Knights of Stone - Lachlan by Lisa Carlisle

connected to his brothers.
    We have work to do.

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
    After spending time trying to help Lachlan, Raina didn’t return to her pack until much later than she’d expected. A simple trek to the moors had stretched on through the afternoon. The morning mist was long gone, replaced by a gray fog hovering overhead. Mixed emotions swirled through her; she couldn’t shake the notion she’d been doing something wrong. She hurried past many of her pack mates through the clearing where most had built modest cottages.
    “What’s your rush, Raina?” her friend Eden asked.
    Raina stopped and glanced around. A few wolf cubs played at the fringes of the woods, rolling over each other in tumbles of gray and white fur.
    “I’m looking for my father.”
    “I think he’s home.” Eden stepped closer. “Something wrong? You seem—anxious.”
    Anxious could be one of the many words she’d use to describe both her physical and mental state. Lachlan had the most disconcerting effect on her, one she couldn’t quite identify.
    “It’s nothing,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand.
    Eden wiggled her eyebrows up. “Restlessness. New twinges. Urges. You must be getting closer to mating.” She smiled with smug satisfaction. “Seth is going to be one happy wolf, very soon.”
    Raina shot her a furious glance and instantly regretted it. Eden was simply teasing, the way many pack wolves speculated when a wolf came of mating age. She was right about the other things, though. The restlessness had been driving Raina mad in recent weeks, making her wonder about other possibilities in her life. Maybe she should travel, explore other opportunities before she accepted her fate on the island. Lachlan had traveled to different lands. What had he seen?
    And the new twinges and urges. Och , she didn’t want to think about the source of that. She’d kissed Lachlan— again . She couldn’t chalk it up to a foolish mistake both times. And there was no question how content her wolf was when she was close to him.
    She couldn’t tell any of this to Eden, though. Lachlan was out of her pack and not a wolf. Not part of her life plan.
    “What about you?” Raina chimed back. “Any young, hot wolves making your tail wag?”
    Eden exhaled with a sigh. “Sadly, not yet. Maybe I’ll have to leave the isle one day to find my mate.”
    “Don’t say that.” Raina surveyed her bonnie, blonde pack mate. “Any wolf shifter would kill to have you as his mate. Besides, I don’t want you to leave. You’re my closest friend.”
    “Let’s hope some sparks fly soon.” She grinned with a hopeful glint in her eye. “What’s it like with you and Seth?”
    A scowl spread across Raina’s face, but she stopped it. Everyone assumed she’d mate with Seth. She assumed she’d mate with him. It was a natural pairing, perfect for the future of the pack. But sparks? None were flying—not even hovering—between them. “We’ll talk later. I need to find my father.” She continued past several more houses until she found him.
    Her father sat before a fire in front of his home, his gaze lost in the dancing flames. Times like this, she wondered if he was remembering her mother, missing her. Wolf shifters discovered a new level of fulfillment and happiness when they met their mate. The downside was an aching, unfillable hole when they lost them. The way she’d seen her mother’s death impact her father had made her wonder if it was worth the risk. Chasing something that could lead to such pain didn’t seem like a wise decision. Her father had since thrown himself into leading the pack, living and sacrificing for it.
    When she plopped down next to him, he snapped out of wherever he’d been. She inhaled the aroma of the burning wood; the odor of a fire that had always appealed to her.
    “You’ve been gone longer than I expected,” he said. “How did it go?”
    “Fine,” she replied. “Here’s the potion.”
    He perused the contents of