“Hey, you two awake?” she said softly from outside the door. “Better yet, are you decent?”
“Aye, come in,” he called.
Nicole peeked around the corner before she entered and shook the snow off her hood. “Man, is it snowing out there.”
“’Tis.” Rònan handed her a mug of mead. “Good morn, lass.”
“G’morning.” Nicole’s gaze went to the bed. “Erin’s still crashed, eh?” She eyed Rònan. “So what happened last night? Is she okay?” Her eyes narrowed on him. “Did you two…ya know…finish what you started in the main lodge?”
“None of your damn business,” Erin murmured from the bed. She cracked open one eye then the other and yawned as she sat up. “How the heck did I get here?” she started before her eyes narrowed on Rònan. “What the hell’d you do to me?”
“I didnae do a bloody thing...for the most part,” Rònan grumbled. He plunked down at the table and bit into some warm bread.
“The last thing I remember I was heading out of here.” Erin scowled as she crawled out of bed. “So I’ll ask one more time, what did you do?”
Nicole’s eyes flickered between them. “Maybe I should go.”
“Nay,” Rònan said. “Stay. Break your fast with us.”
His need for Erin only seemed to be growing by the moment so the more people around them, the better. Anything to help keep him under control. How was he ever going to keep the wee Bruce safe and find Jackie while protecting Erin? He could barely think beyond his cock. Mayhap, no matter what Grant said, the best solution was to put her under someone else’s care.
“Yeah, stay and hang,” Erin said. “That way somebody’ll be here to keep me from killing this guy.” Her eyes remained narrowed on Rònan. “Because I know you did something to me last night against my will.”
“Come again?” Nicole said.
“Och.” Rònan shook his head, exasperated with the whole situation and getting more overheated by the moment. He dared not remove his tunic, though. The less flesh revealed, the better. “You were set to leave and I couldnae allow that.”
“Damn straight I was set to leave,” Erin spat. “Just like you should’ve been.” She put her hands on her hips. “Answer my damn question, Rònan.”
He was getting hotter and hotter.
“I made sure you rested,” he murmured.
“Rested?” Her brows slammed together. “Did you use some sorta dragon magic on me?”
“Aye.” His eyes locked on hers. “To protect you.”
“Protect me? You took away my free will you jackass!”
He stood in confrontation when she strode his way.
Nicole shook her head, stood in front of him and put a hand against his chest, warning, “Don’t you dare move.”
His skin heated more as his emotions increased.
Nicole’s eyes swung to Erin. “Hon, you seriously need to chill out, okay?”
But as he suspected she would be, Erin was furious.
“Step away, Nicole,” Erin growled.
What happened next literally rocked Rònan’s world and he took immediate action. “Niall, ye better get yer arse in here right now and be well armed,” he spoke within the mind to his cousin.
“Holy crap,” Nicole whispered, gaze widening on Erin. “Your eyes.”
The pale violet had expanded and brightened. But that wasn’t what made him growl with need and made Bjorn and Tait come flying inside not to protect her but to take her.
No, it was that her eyes were cat-like and dangerous.
Dragon eyes.
“Oh hell,” Nicole cried as she pulled out two daggers and turned her back to Erin to protect her from the men…including Rònan. Her gaze narrowed on all three of them and she shook her head. “You all need to put those creepy lookin’ dragon eyes away right now.”
Like his, Tait and Bjorn’s dragons were surfacing.
Never once had he been unable to control his other half but apparently when a female of his kind embraced her dragon, his responded. And hell was it responding. Like his kin’s, Rònan’s flesh was so overheated that steam rose off of it.
“I’m not afraid of them,” Erin growled and stepped around Nicole. Evidently, the lass had no sense of self-preservation. Or she just didn’t understand how dire her circumstances.
Thankfully, his cousin heard his summons and likely the Viking King sensed what was happening because they arrived within moments. Naðr faced Tait and Bjorn, a thunderous look on his face. Niall, doing exactly what he should, held the tip of a sword to Rònan’s neck.
