by Sky Winters
But Catriona would not let him wait for long. She opened her eyes and reached for him, pulled him up towards her again and they fell to kissing once more. This time Conall entered her, still tingling, and she held on to him tightly. She pulled her face away, unable to focus on their lips any longer - she buried her face in Conall’s shoulder as their hips rocked together, his thrusts going deep. Conall’s breath was hot in her ear, small moans of his own escaping his mouth as his pleasure grew. Vaguely Catriona wondered if he had been with any other women recently, but she was hardly going to let that thought distract her from the moment. They breathed together, moved together - all this time Catriona felt that somehow she and Conall had been a part of each other’s lives long before they met, and now in this moment she couldn’t feel more sure of it. Conall groaned helplessly as he came, making Catriona shiver with pleasure as he sank into her. The two of them laid in each other’s arms for some time after that, sometimes giving the other lazy kisses, or tracing their fingers along the other’s body. They didn’t speak, there was no need. Both Catriona and Conall wanted to simply take in the moment for what it was, to absorb it undiluted. Eventually sleep came to them both and they drifted into the night.
Morning crept into the caves, waking Catriona more by instinct than by light. Still content from the night before, Catriona rolled over to stretch her arm across Conall’s body. But as she did so, she discovered that he was nowhere to be seen. She sat up quickly, pulling the furs to her chest. Conall’s room was empty, quiet. Perhaps he had something to attend to early in the day - but a sense of unease couldn’t help but tug at Catriona’s heart. Perhaps the night before had been nothing but a brief tryst after all. Disoriented, Catriona gathered her things and dressed hastily.
Throughout the morning, she subtly searched the caves for Conall - asking his whereabouts as casually as she could. But by the sly grins on many of the women’s faces, she feared her state of disarray was only too obvious. After some time, a young woman by the name of Molly told Catriona where she might be able to find Conall. She had spotted him slipping away with Eamon and Lenox earlier that day, likely to visit one of their usual haunts. Catriona was pointed toward a mountain stream that curved its way into a small pond, hidden in a nearby valley. Catriona considered confronting Conall at once, but as she realized Eamon - and Lenox - would be there to witness her embarrassment, she decided to hang back before the men noticed her. She crept up carefully and obscured herself behind an outcrop of rocks. From her position, she could just make out their conversation. Conall seemed harried, pacing while Eamon stood back cooly, and Lenox gestured in irritation.
“Thank god you let her body distract you, Conall,” Lenox exclaimed. “That woman shouldn’t be here to begin with, and you were just going to hand away our secret?”
“How do you expect it to remain hidden forever? Catriona has every right to know if she’s going to be staying here -,” Conall began heatedly.
“Is she?” Lenox interjected, making it clear he desired otherwise.
Conall rounded on Lenox, coming close - his shoulders taught. “Do you expect me to simply abandon her? After what she -?”
“Please, Conall!” Lenox scoffed, “You cling too tightly to your misguided chivalry - she released you from the encampment. Why?”
“What are you talking about?” Conall practically growled.
“You tell us she is married to Lord Hector - have you ever stopped to wonder if she was meant to free you?”
Conall didn’t answer, processing Lenox’s words. Catriona’s chest tightened, aghast that Conall might consider them.
“That she was meant to lead Hector back to our camp for a slaughter?”
“Lady Catriona has been here for days, Lenox.” Eamon at last spoke up. “And there has been no sign of attack.”
“Because she’s been waiting for this fool to open his traitor mouth - .” Lenox waved his hand at Conall, but before he could drop it to his side again, the man was barreled to the ground by a dark shape.
It took Catriona a few skipped heartbeats to realize that Lenox was now being attacked by a wolf - unnaturally large, with thick dark fur. Her skin went cold, unable to move, she watched in terror as Lenox was pummeled by the wolf’s claws. Oddly Eamon barely reacted - in fact, he almost seemed annoyed by the commotion. Her eyes darted around the pond; Conall was no longer anywhere to be seen. Had he fled just as the wolf attacked? Another creature’s growls rang in Catriona’s ears and she looked back to see two animals now fighting, Lenox having disappeared in a matter of seconds. Their teeth gnashed, they clawed at each other’s hides, screaming in unnatural tones. Catriona put her hands on her ears, quaking in her hiding spot. She closed her eyes, praying for it to end without the animals coming near here. Distantly she heard Eamon shout.
