“Nay, they might slap or punch me, but Father has promised me to the Grantlach,” Mungo said. “Once he sees I’m still alive he’ll want to go ahead with his plan.”
Joe growled. “He can’t have you.”
“We can’t dally and argue. Mungo’s plan should work. Let’s move,” Saber said.
“Mungo, shut your eyes,” Joe ordered when they reached the resort boundary fence.
“Why?”
“He doesn’t want you to see us naked before we shift,” Sly said. “Better close your eyes before he starts growling.”
“Mungo.” Joe watched her impish grin and reveled in her teasing. Whether or not she knew it, she’d made the shift from her world to his. His relieved sigh when she followed his edict had his brothers and friends chuckling. Teasing and rude jests lay in his future, for sure.
“Joe, you can open and close the gate for us before you shift,” Saber said.
Everyone, apart from Mungo, undressed and left their clothes in tidy piles alongside the fence. Each male strode through the gate and shifted to a feline.
“Can I look yet?”
“Yes,” Joe said when the final shapeshifter morphed into a black leopard. Once Mungo walked through the gateway, he closed the barrier.
Mungo observed his naked form. “Ye’re intendin’ to go as a leopard too?”
“Yes. Walk along this road and make a noise to attract their attention. I’ll be nearby.” Joe stood back and hesitated. This plan sucked. “Keep your wits about you. I don’t trust your father or your brothers.”
And if one of them struck her, all bets were off.
Mungo stumbled along the track Joe had indicated before he shifted to a leopard. Her heart beat faster than normal. Despite her brave words, she feared her father’s actions. He bore a temper and lacked patience. Thoughts of Reilynn slid into her mind. Her stepmother managed Aengus, and Mungo had ne’er seen her father strike Reilynn. Mayhap he loved her. He’d certainly loved Mungo’s mother.
Joe emerged from the shadows, making her jump at his sudden appearance. Her pulse raced and the thumps of her heart almost deafened her for an instant. She patted her chest twice and swallowed. Joe approached her at a trot. He nudged her hip with his nose and growled a harsh sound before staring in a direction to her right.
Mungo’s fingers caressed Joe’s ruff. “I ken ye.”
Joe licked her hand and melted into the shadows.
Mungo inhaled, squared her shoulders and marched forward to meet her fate.
She heard a muffled curse and the clink of something metal striking a hard surface. A sword or a dirk?
“Father?” Mungo called out, deciding in that instant to face him head-on instead of sneaking around.
Her father, brothers and six Scothage men marched from the cover of trees and scrubby bushes.
“Ye escaped those men,” Raibert said.
“I’ve come to tell ye I refuse to wed the Grantlach.”
“’Tis too late, lass. I gave him my oath.”
“Nay.”
“Who is here to stop me?” Her father glared at her, meeting her gaze for once. “No time for maidenly fears. Ye’re promised to the Grantlach, and he gave me a bride price in exchange.”
Mungo understood her father’s dilemma. “Ye’ve spent the money. Ye canna return it.” Her father said nothing, but she kenned she was right. “The people here have invited me to stay.”
“Ye’re betrothed to the laird of Grantlach.”
Mungo made a sound of disgust. “He’s old enough to be my father.”
“Come, Mungo. The boatmen are waiting.”
“Nay. I’m staying here with Joe.”
“Who is Joe?” Raibert demanded.
Something nudged her legs, and she kenned without checking that Joe stood at her side.
A growl came from behind the clansmen. The fierce snarl repeated from different positions and fear slid over the faces of the Scothage men.
Beside her, Joe shifted and the shock on her father’s face gave Mungo satisfaction. Joe slipped his arm around her midriff, and she leaned against him, glad of his silent support.
“Ye’ve whored yerself out,” Raibert snapped.
“Nay!”
“Mungo is my mate.” Joe cut through the shouting that erupted.
“’Tis too late to claim her,” her father said. “’Tis a matter of honor.”
“Honor?” Joe scoffed. “You’ve treated your daughter like crap. You stole her cattle and sold them to us with no intention of giving her the money. You’re happiest when she’s not around, and now you’ve decided to marry her off, and even better you’ve received money in exchange. One problem sorted. Mungo wants to stay with us. Ask her.”
