When they fall in love with a city,
it is for forever and it is like forever.
Toni Morrison.
It was a Friday evening as Annie and Hugh were driving down to Edinburgh to take Brother Andrew up on his offer of seeing the relics of Menai. It was the first time Annie had left the Highlands in over a year so they going to make the most of it, they had plans to visit Pete and Sarah while they were there, they hadn’t even met Finn yet and it was something that Annie was really looking forward to.
Camron was sat at his desk as Annie and Hugh entered the apartment building and he nodded his hello, smiling at them as he mind linked them both.
“Welcome back Mr and Mrs Crozier.”
“Good to see you Camron.” answered Hugh through the mind-link.
“The cleaners have serviced your apartment and the fridge is well stocked as you requested.”
“Thank you.” replied Annie, retu
My heart is, and always will be yours. Jane Austen. While Sarah was looking at books with Finn, Annie wandered around looking at the new releases. There were a few historical novels that looked interesting but then she spotted one that really caught her eye. She wandered over to the very busy display, it was much busier here than anywhere else in the store. Picking up a copy of the book she flipped it over to read the blurb on the back. She was surprised to see it was a book about the Templars when she was jostled from all sides as shoppers grabbed a copy for themselves. Frowning, Annie moved away from the crowd and flicked through the book, it seemed the book depicted the Templars as humans and the main protagonist, an expert on historical symbols, was on some sort of quest. Annie bought herself the book with a promise to herself that she would read it to see what all the fuss was about. Before Annie and Sarah had
Running away was easy, not knowing what to do next was the hard part. Glenda Millard. The mini bus was crowded and uncomfortable with six wolves and all their luggage all crammed in the back but Duncan was just glad that they weren’t in Brother Andrew’s car, this was luxury compared to that. They drove for three hours up the A9 until they reached Inverness. Brother Andrew pulled into a service station to let everyone out to stretch their legs. “Make sure you use the bathroom here, we won’t be able to stop until we reach our own territory in the Highlands.” announced Brother Andrew to the group. “Won’t be able to?” asked Duncan. “Why?” “We will be travelling through Reiver territory, while we have special permission to pass through, we don’t have permission to stop, the Reiver’s do not appreciate rogues on their pack lands.” “Oh.” was all Duncan could find to say. He knew all packs disliked rogues, his
The only way to find your voice is to use it. Jen Mueller. Brother Andrew set off early the following morning hoping to be back in Edinburgh by the middle of the afternoon. He had been to the pack house in Thurso and had a productive meeting with Alpha Solomon the previous night. The Alpha had liked the idea of their history being properly documented and he had also expressed an interest in meeting Annie too so when stopped in Inverness for coffee he decided to call her to see he could arrange a meeting. He pulled out her card and tapped her number into his phone, Annie answered on the second ring. “Hello?” “Mrs. Crozier, it’s Brother Andrew here, I wondered we could meet at the Chapel this afternoon? I have some good news.” “Yes of course, what time?” asked Annie, she was excited at the thought of getting her teeth into another project, especially one that hadn’t been written before. They agree
Life is filled with secrets. You can’t learn them all at once. Dan Brown. Over the next three weeks Annie and Hugh methodically worked their way around the room, reading and photographing. At the end of each day Annie would upload each photo and put all the documents in date order. Brother Andrew had arranged for internet connection in the vault and any other equipment they needed which speeded up the process no end. They had found quite a few family trees that were all mixed up but Annie estimated that 90% of it was there and readable. Once put together they gave an almost full picture of an ancient aristocratic French family which started with Menai’s children and ended with De Payens, the founder of the Templars. As they emerged from the vault one day Annie’s mobile rang, it was her colleague, the expert on Templar history so she pressed ‘accept’ and went outside to answer the call. “Miss Lovell, it’s Professor Ba
I am a warrior I am a champion I am a beast. ANON. Sarah and Pete pulled into the grounds of the Rosewell school to drop Finn at nursery for the day. As Pete climbed out of the car he saw Hugh and Annie in the distance walking across the grounds. “Hi, what you up to?” said Pete through the mind link, surprised to see them. Annie and Hugh looked around until they saw Pete and Sarah and headed in their direction. “This place is still being watched.” said Annie as they made their way across the car park. “I know, I feel it too, so does Pete by the looks of it.” observed Hugh as they saw Pete glancing around. Sarah walked around the car with Finn in her arms, he immediately held his arms out to Annie and she lifted him onto her hip while tickling him. “Hello little man, are you off to school?” she said to the smiling boy. “Yeah, how come you’re here so ear
