  Seamus drank long and deep before continuing. “They started torturing me from day one…”

  He watched as Donovan stalked over to the window. He knew even the scenery couldn’t calm Donovan as he recanted more of his time in captivity. He could feel Patrick’s restlessness as well. When Seamus told them of Bernadette and Megan’s imprisonment, the air in the cabin pulsated with anger that threatened to blow it apart.

  “They also implanted some type of tracking device in me. Over the years they have been able to keep coming after me. I have not found the device yet, so I cannot risk going back near our people. I saw many lost to those butchers in the blast. I am not willing to jeopardize any of my family. I am almost certain I killed most everyone connected with this group since I escaped. But until I know for sure and find out how they track me, I have to stay away from our people.”

  “Why have you not at least contacted your family?”

  A shudder ran though him. “That seems to be the one power I have not gained back. Even after all this time, I cannot communicate with any of the family telepathically. I have tried so many times over the years, but to no avail.”

  Seamus got up and started to prowl around the room. When he faced Donovan again he said, “Now it is your turn. Tell me what happened after Megan’s return?”

  Donovan explained. “When the Garda called Jim, we both went to the warehouse. The fire had not touched the room Bern was in so we could not figure out why she died. Granted they butchered her body, but she should have healed. That is one of the many mysteries we have not been able to solve. With all the trampling the Garda did at the scene and the fire itself, I could not find even the slightest trace of Megan. Two days later we found her in the woods close to the house. Now I assume that was as close as you would dare come in wolf form.”

  Seamus stopped his pacing long enough to say, “When we got there, her dog came running out barking and snarling at me. It wanted to fight me for her. I thought it best not to let the lass witness any more bloodshed so I backed off. She was barely alert, but I did tell the dog to get her Da. That was when I took off.”

  He hated reliving all of this again, but he knew Donovan needed to know the truth.

  Donova
n continued, “By the time Bandit brought Jim to her, she was unconscious. He rushed her to the hospital where she remained in a coma for five years. When she finally came to, she had no memory of her life before that day. She also had none of her childhood abilities.”

  “Has she gotten any of her memories back?”

  “She had a dream last night. I think, as her time gets closer, more will come. Since you told her about our people today, she will be having a tremendous rash of questions now. It could even facilitate her remembering.”

  “Why have you not told her already? She needs to be prepared for her empowerment.”

  “At first her father was afraid it would cause her damage to push her into remembering. He begged us not to say anything. As time went on, he still refused to allow it. Now he will have no choice.”

  “She does not have much time. This should have been done years ago.”

  “I know, but Jim is her father. I feared he would take her away where I would not be able to find her. Since the kidnapping, she has not been able to communicate in the way of our people.”

  “She may never be able to, due to whatever drug those bastards used on us.”

  “Seamus, I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose my ability to communicate telepathically. I would never have survived without it. I will tell you this, from here on out, we are going to be helping you. I am sure we will have a fair amount of others willing to help as well.”

  “Dono, I thank you, but I also must caution you that these people are dangerous. I do not want to endanger any more of our people. We lost dozens in those weeks. Even though I have tracked down most of those bastards and destroyed any records I could find, I cannot be sure there were not some that never came to that facility so I never caught their scent. Then there is also the fact that we have a traitor among our people. I am not sure it is a good idea to let too many of our people even know I am around until we can discern who this person is.”