Her Kilted Wolf by Tabitha Conall Page A

Lachlan held the Alpha position by right of birth, but the British felt they should be in charge.
    “We’re not so far gone we need peace talks,” Lachlan said with a laugh.
    “Good to hear,” Darius said. “We don’t want war breaking out while we’re here.”
    “Nor do we.” Lachlan motioned toward the room. “Let me introduce you to some of the other attendees.”
    Darius nodded to Mattie then moved away from her with Lachlan. Mattie turned to the other North American wolves. “Don’t wander far; keep an eye on Darius and on the situation. And don’t drink too much.”
    Her wolves dispersed, leaving her to wander through the crowd on her own. She’d never been much of a mingler. Situations like this were uncomfortable at best. So she sipped some water and watched her Alpha.
    A while later, having successfully avoided being accosted by several males of different species–women were few at the talks, and she was one of the least scary-looking ones, which was saying something—she headed out to hunt down a bathroom. The directions she’d been given sent her down a long hallway and into a large room. The bathroom sat on the other end.
    As she left the bathroom a little later, she came out the wrong door. She walked through half of the large room before she realized it wasn’t the way she’d come in. She had just turned to go back when a scent came to her. Silky and heady, it smelled like nothing ever had before. Her body tightened as she opened her mouth to suck in more of the scent. She knew exactly what it was.
    Her mate.
    ***
    Colin nuzzled the throat of a buxom blonde who’d come up from the village to help with all of the guests. As she’d protested many times, she should be working, but he couldn’t let her go without at least attempting to get into her pants.
    His fingers fiddled with the button of her slacks. Without a word, she slapped his hand away.
    “Ye’re killing me.” His words were muffled by her skin. He placed open-mouthed kisses down her throat toward her delicious breasts.
    “We can do this later,” she said. “I have work.”
    “It’s no matter.” He rubbed her thigh.
    A faint scent drifted out of the room next to them, slipping into the little alcove he’d chosen for their tryst. The smell wrapped around him and stopped everything. There was something so familiar about it and yet he knew he’d never smelled it before.
    The blonde pushed off his lap. “Find me later.”
    He finally placed the scent. His mate. His mate. He pushed the blonde toward the end of the hall away from the room. “Quietly, now. Someone’s coming.”
    Her eyes grew wide and she tiptoed away.
    He’d go head his mate off, so she wouldn’t stumble on the blonde and realize what he’d been doing. But as soon as he stood he realized what a bad idea that was. He smelled like the blonde, and there was no excuse he could come up with to cover himself. He’d have to run and shower and find his mate a little later.
    As he jogged down the hall, hoping to stay out of sight, he figured he must be the first wolf to ever run away from his mate instead of toward her. Then again, his friends wouldn’t find it that strange. They never thought he’d find his mate with as much time as he spent chasing women. And now that he had, he had to admit—at least to himself—to a twinge of disappointment that his carousing days were done.
    ***
    Mattie followed the scent out of the room and into the hallway. The scent trail seemed fresh, and yet her mate wasn’t there. Maybe he had already left before she got there?
    She continued to follow the scent. When she got to the second turn, she knew she’d never find her way back without help, so she pulled out her cell phone and took video of each of the twists and turns. Hopefully, she’d find her mate at the end of this journey and he could lead her back to the Great Hall, but if not, she’d need the footage.
    Darius would wonder where she’d gone, but he’d