Passion of a Scottish Warrior (The MacLomain Series: Later Years Book 4)

by Sky Purington

  Story Overview

  Determined to protect Jackie from evil, Darach Hamilton flees MacLomain Castle without telling anyone his destination. As foretold by Celtic Goddess Brigit, that should have made the enemy pursue him. But nothing is as it seems. When he learns the dark demi-god went after Jackie instead, he races to her side only to discover something unexpected. Things have changed. There might be hope for them. Maybe he can finally be with her. After all, he’s been dreaming about her for years. The only problem? He already pushed her into another man’s arms.

  Over a month has passed since Jackie traveled back in time from modern day New Hampshire to medieval Scotland. Since then, it’s been a non-stop adventure. Now she’s in ninth-century Scandinavia with Heidrek, a Viking set to inherit the throne. A man that Darach is determined she be with despite the unforgettable kiss they shared. Then there’s the newfound Claddagh ring on her finger. It is foretold that its stone can only be ignited by the love of a MacLomain. Darach is by birth, the only remaining MacLomain not taken. Yet despite the power the ring’s glow could harness, she wants nothing to do with it. Not in light of her terrible secret. One she prays will keep any man from loving her because it will mean their ultimate ruin.

  Many revelations come to light when Jackie, Darach, and Heidrek travel through time to keep the future King, wee Robert the Bruce safe. Determined to spare them heartbreak, Jackie refuses both men. Yet one of them ends up invoking unavoidable passion. A timeless draw. One she tries to fight. But some things are meant to be, and Fate has a plan for them all. Epic love. Ultimate war. Inescapable death. Twists nobody saw coming. An ending that will either see Scotland through to what it is today or rewrite history altogether.

  Find out how everything unfolds in Passion of a Scottish Warrior, the final installment in the MacLomain Series: Later Years.

  Series Overview

  There is a little-known part of history that celebrates four mystical men, Scottish warriors all, who would do anything to protect a wee bairn. It is a tale born of passion, magic, adventure and even time-travel. A tale of a band of warriors who sacrificed everything to keep safe the future of Scotland. Not only did they strive to see their beloved clan not lost to the past but were determined to see a great Scotsman rise up. A powerful man who would someday rule well his country and see that her heart was not lost… Here’s to Roibert a Briuis, best known as Robert the Bruce, King of the Scots, one of the most famous warriors of his generation in the Wars of Scottish Independence.

  Passion of a Scottish Warrior

  The MacLomain Series-Later Years

  Book Four

  By

  Sky Purington

  Dedication

  This is dedicated to my mother-in-law, Nancy.

  You touched my life in ways you will never know.

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  Rest in Peace, my friend.

  1943-2015

  An Irish Poem

  Do not stand at my grave and weep,

  I am not there... I do not sleep.

  I am the thousand winds that blow...

  I am the diamond glints on snow...

  I am the sunlight on ripened grain...

  I am the gentle autumn rain.

  When you waken in the morning's hush,

  I am the swift uplifting rush

  Of gentle birds in circling flight...

  I am the soft star that shines at night.

  Do not stand at my grave and cry—

  I am not there... I did not die...

  COPYRIGHT © 2016

  Passion of a Scottish Warrior

  Sky Purington

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of these books may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Edited by Cathy McElhaney

  Cover Art by Tamra Westberry

  Published in the United States of America

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Previous Releases

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Scandinavia

  905 A.D.

  “DARACH LET ME go,” Jackie murmured against Heidrek’s chest. “Just like that, he let me go.”

  “He did right by you, woman.” Heidrek tilted her chin until their eyes met. “Now I will watch over you.” His gaze softened. “Care for you.”

  What had just happened? She still couldn’t make sense of it. Not this part of the journey anyway. Like her friends with Broun blood, Cassie, Nicole, and Erin, she had traveled back in time from modern day New Hampshire to medieval Scotland.

  Well, at least originally.

  Since she first traveled back over a month ago, she had ping-ponged between Scotland and ninth-century Scandinavia. Anything to avoid the evil demi-god in pursuit of not only wee Robert the Bruce but one of the four original Claddagh rings. Apparently the rings were the key to a modern day Broun finding her one true love MacLomain. And as foretold, all of her friends who wore a ring like hers had recently done just that. Fallen in love.

  So that only left Jackie.

  And Darach.

  Despite being in another man’s arms right now, they were the only two left that were meant to come together. The only Broun and MacLomain. Yet Darach was determined to see that changed. Which was why he sent her reeling back in time safely within Heidrek’s arms.

  Not a Scotsman but a Viking.

  Jackie was about to respond to Heidrek when two dragons appeared out of thin air. Within seconds, Bjorn and Tait shifted and landed on the dock. They too had returned from thirteenth century Scotland.

