by Alexa Aston
“I am not afraid of the Wolf Brothers, Bri. And I also happen to know that they will not be coming to play on this day,” he said as he came closer again.
At two and ten summers, Keegan was a handsome lad who had grown up alongside Robert and Ferghus O’Faolain, also knows as the Wolf Brothers, since their surname referred to the animal in an older form of their language. They had been companions since birth, the three of them, but that was the only reason they tolerated Keegan as they did. Brianna was only ten summers and, though she felt much older than them based on her responsibilities and intelligence, the three lads were larger than her. Why they began to play this game years ago, she could not recall. It had been fun to pretend to be in distress while men fought to save her. But she had a feeling this would be her last time playing this game, now that Keegan had taken it beyond bounds.
She laughed at Keegan as he glared at her. “You should be afraid of them. They may be your companions, but once I tell them you tied me up and refused to let me go without a kiss, they will bloody you.”
“As I said. They are not coming today. Their mama sent them off to do trade with another tuath, so they will be gone all day. If you wish to go home, you must kiss me.” Licking his lips, his eyes narrowed as he drew near. “Come now, Bri. ’Tis but a kiss. ’Tis a harmless thing. How many times have we played this game, you pretending to be my wife? Wives kiss their husbands. Show me how you would kiss yours.”
Just as he came face to face with her, and it became obvious he was going to steal the kiss if she did not give it, she lifted her knee and connected with his male parts. She had no idea what they truly were or why they hurt so bad, but Papa always told her to aim for the male parts.
With a grunt, Keegan dropped to his knees and cupped his groin, cursing her under his breath before looking as if he may hit her. Then his face turned to stone, with a look she had never seen before. She decided she did not like it. “Suit yourself, lass. Stay out here in the cold and rain for all I care. Just remember, ’tis your doing for being so stubborn. You think I should fear the Wolf Brothers? Mayhap you should fear the wolves in the wild.” With that, Keegan slowly stood back up and rubbed himself where he must still ache, gave her one more glare, then turned to leave her alone.
“Keegan?” she asked, but he kept on walking. “Keegan! Come back here, you dolt! You cannot just leave me!” she shouted and strained against her binds, but he did not turn around. She watched as his dripping-wet blond head disappeared behind a towering pine tree and she knew without a doubt he meant to truly leave her alone out here.
The rumble of thunder made her shriek with sudden fear. Cursed thunderstorm. She did not mind them so much, but being tied to a tree during one was not at all ideal. The abandoned hut they used as their own hideaway loomed only yards away, the promise of warmth and protection, but impossible to reach while bound. She longed to reach its safe walls as desperation grew. Panic began to flood her body as she looked around. She was hopelessly stuck. Surely Keegan was only jesting. He had been her companion her entire life. Aye, he was prone to mischief, but this? Nay. He would be back.
Another boom of thunder made her tense, but she tried to keep breathing. Her mama and papa had been discussing whom she may wed in a few years, when she turned of age. She had told them that she was certain to wed either Robert O’Faolain or Keegan Mac Carthaigh, but now she must adamantly remove him from consideration. The lad was foolhardy and she would never forgive him for this.
Several more moments passed as her mind wandered. Mayhap now she would have to make her intentions toward Robert known, since he was surely the only man she would prefer to marry and he was already three and ten summers. In a few years, he would likely be ready to wed. Aye, his brother Ferghus was also mighty handsome with his blond hair, blue eyes, and ready smile, but he felt much more like a brother to her than a potential husband. Something about Robert’s quiet, intense nature was mysterious to her. He had already started to get dark patches of hair on his chin, and his deep blue eyes always seemed so serious, as if he was pondering all the wonders of the world at once. Brianna quite preferred the times when they played this game and he would be her rescuer. He was strong and always made her feel safe.
But those days must come to an end. For he was not here to rescue her and she would never trust Keegan again, that arse. If her papa even knew that she was thinking that word, he would likely whack her own arse with a stick. “Arse,” she said aloud for the first time in her life. She giggled and said it again. She had to find ways to entertain herself as she pondered a way out of this mess.
