Sacrifice

by Heather McCollum

  “Quite true,” Anna said. Her face was serious, her gaze straight-forward. “You sacrifice your comfort by being shackled to me.” She turned to Matilda. “My guess is that Mr. MacDruce certainly does not choose to harm and therefore his nature is clean of evil intent. The demons must be the source.”

  Were they? His mother had held him closely those first few days. He’d lived inside her womb, touching her inside and then out, and yet she hadn’t suffered from his touch. In fact, he remembered her warm smile, her cheek rubbing against his. His sisters, too, had held him, especially Serena and Merewin, the older ones. And they hadn’t suffered any ill effects.

  “I am not certain,” he said.

  “We should investigate it,” Anna said. “For surely, if this is something that has been done to you, we can figure out a way to undo it.”

  He looked closely at her. The sprinkle of freckles aligned beautifully across the small slope of her nose. He’d memorized their constellation. “We? You would help me live amongst others without endangering them?”

  “I will,” Alicia called.

  “We all will, won’t we Uncle?” Matilda followed.

  Drustan held Anna’s gaze. The clear green of her eyes held promise and spark in the golden flecks radiating out from the centers. But he wanted to hear her answer. Only her reply mattered.

  She swallowed and blinked at his intense stare, so close to one another for necessity. “Of course,” she said and cleared her throat. “I would be remiss in my duties as a doctor to, well to the world at large, if I didn’t help you stop harming people with your touch.”

  Not exactly what he wanted to hear, but he’d take it.

  “My priority is the safety of my people,” William said. “I would not have allowed ye to stay if I had felt ye intended to do harm.”

  Like the man would have been able to stop him, but Drustan refrained from pointing out the obvious. After all it was the Highlander’s wedding day.

  “So therefore, aye, we will help ye, Drustan MacDruce,” William finished. Patricia beamed next to her husband as if his acceptance made Drustan part saint in her mind. Which he absolutely was not.

  “Thank you,” Drustan answered with a tip of his head.

  “I have already sent word to your sister in the United States,” William continued. “Asking her to come to Kylkern.”

  Did the man not know the prophecies regarding the final battle? Drawing his sister and her mate here was one step closer to its beginning.

  A scrabbling sound of rocks crunching under footfalls came near the gates as two large boys ran into the bailey.

  “It’s a wolf! It’s attacking the kids at the edge of the village!”

  Drustan stood. Anna, taking her task to heart, followed, her hand on his arm. He reached his mind toward Tenebris, but had no power. “Let go,” he told her. “It could be Tenebris.”

  She yanked her hand back and Drustan instantly felt the fragmented jumble of his friend’s thoughts. Tenebris’ recent memories showed the red-haired, large boy pushing Josiah, teasing him on the edge of the meadow as the wolf watched from the shelter of the trees. A handful of other children stood by, but none dared to intervene. When the large boy threw Josiah to the ground, Tenebris lunged out from the tree line, running straight at the brute and his large, grinning companion. The two boys screamed, running off, and now stood before Drustan.

  “It’s Tenebris,” Drustan said. “Come.” He grabbed Anna’s hand and they jogged toward the gates with a crowd of others. “Do not shoot him,” Drustan called to the warriors who ran with their bows. “The wolf is mine.”

  “It’s the bloodiest, largest beast I’ve ever seen,” the red-haired boy swore, trotting after them, arms dramatically wide. “He’ll tear all of us apart.”

  Drustan turned in mid-stride to look at him. “And you left the younger ones there to defend themselves?” The words were harsh, hanging there before everyone. “You abandon the defenseless?”

  “They should have run, too!” his voice squeaked and his face flushed scarlet.

  Drustan raced along the curving path through the center of town with Anna in tow. She kept up well despite her skirts. William ran beside him. “Speak to the wolf,” he said.

  “He will not harm the children,” Drustan said low. Although the beast had never sought any other humans as company, he’d never attacked any.

  They rounded a long, thatched house, the two boys and a dozen warriors with them. Tenebris sat on the edge of the meadow, his black, shaggy coat shining in the sun while six children stood around him.

  “He saved me from the river,” Josiah said, pride swelling his words.

  One little girl held out her hand tentatively as Tenebris sniffed it. “Will he bite?”

  “Only those with cruel intent,” Drustan answered. He looked at the two large boys who drew up short, panting beside him. On cue, Tenebris swung his large head toward the boys and growled.

  The red-haired boy jumped. “That thing should be shot. He chased us. He’s a danger to the village.”

  “No,” Josiah yelled, stepping in front of Tenebris. The small boy’s fists were tight against his sides, his face red, his breath coming in near pants as he struggled for words. “He was just watching out for me.” He spied a bow at the side of one of William’s men and lunged for Tenebris’ neck. The wolf took the weight easily, his yellow eyes never leaving the bully’s face. “If you shoot him, ye will have to shoot me,” Josiah called, his words muffled but loud against the fur.

  “I think yer mother would strip my hide from my bones if I were to let anyone shoot ye, Josiah,” William said, rubbing his chin as if contemplating what to do. The other children had scattered back, but watched with round eyes. “As ye protect the wolf, so he protects ye.” William’s gaze found the larger boys. “I would think carefully on that, Angus. And ye Peter.” Angus swallowed hard and Peter nodded quickly.

  “So, ye won’t shoot him?” Josiah asked, releasing his choking hold on Tenebris. What was his ferocious wolf thinking? But Anna still held tightly to Drustan’s arm, and the thought of dislodging her nimble fingers wasn’t worth finding out. Although he should make sure that the wolf did not plan to eat Angus. Later.

  “Nay,” William answered. “Ye’ve bravely saved the beast, and he’s a right large beast at that.” William shook his head and met Drustan’s gaze with a pointed request for assurance on the wolf’s safety.

  “Tenebris has no desire to stay among men. He is wild—” The humorous light in William’s eyes, along with several high-pitched giggles, halted Drustan’s words. Anna gasped softly.

  Tenebris lay on the ground, rolled upon his back, while half a dozen children scratched his stomach. The little girl from before lay smiling beside him, her arm draped around his neck as she whispered in his large, pointed ear. Drustan blinked and grasped Anna’s fingers in his. Giving a squeeze he stepped away from her.

  Tenebris’s images were soft and light, mostly of each child with a smiling face. Nothing but curiosity and anticipation mixed with the sensation of warm sun and tickling fingers. Sweet, innocent breath sifted in spurts and pauses in his ear. Contentment.

  Anna stepped closer. “It seems your wild wolf is fond of children.”

  “I had no idea,” he answered.

  She leaned to his ear, bending in a way so that she arched near him but didn’t touch. “He isn’t planning to eat them is he?”

  “Not that I can detect,” Drustan said. His fierce wolf licked the little girl who giggled and scrunched her shoulder. “Luckily he prefers rabbits.”

  “Maybe he’s tasting the girl. She looks rather fluffy,” Anna said.

  Drustan’s chest felt open, light, and he huffed out a breath of air, his mouth turning up broadly.

  Anna’s eyes widened. “So you can laugh.” She curled her hand back around his arm.

  Laughter. It had been decades. He let his smile grow again. “I am out of practice.” He watched Anna’s lovely features, the play of
freckles on her nose, the rosy hue in her cheeks, slim brows that could speak volumes. The little grin that played about her pink lips mesmerized him. Innocent but teasing and utterly distracting.

  “I think you need more of it,” she said as they turned back toward the castle.

  “Perhaps you can tickle me,” he suggested.

  She laughed and turned to meet his smile. For a moment, the shared expression caught his breath, clutching something inside his chest. Was that his heart? He’d thought it dead long ago.

  Chapter Eight

  A hot ache pooled down through Anna’s middle.

  “You are mine.” The words shuddered through her as Drustan’s beautiful mouth leaned in to capture hers. Soft, yet firm, his lips moved against her, tasting, exploring. His warm palms cupped her cheeks as he guided her to press against him. Taller than she, he lowered his head, and she fell forward into the comfort of his solid chest and arms.

