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"I'm so sorry, Ronan"

Plainly uncomfortable, he nodded toward MacRieve "The tere orphaned too They lost their folks at thirteen"

Oh, God, that must've been awful "How did their parents die?"

"Their mother was killed by a vampire" No wonder MacRieve hated vampires so much "Their da followed"

"Followed?"

"Most Lykae males will no' live on without their mates Let's put it to you this way: only our houl attack Our da offed himself directly"

For a place full of immortality, the Lore seemed to be rife with loss

What if Chloe was never triggered? Would MacRieve end hireed to his week, but now she vacillated This situation was intense "If this place is for those who don't fit in, then why are the twins here?" They were gorgeous and powerful "Shouldn't they be in Nova Scotia?"

"They're drifting, hankering for a war Legendary warriors, both of theh all the nymphs up there Came south for new tri about that species They were preternaturally stunning, with a driving need to give and receive sexual pleasure

She saw red at the thought of MacRieve having sex with one of those creatures-no, not one Evidently he'd gone through an entire Canuck population of theazed over at hi at so Munro had said

No more nyht arose, her breath left her In the past, whenever she'd made a snap determination-that's my sport, my school, my team-she'd never wavered

Was MacRieve hers as well? No, no, the intensity of the situation was getting to her That was all She downed her beer,a burp

Another bottle slid in front of her She glanced at Ronan, who gave her an innocent look "So you're really going to play in the Oly to everyone that she was an Oly her a little inside "I was chosen to represent the US," she said, and took another chug of beer Maybe with MacRieve's help, it would still be doable

Could she reveal her transition to him? After the day she'd had, she was so teht, she decided She'd reveal everything she knew-

A chorus of yells on the field interrupted her thoughts "Why aren't you playing?" she asked Ronan Though she relished watching MacRieve, on the whole, spectating with no chance of playing blew goats She felt like she'd been benched, riding the pine like second string

"Canna play with adults They'd steaenerate"

"How does that work?"

"When I reach the age where I'row older Usually happens in our thirties"

"When did MacRieve do his freeze?"

"Nine centuries ago"

She choked on her beer "Nine hundred years" How could a freaking crypt keeper look that hot?

"Roughly" His gazed darted "Head Case dinna tell you? He'll whip my arse for this"

"I won't tell him Well, not if you tell me why you call him Head Case"

He picked at the label on his beer "Uh, he was no' doing so well after he got back from the prison"

"What happened to hi, "The Order tortured hi"

She gazed up to see MacRieve running the field, happily tackling another player That proud male had been tortured by her father's henchmen And somehow, somehow, he didn't hate her Another deep draw of beer

MacRieve caught her gaze just then, gave her a sexy lift of his chin, as if just checking on her She raised her bottle toward hirinned

As soon as he turned away, she told Ronan, "Spill Everything you know"

"Shite, Chloe, I canna"

"Start talking or I do To MacRieve"

Churlish, Ronan said, "They vivisected hians while he was forced to watch"

Nausea roiled No wonder MacRieve couldn't talk about it He'd been tortured in uniinable ways "When did they capture hi, "Does that sound right?"

"Aye, that's it exactly I recall because it was the night I irlfriend"

Chloe had heard MacRieve captured She'd seen her father's s violently protective of MacRieve, she squeezed her bottle How could her dad have signed off on this?

"The Order abducts Loreans er too Kids everywhere are scared No' ain "There are others who have nightey hatred toward ihter? Conflict churned inside her On the one hand, she re soccer balls for her On the other, she recalled his reaction to her that last night

When he'd told her he loved her no matter what she was, he hadn't been able to meet her eyes

Yet he'd memorized her face The roulette wheel spins and spins

Chapter Twenty

Look at you, brother!" Munro slapped Will on the back during a break "Cracking a ses This is just what you need"

"Well, it does no' suck" Today had been the best day of Will's life And Chloe didn't even know it His Instinct had been strong, his beast had behaved, and the clan had welcomed her with open arms

At the cooler, fifths of whiskey chilled for all the players: Lykae-ade But Will took a beer instead He planned a repeat of his earlier encounter with Chloe and needed to stay sharp

Keeping her in sight, he and Munro s in you that I've no' seen in memory," Munro said

"Like what?"

"You're laughing," Munro answered "You joked earlier"

"You say that like it's extraordinary"

"It is" Expression turning serious, Munro said, "When ere young, you were so fun-loving and jovial, always playing pranks and teasing Then overnight, you seerow up, into a sullen-eyed, closed-lipped lad That's when I knew so"

Because Ruelle had cut Will's boyhood short He remembered little of what it was like to be a child He knew heRuelle, but couldn't recall an instance

Strange, he could remee How she had repeatedly pinned hi his alpha tendencies while forcing him to release his beast