“Enough!” He barked, louder than she would have expected from him.
The noises immediately died down, though a few growls and low whines lingered in the air. Reluctantly, Catriona peered around her cover once more. The two wolves were lying low at Eamon’s feet, their ears back in submission. Catriona marveled - they seemed to be under Eamon’s command. The older man looked at the now cowering animals scornfully. He stepped forward and grabbed both animals by the scruff of their necks - a feat that surely should have been impossible by their mere size.
“Acting like a pair of ill-bred pups.” He shouted, as a father would when scolding his children.
Then before Catriona’s own eyes, Conall and Lenox reappeared. She blinked. Where the wolves had strained, panting, in Eamon’s hands, now stood Conall and Lenox, their shirt collars pulled around their necks. The two of them glared at one another, faces flecked with blood and sweat. Eamon let them go roughly, causing the younger men to stumble.
“This is no way to act in front of a lady.” Eamon gestured towards Catriona’s very own hiding spot and she felt the blood drain from her face. Conall and Lenox went just as white as they realized an audience had been present all this time.
Eamon smiled, his anger seeming to dissipate as he approached Catriona. He held a hand out to her, as she was still crouching on the ground. Sheepishly, Catriona allowed him to help her up and lead her to the side of the pond with the others.
“Well, Lenox, it seems you and Conall both have given us away,” he said wryly.
Lenox stared at Catriona in shock, the color returning to his face as his cheeks went red. He turned abruptly and ran from the scene, leaving Conall to flounder on his own.
“Catriona - ,” he stammered.
But she too turned on her heel and fled.
She wasn’t sure where she was going, her body moved without thought. All Catriona knew was that she needed to get away, to think - to be alone. The caves would provide her no solitude - and the rest of the clan…were they all those things? Catriona shuddered as she realized she had been residing all these days with monsters. But last night…could a monster have truly made love to her like that? She shook her head, forcing the memory out of her mind. First she had to come to terms with what she had seen, what she had discovered.
After some time, Catriona came to a stop, slowly aware that her surroundings were no longer familiar. Her breath ran sharply through her lungs and she sat heavily upon the dew laden ground. Catriona pulled her knees close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Wolf Shifters; she had heard tales of them as a child - men and women who would cast aside their earthly skin to become ghastly creatures that prowled the night. She furrowed her brow. The imagery didn’t match up. When Catriona thought of the people she had come to know, to live with, all she could think of were their smiles, their kind nature. And Conall…But she had seen with her own eyes how he had transformed into a snarling beast. How he tore at Lenox. Catriona’s body ran cold again, remembering the sounds that had rent the air. Catriona exclaimed in confusion, burying her face into her dress. How could it be the same man? Had she left her previous life with a monster, only to walk into the jaws of another? But no
- despite all this, Catriona knew she would not, could not return to Hector. She realized grimly that she would pick supernatural shape-shifters over that wretched man any day. Granted, Catriona laughed to herself, she never expected that sort of ultimatum to present itself.
A cold breeze blew through the mountains, and with it brought a steady rain that darkened the ground around her. Catriona got to her feet, hoping the clan would allow her back amongst them. She began her return, casting about for the path to the caves only to find unmarked ground. Catriona lifted her eyes to the sky, guarding her face against the rain as best she could - the sun would tell her which direction to go. But of course it was raining, the clouds obscured her only point of direction. Catriona cursed herself. She hugged her arms close to her chest as the rain began to seep through the thick cloth of her dress. The rain could last anywhere between twenty minutes to an hour; it may not be worth the wait for it to clear. Catriona took a hold of her skirts, hiking them up out of the mud and made her way roughly in the direction she had come - hoping for the best.