  Yes…oh yes. The words keened through Anna’s mind, pleading for something she couldn’t quite grasp. Oh, oh my yes. Good God!

  Anna jerked upright in bed, her breath coming in pants, and stared out from the surrounding bedclothes at the glow of the nearly-dead embers in the hearth. A moan issued from the door connecting her room to Patricia’s new room with William.

  “Oh my. Oh, oh, Williammmmm.”

  “Oh, good God,” Anna whispered and fell back into the pillows. No wonder she’d been having illicit dreams about Drustan. It was the sounds of the newlyweds that put such thoughts into her mind. After the entire day of being attached to the man through meals and wedding gaiety, it was completely logical for him to show up in her dreams. Anna had fallen asleep immediately upon snuggling into the double bed she’d shared with her unmarried sister up until this night. The room had been given to them as the second nicest in the castle, but it adjoined the chief’s bedroom, a fact that hadn’t seemed a problem until now.

  “Yes, there, William. There!” Patricia’s dictates rose to a squeak as a deep voice answered with guttural words in the Gaelic language.

  Anna grabbed a pillow and jammed it over her head. The pinned curls framing her face loosened under the assault and she smacked them away from her eyes. Long minutes grew into half an hour before her sister’s pleading and wailing subsided.

  Anna slid the pillow from her smashed head and flopped onto her back. Eyes wide, she stared into the dark canopy above, willing her body to cool. Her hands lay against her collarbone at the base of her neck. With silent and slow movements she slid them down over her full breasts, her nipples raised and tender. She’d never before felt so sensitive, and the ache churned in her abdomen. What madness was this? She stroked lower over her flat stomach to the juncture of her legs where her pantaloons split, and her legs moved restlessly against the mattress.

  “Darling,” came muffled from the adjoining door. Followed by a drawn-out moan.

  “Good lord, again? Really?” With a huff, Anna rolled onto her stomach and grabbed for her pillow.

  “There is an empty room on the east wing.”

  Anna arched up and spun about, the sheets twisted around her legs and middle. In the corner stood Drustan, bare-chested. Her mouth went dry and the ache between her legs made her squirm.

  “What are you doing in here?” she whispered, her words combining with the renewed squeaks and groans from the room next door.

  “I am not here,” he said. “You are dreaming, but you will be much more comfortable down on the east wing.” He glanced to the left toward the adjoining door as if he too heard the sexual rhapsody.

  Anna watched Drustan shoo away what looked like a dragonfly zipping near him, but otherwise his gaze focused solely on her. His hair was slightly mussed like he’d been asleep, and a lazy grin played over his firm, solid jawline. His trousers lay low about his hips exposing the muscles of his chest down into his abdomen. A sprinkling of hair formed an enticing path. He was the perfect male specimen. Her gaze dipped. If she was dreaming then it surely wouldn’t matter. Her breath stuttered as she saw what must be an erection of grand proportions under his pants.

  “You should find a quieter bedroom,” he said, which snapped Anna’s eyes back up. Moonlight shadows of silver streaked in through the window, and she watched his image fade until only darkness filled the corner.

  She blinked and scanned the room, then down at herself sitting in the bed. Was she asleep? She collapsed back in bed and rubbed a hand over her face. A rhythmic thumping started once again against the wall. No doubt William’s headboard rested on the other side of her own.

  “Oh God, William, yes!” Patricia’s high octave penetrated the adjoining door.

  “Oh God, no,” Anna answered and threw back her bedcovers. She grabbed the wrap Matilda had gifted her when she had arrived, blue wool with a soft lining. She slid her toes into a set of slippers and grabbed a candle next to the bed, hurrying to the embers to relight it. Despite the cold, Anna still felt flushed.

  With the high-pitched keening of her sister, Anna practically ran out into the dark corridor. East wing? They were in the west wing, so the east must run to the right past the steps leading to the great hall. She treaded lightly down the stone hall, passing the dark, plummeting stairwell. A chill skittered across the floor around her bare ankles. If she could just find a bedroom ajar with an empty bed, perhaps she could sleep for several more hours. Dawn couldn’t be too far off. She would have to request a more permanent move for the rest of her stay at Kylkern.

