Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“Tiernan,” she whispered and shivered.
Could it be true? Could he be a werewolf?
CHAPTER 5
After exploring a few of the rooms that branched off the foyer and beyond; a huge dining room, the long table well able to seat two dozen people, a lovely, yellow drawing room, an intimate sitting room, and a large room with small tables and several chairs placed along the walls that could be none other than a ballroom, Olivia made her way, with only minor wrong turns, to the library.
She chose two books, one on werewolves and one on regular wolves, and got comfortable on the couch to read, but her mind wouldn’t let her focus. She was concerned about the loss of one of the wolves or werewolves, if she was to believe Tiernan. Either way, it was a loss to both species, and they would mourn. A section in the werewolf book finally caught her interest and she got lost in it.
A desire for a cup of tea a couple of hours later had Olivia, with book in hand, finding her way to the kitchen with no difficulty. The kettle was whistling when Tiernan entered and smiled softly at her, though a hint of sorrow haunted his beautiful green eyes.
Not thinking, simply just wanting to offer what sympathy she could, Olivia walked over to him and resting her hand on his arm, she said softly, “I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”
His hand gave her waist a gentle squeeze in thanks for her kind words. “Gillean lived a long, good life. He lost his mate Brigid two years ago and his son Tade last year to an illness that claimed six wolves before we got it under control. He told me that he welcomed death and hoped to see his family again. We saw and survived much through the years. I will miss him.”
The endless shrill of the kettle’s whistle had Olivia slipping away from him reluctantly, and she quietly asked, “Tea?”
“Aye, I could use a cuppa.”
“Sit while I get it for us,” she said, nodding at the table.
“I see from the title and your makeshift bookmark that you found another book on werewolves that you’ve been enjoying,” he said, opening the book to the marked page. “This book is completely fiction just like all of the books about werewolves. We’re inevitably thought of as evil creatures who viciously attack people and either rip them apart or condemn them to the life of an unearthly creature. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Olivia placed a teapot on the table along with two mugs.
“Fay keeps biscuits, to Americans… cookies, in the pantry if you’d like some,” Tiernan said with a nod at a frosted glass door beside the fridge.
Olivia chose two containers, one labeled shortbread and the other chocolate, and set them on the table, then sat.
“Do you believe in werewolves yet, Olivia?”
“I’m still trying to digest what you’ve confessed and make sense of it. That you claim to be a man as well as a wolf is not easy to believe. Though the alternative is difficult for me to believe as well.”
“Aye, the alternative,” he said with a nod and a slight smile.
“Being insane is no better than being a werewolf,” she said, shaking her head. “Either way doesn’t bode well for me.”
“Logically speaking,” he said, sounding like a professor about to enlighten a student as he reached for a biscuit, “I would say you’re better off stranded in a castle with a werewolf rather than an insane man.”
“Why would that be?” she asked and filled their mugs with tea.
“You have no idea what to expect from an insane man, whereas, you know wolves. Once part of a wolf pack, you are safe. The alpha wolf would protect you, so there would be nothing to fear.”
“But I am not part of your pack.”
“Once you accept the position I offered you, you will be.”
“You sound so confident.”
“I’m confident in you,” Tiernan said. “Once you get to know me, see how well you would fit in here and the benefits that come with it, I have no doubt as to what your choice will be.”
“So, the position includes becoming part of your pack?” When he nodded, she asked, “Does that mean I must become a werewolf.” Though she had already asked, she had to ask again.
“As I’ve already told you, I like you just the way you are. I wouldn’t want you any other way.”
“I’m going to be honest with you, Tiernan.”
“Please do. I respect honesty.”
She didn’t know in this case if honesty was the best policy, but she had to let her feelings be known. “Something bothers me about your offer. I don’t know what it is, but I feel there’s something more to it, something you’re not telling me.”
He smiled and for a moment she thought of the big bad wolf waiting to devour the young girl in the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood.