“Then take care, my friend, for I too shall be watching over you.”
“Until the next time.” Cherub’s image fluttered away, as did his vision and his connection to Nessa.
The fae time-walker was devoted to each and every one of her people, her work usually done in secret. He only hoped she was as devoted to caring for herself as well. There was strength in allowing the mated bond and joining with the one who was always meant to be theirs. Aye, a mated pair should never be separated, not even when duty stood in their way.
Chapter 1
At the fae village, farther along the loch from the ancient House of Clan Matheson, Scotland, 1210.
Under a darkening sky, Cherub paced the pebbly beach before the fae village, the wind whistling around her. It flapped her white fur cloak back from her shoulders and whipped her blond hair in a frenzy. High above, the full moon rose and bathed the Earth in its heavenly glow. This one night of the month always offered such promise to those who were mated, yet this eve, it brought only longing to her very soul, a longing that would soon be crushed. She couldn’t forsake her fae-blooded kind, not when so many would now need her aid in seeking out their mated one.
“Papa!” A lad dashed through the gate in the high stone wall surrounding the village and raced toward the foaming water’s edge. ’Twas Joseph, Amelia’s son. Wearing loose-legged tan breeches two inches too short on his legs and a long green tunic, Joseph swung a wooden pail in his hand as he hurried along the grassy trail.
Ten years ago, Amelia, the second of only three time-walkers born to their people, had traveled from the future to the past and become soul bound to Olaf here in this time. When their bond had taken form, her friend had chosen to forego her skill and devote herself to her mate. That had left Cherub as the only one to care for their Earthbound fae, the third time-walker caring for those beyond the veil. Still, ’twas a duty Cherub adored and one she’d never forsake.
“Wait there, Joseph.” Beyond the choppy breakers, Olaf waved from his skiff then hauled his nets in. He rowed into shore, bounded out and roped his boat to a boulder. Joseph handed him the pail and Olaf filled it with his catch before the two of them walked back along the beach toward her. With a smile, Olaf stopped and gazed at her. “How are you this eve, Cherub?”
“I’m very well. How is Amelia?”
“A little anxious following the recent battle on these shores. ’Tis good to see you’re back.”
“I can never stay away from my kin here for long.” Thankfully she’d only been gone a short time. Bending, she rustled Joseph’s windblown brown locks. “Tell your mama I shall visit her soon, now that I’ve returned to this time.”
“I will.” Joseph ogled her sparkly skin. “Mama said she saw your papa beyond the veil, and more than once when she traveled there. She said the king’s skin glitters too.”
“Aye, his does. Each eldest child born within the royal line holds such sparkly skin as mine.” She was one of seven, the eldest of all her siblings. She kissed Joseph’s cheek. His mother was like a sister to her, and Joseph was the first and only child born to a time-walker. Like his mother, he too would be an immortal, his soul having been blood bound to Amelia’s through his birth.
Olaf wrapped an arm around Joseph’s shoulder. “I’ve caught plenty of fish this eve, Cherub. Are you able to join us for the evening meal?”
“I wish I could, but there is a man I must wait here to meet. My thanks though for your kind invitation.”
“Then you must come as soon as you can. Amelia misses you.”
“As I miss her. Tell her I shall visit on the morrow.”
“I will. Take care.” Olaf squeezed her arm then led Joseph up the trail and through the gate into the village. Amelia and her kin were so happy here, and she too couldn’t have been happier for them. Joseph was a treasure, a child who brought such delight to one and all who met him.
With a soft sigh, she turned her gaze back toward Matheson House. This coming encounter was one that tore at her. She was to meet her soul bound mate and then turn him away. Life wasn’t fair, but then that she’d learnt well over the centuries.
Down the trail toward the sea-gate landing, a warrior with midnight black locks brushing his shoulders ran. He bounded aboard a skiff, released the mooring rope then coiled and stored it under the center seat. With the oars in hand, he rowed.
