by Rye Hart
Eva flailed, moving her limbs in a final desperate struggle for survival.
At the last moment, when she just about resigned herself to her watery end, she felt large hands rip her from her place and draw her up.
The moment Eva's body broke through the surface, she felt an impact against her chest, which caused her to expel the water from her lungs. She coughed reflexively, sputtering and gasping as her airways cleared and she was finally able to take a few shaky breaths. She collapsed into a heap upon the muddy embankment and continued to gulp greedily on the air around her.
"Quite the entrance," interrupted a deep male voice with a thick Scottish burr.
Eva was suddenly acutely aware of the man standing over her. Her eyes widened as she took in the impressive sight of him.
The man was well over six and a half feet tall, muscular, heavily tattooed, and sinfully handsome. He had dark, thick hair tied back from his face, the hint of a beard lining his chiseled jaw, and intense black-brown eyes that were currently focused on Eva with heated curiosity.
Eva could feel the heat rise in her cheeks. She had never been under this level of scrutiny by such an impressive male before. She felt a little intimidated by the intensity with which his gaze roamed her body. But as she watched his eyes, Eva tried to replay the horrific events in her head. How the hell did she get here? This is some crazy shit – pinch yourself and get back to reality, Eva.
The man's features softened. "I thought ye would never come," he said gently.
Eva gaped. "What?" she sputtered. Suddenly everything felt so real and it was in that moment she realized that she was no longer in her aunt and uncle’s home. I better not be dead, she thought grimly. Her mind struggled to wrap itself around what exactly had happened that had brought her to this point. Did I hit my damn head? Am I hallucinating? Did I die and go to some weird purgatory with a handsome highlander as the gatekeeper? She looked around her, it appeared that she was in some kind of forest. It doesn't look like purgatory, she thought.
The man cocked his head as he studied her with a curious intensity. "I'm here to claim my promised witch," he said with a glow in his eyes.
Eva, for the second time that evening, gaped with bewilderment at the handsome stranger. "Shit! It is purgatory!," she rambled nervously. She had no idea what happening, but hoped that there was some logical answer hidden among the craziness of the past ten minutes.
The man chuckled softly. The melodious echo of his voice sent shivers down Eva's spine and pooled deep in her belly. Her mind quieted as the man's calming presence began to affect her.
"My luck the gods would send me a strange one," he said in a hypnotic voice. "But since I've been waiting for ye long enough, I think we should proceed," he stated as he took a step toward Eva.
Instinctively, Eva backed away as her anxiety returned. She still wasn't sure what was going on — if she was dead and stuck in some weird purgatory, or perhaps if she had hit her head and begun to hallucinate strange highlanders in the woods.
The man sent her another one of his curious looks, but he stopped just within an arm’s length. With careful movement, he knelt before Eva and met her gaze at eye-level, his brown eyes locked with Eva's blue ones.
"Stunning," he breathed sensually. Slowly, he brought his hand up to brush a stray lock of dark hair out of Eva's eyes and away from her face.
Eva didn't shy away this time, so entranced was she by the dark swirling depths of his gaze. She shivered under his heated touch.
"This will nae be difficult" he whispered as he brought his lips to meet Eva's.
Eva wanted to ask him what he meant by “nae be difficult”, but at the precise moment that his mouth brushed against her own, all rational thought escaped her. She was consumed by the delectable taste of his lips, the intoxicating aroma of his masculinity, and the arousing urgency by which he claimed her mouth. It was both a little overwhelming, and yet not quite enough.
"Wait," she said breathlessly as she brought her hands flush against the mysterious man's strong chest. "I don't even know you." She looked wildly around her at the darkened woods, "Or where the hell I am." Kissing strange men in the woods wasn't exactly how she thought her night would end up.
The heat in the man's eyes was replaced by confusion. "Are you nae the promised one?" he questioned suddenly, his brogue deepening.
"The… wait, what?" Eva sputtered. What was this man talking about?
The man leaned back and studied her, his eyes taking in every inch of her from her bare feet to the sopping mass of black hair clinging to her face. "Aye, you are my promised mistress, I ken it," he stated.
"Excuse me?" Eva interrupted. "I'm sorry mister, I ken you have the wrong girl," she said in a poorly attempted Scottish accent. Eva had no idea what was going on, but she was already fed up with it. She had a work deadline to meet and whatever strange hallucination she was having, she needed to snap out of it. "I need to go," she said abruptly. She attempted to stand, but she still was a little shaky from almost drowning and she wavered a bit.
The man steadied her by bringing his strong hands protectively to her hips. He rose up with her, his impressive height towering over Eva's curvy frame. "I do not ken what you mean by ‘wrong girl’, but I have waited too long for ye to let ye go," he said firmly. In one swoop, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.
His actions took Eva by surprised, and she was already over his shoulder before she had time to think of a comeback. Her hair fell into her eyes and her large breasts pressed up against her. She could feel him hold her tightly in place with his large forearm, while he used his free hand to steady her by keeping it pressed against her ample bottom in a possessive gesture. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this situation, or his stronghold.
"Put me down!" she demanded as she squirmed in his arms.