“Did ye allow this man to ruin ye?” Aengus thundered.
Mungo remained silent, the pulse of quiet damning.
With two quick steps, her father reached her side. His hand flashed out, the collision of palm and cheek loud in the hush.
Joe let rip with a punch. When the Scothage men objected and stepped toward the fracas, the leopards snarled. Her oldest brother dinnae heed the warning. A leopard sprang at him, and he toppled. Mungo saw Raibert’s shock as the leopard hissed in his face.
“Round them up,” Joe said.
A man appeared from the direction of the resort. “I have cuffs and bands to hold them.”
The newly arrived man—another shapeshifter, Mungo presumed—and Joe efficiently bound the Scothage men. When they objected and muttered curses and called her a whore, Joe directed them gagged. It seemed they’d prepared for every eventuality.
“What will ye do now?” Mungo asked, observing her father. His glare burned a hole in her, and she rubbed her chest, taking a step closer to Joe.
“I’m not sure. Any suggestions?”
“I wondered if we could return them to Caimbeulach,” Mungo said. “As long as they promise to leave me be.”
Joe shook his head. “I doubt we can take their word to behave with decency.”
“What if we visited the Grantlach and explained I dinnae wish to marry him?” Mungo tapped her fingers against her thigh. “What if I promised to repay the money the Grantlach has given to my father?”
“This was none of your doing,” Joe snapped. “Why should you have to fix everything?”
“Because I’m considering staying at the resort with ye,” Mungo said, wishing she could see Joe more clearly. “If ye want me to leave, ye need to say now.”
“Mungo, I want you to stay. How many times do I need to ask you?”
“Mayhap one or two more,” she confessed. “Few people at Caimbeulach castle sought my company. It may take more cycles to sink into my brainbox.”
Joe flashed her a quick grin. “I’ll keep telling you to make sure you believe me.”
She dipped her head. “Thank ye. Fixing this with the Grantlach is the right thing to do, and I cannae have my father’s blood on my hands.”
Joe turned to one of the black leopards who were standing in a group, waiting for direction. “We’re returning the prisoners to the Scothage Highlands, then visiting the Grantlach at his lair. I’d appreciate volunteers to come with me and Mungo. We’ll fly, so it should be a quick trip. Anyone who doesn’t wish to come, no problem.”
One leopard backed up and shifted. Saber. Mungo’s gaze swept his body before she registered the action.
“Mungo!” Joe snapped. “Close your eyes.”
Saber’s wink was the final thing she saw before she followed Joe’s terse order. She found herself grinning and heard the growls coming from the other leopards. Somehow, she thought they contained humor.
“Mungo’s idea is a solid plan. If we leave now, we should arrive back tomorrow afternoon at the latest,” Saber said. “We can land the ship here, instead of dragging the prisoners to the resort. I’ll tell Ma what’s happening. She can take charge of the upcoming activities, and we’ll return for the gala evening tomorrow night. I’ll collect the ship.”
“Bring our clothes too,” Joe said.
“Can I look yet?”
“Yes. Minx,” he added in a whisper.
Something foreign swelled inside Mungo, and her mouth twitched with the urge to smile. She’d gone with instinct and given Joe her body, and now she thought he might have just stolen her heart too.
* * * * *
Her father glared at her during the entire flight to Caimbeulach keep. For once, Mungo didn’t care. From the instant they took off, Joe held her hand. He seemed to sense her nervousness at the new experience.
She had a pressing urge to tell her father how he’d hurt her. Mungo pondered the idea. Her father couldnae hit her, bound and gagged as he was. He couldnae reply either.
