by Ivy Hayes
I hate to leave the bustle and planning, but my mother is right, I can’t stay here naked and bleeding. I give Parker a quick smile then make my way out of the room. Ash notices me leaving.
“I’ll come with you Gwen, I can help clean up your side.”
I nod, and she follows me up the stairs and into my room. The water hasn’t been delivered yet, so we settle for the basin of water to clean off my side. Ash wipes away the dried blood and we are both glad to see most of the bleeding has stopped on its own.
“It is shallow, you are lucky, Gwen.”
“It may be shallow, but it hurts like no other.” I wince as Ash touches the wound.
“Yeah,” she laughs, “it would. Is this the first time you have been wounded?”
“It sure is. Up until this point, my life hasn’t had much danger in it.”
“I envy that,” Ash says, quietly, “it seems danger is my constant companion.”
“It won’t always be,” I try and assure her, “Gregory will keep you and that baby inside you safe. The whole family will.”
“And I will keep him safe.”
Ash got quiet after that, no doubt lost in thoughts of the danger posed to her newly found family. I would kill to be even a fraction of as tough as she is, but I must work with what I have. I may not be a badass fighter, born from years of being on my own and surviving untold dangers, but I am Gwen, daughter of Lord Cliffden and highly capable in my own way. I need to embrace my skills.
What Ash said next, took me by surprise, though I should have been expecting it.
“So, you and Parker? It seems things are heating up between you two.”
I blush, “They are.”
“Do you love him?”
“I do,” I gush out, “it happened so fast, one day he annoyed the daylights out of me and the next, I couldn’t imagine spending another day without him near me.”
“I had a feeling that would happen, especially after seeing you both on his first night here?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, blushing harder.
“Oh nothing,” she laughed, “just a little married women’s intuition. What are you going to do?”
“Well,” I hesitate, we haven’t told anyone our plans yet, but I figure out of everyone, Ash is the safest one to tell, “we are going to get married, as soon as possible after all this chaos dies down.”
“You are? Do you think your father will go for this?”
“He will have to,” I say, as confidently as I can, “he tried to force Parker on me, and well it succeeded, but now, nothing will keep us apart.”
“I hope you’re right,” she says, “but we will have to see, you can’t forget his father plays a factor in all of this.”
I gulp, trying not to think about the kind of man Parker’s father is. It wouldn’t shock me if he tried to keep us apart just to hurt his son.
“Nothing will keep us apart,” I say one more time, hoping that will make it true.
THIRTY-TWO – PARKER
Leaning against the wall outside Gwen’s room, I am one part patiently waiting for her to exit and another part keeping an eye on things. I don’t like the idea of my father’s troops being this close to Gwen, there is no telling what he is planning. I won’t risk anyone getting to her.
I am furious she went on that mission. She placed herself in danger, when anyone of us could have gone in her stead, but despite my anger, I am impressed as hell with her. She showed more bravery than most of the men I know.
That fact that she impressed me does nothing to lessen the fact that when she burst into the hall, naked and bloody, my heart immediately dropped to my stomach. She was injured and running from something and I hadn’t been there to protect her.
Bringing my greatest fear to life.
Worse still, she had run into danger willingly and didn’t bother to tell me or bring me along. That is the first thing I am going to tell her when she comes out, she has no reason to sneak off and risk herself without bringing backup. She needs to know that from now on, she does not have to do anything on her own. I will not stifle her, but I am determined to keep her safe.
Which also means protecting her from herself. Gwen has a naïve outlook on the world and I don’t think she realized what would have happened if she had been caught. She would have been lucky to be killed, but I doubt they would have, after all, she is too important of a bargaining chip. Instead, they probably would have given her to Theo for safe keeping.
And worse, I would have had no idea she was missing.
I can’t let Theo get anywhere near Gwen. It is obvious he means to harm her, he made that very clear when he left the dead animal on her bed. He wouldn’t kill her, but I fear anything he did would be devastating for her. My cousin has always been out to hurt me, and he knows I care about Gwen, putting her in more danger than she could ever realize.
And I will not lose her.
Gwen’s door opens, and I straighten. Ash walks out, and I immediately ask, “How is her side?”
“Just a deep scratch. She didn’t need stitches or anything, she will be fine.”
“That’s a relief. I can’t believe she ran off without letting any of us know.”
Ash looks stern, “Do you blame her? You all would have stopped her, and she wanted to help.”
“Of course, I would have stopped her, do you know how much danger she would have been in if they caught her? That is, if they didn’t get a lucky strike with an arrow, first.”
“She is in danger, no matter what. We all are here.”
I sigh, “I know, but she didn’t have to go all on her own.”
“Don’t underestimate her, Parker,” Ash said to me and I couldn’t tell if it was a warning or not.
I nod, then change the subject, “Is she bathing?”
“She is. Don’t go running in there and start yelling at her.” Ash looks at me accusingly, as if she could see right through me.
I relent, “I won’t yell, but I will talk to her about this.”
“Fine,” she groans, “just give her a little time to relax before you do.”
