I could feel Graham’s eyes on me but I refused to look his way. I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing me so uncomfortable.
“I’ll just leave you all to your planning,” I said as calmly as possible and strode from the room, closing the door firmly behind me, all the while resisting the urge to slam it so hard the walls shook.
***
“Glenna?”
I tensed at the sound of Graham’s voice and my hands clenched into tight fists at my sides before I took a deep breath and turned around to face him. My toe tapped impatiently on the damp grass as I waited for him to cross the last bit of distance between us.
“Good afternoon, Mr. McConnell. Are you all finished for the day?” I asked as politely as possible.
“No, I will be going back inside shortly, but the MacGregor thought that we should break for a few minutes to clear our heads.”
“Oh, well, please, don’t let me disturb you,” I said with a slight incline of my head before turning to depart.
“Please,” he said, taking a step toward me.
I took a hasty step back before crossing my arms over my chest and standing my ground. “Yes?” I asked, snapping out the word.
“I had hoped to speak to ye, if ye have a few minutes to spare.”
He took another step toward me, but this time I didn’t retreat. I tilted my head back and raised myself to my full height.
I had never known another man as large as Alastair, but Graham came unnervingly close.
“What…” My voice wavered, so I cleared my throat and started again. “What would you like to speak to me about?”
“I know that ye don’t trust me, but I mean ye no harm.”
I snorted softly and rolled my eyes at him. “If you mean me no harm, you have a strange way of showing it.”
He frowned at me and crossed his own arms, mirroring my stance. “Have I harmed ye in any way?” he asked.
“You mean other than trying to kill my husband?” I snapped, rapidly losing my temper.
“I had no intention of killing your husband, Lady MacGregor.”
“I find that rather hard to believe. Wasn’t that you with your jaws wrapped around my husband’s neck? Do you expect me to believe that you would have spared his life if he had not won your fight?”
He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, saying nothing.
“I didn’t think so,” I said with a glare.
“Your husband is the chief and Alpha of our pack. He is leader of our clan and I respect that.”
I looked at him in confusion, confounded by the words coming out of his mouth. “Have you lost your mind? Are you insane? For surely you must be if you expect me to believe something so blatantly untrue. One minute you try to usurp his position and the next you claim to respect him and the title that he holds? Words have never before rung so false in my ears! You insult me, sir, with your obvious assumption that I am so feebleminded that I could be swayed by such empty words!”
“And your husband, my lady, is he feebleminded too then?” Graham countered. “For ye saw yourself this very day the trust that he has in me. Why else would he allow me into his counsel? Why would he let me be witness to the plans to be set forth?”
“My husband is no fool. While I cannot claim to understand the reasoning behind his actions as of yet, I have every faith that he sees you for the lying, deceitful snake that you are. He is wise to keep his enemies close, very wise indeed. And you will never be able to convince me that you are anything but a danger to him.”
“I know that I will have to work to gain your trust, Lady MacGregor.”
I held up my hand to silence him and shook my head firmly. “Keep your words, for they hold less substance than the breath in which you speak them. I tell you this now, Graham McConnell—there is nothing that you could do in this life or the next that could convince me that you mean us anything but harm. I will be watching you very closely, make no mistake about that.”
I turned on my heels and stormed away, my temper fuming. The gall of that man. Who did he think he was to believe that my mind could be swayed and my eyes blinded by a few pretty words of apology?
CHAPTER 8
“A rider comes, a rider!”
I looked up from the dough I was kneading in the kitchen. After a week of finding myself doing more than my share of pacing around the castle, I had decided the only thing for me to do was to put myself to work. I found the rough kneading and rolling of the bread dough to be nothing as I beat it into shape before setting it aside to rise.
I stepped away from the thick roll of dough as the words were repeated in hushed excitement around the kitchen.
“Who has come?” I asked one of the maids.
She started, unsure of herself now that she had been directly addressed. When I came down to the kitchens earlier, I had seen a few curious glances cast my way, but for the most part the maids kept to themselves and I was more than happy to get on with my tasks in silence, with only Mrs. Fletcher for conversation.
“We don’t know, m’lady, only that he rode so hard his horse near collapsed once it got to the gates. Whatever his reason for being here, the news must be very urgent.”
I nodded to her and used my apron to hastily wipe the flour from my hands and arms before tossing it on the counter. “Excuse me Mrs. Fletcher, but I must go,” I said to the housekeeper as I took off for the stairs that led out of the kitchen and up to the main level of the keep.
When I got upstairs I looked around, but although there was a buzz of excited voices I saw neither Donald nor Alastair around. I hurried quickly to the study. I was sure that the rider had already been taken there.
My heart hammered in my chest as I hurried through the halls. There was no doubt that whoever had arrived was one of the men Alastair had sent to find out about Allina’s plans. Maybe we had finally had a stroke of good luck.