  The sconces along the walls had burned out during the night, making Anna’s lone taper the only light to battle the shadows. Wind whistled somewhere up ahead, no doubt from some door leading to the parapet where Maclean guards kept watch. Would the guards change soon? She could just imagine it.

  Why are you out of your room? Because my sister’s squeals of delight at the hands of your chief are making me dream illicit dreams of Drustan MacDruce. The horrors!

  Anna passed two doors, both tightly shut with the sounds of gentle snoring coming from the crack underneath. If the castle had more rugs about, sound wouldn’t carry so easily. Although a rug would hardly stop the headboard from thumping her wall all night.

  She let her cape fall open in hopes of cooling the ridiculous heat that still plagued her from the dream. A sudden gust of wind spiraled down the hall, flickering the flame of her candle into a dance. It flared and she could plainly see a door left ajar. Goosebumps scored along Anna’s flesh with the chill, making her nipples hard under the thin material of her chemise. The wind gusted with a shrill whistle and the flame flattened and died, the smell of candle smoke surrounding Anna in the pitch dark.

  “Blast,” she whispered and felt for the cracked door. With any luck she’d find a bed free of dust, decay and rodent droppings. She pushed through without a squeak. Perhaps the room was kept up for unexpected guests or those seeking shelter from the noise of sexual rhapsody.

  As her arm brushed the edge of the door, something snagged her cape, but the sound of footsteps in the hall made her push forward. Her cape slipped from her shoulders, and she whirled to softly shut the door, her heart pounding.

  A whoosh of light flared around her, making Anna gasp and spin toward the hearth. From ashy remains to raging flames, fire filled the stone space and the room with orange light.

  “Anna?”

  She jolted, her gaze snapping from the hearth to the bed against the opposite wall. Drustan sat up amongst the spreads, furs and pillows. And just like in her dream, his beautiful chest lay bare to her view.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked yanking the blanket back to step from the bed.

  Anna squeaked and spun, but not before she caught a glimpse of powerful long legs and…so much more. He apparently slept nude. Although she was a physician, she tended women and children, and Drustan MacDruce was not remotely feminine nor childlike in any form or size. Her face flamed like the hearth.

  “All is well,” she managed to say. “I but…I sought a bed. Not your b
ed,” she rushed, her words babbling off her tongue as her hands whipped in the air before her. “I mean I but needed a new bed and thought this room was empty. The door was cracked and there was no fire.”

  “Why do you need a new bed?”

  Anna heard the rustle of what she hoped was pants being donned. “I couldn’t sleep in mine.”

  “You’ve been occupying that same room for weeks, haven’t you?”

  Her eyes rolled upward to a shadowed spot on the ceiling. She huffed. “Patricia and William were being too loud.”

  “They were in your room?”

  Anna heard him walk across the floor, but kept her flaming face to the wall. “No, they were in their own room, but that room sits right up against my room and apparently sound travels easily under the adjoining door.”

  An awkward moment of silence stretched while Anna prayed that her information would be enough to paint a picture as she didn’t know if she could expound without shriveling in the heat of her blush.

  “Ah, sounds,” he said. “Disconcerting sounds?” The worry had left his voice replaced by a note of teasing.

  Anna slammed her palms onto her hips and turned, ready to chastise him for his ungentlemanly question. The sight caught her tongue and her breath. Drustan stood with low slung trousers, mussed hair, and a still naked, broad, beautiful chest and stomach, nearly the exact image she’d seen in her dream. The same ache that had compelled her hands to explore her body tightened again through Anna. Drustan walked toward her.

  “He wasn’t harming her, was he?” Drustan stopped a mere arm’s length away.

  Anna’s gaze traveled up the rippled slope of his skin to his strong jaw and full, perfect mouth to his piercing eyes. She shook her head, unable to form words. It was as if her dream had come alive. Would he kiss her? Make her moan like William had done to Patricia? Heat poured through her veins. Here, alone, tucked away where no one could see her impropriety, where no one would judge her actions, the possibilities were endless. Her inhalation stuttered as she dragged it in.