I sigh and add, “I will wait out here for her to finish.”
That seemed to be enough for Ash, as she nodded then made her way to her rooms. I swear I heard her mutter something about stubborn men as she walked away.
A few minutes of idly waiting, my mind starts to wander to the very obvious fact of Gwen being naked on the other side of the door. I wonder if it would be okay for me to sneak in and interrupt. Ash did mention her wound wasn’t that bad, and I can easily be gentle with her.
It’s hard not to think about being with her, especially with the danger looming over our heads. My urges get the better of me and I decide to head into her room. What I see when I open the door was not what I was expecting.
THIRTY-THREE – PARKER
The first thing I noticed was Gwen with a bloody temple, draped limply and unconscious in the arms of a man.
The second thing I noticed is I know him from home. Matthew, one of Theo’s friends.
What I failed to notice was the other man standing by the door. Theo struck the side of my head with something hard before I had a chance to react. I staggered and barely caught myself on the wall, holding myself up when I saw the object coming towards me a second time. This time I was able to raise my arm and block the direct hit.
His weapon is a book. I would laugh at the absurdity if Gwen wasn’t being abducted during this.
I sank back, far enough out of the way to gain my footing then prepared to fight back. Theo and I have always been evenly matched, and I can’t risk the fight taking long, otherwise Gwen will be gone. I spare one glance and see Matthew near the window, preparing to lower her down.
I need to act fast.
I yell out, “Gwen,” hoping my voice will rouse her, so she can at least fight back then I hurl myself at my cousin. Theo dodged my first strike, but my other fist was primed and ready. I hit him hard in the stomach, causing him t
o bend over at the waist. I used the opportunity to disarm him of the book.
That was a mistake. With his newly freed hand, he reached down and grabbed a knife from his belt. I mimicked his actions and reached down to grab my own, not wanting to be unarmed in this fight, but felt only the empty holster, I don’t have my knife on me.
Theo snarls, “You weren’t supposed to be here.”
“You won’t have her.” I lunge at him, trying to get close enough that his knife will become useless.
He slashes out and the blade glances off the top of my arm. It hurts, but it gives me an opportunity to strike him and hopefully bring him down. My fist connects squarely with his face and I see his head snap back, but he only staggers. The next instant, he is swiping at me anew with the knife getting dangerously close to areas that can do real harm.
“Gwen and I are going to have some fun after this.”
He is trying to taunt me and it’s working.
I growl, “Why do you want her so badly?”
“Why do you think?” He laughs evilly, “Because she is yours and taking her will hurt you, something I haven’t been able to do in a long while.”
“But why! Why have you always hated me?”
“I thought that was obvious. You are weak, and you don’t deserve to be your father’s heir.”
“And you do?” I ask, incredulous.
“I do. We both know he would prefer me as a son, anyway.”
We stopped our fighting and were circling around each other now, looking for an opportunity to strike.
“I don’t know why you would want him, he is a horrible father, or do you forget all of the abuse he put both of us through.”
“That was necessary, only you would think of it as abuse. He made us strong.”
I start to get frantic, this is taking too long. I can no longer hear any noise from the rest of the room behind me, making me fear that Gwen is already outside. I don’t dare turn around to look though, I would be done for.
I try and get close enough to hit him again, but Theo knows exactly what he is doing. He is drawing this out, allowing the others time to get away. I am debating leaving the fight and flinging myself out the window when a small shadow appears in the doorway.
Ash.
She approaches Theo from behind and hits him over the head with a candlestick. Good choice, much more effective than the book was. Theo falls to the ground like a sack of flour and I don’t hesitate. I run towards the window, yelling as I go.
“They have Gwen, get the others and follow me. If we hurry, we should be able to get her back.”
I see the alarm in her eyes and she runs off. I am on the ground and sprinting towards the woods in the next second. I didn’t see the direction they went, but this is the most likely, after all, most of their troops are hiding in the woods. I go as fast as I can, hoping to catch up since they are burdened with Gwen’s dead weight, whereas I am not.
At least I know they are not going to kill her. They wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of kidnapping her if that was the case. With Theo down, I am not worried about her immediate safety, but I don’t want to leave her around my father or the rest of the men, no telling what ideas they might get.
I love her too much to lose her and I don’t want to see her hurt. I worry about her head wound, they must have hit her very hard to knock her out so soundly, then being carried and jostled is horrible for a concussion.
I am past the tree line and start to despair when I don’t see a trail to follow. My eyes dart around desperately, seeking any sign when I finally spot a torn branch and some overturned forest floor. I get closer, inspecting it to make sure I won’t waste my time with a false end and am satisfied when I see a large boot mark in the dirt.
I race ahead, confident if I keep heading north, I will bump into the group.
That is, until I hear a blood-curling scream coming from somewhere on my left. Seems they are not further into the forest but waiting right at the edge. That’s not good news, if all the soldiers are there, we aren’t going to be able to defend Lord Cliffden’s manor, the bulk of our men are in town.
I turn in that direction and pick up my pace. I hear Gwen scream again and it only makes me run faster.