Her boots were heavy with mud in a matter of minutes, slowing Catriona’s footsteps. Perhaps these mountains were enchanted like its people, she thought idly - keeping strangers away by losing them in the twists and turns of the slopes, obscuring the true path to those who did not belong. Catriona pushed the wet strands of hair from her face, rain dripping from her fingers. Perhaps the rain too was enchanted - to never end, she mused bitterly, pulling her feet from another hidden puddle. She trembled in the cold, pausing to get her bearings. The weather breathed a heavy mist through the hills, tricking her eyes to make them believe the world was constantly shifting about her. Then, as the fog dispersed, Catriona saw a figure approach. It was dark, padding along the ground with its nose down. The dark wolf. She breathed in sharply at the other worldly sight, the creature emerging from the mist. The wolf stopped at her sound, and lifted its head. His amber eyes glowed, even in the dim, dull light. The world shifted again, obscured, blurred, and then reappeared - and there was Conall, standing before her. A small tremor seemed to run through his body, which Catriona realized was Conall’s attempt to keep himself from running to her, or making any sudden movements. For a moment, neither of them moved, the silence interrupted only by the haze of the rain.
“Conall,” Catriona said at last, softly.
Conall’s face brightened with tentative hope. Catriona then held a hand out and they walked to meet each other. Conall took Catriona’s hand and gasped lightly.
“You’re frozen through,” he remarked with alarm. He put Catriona’s hands to his lips and tried to warm them with his breath.
Absently, Catriona thought she ought to have pulled away, flinched at the gesture - that mouth hid dangerous teeth after all. But when Conall stood there as he did now, as a man, nothing in her body spoke of fear, even if she tried to will it.
“I’m sorry,” Catriona said, “for running away.”
Conall shook his head. “No, I should have told you much sooner.”
Catriona breathed a laugh, her eyes falling closed without her notice. She leaned forward to rest her head against Conall’s chest - to feel the warm heartbeat within. He placed his hand on her forehead, it was soothing.
“You’re catching cold,” she heard Conall say.
Catriona didn’t reply, her body felt heavy, as if she were sinking. Suddenly Conall was lifting her from the ground, holding her in his arms. Catriona’s eyes fluttered briefly.
“This really isn’t necessary,” she muttered. Nonetheless she made no other protests.
Conall kissed her forehead and said nothing, only turned and hurried them back to the caves.
Catriona breathed in deeply, slowly. She didn’t know when she had fallen asleep, only that she was now waking among something soft and that someone was stroking her hair. She cracked an eye open to see Conall watching over her. Catriona was in his bed, curled up in the furs. It was an oddly familiar sensation - comfortable, safe.
“So you’re wolves, eh?” She said with a small grin.
Conall himself smiled sheepishly, “I wish you could have seen me in a better light. Lenox just…”
“Gets your hackles up?” Catriona offered.
Conall looked at her pointedly, which made Catriona grin all the more.
“What does this mean for me?” She asked, more seriously. “Or for us?”
With a sigh, Conall laid his head on the bed - bent over where he sat. He jogged one leg uncertainly, closing his eyes in thought.
“You can stay here, nothing has to change if you don’t want it to.”
“And if Hector finds this place?”
“He already has.”
Catriona bolted upright. “What?” How could Conall sit there so simply and deliver that news.
“Some of our scouts have returned, having sighted his camp moving in.” Conall looked up, “they came back while you were resting, I didn’t want to wake you with bad news.”
“Well, good lord, Conall - how much time do we have?” Catriona could feel her throat tightening as her heart tried to force its way upwards.
“Eamon and the others are making preparations now. We should be able to move everyone by nightfall.”
“Move everyone? What? Do you mean we’re simply abandoning this place?” Catriona’s anxiety was quickly replaced by confusion. She pushed the furs aside and got out of bed to retrieve the rest of her clothes - the outer layers having been removed to dry. Conall sat up, alarmed, but Catriona paid him no mind as she re-dressed herself.
“We have done it before,” Conall stated simply.
Catriona stopped in her tracks and looked to Conall. “How many times?”
Conall shrugged. “Too many to count after all these years. We have to keep our people hidden. If it there is too much of a risk, we find somewhere else.”