The darkening sky lit up blue with lightning and within the blink of an eye, horrible thunder growled all around, releasing with it a torrential downpour that made its way through the tightly huddled branches and multi-colored leaves above her. Her violet dress was now plastered to her body and her dark brown hair lay in stringy rows around her face. Her hands were not even free to move the hair and she spit and shook her head, trying to see through the dark curtain of locks.
Night was setting in in earnest as the storm around her raged. If the moon was out and providing light, she could not see it through the thick trees around her. Surely her papa was looking for her by now. She refused to panic. She would box Keegan’s ears when next they met, but she had to stay calm. Her body was cold and numb, and she felt sleep pulling at her eyelids as she rested her head against the rough bark. She would try not to think of any insects that may be climbing up her skirts and she was certain she had not heard wolves howling in a very long time. An owl hooted overhead and she screamed. She hated owls. Cursed beasts with their large eyes and rotating heads. They would peck her lovely hazel eyes out, her mama always warned. Another scream shot out of her throat just as the owl hooted simultaneously with another flash of lightning.
“Bri!” She heard a voice shout. “Is that you?” Papa? Nay. Her papa had a very deep voice. This voice was certainly male, but it belonged to a younger lad.
“I am here!” she shouted, feeling her body begin to quake. She truly had no idea how long she had been out here or how she had stayed calm for so long, but fear flooded through her now and her body would have collapsed if not for her bindings.
A light started floating through the trees and she blinked rapidly as it shook and bobbed up and down, then flickered. Was it the fae? Mama always told her stories about the faeries who wandered the forest. Some liked humans and some did not. One was coming straight toward her, like a ball of fire, and she prayed to all the gods that it was a friendly faery.
“Do not harm me, faery!” she squeaked.
“What?” the faery said as it came closer, weaving past one more tree before stopping before her, its bright light blinding her, causing her to close her eyes and turn her head. She could feel its heat on her face and she was afraid it would burn her. Could the fae burn humans?
“By the gods lass, you are soaking wet. What happened to you?”
Even with her eyes closed, she knew that voice. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked up to the great height of one of the Wolf Brothers. Robert. He was not a faery. He was simply holding a clay bowl filled with burning tallow to guide him through the darkness. The sudden scent of tallow caught her nose but all she could focus on was his dark blue eyes, looking almost black behind the candlelight. All her resolve left her, and she started to blubber incoherently, shaking profusely. “Wolf,” she whispered.
Her bindings loosened and she began to fall, but she felt his arm come around to catch her. Opening her eyes, she saw the tallow candle burning on the ground and a dagger in his other hand. He must have cut her free from the tree. “Tell me what happened?” he repeated while she clung to him, crying into his chest. Though he was only three and ten, he was almost as tall as many of the grown men in the village. He towered over her and yet she never felt afraid of him. He was her closest companion.
“Keegan! He… he… refused to untie me unless I gave him a… a kiss!” she wailed and shuddered
against him.
“I will take care of him, lass,” he said calmly. “Why were you playing our games alone with him? I told him we were gone for the day.” He sounded more jealous than angry.
“He did not tell me until I was already tied up,” she sniffled. “When I refused to kiss him, he tried to force me. I kicked him in his… male parts. He left me!”
Suddenly, she felt weightless and realized Robert had picked her up in his arms. Then he stepped on the candle with his large boot to put out the flame before carrying her into their hut, out of the rain. What little light they had was instantly snuffed out, and yet she knew she was safe with him.
Leaving the door open behind him, Robert stepped further into the dark hut. The chill in the room was as bad as outside, but at least it was dry. “Everyone is out looking for you. I must get you back to your father.” He let out a loud whistle, forcing her to cover her ears.
“My thanks for saving me, Robert. I have decided that I shall request to marry you when I am a lass of five and ten.”
Even in the dark, she could see a sardonic smirk cross his lips, as if he thought her a silly lass. “Is that so?”