Once he cleared the bay, he tucked his oars away and raised the sail. The wind filled it with a hearty slap and with his feet braced wide along one side and the ropes in hand, he steered the skiff as it shot off like an arrow toward her.
Her fae senses reached out toward his and butterflies abounded in her belly. Kirk’s drive to reach the village was honed completely in on her, the one woman who was meant to be his, and the one woman she intended to deny him of. Finding his chosen one had consumed him these past five years, just as it had his two identical brothers who’d now found their mates. Although never once had she known that ’twas her Kirk searched for. If only she had, then she could have let him down far sooner and thus allowed him to move on and enjoy his life.
The wind plastered Kirk’s billowy white tunic against his muscled chest and sent the sword holstered at his side swaying. He would be here within a minute or two and there was naught more she could do now but anxiously await his arrival.
Over her shoulder, the need of those within the houses of stone and clay cloistered so tightly together called out to her and touched her very heart. Throughout the days and years to come, so many would need her aid and that knowledge firmed her stance. Their people couldn’t lose another time-walker, a fact she hoped her mate could accept.
With her decision made, she dissolved into a mist and became as one with the very air itself, the element she commanded. ’Twas best Kirk not have her image in his mind. If he did, then that would make their parting all the more harder.
Kirk steered his skiff toward land, lowered the sail as he neared the shore and jumped into the knee-deep water. He hauled his boat onto the beach and in snug black leather pants, marched toward her. He strode past her then stopped and swung about. With a determined slash to his lips and his nose to the air, he breathed deep and prowled back. In a wide circle, he moved, each of his steps drawing him closer and closer to her unseen position.
“Why can’t I see you, my elusive imp? I’m finally here in the right time and place and I should be able to.” He halted directly in front of her, lifted one hand and swept it in a wide arc.
His hand passed right through her, and her very soul shimmered with need.
“Where are you?” he whispered into the wind, raw pain in his voice.
Her heart ached with what could never be. A soul bound match was what she sought for others, believed in to the greatest degree. “I’m so sorry, Kirk. You have my sincerest apologies for withholding myself from you.” She allowed her voice to flow to him. Leaving him wondering about her wasn’t something she’d ever be able to do, not to the man her very soul had now been bound to. “You and I, and this mated bond that has formed between us, it cannae be.”
“You know my name?” He searched where she stood.
“I do, and that is because ’tis now emblazoned on my heart.”
“Why can’t I see you?”
“I’m a time-walker, one of only three who can command the very air itself. ’Tis my element and if I wish, so too I can become as one with it.”
“Why would you withhold yourself from me?”
“I…” She wavered in her stance and took form, although she remained fully cloaked and unseen. “You can touch me now if you wish.”
He swept one hand out, his fingers sliding through her locks then slowly, he brought his hand to his chest, his fist clenched around a long strand of her pale blond hair. “Thank you.”
“My name is Cherub. I am also the one who hears the whispers between souls who arena yet aligned so that I might bring them together across time, no matter where they might be.”
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��You’re the Fae Angel of Love?” Surprise widened his eyes. “I’ve heard of you, or I should say the legend. Tales spoken of the Fae Angel of Love give our clan hope.”
“I’m more than just a tale. I was born to serve my people and have done so for over a thousand years.” She looked into his eyes and almost drowned in his stunning golden gaze. A shifter’s eyes, although there was more. They were rimmed with a glimmer of starburst yellow, adding a spark of heat that sent another bout of butterflies flittering about in her belly. “So many seek my aid, and my duty is to those of fae blood who walk this Earth.”
“I’m one of Ivan’s direct descendants, Gilleoin’s second-born son, and unlike Gilleoin’s firstborn line, our clan is shifter alone. I have no fae blood.”