“I dinnae ken your current state, Cousin,” Niall warned. “But you best get it under control when around my lass and wee bairn, aye?”
Rònan was well aware that Niall was using magic to spray the men with cool mist. It was a smart move. Anything to get their temperatures down.
“Get out of here now,” the Viking King roared at his kin.
They hesitated briefly, their hungry gazes lingering on Erin before they trudged out. Meanwhile, Megan strode in, batting Bjorn upside the head as she passed, voice disappointed. “Head to your lodge and nowhere else. I’ll be talking to you and your cousin after I’m done here.”
Her concerned eyes went to Erin. “Are you okay?”
Before Erin could reply which was likely going to be a scathing response based on the look on her face, Megan gestured at Naðr. “Please take the men elsewhere so I can speak to her alone.”
“Nay, I willnae leave her unprotected,” Rònan began, ever more thankful for Niall’s mist as his body slowly cooled.
“Out. Now. You’re no more fit to protect her right now than my son.” Megan’s eyes narrowed to slits. “And if you don’t listen to me, I’ll do everything in my considerable power to make sure you never step foot near Erin again.”
Chapter Seven
ERIN WAS STILL seeing red after the men left. Regrettably, that wasn’t just a saying in her case but the honest truth. Everything was reddish and far crisper than before. Though she knew somewhere in the back of her mind that she should be frightened, she was still too damn mad. It was one thing for the Viking King to put her to sleep, another for Rònan to have done it.
Once the men were gone, Megan became far sterner and pointed at a chair. “Sit down. Right now.”
“Hey, give her a break,” Nicole started but Megan shook her head sharply.
“Either keep your mouth shut or get out of here.”
Nicole’s eyes widened but like Erin, she sensed Megan wasn’t messing around because they both sat.
Megan crouched in front of Erin. “Now you need to listen to me carefully and do exactly what I say.”
Erin frowned. “That’s gonna depend on what you say.”
“Don’t test me, girl.” Megan’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve raised several dragon-shifters so I know what I’m doing. And right now that’s teaching you how to control what’s going on inside you.”
“There’s nothing going on inside me,” she lied.
“Oh yeah?” Megan pulled a small mirror out of her pocket and held it up in front of Erin. “Try telling me that again.”
It took several long discombobulated moments for Erin to realize what she was looking at. Her…but not her. “What the…” she whispered as fear spiked. Her eyes looked all wrong. The color. The shape. Everything. They looked inhuman. “Oh, God.”
Megan set aside the mirror and grabbed Erin’s wrists before she could scramble to her feet. “Now look at me and nowhere else.”
Erin was so stupefied with shock she was unable to do much else.
Instead of dishing out words of wisdom, Megan spoke about random things for a few minutes. The buildings in the village being rethatched. The most recent births. Nothing at all related to the current situation. Though Erin barely followed her, the sound of the woman's voice was soothing and slowly but surely calmed her.
“Okay, that's much better,” Megan said softly. “Your eyes are returning to normal because you’re
releasing your anger. If a shifter lets his or her anger rule them, they will have no choice but to shift because their inner dragon feels threatened. It’s much like a human releasing adrenaline when something intense happens.”
Erin started to tremble, fear overtaking her even as the red faded.
“Look.” Megan’s voice remained soft as she held up the mirror again. “Look at your eyes now, Erin.”
She shook her head and tried to push the mirror away but Megan was having none of it.
“Yes.” Megan grabbed her chin and kept the mirror in front of her. Erin almost squeezed her eyes shut but not once had she avoided things that frightened her. She always looked fear in the face. And right now, that was her face. If she didn’t do this, she would never forgive herself.
So though terrified, she looked.
Her eyes had returned to normal.
“See,” Megan murmured. “No more dragon eyes.”
Erin breathed a sigh of relief as she narrowed then widened her eyes at the mirror. When she tried to talk, nothing came out. Her vocal chords were being difficult. When she tried to speak again, Megan put a finger to her lips and shook her head. “No, don’t try to talk just yet because it won’t work.” She handed Erin a mug. “Instead, drink. Calm your nerves.”
