Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

REVELATIONS

"Bill…Bill?" It was over a month since Kate had spoken to her mentor and editor, as they'd been communicating by email and text. So much had happened during that time, she hardly knew where to begin, but her excitement faltered, and not because of something Bill had said, but because she sensed a difference in her old friend.

"You sound excited," he began, but she could tell he was forcing his enthusiasm because he didn't want to meet Kate's obvious excitement with gloom.

"I do have exciting news," she confirmed. "I'd love you to come up to Scotland to share it with me. I've also got some new ideas for a column I'm sure would work…"

An ominous silence followed Kate's remark. Finally, Bill said huskily, "I'm sorry, Kate, but you're too late to save the magazine. Nothing could save it now, not even your talent and enthusiasm."

"Hear me out before you make that decision. I'd like to tell you face-to-face, so I'm booking a ticket, and I'll send all the details. Someone will pick you up at the airport. Look out for a stone-faced man dressed in black." Sensing Bill's hesitation, she added, "He'd Torran's driver, and although he looks formidable, he's okay when you get to know him."

"Are you okay, Kate?"

"More than okay, I'm buzzing. I'm going to send you my articles by email, so you can have a look through them during the flight."

"Articles plural?" Bill queried.

"Yes. Two articles," Kate confirmed.

She was confident Bill would make the journey. Whatever was going on down in London, a good newshound could never resist a hot story. In Kate's first weather-related article, she'd left out all mention of dragons, hinting only that there were more things in heaven and earth than anyone knew. Her bonus column talked about loss and how to move on from the storms of life and find happiness again. "Just give me the go-ahead," she prompted Bill.

"Send them over. I'll read them and let you know by return. And that plane ticket?"

"Yes?" Kate crossed her fingers.

"Send that too. See you in Scotland, Kate."

Wow. Great. She couldn't have hoped for a better result—until after a few days, when, to Kate's amazement, her article on loss had become an internet sensation.

"And not one mention of dragons," Torran observed as he brought her close for an early morning kiss.

There was no dodging around the subject now by either of them. They were fully and completely in love. Each moment apart was a moment too long, and everyone they knew was thrilled for them. Even Ingrid and Lucy told Kate that it was the perfect match, and their only surprise was that Torran and Kate had been the last to realize.

"And Bill's arriving today, coming with the best news ever. Advertising revenue has saved the magazine."

"Best news ever?" Torran queried with an amused stare. "Not that we're getting married or that you're about to become Lady Kildear?"

"Lady Kildear." Kate still couldn't believe it and frowned. "Does that mean I have to be ladylike?"

"I asked you to marry me, not perform miracles," Torran reassured her.

As she launched herself at him, Torran deftly turned her beneath him. "I love you just the way you are, Kate Trent. Promise me you'll never change."

"Promise," Kate whispered, staring up at the love of her life.

Later that same day…

"You were so right to say a magazine like Storm could have a much wider appeal if it featured articles that covered all sorts of storms," Bill remarked as he relaxed back in an armchair in Torran's study shortly after his arrival in Scotland.

"It was Torran's idea," Kate admitted, shooting a grateful look at the man, the dragon, who had made her life richer in so many ways.

"You brought the idea to life," Torran reminded her as he refilled Bill's glass.

"That tells me you two were made for each other," Bill enthused, raising his crystal lowball in a toast. "I've suspected it for some time. I've suspected a lot of things in my time," he reflected with a wink for Kate. "Hence the Gothic story I gave you to read. Better to be prepared for whatever comes along, don't you think? No. Don't say anything more," Bill insisted, holding up his hand. "The good thing about a mystery, like the unexplained storms around your castle, Torran, is that they can't be revealed all at once. You've brightened up my life in so many ways, Kate, and I have to say, you seem to be thriving up here."

Where Torran was concerned, that was true. Discovering she was half vampire was more complicated. Suspecting she had a connection with the undead was one thing, while coming face-to-face with Kate's vampire father made it impossible to avoid the truth.

Did Bill know this already? There was something in his eyes that said he did.

There were more things in heaven and earth, etc., etc.

If she believed that everyone was an individual, then surely there were good dragon shifters, as well as those humans who didn't want to shift into their dragons. It followed that there must be good vampires who ended up undead through no fault of their own. All her adult life, Kate had been a vegetarian. If food had a face, it was definitely off the menu. So, vampire father or not, bloodsucking was not her thing.

If the undead continued to be a threat, she'd deal with it, just as she'd dealt with living amongst dragons. Yes, it had been a shock to begin with. Discovering Ingrid and Lucy were also dragon shifters was perhaps the biggest shock of all, but she'd gotten over it, and gradually, like anything else, dragons became usual.

"You will stay for the wedding?" Torran queried, turning to Bill.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. This world, or any other world," Bill said with another wink for Kate.

He knew! Bill must have known all along, Kate realized with surprise as she stared deep into her mentor's suddenly reptilian eyes. Hence the book he'd chosen to warn her what to expect when she arrived in Scotland. Bill was a dragon, but one who didn't choose to shift out of his human form?—

"I'm promoting you to roving reporter," he said, cutting through Kate's shock. "You can work from here or from London, or from anywhere you choose. Just keep those articles coming. The more colorful, the better," Bill said as he gazed around as if soaking up the vibrant shades of Thorgar and finding them very much to his liking.

"I will," Kate promised. "There's nothing I love more than chatting and sharing, and it seems the readers do too."

"Nothing you enjoy more?" Torran queried discreetly.

"Nothing apart from you," Kate murmured, loving the humor in his wicked dragon's eyes.

"On that happy note, I'll go and settle in," Bill declared, getting out of his chair.

Torran had insisted Bill must stay at the castle, and as soon as they were alone, he brought Kate into his arms. "How lucky am I? I get the beauty, while you get the beast."

"A gorgeous beast," Kate insisted.

A beast to whom she had given her heart, as well as her body and soul, Kate reflected as she stared up at the man, the dragon, who was her friend, her lover, her world—whichever world that happened to be.

"I get you, Kate," Torran murmured. "And I love you more than you know."

"I love you, now and for all eternity," Kate whispered as their lips met in a lingering kiss.