  She pulled away from Heidrek, anxious to hear what they had to say. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Is everything okay?” Keep your cool, she preached to herself. Now isn’t the time to lose it. “Erin? Robert the Bruce? What happened after we left?”

  The last thing she saw before being whisked away in the midst of battle at MacLomain Castle was all hell breaking loose.

  “Time passes differently. It has been several hours since the battle. All is well enough,” Bjorn grumbled and strode away.

  Jackie frowned at Tait. “That doesn’t sound promising.”

  “The demi-god wasn’t defeated, but the young king and your friends are safe.” Tait shrugged as he watched Bjorn. “Although he ordered me to keep my distance from Erin, it seems my cousin came to love her and struggles with her taking Rònan as a mate.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” Jackie murmured. She had seen the way Bjorn looked at Erin.

  As it turned out, Erin was half dragon so she was more appealing to the Viking
dragon shifters. Bjorn and Tait had protected her until now. Her guess was Erin and Rònan had come into their full power, and her ring’s gem matched Rònan’s eyes. Once that happened, the demi-god couldn’t go near it.

  That meant Jackie and her ring had become the new target.

  “And how are you doing, Cousin?” Heidrek asked Tait. “Is your heart broken as well?”

  “I’m fine,” Tait assured though a flicker of sadness touched his eyes. “Erin is my friend, and I only wish her the best.”

  Heidrek nodded. “Good.” He clasped Tait’s shoulder and met his eyes. “You and Bjorn made me proud. Thank you for protecting your kin so well.”

  Tait nodded before he headed down the dock. From the get-go, she had been impressed with how much respect the dragon shifters showed Heidrek considering he wasn’t half dragon. But he was the oldest and would become king eventually, so it made sense. More than that, he treated them well. He treated everyone well for that matter.

  Heidrek sheathed the MacLomain sword Rònan had recently tossed to him and held out his hand, his eyes locked on hers. “Come, Jackie. Let us seek shelter before the storm arrives.”

  Jackie nodded, took his hand, and eyed the cloudless sky as they walked. While some might ask him why he said that, she knew better. Heidrek might not be a dragon, but there was something mystical about him. His mother had been a powerful seer and his father was a dragon shifter so he was far from simply human.

  Though she had been to this ring fortress before, she remained in awe of its sheer size. With dozens of long piers, various sized ships and a large village cozied between a huge wall and massive mountains, it was truly impressive. While she might have spent the majority of her time here indoors caring for Erin who was caught in an unnatural slumber, she managed to get out a little bit. During that time, she got to know Heidrek and his family better.

  While Darach continued to avoid her.

  Oh, the trouble a kiss can cause.

  She vividly recalled the first time she met Darach Hamilton in New Hampshire. He had been teaching Nicole how to fight. Dressed in nothing but faded jeans and black boots, his sweat-slicked muscles glistened in the sun. She sat in her car, hands gripping the steering wheel for far too long as she admired him. And struggled with an unusual feeling of familiarity…almost déjà vu.

  After they’d been introduced, he seemed to keep his distance. They talked on occasion and eyed one another. Maybe even flirted here and there but that was it.

  Until just before he left.

  It had been then, in those last moments before he turned away to leave, that he shook his head, closed the distance, cupped her cheeks and kissed her. It hadn’t lasted long. No tongue was involved. But it was the most romantic kiss of her life and had left her breathless.

  Yet she knew he regretted it the minute he pulled away.

  She saw how disappointed he was with himself.

  “You worry over Darach,” Heidrek said softly, cutting into her thoughts.

  “I do.” It wasn’t a complete lie. She did. “I wish I understood what was going on. Why he wanted Rònan to give you that blade.” Jackie shook her head. “Isn’t it supposed to stay with Darach? To help him defeat the dark demi-god?”

  Jackie didn’t have to wonder why Darach chose Heidrek to keep her safe. It was no secret that she and the Viking had become good friends and that he would do his best to protect her. But why was Darach determined to stay away from her? Was he so opposed to the idea that she might be meant for him?

  “Yes, it has been said that the blade can help defeat the evil demi-god,” Heidrek said. “But there is a way to keep you and the ring safe. One which does not include you being with Darach.”

  Jackie eyed him as they walked. As tall and muscled as his dragon kin, Heidrek was remarkably handsome with dark blond hair and pale blue eyes. And like his family, he was every inch a warrior. Yet somehow she knew whatever he spoke of had nothing to do with merely protecting her.

  “Darach wants me to be with you, doesn’t he?” she murmured. “Somehow he knows a way to break this Broun, MacLomain connection.”

  “Yes.” He never released her hand as they made their way through the crowd and past the fortress gates. As always, he was greeted by everyone. The Viking King might still rule, but it was clear the people looked to Heidrek as well.