“Aye, ’tis. You are brave, yet gentle. Kind, yet strong. You will make a fine husband someday.”
“If you say so,” he said noncommittally.
Without warning, she planted a big kiss on his lips and she felt him stiffen. “Why did you do that, Bri?”
Lifting her head high, she replied, “I came very close to being forced to give my very first kiss to that lout Keegan today. Before it can ever be decided for me again, I have decided to give it to you. You are now my first kiss. And once we are wed, you shall be my last,” she confirmed with a nod of her head.
Robert looked at her strangely, but did not say a word. What was he thinking? She never knew and that was part of his appeal. Still, she would give her soggy left slipper to know his thoughts just now. Before she could ask, footsteps rushed in through the open door, more flickering candles leading the way. Ferghus arrived first and looked at them strangely when he found her in Robert’s arms. He frowned slightly but said nothing as her father came through next.
“Och! My wee lassie! We have been searching everywhere for you! Your mama is scared out of her mind. Och! You are all wet! Oh my… what has happened…” her father was talking erratically, hardly finishing one thought before starting another. “Give her here,” he blustered.
Robert, who already stood an entire head taller than her father, carefully placed her in his arms while explaining all that had transpired.
“That fool! I do not care if he is but a lad! She could have died out here! Och! I will kill him!”
A man stepped through the door. “Nay need. I shall blister his hide until the cursed lad cannot sit for a sennight!” Her eyes landed on the older man with graying hair. It was Keegan’s father. She knew he would handle his son, just as he had every other time Keegan had caused an uproar.
“He was only playing, Papa,” she added, suddenly worried for her companion. Aye, she was burning mad at him for this prank, but she had known Keegan all her life and knew he was prone to over-the-top antics. He never meant much by them. Between his bruised pride, and probably bruised male parts, she could understand why he had been so angry.
“I trust you will handle your lad, Harrold,” her father grunted as he shifted Brianna in his arms. “Let us get you home to your mama, lass.” He started to stomp off through the door but Brianna looked over her shoulder just in time to see both Wolf Brothers staring at her in a most strange way. Concern? Tenderness? She did not know. All she knew was that she was chilled to the bone and that her first kiss had been wondrous.
Five more years. In five more years she would marry Robert O’Faolain.
Chapter One
Six years later
“Just lay back, Papa. ’Twill be all right. You shall see.” Brianna smiled sweetly as she looked down at her ailing father, his features distorted through her tear-filled eyes.
With a grunt, her father sat up on his elbows in bed and grimaced. “I know ’twill, my sweet lass. You worry over-much about me. I am just an old sack of bones who needs his rest. Why do you not go out to gather some berries for a tart tonight?”
Furrowing her brow and pursing her lips, she shook her head in defiance and crossed her arms, plopping down next to him on the hay-stuffed mattress. “I shall not leave you.”
“’Tis nonsense, child. I will be perfectly all right while you are out. I only need a spot of tea and a bit of sleep.” His sad brown eyes shifted from hers to the mug of hot tea, sitting on the low table across the room, that Brianna had made a few moments earlier. “Bring that to me, mo leanbh and then I will rest.”
Chewing her bottom lip and feeling torn, she decided to obey. They did need food and he did need rest. He would never sleep if she hovered over him like a hummingbird, ever buzzing in his ear. “All right, Papa,” she murmured reluctantly, then she stood up and smoothed down her tattered and faded red wool dress that now appeared more of a dingy dark pink. The long sleeves had hung below her wrists at one point, but now they were several inches too short. The hem had been let down as much as possible, but the dress now came only to her ankles.
Her mama had passed when she was but a wee lass of ten summers, not long after the legendary tree incident that seemed to forever haunt her. Now, at the age of six and ten, she had grown quite a bit since then and had filled out more than she cared for. Still with only one old cow, whose milk had recently dried up, and a few chickens left, there was never enough time or resources to worry over new garments. She and her papa had made do for the past six years and she prided herself on being a survivor. Other lassies carried on about new fabrics, handsome lads, or getting married. She was simply content to survive from day to day.