Calm nerves sounded like a good plan so she took a few hearty swigs.
“Now take several deep breaths,” Megan said.
So she did, her eyes flickering to Nicole, who amazingly enough had remained silent the whole time. Her friend offered a comforting smile and remained blissfully quiet.
“Finish your mead,” Megan urged. “Then you and I are going somewhere.”
Erin complied, somewhat amazed that she listened to this woman without question. It was a first. But there was something about Megan that spoke to her. An unexplainable level of comfort and respect that she didn’t feel with anyone, not even her closest friends. She tried not to contemplate how that may have to do with the fact she might be distantly related to her.
Megan pulled clothes out of the trunk and handed them to Erin. “Change and then we’ll go.” Her eyes went to Nicole. “Thanks for being here for your friend but go be with Niall now. He’s in piss-poor shape worrying about you with all these dragon-shifters around.”
Nicole nodded and looked at Erin. “Are you gonna be okay, Hon?”
Erin wasn’t sure if her vocal chords would work but gave it a shot. Fortunately, they did.
“Not much choice,” Erin muttered but appreciated Nicole’s concern. “Like you, I’m a survivor so yeah, I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
Nicole held out her arms and cocked her head. “Bring it in then.”
Erin twisted her lips in reservation. Her friend knew she wasn’t a fan of physical contact.
“For real,” Nicole said. “I need some love.”
“Okay,” Erin relented and embraced her.
Nicole squeezed tight and whispered in her ear, “You want me to come with you? Because I’ll totally stick by your side.”
“No, I’ll be all right,” she whispered back. “But thanks.”
Nicole sighed and pulled away, eyes narrowed on Erin. “I’ve got your back if you need me.”
“I know.”
Nicole eyed her for another long moment before she put her cloak on and left. Erin changed into the odd clothing as Megan waited. She couldn’t say she was totally opposed to the outfit. The pants were made of soft leather and the tunic a lightweight material that felt like cotton.
Megan held out a leather string. “For your hair?”
“Thanks,” Erin said as she tried to tie the unruly mess back.
“Let me help.” Megan untied Erin’s hair and pulled some sort of wide-toothed comb from her pocket. Erin stilled as Megan carefully and amazingly enough, started to work the comb through her hair without causing any pain. “Your hair’s just like mine. Some might think these curls are killer but I’ve always thought mine were a pain in the ass.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Erin said. “And the weather here isn’t bound to help.”
Megan chuckled. “Nope, it doesn’t.”
Yet the woman seemed to know what she was doing because the flyaways that were in Erin's peripheral vision vanished and her hair was soon securely tied back. Megan held up the mirror again. “Take a look.” Then she winked. “No worries, as long as you’re not seeing red, your eyes are back to normal.”
Though still wary, she took a peek and bit her bottom lip against a smile. Nobody, including herself, had ever managed to tame her hair so well. Though full, it was soft and attractive while still out of her face. “How did you do that?”
“Do you really want to know?” Megan grinned as she eyed Erin. “Because though I’d like to take credit, it has nothing to do with me having the same hair type.”
“Yeah, I really wanna know,” she said.
Megan handed her the comb. “Because of this. My husband had it made for me with dragon magic.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” Megan smiled as she wrapped a fur around her shoulders and another around Erin’s. “But you’ll find as time goes by that you won’t have to worry about your hair so much.”
“Why’s that?” she asked as Megan took her hand and pulled her along.
“Because dragon-shifters have beautiful hair and it only seems to grow more glorious as they come into their own.”
That sounded intense. Before she could overthink and start panicking again, Megan kept talking, distracting her as they walked out into the heavy snow. “I thought maybe you’d like to spend some time with Tosha.”
Any thoughts of freaking out vanished when she saw the horse. This time, there was no biting back a smile, it came full force.
“Hey there, Beautiful. When did you get here?” she whispered, stroking Tosha’s muzzle. “You shouldn’t be out in this weather.”