“Aye, ’tis true your clan does no’ hold any fae skills as the firstborn son’s line does, yet Sorcha’s blood still flows through your line all the same.” Sorcha, Gilleoin’s wife and Nessa’s daughter was a strongly skilled fae who held the ability of aura reading. “That trace of fae blood, although diluted over the centuries, is still enough to call to me.” She cupped his cheek, her lips lifting. “I have spoken to Isla’s father, Murdock, this night and he has informed me that many of the unmated men in his clan now sense their chosen ones. The same will have occurred for your clan farther across the Highlands from him. I also asked him to speak to your father and to let Michael know I will watch over one and all, just as I’ve always done.”
“As I intend to now watch over you.” He slid his hand gently over hers and closed his eyes. “I want my mate, the one woman who was always meant to mine. I want you, Cherub. Please, show yourself fully to me. Uncloak.”
His demand to see her tugged at her heart and caused her to sway toward him, to falter for a mere moment in her stance. She should walk away from him now, and before any ties between their souls began to weave together.
“I’m sorry. That I cannae do.”
“Legend says the Fae Angel of Love is the faerie king’s firstborn child.”
“Aye, I am.” She stroked her fingers back and forth over his skin. Touching him, even for this stolen moment in time, soothed her very soul. “You must understand, there is too much at stake for me to allow our joining. So many others need me.”
“As I now need you too. Surely you can take one night off from your duties. Aren’t you curious at all about who I am and why a bond has taken between us? Give me some time.” He smoothed his hand over her wrist and up her arm then slid his fingers under her hair and around her nape. “I’m so incredibly curious about you. I’ve wondered for five long years just who you were, as well as craved the thought of getting to know you. You can’t leave me now.”
She should move away, yet his hold, so deliciously tender, and the sheer look of desire in his gaze even though he couldn’t see her kept her rooted to the spot. “I’ve never once sensed I was bound to another. Five years may have passed for you, but for me, only a few minutes have.”
“I see.” He found her other arm then swept down to her hand and threaded their fingers together. “I understand your dilemma. I certainly don’t wish to see my fellow kin lose the chance of being brought to their mated one. Holding hope is all that the men in our shifter line hold onto, and now I’ve found you, I too have no intention of losing that hope. There must be a way around all of this, so that both of us can receive what we need to from our bond.”
“My duty is all-consuming, barely allowing me any time for myself, let alone a mate.”
“Then allow me to aid you. I needn’t be a burden but a partner to share the load.” Slowly, he lowered to one knee, brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss against her palm. “Cherub, from this day forth, I give you my oath. All I desire is to keep you safe, to honor your needs above my own. Allow me to stand at your side, to aid you in your duty. I’ll do all I can to ensure you never falter in caring for your people.”
A slow heat invaded her limbs and spread in a rippling wave through her body. His words touched her heart. “You shouldnae have made such a vow to me.”
“My word is absolute and I won’t take it back. Meeting you is all I’ve ever dreamed of, and the thought of you leaving me because your duty is so all-consuming tears my very soul in two. Give me a chance. Allow me to prove I speak the truth and will never fail you.” He rose to his feet, scooped her into his arms and walked with her toward the forest rising high behind the village. The tops of the pine trees swayed in the breeze and an owl hooted from deep within.
“Where are you taking me?” She looped her arms around his neck and held on as he strode along the trail into the darkening forest.
“There is a special place not far from here, one I discovered not long after my arrival. I’d like to take you there. Give me this one night. Don’t leave me or forego our bond until you’ve given me the chance to prove my vow was spoken in truth. I would forever honor it, and you.”
Goodness. If she granted his request and spent one night with him, would she then be able to walk away from him once the sun had risen in the morning? Soul bound mates would do anything for each other. That she’d witnessed time and time again over the centuries, although Amelia had still stood down from her duty after accepting the bond with Olaf. That she couldn’t allow to have happen to her.
“You’ve gone very quiet all of a sudden. Does that mean you agree to one night?”
He asked for so little and right now no other needed her. “I’ll give you one night, although no more.”
“Thank you.” He buried his nose in her hair and grinning, drew in a deep breath. “Mmm, you smell delicious, like fresh air and an ocean breeze. Where do you live, Cherub?”