Had it not been for the Wolf Brothers, who had been her companions since she was a babe, she and her papa would likely not have survived. Frequently bringing them meat, furs, buttermilk, tallow for candles and other essential items, she truly owed them her life. And now that Papa had fallen ill with some infection in his lungs, the Wolf Brothers had even begun to chop her wood and fix the holes in their thatched roof, which was a blessing as the skies seemed to relentlessly pour down upon them this autumn. At least they were dry.
Her father fell into a wild coughing fit just as she handed him his tea. His hands shook and Brianna frowned down at him. Before she opened her mouth to suggest that mayhap she needed to stay, he let go of the warm mug with one hand and waved her away. “Go now, lass,” he forced through another round of coughing and he spit up another wad of blood into his linen cloth. “We need food, do we not?”
With a sad nod, she turned away from her papa and stepped over to the door, wrapping her tattered plaid cloak around her shoulders. She instinctively ran her hands through her tangled dark brown waves and cringed when her fingers snagged in an appallingly large knot. Plaiting her hair just before stepping out, she wanted to convince herself that she was more worried about the wind messing her hair up further. In truth, she hoped to run into Robert O’Faolain. Six years ago, she had kissed him and promised to marry him when she was of age. Though at times she thought she saw a glimmer of interest in his eyes, it was fleeting and she had to wonder if she was only wishing for what she wanted to see. Ferghus, on the other hand, though four years her elder, frequently showed extreme interest toward her. He was a mighty handsome man, but her heart longed for his younger, yet larger, brooding brother.
The wind caught in her cloak and whipped it about just as she stepped out into the cold autumn day. The rain was relentless and she pulled her hood over her head as she looked down to mind the puddles. She had but one pair of fine leather boots, a gift from the kind leather worker of their village, and she was not wanting to muddy them more than necessary. With the amount of mud slipping beneath her feet, she knew the effort was futile.
The woods surrounding their small village were lushly filled with
ripened blackberries, but she knew she must pick her fill soon, for after late autumn, the remaining berries belonged to the fae. Brianna would not want to anger those wee… creatures. Basket in hand, she set out toward the wild blackberry bushes in the distance. She would make a wonderful tart for her papa when she arrived home.
Though the rain would not relent, she had learned not to be bothered by it. Ériu was a wet land and she simply had to carry on, despite the weather. As she worked, her mind wandered through the events of the past several years. She had never meant to be six and ten and still unwed. Mayhap that is what happened to lassies who determined who they would marry when they were but ten. Only, the man she determined to marry traveled more than he was home and seemed little concerned with settling down. When her mama died of a strange illness of her breast, everything had changed. She had to give up her childish games and become the woman of the household. Milking cows, sewing garments, working the loom… she did all the domestic tasks while her father did the hard labor. That is, until this past year when he became gravely ill. He would never admit it, but Brianna feared he was dying.
Papa had asked her on occasion to wed, but she did not wish to leave his side. That, however, was only a partial truth. The man she truly wished to wed never asked for her hand, and his brother, whom she was certain wished to wed with her, had also never asked… though in truth, she was glad of that. Ferghus was a braw warrior, and a handsome man who could make her laugh easily, but her heart longed for his younger brother. It was quite a mess and one she was uncertain how to fix. Mayhap, after all these years, it was time to corner Robert and speak her mind.
She had tried once. When she was four and ten, she had been alone with Robert in her home while her papa was out to market. Apparently, hinting at him that she was close to ready to marry had not sufficed, so she attempted a bolder move. While he had been carrying a stack of cut wood to the corner for her, she stood behind him and as soon as he turned around, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on him, just as she had done four years earlier. Only this time, Robert responded. In fact, he responded so fervently that she had squealed as his tongue slipped into her mouth. It was warm, wet, and so wonderful that her entire body went loose and weak. His arms had wrapped around her waist to better support her and she had allowed it, wondering what was happening between them and why she had waited so long to kiss him again. This, she had decided, was a true first kiss. And she had hoped for many more.