“All my life ye have punished me because my birth caused my mother’s death. It wasnae my fault.” Mungo returned her father’s glower. “I canna help it if I take her appearance, and ye have treated me shamefully. Ye bring dishonor to her memory.” Mungo’s gaze drifted to her brothers next. “I am yer sister. I deserve yer respect and yer protection. Instead, ye’ve treated me with contempt. I have done nothing to ye. Nothing. And ken yer bad manners. I am ashamed of ye all. And as for ye.” Her gaze skirted the members of her clan. Most avoided her gaze. “I am the laird’s daughter, and I deserve yer esteem and protection. Not one of ye spoke up for me. And after this appalling treatment, ye all expect me to wed the Grantlach for the riches this marriage will bring to the Caimbeulach clan. I willnae make a sacrifice for ye ungrateful louts. I refuse.”
Joe’s fingers tightened on hers a fraction. Joe Mitchell might have taken possession of her cattle and taken her away from the clan against her will, but he had given her so much more in return.
Friendship.
Support.
Joe was offering her a future.
Love.
She risked a glance at Joe and saw the admiration and approval in his expression, and in that moment she kenned exactly what her heart was telling her.
Mungo turned back to her father. “If ye had troubled to ask, I would’ve told ye I am wed to Joe Mitchell.”
Her father’s eyes flared wide and flicked toward Joe. Joe’s fingers clasped hers, and a slow smile bloomed across his face, stealing her breath.
“Our mother is thrilled to have a new daughter-in-law.” Saber’s smile held reassurance.
Joe lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a lingering kiss to her inner wrist. “I am a lucky man.”
“So ye see,” Mungo said, “I canna wed another when Joe and I married by consent.”
18 – Mungo Spouts Home Truths
Caimbeulach Keep, Scothage Highlands
They landed the spaceship on the training field, right next to the keep. Joe and Saber freed the legs of their captives and marched the Scothage men down the ramp with a dozen leopard shapeshifters as escort.
“Which way, Mungo?” Saber asked.
“Follow me.” She was hoping Adair behaved with good sense instead of encouraging the remaining clansmen to attack them as they entered the keep.
“Wait, sweetheart.” Joe grasped her arm to slow her rapid steps. “You’re my wife.” He tugged her to a stop and grinned down at her. “You never cease to surprise me.” He gently kissed her mouth and pulled away to whisper in an undertone. “I take you to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. I love you, Mungo.”
Saber stepped up beside her. “Welcome to the family.”
Then each of the leopards approached her. Each licked her hand before returning to their former positions. Warmth spread through her chest at their easy acceptance.
“I can’t wait to celebrate our wedding.” A naughty twinkle sparked in Joe’s eyes.
“Me too,” Mungo confessed.
“Mungo?”
Mungo glanced up to the battlements and spied Reilynn and Adair. Adair held a bow with a nocked arrow. “We come in peace. I am returning Father and the others and to tell ye I am married.”
Adair peered downward. “Where is the Grantlach?”
Joe stepped forward. “I am Mungo’s husband. She is married to me.”
The gates opened, and Mungo gestured for her father to march through. She, Joe, Saber and the leopards strode behind the Scothage men.
“Why are they bound and gagged?” Adair demanded. “Bitch! What have ye done?” He darted up to Mungo and struck her before she could escape the blow.
Each of the leopards snarled and several prowled toward Adair. Mungo stilled them with a slash of hand and wiped the blood off her throbbing jaw. Tears shrouded her vision, but she refused to let them fall. Instead, she curled her right hand to a fist and punched her brother, striking him as hard as she could in return. Pain radiated up her arm, the still-healing arrow wound protesting the abuse.
“Now we are even,” Mungo said, her hand aching as much as her jaw. The shock on her brother’s face was worth the pain in her fingers and knuckles. She turned her back on Adair, trusting Joe to keep her safe. “Reilynn, this is my husband Joe Mitchell.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Joe said. “Mungo speaks highly of you.”
Reilynn remained unsmiling. “Yet ye return my husband and sons trussed up like chickens.”
“They are alive.” Joe’s voice held steel.
“They fired poison arrows at Joe and I. We’re lucky to survive.” Mungo wondered at Reilynn’s unfriendliness. “Reilynn, I understand things between me and my father and brothers will never change, since we’re returning them as prisoners, but I love and respect ye. I hope that this willnae alter.”
“We hope you will visit us,” Joe said. “You and Janeet.”