What are they doing to make her scream like that?
THIRTY-FOUR – GWEN
My head hurts so damn bad. I blearily come to consciousness and try and decipher what happened and why I am in so much more pain.
Did I slip as I was getting out of the bath and hit my head?
No. That doesn’t make sense, I am being carried. What the hell is going on?
There is only one way to find out, so despite the intense pain each jostling step brings, I blink my eyes open, wincing as the light burns straight into my headache.
I am being carried through the woods? I look up to see who is holding me, praying it is Parker, but I am not lucky enough for that to be the case, it seems. A severe brutish looking man is holding me, someone I have never seen before, which could only mean one thing.
He hasn’t noticed my being awake and I don’t know how long that will last, so I do the only sensible thing I can think of. I scream as loud as I possibly can, hoping someone from home will hear it and come investigating.
At the sound of my shrill scream, his head jerks down to me then he crushes me, causing most of the air to expel from my body. He harshly says, “Shut up if you know what is good for you.”
My eyes are filling with tears at the pain and I can’t suck in a breath, not with how tight he is holding me. I nod, telling him I will behave and blessedly, he slackens the hold on my center. I suck in a big breath the scream even louder. It may have been reckless, but right now I can only get out of this if my family finds me. I can’t risk shifting and running, it would give away my secret and there I no way I can get away from him in my human form. Even if I was able to get away, he is bound to be faster than me and I would just end up trapped again.
“Dammit,” he throws me to the ground this time then places a hand over my mouth. His hand is so big though, it also covers my nose. I immediately realize I cannot breathe and I start pulling at his hand, trying to get it away, but his grip only tightens.
“Stop fighting. Since you won’t stay quite on your own, I am going to have to make you.”
I panic, he plans on suffocating me. I struggle harder, but I can feel myself getting weaker from the lack of oxygen. My vision starts to blur, and I can feel my hot tears running down my cheeks, wishing my last moments were not going to be spent like this, dying under the grasp of a man much larger and filled with terror.
Just when I think all is lost, his large form is thrown off me. I immediately suck in air and heave through the pain in my chest. It slowly eases as my hyperventilating calms to a tolerable level. With semi-normal breathing, I glance around, trying to see who came to my rescue and discover if I need to flee or help.
At first, all I see is a mess of limbs. It takes me a second to recognize Parker’s form mixed in the melee. My whole body shakes with relief, I should have known he would be the one to find me.
Parker has complete control of the fight, so I stay out of the way and watch with rapt attention. After a few seconds of watching, he has my kidnapper in a headlock and is giving him the same treatment I had just received. A big part of me is pleased by the panic in his eyes, knowing he is suffering the same way I just was.
Parker grunts out and I can see him struggling to keep his hold tight enough. I watch as the man’s struggles get weaker and weaker, until his eyes close and his body slackens. At the moment of his unconsciousness, Parker releases his grip on the man and disentangles himself from under his large dead weight.
I run into his arms, he catches me, and I let my tears fall freely.
My voice is muffled since my face is smashed into his torso, but I still mutter out, “Thank you for finding me. I thought I was going to die.”
He kisses my head and shushes me, “I wouldn’t let
that happen.”
“How did this happen?” I ask.
“They came in through your window,” his face is stricken, and I hear his voice quiver.
“They?”
“Yes, Matthew,” he gestures down at the man on the ground, “and Theo.”
I stiffen, “Of course, he would be part of this. Where is he now?”
“Back at the manor. Ash and I took care of him before I was able to run after you. That’s why it took me a few minutes to find you, Matthew got a head start.”
“I can’t believe you managed to find me, at all.”
“I will always find you, Gwen.” He released his hold on me and took a good look around the area then added, “We need to get out of here though, I have no idea if there are any more of Theo’s men lurking around and we could be ambushed.”
Parker moves to take off his shirt and he hands it to me, “You can wear this until we get back.” I take it, shocked I didn’t even realize my nakedness until this moment. I guess being a shifter is desensitizing me to nudity.
I nod, “I’m fine with that, I just want to be home.” I motion at Matthew, “What should we do with him?”
Parker looks pensive for a few moments, “We will just have to leave him for now. If I see your brothers, I will send them over here, but as it stands I don’t have anything to secure him. I can’t risk carrying him and having my hands full if someone else comes for us.”
He doesn’t look happy at the prospect of leaving this man unpunished, but he is right, taking him would be too much of a risk.
Parker drapes his arm over my shoulder and together we walk towards the edge of the woods, keeping our ears and eyes tuned for any possible lurking men. I have never been so relieved as I was when we broke through the tree line safely and I had a clear view of my home. A small part of me was worried that the battle had begun, and I was going to be stuck right in the middle of it.
That isn’t the case, thankfully. As we run back towards the house, we see my brothers and Ash emerge when we are about half-way there. They stop in their tracks then head back in the house, they know the dangers of being out in the open with enemies nearby, so they don’t risk meeting us on the grounds. Parker and I hurry inside, and I nearly cry when the door shuts behind me and I am safely among my family.