What seems threatening is just the echo of the fear in my own heart. Haruki Murakami. Brother Andrew arrived at the apartment and as Hugh let him in to the lobby he saw how stressed and tired he looked. He led the monk up in the lift and they entered the apartment and through to the living room where Annie was already doing an internet search on white crosses on a black background. “I’ve just got back from the city to find out that two separate groups of people have been trying to either get into the vault or have been trying to dig beneath the altar.” he said exasperated. Annie and Hugh looked at him with alarm. “Luckily I had doubled the guard and the tour guides so there were plenty of people to stop them but I have no idea what in the name of the Goddess is going on. After the first break in I found the pin badge I told you about but I thought it could have come from anyone so I didn’t think too muc
There are no secrets that time does not reveal. Jean Racine. Monday morning dawned cold but bright and sunny and the Croziers were back at Rosslyn Chapel before the crowds arrived to continue to document and sort the archives. By the end of the day, Annie estimated they had only managed to do about a quarter of the scrolls and documents so far. “We are going to be at this for months.” sighed Annie looking at her mate. Hugh grinned at her. “Imagine how great this book is going to be though!” “Yeah, maybe I should do this for the Reivers too!” she laughed. “Oh no, I think we’ve got too many skeletons in the closet for Alpha Armstrong to agree to that.” laughed Hugh. “But you never know, he might let you.” “I doubt it, did you ask him about access to the Templar related documents?” “I’ve put in a request, still waiting to hear.” he answered. “Come on, let’s go and get some dinner,
Not to us Goddess. not to us, but to your name give the glory. Templar motto. The fifty mounted Templar warriors were soon joined by fifty of their warrior clansmen who had arrived in wolf form. The mounted Templars were stood in a row just behind the invisible line that was the boundary between the Reiver and human land. Half the Templar warriors were lined up to the right of them and the other half to the left. The Reivers flanked them on both sides and if the idea was to intimidate the Magdalene Knights, Duncan was pretty sure the sight of them would do just that. Each wolf waited in silence straining their ears, listening for the sound of the convoy. Fael was on edge and Burn was snorting and stamping his feet impatiently as the rain continued to steadily fall. Finally, they could hear the sound of car engines but not the gentle hum they were expecting, the engines were revving accom
Duncan had Jen were working on their house when they received mind link from Alpha Solomon. Jen almost burst into tears when she heard that she and Duncan could stay together and keep their rank, Duncan wrapped her in his arms and held her tight, Jen was a couple of weeks pregnant with their first child and the relief that they still had a place in the pack washed over them both. Everything was going to be fine, Duncan could just feel it, he got to stay with the Kelpies and Jen would still be a guard, it was more than they could have hoped for. They had worked really hard and their house was now clear of rubble, Jen had made a start on the garden as she wanted to grow as much of their own food as she could and although they still had a long list of jobs to do, he knew with the help of the Templar community, they would get it liveable by the time the pup came. “Thank you.” he tried to mind link Brother Andrew but he got no answer, he chuckled to himself, he gue
An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship. Spanish proverb. “Sister?” Pete stopped mid swing and stared at the man, Rufus pushed forward and got a good look at him too. He did look a lot like Sarah, his scent was familiar as well, like Sarah’s but not as musky, Rufus leant forward and sniffed the man again. “I think he speaks the truth.” growled Rufus. “Same eyes as mate, smells like mate.” The man started gasping for breath as Pete was still squeezing his neck. Oh my Goddess, Sarah has a brother. The man started to struggle again, pulling at Pete’s hand on his throat. “Put him down, can’t breathe.” Rufus noted. “Shit, shit sorry.” said Pete hastily putting the man down and straightening his clothes. “Why have you been watching the house, why not come to the door?” Before he could answer three vehicles screeched down the stre
Truth will rise against falsehoodas oil above water.Miguel de Cervantes.Sarah watched in disbelief as Beta Saul launched himself over the table, he grabbed Kerpen’s gun hand as he flattened him to the floor in a tangle of chairs and limbs. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, Sarah turned her head saw Hugh grab Annie and shield her body with his and she briefly saw Beta Johnstone leap across the table in Baden’s direction. There were screams and growls and the sound of the cracking of bones as someone shifted before she was knocked backwards off her feet and flattened to the floor. The fall knocked the wind out of her and she bashed the back of her head so hard she could see lights in front of her eyes. She heard Annie shouting to the wolves not to kill anyone and then as quickly as it started all the noise stopped, there was nothing but the sound of the Home Secretary shouting into his phone and the crash o
