Dorian fashioned a pen to keep him in as others from his pack went into Kilmorny to find out what the laboratory had been testing. Turned out the young scientists there were trying to find a cure for rabies. The injections they’d given the dog had altered the strain enough to now make werewolves susceptible.
Grady escaped his pen and now Dorian had to find him. But even worse, he had to take him down without getting close. They had no way of knowing if Grady could transfer the disease with his bite. Dorian would have to kill him and the mutated strain with him.
As he marched through the woods looking for signs of Grady his thoughts went back to Jesenia. It had been a long time since he was attracted to a human female. Her curves had felt nice in his hands as he’d carried her. She had high cheekbones and a small nose. Dark eyebrows arched over beautiful brown eyes. She was definitely American, and judging by her speech and accent, he’d venture to guess she lived somewhere in the Southern states. Somewhere the sun shined a lot if her smooth, tanned skin was any testament.
His eyes acclimated to the low light of the moon filtering through the trees. In the distance crickets chirped and an owl gave out a low-pitched call. Under his booted feet dried leaves crumbled. Something told him Grady had made his appearance for the night and would not show again.
He’d wanted to run out into the darkness the second Jesenia had flown into his arms, but he couldn’t risk it. Old man O’Kane wouldn’t have thought anything of it. His daughter long ago fell in love with a wolf and forged her life force with his. The old gardener knew about Dorian’s kind and could be trusted to keep a secret.
Dorian had been proud of his cousin and O’Kane when they laughed off Jesenia’s claim so easily. They both knew what danger Grady presented and hearing that he attacked a human wasn’t good news.
Especially a human as beautiful as she. He ground his teeth. He couldn’t think of her in that way. Following any attraction to her would be stupid. He had a mission to tend to, and as alpha of his pack he owed it to them to stay focused.
Brushing away thoughts of the alluring female, he set to searching the woods.
Chapter Two
Jesenia tucked the Book of Ardal in the crook of her arm and made her way back to her room. She’d been on the internet most of the night and was happy to find there was evidence of a wolf population in Ireland. Well, at least there was at one time. She was convinced that more research would lead her to answers.
She’d found mention of the Book of Ardal on the internet and to her surprise, the castle had an old library that actually had a copy of the very ancient book. Maybe she would find the exact information she was looking for within it.
As she waited for the lift to open she looked around the lobby. A woman, smiling wide, approached her. Red hair dusted with gray had been artfully arranged in an updo on her head.
“I see you’ve made use of our library.”
Jesenia looked down at the book in her arm and then back to the woman. “Yes. I hope you don’t mind, but the gentleman in the library told me I was free to take it to my room. I know it’s old, but I’ll make sure not to let anything happen to it.”
“I’m sure you will, my dear. I’m Áine Byrne, owner of Castle Tullamore. And you’re welcome to any reading materials as long as they find their way back to the library.”
So this was the Áine Dorian had mentioned. “Thank you, Ms. Byrne. I promise to return it soon.”
“The Book of Ardal. My, I didn’t know we had a copy. Are you sure you want to be reading it?”
Jesenia blinked, a little confused. “Is there a reason that I shouldn’t?”
“It contains some stories of an evil nature. You Americans might call them urban legends.”
Interesting. “I was directed to it by the internet when I was looking for information regarding wolves in Ireland.”
Áine laughed. “Lass, there hasna been any wolves in Ireland since somewhere around the eighteenth century.”
“What if I told you I saw one last night?”
Áine’s brow furrowed. “I would say that is strange indeed. But you must have been mistaken.”
Great! Even the old woman thinks I’m nuts. Jesenia didn’t have time to stand here and argue. She had to build her case first and her answers might very well lie in the book in her arms. The doors to the lift dinged and slid open. “Perhaps I was mistaken. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Byrne.” She stepped inside the compartment and sighed when the doors closed.
Surely if there was once a wolf presence in Ireland then there could be one now. Just because people didn’t see them didn’t mean they didn’t exist. A smile pulled at her lips. If she could prove that, then maybe she could help do something to get them protected. Yeah, one had tried to eat her last night, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t help it out. It was wild and didn’t know any better.