“She can handle the elements for a few minutes,” Megan murmured, patting her. “She wanted to be here for you. Let’s walk her back to the stables.”
“She did, did she?” Erin said, speaking not to Megan but Tosha. “Well, I’m glad.”
“Aye, ‘tis good that, lass,” whispered through her mind.
Erin stopped short.
“Did she speak to you through the mind then?” Megan asked.
“I…uh…”
“Of course, she did.” When Megan kept walking so did the horse.
Confused, Erin followed. “You can’t be serious.”
“According to Tosha, it’s not the first time she’s spoken to you in such a way.”
Erin’s brows perked when she remembered the words whispered through her mind back in the barn in New Hampshire.
“It’s a rare gift you know,” Megan continued. “For a dragon-shifter to bond with horses.”
“How so?”
“Horses inherently fear dragons,” Megan said. “Naðr’s brother Kol was the first of his kind to take to them. Since then only one of my children has and it’s a rocky connection at that.”
“But I seem to recall Nicole mentioning something about Viking magic merging MacLomains with horses. Hence Cassie’s horse Athdara and Nicole’s, Vika?” Erin looked at Tosha as they walked. “And isn’t this horse supposed to be one of those?”
“So you do believe some of this then,” Megan said as they entered the stables. “Good because yes. But ancient Viking magic that benefits MacLomain wizards has very little to do with dragon-shifters in general. It has more to do with a Viking who bonded with his horse on the battlefield. A connection unlike any other.”
“No kidding.” Erin walked Tosha into her stall, not ready in the least to try talking to her. But maybe Megan could shed light on something else. “When I showed up at Leslie and Bradon’s in New Hampshire…in the future, my horse was supposed to be with me but she wasn’t. Instead, Tosha was in the trailer. Any thoughts on that?”
“Hmm. Knowing all I do about magic in general now, I’d be inclined to look
deeper into your horse’s past.” Megan handed Erin a horse brush. “When and where did you get her or him?”
“Her. Salve.” Erin started brushing down Tosha. “I got her earlier in the year. She’d been ill-treated and was skin and bones. I nourished her back to health.”
“Why the name Salve?” came a deep, soft voice.
Erin tensed when her eyes met Rònan’s. Why was he here? Thankfully, so was the Viking King.
“Look at me, Erin,” Megan said.
Fire flared beneath her skin but she did.
“Though I’m not sure I agree with the idea right now, Grant and Torra want Rònan to stay close to you so he will.” Megan gestured at Tosha. “Keep brushing the horse.”
When Erin glanced at Rònan, Megan shook her head sharply. “Don’t look at him.”
With a heavy sigh, she concentrated on grooming Tosha while Megan continued talking.
“As I mentioned before, the first thing you need to do as a shifter is learn to repress your anger,” Megan said. “Dragons respond first and foremost to it. So if your human half doesn’t deal with it fast, the dragon will seize control.” She gestured at Rònan. “That’s likely why he’s usually such a happy go lucky guy. It’s his defense mechanism against the dragon taking over.”
“Rònan’s happy go lucky?” Erin couldn’t help but snort. “Hard to believe.”
But she remembered how he was in New Hampshire and it was pretty close to that initially. Rònan offered no comeback but remained silent as he leaned against the stall door.
“I’m not concerned about what you believe about Rònan,” Megan said. “I’m concerned about you learning to get your anger under control.”
Erin shrugged. “To the best of my knowledge I’ve always been good at that.”
She had made sure she was at a young age.
“Maybe so. But now that your dragon is awakening you’ll have to learn to control it a whole lot better,” Megan said. “When anger flares, you need to figure out what brings you away from it and focus on that.” She nodded at Tosha. “Horses calm you so maybe focusing on them when you get upset would be a good idea.”
She didn’t like the idea of depending on a singular thought process to keep her from turning into a monster. “I wasn’t thinking about horses earlier and still came out of it.”
Oath of a Scottish Warrior Page 9