  While she might genuinely like Heidrek and could admit that she was attracted to him, she didn’t like being told who she should be with. Especially when it meant being tossed from one fated man to another. She was angry. Confused. Because none of it made any sense. She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Why did Darach give her up so readily? Better yet, what gave him the idea that she was his to give up in the first place? When she felt her skin tingling in response to her emotions, she tried to suppress them.

  Forgive him, Jackie.

  Forgive him so that you can calm down.

  As if he sensed her disgruntled thoughts, Heidrek pulled her into the stables away from the crowd. He cupped her shoulders as his eyebrows flew together. “Are you well, Jackie?”

  “I am,” she whispered and inhaled deeply, almost cursing when the normal scent of horses and hay didn’t reach her nostrils.

  Forgive. But could she?

  “You will never be forced into anything you do not want,” Heidrek said gently, well aware of her tension, her issues. At least some of them. Where Cassie had gone blind, Nicole was going deaf and Erin, mute, Jackie faced something altogether different. Something that affected her sense of touch and smell.

  Two symptoms that would eventually lead to something far worse.

  And it was that something that only Erin knew about.

  Or so she assumed. And hoped.

  It was hard to know for sure who knew what in this land of magic and time travel.

  “I hear you saying the words, Heidrek,” she managed. “But it feels like Darach expects me to be with you and that you expect the same.” She kept trying to forgive them for assuming as much. “And while I appreciate your protection, I’m not a big fan of having others decide my fate.”

  Born into a wealthy family who owned half the real estate in the Hamptons, she had learned at a young age how pre-planned her life was. In fact, her uncle nearly had her married off before she turned eighteen.

  “Darach trusted me to protect you and that is what I intend to do.” Heidrek squeezed her shoulders. “If nothing else, we're friends Jackie. Let that fact not make you feel caged but free. I’ve enjoyed our time together and hope for far more. But that does not decide your fate. Only you decide that.”

  And that’s why she liked this guy so much. He didn’t push her. It was yet another reason she supposed the King wanted him to take the throne. Heidrek knew how to handle people.

  “Okay,” she whispered and met his eyes. “Thank you.”

  Heidrek held her gaze for a long moment before he nodded and pulled away. When a commotion arose outside, he cocked his head and narrowed his eyes as though he knew precisely what was happening.

  “What is it?” she said.

  “Something that does not overly surprise me,” he said under his breath as he took her hand and led her back out. Jackie’s eyes widened when she saw who had arrived.

  Grant Hamilton.

  Darach’s father.

  He looked upset as he strode through the village. When his eyes locked on them, he stopped short. “Is he here then? Is my son here?”

  “Laird Hamilton,” came a deep voice as Naðr Veurr, the Viking King appeared through the crowd. “What ails you, my friend?”

  “Darach has vanished.” Grant wore a heavy frown as his eyes flickered between Jackie and the King. “I cannae sense him anywhere.”

  Jackie’s frown met Grant’s as they joined them. “I thought everything was okay. Wasn’t he just at MacLomain Castle?”

  “Aye,” Grant said. “And in a state. He was last seen on the wall walk with Erin and Rònan. After he left there, he vanished. Nobody can
find him.”

  Her heart leapt into her throat. “Do you think…did the…”

  When her words trailed off, Grant’s eyes widened. “Do I think what? That he was taken by evil?”

  “Well, yes,” she started, but the King cut her off.

  “Come, Laird Grant, let us go somewhere quiet.” His eyes met Heidrek’s. “You and Jackie as well.”

  Grant kept muttering as they followed Naðr deeper into the village until they entered his private lodge. Queen Megan waited and urged them to sit around a fire as they received mugs of ale.

  “We have seen no sign of your son or anyone else until Heidrek returned with Jackie,” the King said. “What has happened?”

  “Bloody hell if I know.” Grant took a hearty swig from his mug. Jackie had never seen him like this before. As Laird of the Hamilton clan and the most powerful MacLomain wizard, he was usually far more refined.

  “I knew he was upset, we all did,” Grant continued. “But Erin convinced me to let him speak with her and his cousins alone. So, I did. I gave them their time.” He shook his head, distressed. “Then he just disappears!” Grant took another swig, eyes rounding. “Is he hurt? Has he been taken? I have no idea.” His eyes shot to Jackie. “’Tis hard to imagine that he disappeared of his own free will when you’re in more danger than ever.”

  “But I thought…” she started.

  “You thought what?” Grant’s eyes narrowed. “That my son had the power to keep you and the wee king safe by giving you to Heidrek?”

  Jackie’s blood chilled at his tone. Heidrek didn’t take it much better based on the way his brows drew down.

  “Darach did not give me to anyone because I did not belong to him to begin with,” she said, enunciating each word firmly but respectfully. “Instead, he told Rònan to toss his sword to Heidrek, and we were pulled through time and ended up here.” Her skin started tingling again. Forgive. “So please tell me…us, what’s going on because we’re as clueless as you are.”