Reilynn glanced at her husband and after a long pause, she shrugged. “It will depend on Aengus.”
“We can send transport for you,” Joe said.
Reilynn never blinked. “Aengus may forbid a visit.”
“We wish for peace and will need to purchase more cattle. The next step is yours,” Joe said. “Mungo, did you wish to collect your belongings before we leave?”
“I have nothing of value here.” Mungo glanced at Reilynn and bit her lip. She’d hoped her stepmother would at least welcome her back or have questions about her surprise marriage. Instead, Reilynn remained silent. Mungo waited a fraction longer but to no avail.
“Mungo, let’s go,” Joe said.
Each of the leopards waited until she, Joe and Saber retreated. Then, they backed up and fell in behind. Mungo swallowed as she strode up the ramp into the spaceship. She’d thought at least Reilynn cared for her. She’d been wrong.
“Mungo.” Joe’s arms came around her. “You might feel alone now, sweetheart, but we’re here for you. Me. Saber. The rest of my brothers and their mates. You have a new family who will care for you and treat you with love and respect. You’re stuck with us now.”
Mungo pressed her face against Joe’s chest and cried full-out, her shoulders heaving with the force of her sobs.
Numbness filled her on the quick journey from Caimbeulach to Grantlach territory.
“What happens if they shoot first and ask questions later?” Saber asked.
Joe squeezed Mungo’s hand as he replied to his brother. “I’m hoping our appearance will surprise them enough and they won’t act straight away.”
“They’ll see me,” Mungo said, her voice croaky from her crying jag. “That will make them hesitate.”
“Will they recognize you?” Joe asked. “You told me you haven’t seen the Grantlach laird for several years.”
“The Grantlach kenned my mother. He courted her before my father won her. I resemble her. He will identify me easily enough.”
Saber landed the spaceship. In the past, this trip would’ve thrilled her, but now her mind tangled, her limbs prickled with a horrid chill, and despite Joe’s warmth, shock encased her hopes.
Reilynn, too, had rejected he
r.
Joe stood. “Mungo, all we need do is speak to this laird, then we can go home. A fresh beginning with your handsome husband.”
Saber snorted loud enough to draw her attention, and several of the leopards made a haw-haw-haw sound deep in their throats.
Joe tsked and lifted his head, raising his gaze skyward. “That is leopard humor.”
He ushered her down the ramp of the spaceship. Saber and the leopards followed.
“This castle is tidier and has a more prosperous appearance than the Caimbeulach one,” Saber said.
“Aye,” Mungo agreed. “The Grantlach breeds steeds. They are valuable animals.”
Joe cocked a brow. “This guy owned Harriet?”
Mungo nodded while surveying the battlements. Soldiers had appeared, although they dinnae bear weapons. Yet. “Aye. I understand Harriet came from here.”
“What do ye want?” A watchful clansman peered down at them, his Grantlach tartan stretched across one broad shoulder and pinned with a glittering brooch.
“We have come to see the Grantlach,” Mungo said in a loud, clear voice.
“Who requests an audience?” the man enquired, his voice gruff, his expression impassive in his round face.
“Mungo Cam—”
“Mungo Mitchell,” Joe said. “We come to talk and have no intention of creating trouble. The laird can address us from where you stand if he wishes.”
“I’ll inquire if he desires to speak with ye.” The man disappeared.
Watchful gazes continued to bore holes in them as they waited for the Grantlach’s favor.
“Mungo?” An older man with black hair peered over the battlements at them. Surprise etched into his face to join the lines left by years and experience. “My spies told me ye were missing. I feared for yer life. Who is that with ye?”
“I am Joe Mitchell. This is my older brother Saber. We are shapeshifters.”
“Shapeshifters. Aye, I’ve heard rumors of men who transform into big cats. Thank ye for escorting Mungo here.”
“Nay,” Mungo said. “I have come to tell ye I am married. I wished to do the honorable thing and tell ye in person.”
“Mungo is my wife,” Joe said.
Journey with Joe (Middlemarch Capture Book 5) Page 18
