And aye, it'd been greed. Dragon's blood had healing properties and sold for huge amounts on the black market.
Not that Cat ever tried to think about that, or how the hunters had seen her father and his friend as nothing more than disposable beings, unworthy of life if it meant they could get rich.
Lachlan's voice interrupted her thoughts. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it's like losing a father you cared for."
His words seemed an odd choice to her—not just sorry for her loss, but for someone she cared for. However, before she could even debate asking for more information, Lachlan cleared his throat and gestured toward the door. "How about you show me the rest of the place?"
Grateful for the change in topic—she would always love her father, but thinking about him still made her sadder than she would ever like to admit—she strode over toward the exit.
Once she'd shown Lachlan every room in the building and left him in his temporary office, Cat quickly exited the warehouse and soon jogged toward her small studio space.
She only had an hour before she had to help at the restaurant, but she itched to work on something, anything, to help restore her spirits.
Without realizing it, she ended up working the whole time on another sketch of Lachlan. But this time, he had fire in his eyes, making the drawing more animated somehow.
More than that, it was more him instead of just a two-dimensional being. Still full of mystery, but a little less icelike than all the other times she'd drawn him. Maybe once she finally painted a piece that seemed more him, she could forget about the male.
Aye, that had to be it. She was stubborn and determined when it came to getting something just right in her art. Once she did it for Lachlan, she could mostly forget about him and stop trying to figure out his secrets.
Chapter Three
Lachlan spent the rest of the day settling into both his new office and then the cottage he would call home for the next few months, keeping himself busy enough to not slip up and think of Cat.
Aye, well, at least when he was awake.
By the next morning, he pushed all those visions of him fucking her in her studio space—over a table, against a wall, sitting on a counter—and attended a meeting with some of Lochguard's security team, better known as the Protectors.
He'd worked with both the ones on Lochguard and others in the UK before, although his current experience was filled with more questions, forms, and borderline lectures than in the past. Usually, he received any sort of instructions or lectures from the sole dragonman in charge—labeled head Protector—but Lochguard had two people in charge of clan security. And while both had conducted the most recent meeting, along with a few of their colleagues in attendance, the animated one with wild, curly hair named Faye MacKenzie had done most of the talking.
All while carrying her baby in some sort of contraption on her chest.
Eventually, the group meeting finished, although Faye and her mate and co-head Protector, Grant, signaled for him to stay. Once they were alone, Faye spoke. "Whilst the main celebration will be held when all the artists arrived, Finn wants to welcome you properly to the clan with a smaller gathering tonight, to ease you into it all."
Given how big most of the families on Lochguard were, Lachlan wondered if "small" was the right word. "I can spare an hour or two, but I still have a lot of work to do before the artists arrive in two months."
Faye raised her dark brows. "One night won't kill you. Besides, not only is it rare to get people we trust to watch all the bairns for an evening, but also Sylvia MacAllister worked hard to get a huge dinner ready for the event."
At the name MacAllister, Lachlan perked up a little. He went through the names in his head and remembered that she was Cat's mother. Still, he couldn't resist pointing out, "If someone had to prepare a huge meal, then I'm not sure the gathering counts as small."
Faye glared, but Grant tried not to smile as he said, "It's small by her family's standards. But regardless, part of your assignment is to better know the clan, aye? Hiding away in your work won't accomplish that."
Lachlan was aware of that. But most of the time, getting to know someone in the UK meant going to a pub. And while he could, technically, make it through a night surrounded by a room full of people drinking alcohol and not relapse, it was a strain he didn't much care for.
And hence why he spent so much time on his work and not on socializing.
Grant motioned for Faye to leave them, and she did so without a word.
Quite the feat, that, given how the dragonwoman had been in charge most of the meeting. He'd heard about the strong bonds between dragon mates, and apparently, that had to be the case with Faye and Grant. He doubted Faye would so easily be dismissed by anyone else.
Once they were alone, Grant cleared his throat and said, "I'm not going to beat around the bush. We did a background check on you and are more than aware of your past." Lachlan had long ago learned to keep his face passive when someone casually mentioned his blackout-drunk phase, and nodded. Grant continued, "But don't worry, we don't have a pub here and rarely have alcohol. Lochguard had an incident about twenty years ago, something that involved a few people dying, and it's been clan law since then to keep alcohol to a minimum to avoid a repeat occurrence. Sometimes we have it for big celebrations, but tonight isn't one of those."
In other words, if Lachlan attended the gathering, he wouldn't have to worry about more than handling a room full of dragon-shifters. There wouldn't be any alcohol to consciously resist.
Apart from his sister, few bothered to care about such details.
And maybe he should be embarrassed—at one time, discussing his biggest weakness would've done exactly that—but instead, all Lachlan felt was greater respect for Grant. "Thank you for telling me that."
The dragonman waved a hand in dismissal and stood. "No worries." He grinned slowly. "But now you have no excuse not to attend. And if I were you, I wouldn't even try to weasel out of it. You've worked with Faye before, but trust me, when her entire family gets together, it's madness. They'll hunt you down and drag you to the event, if need be."
He blinked. Surely he had to be joking.
Grant said, "And they will too. So be at the great hall by six, aye? And dress casually. No need for the tie."
Lachlan resisted straightening his. In a way, his suit and tie were a type of armor for him.
But since he'd have to attend many casual events in the future once the artists arrived, he needed to get used to being without it.
Standing, Lachlan nodded. "I'll be there, and I can bring some dessert."
Grant raised his eyebrows. "You can cook?"
He shrugged. When someone had as much time alone as Lachlan, a person picked up a few hobbies. Not that he was going to go into detail with a dragonman he barely knew.
Grant opened the door. "If you can make a strawberry cheesecake, you'll win over both my mate and her brothers. And trust me, they are good people to have as allies."
Lachlan didn't have a bloody clue what Grant was talking about since, apart from Faye, he wouldn't have any dealings with the MacKenzies. However, he thought nodding was the best course of action.