“My place is here on Earth, amongst those of fae blood, wherever that might be and whatever century that draws me to.” In truth, she owned several parcels of land, had built a home on one such plot and favored it as a home base. She also kept a chamber right here at Matheson House, one Nessa insisted she use as often as she needed to, which would be greatly needed during the coming days and weeks ahead now so many shifters in the future would be seeking their mates here in this time. “You can put me down if you wish. I’ve agreed to one night and I’ll gladly walk with you.”
“Thanks for the offer but I’d rather hold onto you.” He strode along a leaf-strewn path, the canopy high and thick above and blocking all sign of the moon. “You feel so good in my arms.”
“Do you carry women about often?” He was rather adept at it.
“No.” He chuckled. “You are and will be the only woman I’ll ever hold close to my heart. That I promise you. So too my bear is also feeling restless this eve and demands this touch. Releasing you right now would be impossible.”
“’Tis a shame I willnae get to meet your bear. Is his pelt the same color as your hair?” His black locks were as dark as a midnight sky.
“I’ll show you my bear, if you uncloak and show me your true form. Shall we make a deal?”
“Nay, no deal.” It appeared her mate liked to negotiate.
“Do you hear that?” Kirk cocked one ear.
Up ahead, the sea crashed against the high cliffs and the sound traveled to her. Kirk was taking her toward the isolated bay farther along the inner channel of the loch, one of the few places she too adored. “I do.” She touched his jaw and turned his gaze from the trail to hers. His golden eyes glinted in the dark. “We are headed to one of my favorite places.”
“I wish I could see you.” He searched her gaze. “What color are your eyes, my mate?”
“They’re blue, a very plain and dull blue.”
“There is no shade of blue that is plain or dull.” A low branch loomed and he ducked his head, his lips brushing her cheek as he kept her from scraping against it as well. “I can feel you’re clothed in a fur cape. What else do you wear?”
She grasped the edges of her fluttering cloak and tucked the fur tighter about her. “Just clothes.”
“You’re so elusive. Come on. You must
give me a hint. He nuzzled her neck, his nose buried deep in her hair. “I’ll forever wonder otherwise.”
“They’re clothes which keep me warm no matter where I might travel.” She touched a finger to his lower lip and swept to one raised corner then back again to the center. He had such soft lips, and when his tongue darted out and he licked her finger, she gasped.
“Mmm, I see you’re elusive and tasty.” He strode uphill, stepped over a fallen log barring their way and along the winding trail toward the cliff top that overlooked the bay.
She tucked her head into his shoulder and rubbed her cheek against the thin white cotton of his tunic. The deep V collar was loosely laced and she slipped her hand inside his shirt and stroked his golden skin. The need to touch one’s mate was natural and she didn’t fight that desire. So too she’d agreed to one night, so she may as well allow herself this moment of release. “You feel warm, almost too warm.”
“That’s because my shifter blood runs hotter than most, and right now it’s been a couple of days since I last shifted. Heat builds to a higher degree when I’m overdue for the Change.” He emerged at the top of the cliff overlooking the curve of the bay below. Moonlight glimmered across the white-capped waves rolling onto the white sand beach, turning them a stunning silvery hue.
This bay held a touch of magic, was only accessible by a tunnel in the cliff at the base. Few knew of the hidden entrance, which ensured this protected place remained so very private and pristine.
“You said before you’re one of only three who holds command over the element of air. Where are the other two time-walkers located?”
“Jeremiah’s duty is to the full-blooded fae beyond the veil. He rarely has time to aid me on Earth. The last is Amelia, one of my dearest friends. We are close, like sisters in truth.”
“Where does Amelia’s duty lie, here or beyond the veil?” With care, he traversed the edge of the cliff where it led downward toward the secret entrance. On one side, the odd stone rattled loose under his feet and clacked down the side of the sheer rock wall, while on the other, the rough branches of the swaying pine trees brushed his arms.
Highlander's Seduction (The Matheson Brothers Book 3) Page 2