No one is so brave that he is not disturbed by something unexpected. Julius Caesar. Alpha Armstrong was good to his word. Stuart drove them to an airfield deep in Reiver territory where they were bundled aboard his private plane and flown back to Edinburgh in relative comfort. “I think you’re the only human to have ever stepped foot on Reiver territory.” mused Pete as he they disembarked the plane. “And you’re the only wolf who has stepped on Reiver territory that has a human as mate I bet.” “Yeah probably.” “Let’s hope it’s a learning experience for Alpha Armstrong.” smiled Brother Andrew as they walked towards the airport building. Much to their surprise, Camron was waiting for them as they exited the building. “Alpha Armstrong had asked me to deliver you to Forensics Scotland in one piece, Brother Andrew, I can drop you at Rosslyn afterwards if that’s ok with y
Threats alone are the weapons of the threatened man. Leonardo Da Vinci The meeting broke up and the wolves watched as the Magdalene were marched out of the door. The Home Secretary approached them looking embarrassed. “I apologise unreservedly for their rudeness, I think they were embarrassed that they’ve just been schooled in their own religion.” he said with a weak smile. The wolves just nodded in agreement and he excused himself and caught up with Sarah as she made her way back along the corridor. “Miss Cole, I just want to thank you for keeping a cool head in there. I’m always worried that one day, one of these Parleys is going to end up in a massacre.” Sarah stopped walking as she didn’t want Sillicoe seeing Pete. “Why? From what I just witnessed it’s not the wolves you need to worry about, it’s the humans, they are the one throwing threats around. The wolves don’t seem that different to us if you
Most people do not listen with the intention to understand. Stephen R Covey. Pete waited to hear from the Home Secretary about the Parley. When the phone call finally came he feigned ignorance, careful he didn’t let them know he already knew. He informed Home Secretary Sillicoe that he was away at a conference that day but the Miss Cole would be in charge and much to his relief, Sillicoe had accepted Sarah’s authority without question, now all they had to do was convince the Magdalene to do the same. Annie and Hugh had raced back Edinburgh as soon as they could and Annie had been frantically adding names to the family tree ever since she had arrived but there was so much to do to get it ready in time. She had worked on it for twenty four hours solid but she was still panicking as they only had two days left and it was still nowhere near finished. Hugh read out the names and checked the dates while Annie wrote them in their p
He’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of his and mine are the same. Emily Bronte. Duncan broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers, his eyes closed, his breathing ragged. He wanted this she wolf so badly, Fael felt serene for the first time since he was a child and gently urged him on. Without a word he looked into Jen’s eyes, he had no idea what she wanted but the look she gave him filled him with hope, it was one of total adoration and his heart swelled, she wanted him too. He took her hand and led her up to the hay loft where he had been lying awake until he scented her coming into the stable building. Jen followed him and as she climbed up the ladder behind him she saw blankets laid out on the soft, sweet smelling straw, Duncan took her hand again and led her to them. Jen stripped her coat off and relieved herself of her boots then she was in Duncan’s arms again as he kissed down her neck
Many of the wolves that looked thee over when thou wast brought to the Council first are old too, and the young wolves believe, as Shere Khan has taught them, that a man-cub has no place with the Pack. Rudyard Kipling They ended the call so Alpha Solomon could arrange a Parley with the Government. Twenty minutes later Hugh called them back, the Parley would be in four days time, and as Pete had suggested, they were going to use the conference room at Forensics Scotland. “Why did Alpha Armstrong have to give permission for us to cross his land, me I can understand, I’m human, but you’re a Reiver, so what’s his problem?” Pete sighed, he had never wanted to tell her about this, but he decided now was the time to tell her the truth. He told her about not being able to set foot on Reiver territory or to pledge his allegiance because she, his mate, was human. He inwardly groaned as he saw how u
Poor little foals of an oppressed race! l love the languid patience of thy face. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. She found brief respite when she saw Brother Andrew climb out of the car. Thank the Goddess he was alive, he shook hands with Alpha Solomon before giving her a hug. He held her said he was proud of her which made her heart swell, no one had ever said to her before, not even her parents. She smiled through her tears and helped her mentor up the steps and into the warmth of the pack house. Brother Andrew spoke with his wolf. “We might have to lock those two in a room together, they are as stubborn as each other.” Kirk huffed with laughter but thought it was probably going to take something that drastic to break the deadlock between them, neither Brother Andrew nor his wolf had any idea why they were so determined to stay away from each other, but he could see the pain in Jen’s face no ma