Eva's words did nothing; her captor appeared not the least bit bothered by her movements. He continued to stride through the dark forest at a leisurely pace, as if he were taking a late night stroll. It infuriated Eva that he acted pleased with himself.
"Put me down!" she repeated, but with more force this time. She pounded her small fists on his back and tried to kick her legs.
"Hush lass, do not fret. We will be at the castle in time," he calmly replied.
"Castle?" Eva asked, utterly bewildered. Over the course of the past thirty minutes or so, she had almost drowned, was saved by an unusually hot highlander, kissed by said highlander, and then thrown over his muscular shoulder to be carted off to his castle. I must have hit my head pretty hard or something, because there is no way this is actually happening, she thought. Although, as Eva tried to rationalize what was happening as some weird dream, a part of her had already begun to accept the truth — she was far from home.
"Aye," the highlander replied cheerful. "And soon —" his words broke off suddenly as his body stilled and he came to an abrupt stop.
"What is it?" Eva asked, her heart pounding with the fear of the unknown.
"Hush," he whispered.
And then Eva heard it. In the distance, the low howl of wolves echoed through the night. Eva sucked in her breath at the thought of the terrifying creatures.
Before Eva could ask the highlander what they were going to do, he took off running, knocking the air out of her.
"W-w-w-what," she tried to say through the rough jostling, "is going on?"
The highlander didn't reply, but instead increased his strides.
Eva wasn't so much afraid, as she was confused. She kept waiting for the moment when she would wake up in bed, completely rested, and not the worse for wear. But she wasn't able to rationalize away how real everything seemed and, as a result, she started to wonder if something more supernatural had happened to her the moment that she walked through the door back at the house.
The wolves' howls again pierced the night, but this time they sounded a lot closer. Eva was filled with the dreaded realization that they were being chased.
The moonlight lit their path as the man carried Eva out of the woods and up a steep embankment. When he finally set her down, Eva was so dizzy from the jostling that she was barely able to focus her eyes or her thoughts. She blinked a few times in an attempt to bring her gaze back into focus, but the moment that the fog lifted, what she saw seized her with terror.
The man's handsome face had transformed somewhere between the forest and this grassy knoll. Gone were the gentle, handsome features, and what remained was an intense feral look. He had transformed into something completely different – something almost animal like.
The man's eyes met Eva's; she sucked in her breath as the reflection looking back at her was no longer a soft brown, but a frightening red. Eva was sure that the man-turned-beast would devour her on the spot.
But instead of devouring Eva from where she sat on the grass, his expression — albeit a bit terrifying — conveyed emotions Eva was not expecting to see under the beastly features. He looked at Eva with an intense longing that ached to be satisfied, a sadness that could not be comforted, and a pain that saw no relief. Eva's heart went out to the tortured man before her. The fear evaporated, and instead was replaced by a gentle compassion that longed to ease his suffering.
Eva rose up from where he had placed her on the grass, all while continuing to hold his intense red gaze. Before she knew exactly what she was doing, she had reached her hand out to touch him. The beast didn't shy away from her as she brought her open palm to rest against his chest and settle over his heart.
Eva could feel the beating of his heart against her palm. At first it was rapid and erratic, but now it had begun to slow down. She looked up at him and was surprised that she had to crane her neck considerably just to see his face as his body had changed as well. He had grown taller, towering well over seven feet tall, his body had thickened and larger muscles had appeared in new places. Even his hair had grown longer and appeared more wild and untamed, which contributed to the intensity of his appearance. At this point, he looked more like a beast than a man.
"Who are you?" Eva asked softly, allowing her question to simmer between them.
The man opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His frustration played out on his face and resulted in him throwing his head back and emitting a chilling roar.
Eva froze; she recognized that beastly cry. It was the strange sound that she had heard back at the house, just moments before she stepped through the door. The realization was unsettling, as it meant that it was his voice that had called to her, a call she had somehow answered. She had no understanding of how she had been whisked away from her home, but she now knew that it was the reason why she was here.
"What happened to you?" she whispered.
The beast replied by coming closer to Eva and placing this head to nuzzle her palm, his rough beard scratched Eva's soft skin.
The howl of the wolves in the distance interrupted their moment and brought them both back to what was happening at the edge of the woods.
Eva followed the beast's gaze as he turned to look back at the place from where they had come. Pairs of glowing red eyes dotted the edge of the forest, revealing the location of each wolf. But the creatures would not dare break the boundary of the forest and encroach on the territory of an Alpha. They were safe from harm.
Eva could feel the predatory energy cascade off the beast's body, an imposing reminder to all living creatures that this Alpha was the most dangerous threat to ever stalk the night.
The air around the duo quieted for the briefest moment, as if the world itself was momentarily seized by terror. Then just as swiftly, everything around them erupted into chaos as all living things scurried out of the way; birds left their nests to brave the moonlit sky, and small creatures disrupted the underbrush as they sought shelter as far away as possible.
The only exception was the clustered pairs of glowing red eyes along the forest's edge. The wolves stayed, watching and waiting for the Alpha to exercise his authority.
The wolves' resistance worked, as the Alpha left Eva to pursue the defiant creatures in the woods.