The thought was hard to stomach. How many times had the clan been forced out of their home, only to find the next one knowing it would not last? Catriona’s expression grew steely, and Conall must have noticed because he straightened up with worry.
“What are you thinking?” He asked.
“You’re not moving,” Catriona replied flatly.
At this, Conall stood up. “Excuse me?” He almost laughed, “Catriona -.”
“No,” she interrupted, “I will not have my husband ruin another life. I cannot account for the others in your past who have done you wrong, but if it is Hector who is to threaten you, all of us - then I must do something.”
Conall shook his head, a bewildered smile crossing his lips. He crossed the room to Catriona and put his hands on her hips. Catriona held her chin high, worried Conall was going to attempt to talk her out of it.
“Then what is your plan, my Lady?” He simply asked.
That night, the clan gathered around a large bonfire in part of the caves that led deep into the mountain. The heat filled the room, making the air dance above them as it swam to the high arching ceiling. It had taken some convincing but with Eamon’s support, Catriona and Conall were able to present their plan. Hector would be upon them by morning; those who could not fight would hold down the caves - lock off entryways, disguise passageways, turn their homes into a trap for the Englishmen should it come to that. Many had been hesitant, but shockingly enough, the one to win support for the plan was Lenox. He had approached Catriona and Conall grudgingly, unreadable - until he turned to the listening crowd and voiced his eagerness to fight for their home at last. Too long had they been hiding behind the image of rebels, when all they truly did was turn tail and run at the first sight of danger. The room murmured with agreement and dissent at his words, but in the end, their pride and eagerness for a battle at long last won out.
Now, as they passed drinks around the fire, Eamon stood to raise what might become a final toast.
“It’s been some time since any of us have seen real battle. Skirmishes certainly,” he tipped his glass to a certain group in the corner who whooped loudly. �
�But tomorrow could cost us blood, and lives. Let’s make sure we’ve made them worthwhile, eh?”
He let out a howl that echoed loudly through the chamber. It was taken up by the rest of the pack, ringing in all different tones as the voices melted into one. Catriona could feel it shake through her bones, stirring up something primeval in her soul. A part of her that longed to howl and dance like an animal too. Somewhere in the room, someone took up a drum while someone else took up the penny whistle. Soon the room was moving with more than just air, but with bodies. The clan did dance - celebrating, and preparing their souls for what may come. The energy grew and grew until men and women were embracing, shedding clothes, taking to the furs in heady delight. Catriona’s eyes dazzled in the light, sweat trickled down her neck as she swayed to the drums, in Conall’s arms. She gave way to the passion of the room, kissing Conall deeply, clinging to him in an almost desperate hunger. There was no longer anything outside of this moment. Tomorrow didn’t exist - there was only now, and them, and the clan, and the life they would create for those that may be lost.
Dizzy with energy, Catriona and Conall tumbled together to the floor, fumbling for what they could remove - joining those already in ecstasy. The fire burned brightly, even behind her eyelids. Catriona felt as if she could almost see Conall’s specter with her eyes closed, his gold aura shining before her as they made love once more. The beat of the drums pulsated through her body, their bodies, pulling them ever closer. Conall’s hands explored her skin as she lay on top of him and she groaned with pleasure as he slipped his fingers into her, massaging her lips as they grew wet. Catriona bit into Conall’s neck, running her tongue against him. He took this as encouragement and bent his fingers, making Catriona gasp. She wouldn’t allow him to finish her there, however - she wanted to be together, in every sense of the word. She kissed him, and whispered this to Conall. He ran his fingers along her one more time, sending shivers through Catriona’s body, then let himself slide into her as Catriona pushed him in deep. The room was alive with pleasure, with voices cooing and moaning and gasping, all to one purpose. Catriona sat up, arching her back into Conall’s movements. With one hand on her hip, Conall held her steady, while he reached with his other hand to grasp her breast. Briefly, Catriona opened her eyes, gazing up at the ceiling - the embers of the fire swirled above them like stars, caught up in the trails of the smoke, and the collective breath of the pack as they all seemed to breathe as one.