Eva was a bit shocked that he would leave her standing there alone, but nonetheless she watched the magnificent creature disappear into the night.
"Now what?" she muttered to herself.
"Pssst, m’lady," a hushed voice rang through the night.
Eva quickly turned around, searching for the owner of the voice. She gasped when she saw what had been behind her the whole time. He wasn't lying when he said he had a castle.
Just a few yards away from Eva, an impressive stone fortress lay sprawled out in the clearing. Eva couldn't make out where the structure started and where it ended, it was so large. She stood gaping at the very medieval looking manse before her, any thought of the mysterious voice suddenly evaporating from her mind. That is, until it called out to her again.
"M’lady! Please!" it said with more urgency again. "We don't have much time before he returns, quickly come inside."
It was then that Eva saw the little door on the side of the wall. It was partially ajar and a knight dressed in full battle armor was peaking his head around the corner.
"Please, hurry," he motioned to her to come inside.
Eva took one final look at the forest where her mysterious beast had disappeared. She no longer saw the cluster of red eyes and figured that the night couldn't get any weirder, so she might as well see what lay inside the stone walls.
Chapter Three
"Here, take this," said a young woman as she offered Eva a wool blanket. "Ye be sopping wet!" she exclaimed.
Eva looked down at her still dripping clothes. She had almost forgotten about her near-drowning. She had been too caught up in the events of the night to worry about something as trivial as wet clothing.
"Thank you," she said as she took the blanket from the woman's extended arms. Eva offered the woman a kind smile in return.
The woman gave Eva an assessing, wary look before she backed away slightly. "Are ye a witch?" she asked blankly.
Eva was taken aback by her abrupt question. The highlander had said the same thing. "Why does everyone keep saying that?" she lamented aloud. Eva quickly realized her mistake in voicing her thoughts, as a mask of confusion spread over the young woman's face. "I'm sorry," Eva corrected. "What I meant was, I'm not a witch. I'm just a girl from Brighton."
"Brighton?" the woman echoed her words. "Ye be English?" she said in a heavy brogue.
It was at that moment that Eva realized how out of place she was. The woman — and the small crowd slowly forming behind her — were dressed in medieval clothing. The whole inside of the fortress looked like Eva had just stepped into an Arthurian storybook. Where am I? She thought for what was probably the umpteenth time that night.
"Yes," Eva nodded. "I'm English." Since her accent was decisively not Scottish, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide anything.
The crowd erupted into a fury of chatter, their voices mixing into a clamor of different pitches and tones. Eva was only able to decipher a few words out of the excited conversation, as she could barely make out anything with their thick brogues. But from what she heard, it was pretty obvious they did not like that she wasn't one of them.
"Haud yer wheesht!" A commanding elderly woman's voice broke through the throng and instantly silenced the crowd.
Eva looked up to see an elderly woman walking toward her. The crowd parted ways as she moved through them, evidence that she commanded a great deal of respect. Her hair was pulled back into a long white braid that fell past her waist, while she was dressed in an elegant blue gown. She carried herself like a Queen, which around here, Eva suspected she was.
She came to stop before Eva, allowing time to give her a thorough once-over before choosing to speak. "Are ye the promised one?" she asked boldly. "My son has been waiting a long time," she added.
Eva blinked. Her son? "Is your son the one that changed back there?" she motioned behind the castle wall
. "The one that —" she stopped the moment that she felt the woman give her a disapproving look. "I'm sorry," Eva muttered again. "I don't want to disappoint you, but I am not the one your son has been waiting for," she clarified. Eva had no idea why everyone kept acting like they were expecting her. Eva had never been in a situation like this before, which made the likelihood of them "knowing" her, highly improbable.
The woman tilted her head at Eva, her gaze assessing her with acute sharpness. "Has he not told ye?" she asked smoothly.
"Told me what?” Eva asked in an attempt to try and follow the woman's cryptic statements and questions. Eva was too exhausted from the night's ordeal to continue this vague exchange. She desperately needed someone to finally explain to her what was going on.
"I see," the woman replied with a knowing smile. "Come," she motioned Eva to follow her and then she turned to glide away.
Eva nodded her agreement. At this point, she would have followed anyone if it meant getting some answers.
The woman guided her further into the keep. The whole time, the older woman did not once turn around to see if Eva was still following her, as if she expected Eva to follow her commands without question.
As they walked down the corridors, everyone they passed would stop what they were doing and gape at Eva. Although Eva knew that she must look a sight with her strange clothes, pond-soaked hair, and exhausted expression, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable by the amount of attention thrust upon her. She tried her best to ignore it.
"Ye will need a bath," the woman stated coldly.
Eva looked down at her clothing; she was still wet from her fall into the pond, and covered in grass and leaves from the run through the forest. "I'm sorry," she said reflexively, though she wasn’t sure what she had to apologize for.
"Nonsense, ye nae need to apologize child," the woman waved her off. She stopped before a large wooden door, pushed it open, and motioned for Eva to go inside.
"I will send my ladies maid to wait upon you," the lady of the house told Eva. "You will be presented to our people at dawn, as a way of verifying who you say you are," she added quickly