I knocked twice on the study door and rushed inside without waiting for an answer. Inside, Alastair, Donald, Gregory, and Graham were gathered around a slight, flaxen-haired clansman who was slumped in a chair, eagerly finishing glass after glass of water. In his rush, he spilled the liquid over the side of the glass and down the front of his shirt, but he did not slow, simply handed over the empty cup to be refilled once more.
“Thank ye, Lord MacGregor, sir,” he said, short of breath once he had finished his glass of water.
“Just breathe, Malcolm, and take it slow. Catch your breath for a minute.”
“No time,” Malcolm said, shaking his head as he tried to push himself up straighter in the chair. He was too weak to support himself and collapsed backwards again.
“What have ye learned, Malcolm?” Donald asked. His forehead was furrowed in worry as he took in Malcolm’s appearance.
“It’s the Campbells,” Malcolm panted. “She’s enlisted the help of the Campbells. They’ll be marching on us at any time now. I know not how many men they will send, but I can tell ye it will nay be a paltry few. They mean to wipe us out, my lord. Cleanse the earth of us and all of those with the curse.”
“How did ye learn of this?” Gregory asked.
Malcolm shook his head and closed his eyes as he tried to get his breathing under control. I wanted to take the man by the shoulders and shake the answers out of him, but I resisted the urge and let him tell us in his own time.
“At first there was nothing. There was nary a whisper of knowledge of us, ye ken. It was so quiet for so long that I was starting to wonder if Allina had realized the folly of her ways and had decided to put all thoughts of vengeance out of her mind.” He sighed heavily. Such a fool’s dream.
“I travelled from pub to pub and kept an ear out for any rumors, dropping a hint here and there over a game or two of cards or dice. Get a man drunk enough and they’ll gossip just as badly as any woman.” He held his glass up and Alastair refilled it again. “And then one night my work paid off. I was sitting in the corner nursing a whiskey when I noticed a table of yo
ung men who looked to be around my age out of the corner of my eye. They were whispering in hushed but obviously eager voices. Their faces were flushed in the low light, but they glowed with something more than the warmth of good drink. And then I heard it, the name MacGregor. I tried to listen carefully but I could only pick out a few words. But what I did pick up on, clear as day, was that the MacGregors were finally going to get what was coming to them.”
“And?” Gregory asked, eager for more. I too was leaning forward in anticipation of the rest of the story.
“Well, I figured the only way to find out what they had planned was to go join their group and drown the details out of them, so that’s what I did. Turns out they were new recruits to the Campbells’ new cause and were out celebrating being initiated into the ranks of hunters. It didn’t take much to get them to loosen their tongues. Allina was able to get the ear of Robert Campbell. Seduced her way into his bed, most likely.” Malcolm’s eye caught mine and he cleared his throat, blushing. “Begging your pardon, my lady. I meant no offense.”
“Of course,” I said, waving away his worries. “Please continue.”
“Well, from what I could make out, once she had his attention, she begged his assistance in clearing the highlands of the devil’s scourge. She told him of our abilities and whatever she told him must have been all too convincing, because he started recruiting hunters to invade our lands and hunt us down.”
“It probably didn’t take all that much convincing on her part,” I said absently. “The MacGregors have done a fine job of weaving a cloak of mystery and suspicion about themselves. People are eager to believe that you’re in league with the devil, if you’re not the very devil himself. And now one of your own has confirmed their deepest suspicions. What more could they need to begin gathering their courage? Suspicion is one thing, but her plea for help is tantamount to an outright confession.”
“Exactly, my lady,” Malcolm said with a nod. “Once I learned that the Campbells planned to march on our clan lands within the week, I rode as hard and as fast as possible. I did not stop for water or food, barely pausing to shut my eyes for a single hour at a time. I knew that we would need all the time possible to alert our people and prepare.”
Alastair patted the man on the shoulder. “Thank ye, Malcolm. I’m grateful for all that you’ve done. You’ve given us a chance to protect our people.”
“Alastair, we have to get word to everyone. Will we have enough time?” I asked.
“We have no choice but to try. I’ll send out another group of riders to alert the people in every village and crofting.”
“What of those people who have no wolf?” I asked. “Will they also be in danger?”
“Yes, lass, they will,” said Donald gravely. “I doubt the Campbells are planning on knocking on each door and asking nicely which ones of us do and which ones dinna. They mean to kill as many of us as they can.”
“But we’ll not go without a fight,” snarled Graham.
Alastair nodded in agreement. “All we have wanted is to be left in peace. To mind our lands and raise our families without interference. If the Campbells have decided it’s war they want, then it’s war they’ll get.”
“The Campbells are a huge clan. They could easily outnumber us” I said to the men.
“They are still only human,” Gregory said confidently. “We have advance notice and can best them in strength as well as speed. They don’t stand a chance.”
I nodded in agreement but worried my bottom lip and wrapped my arms around myself. I was suddenly cold, as if a chill had passed through the room.
“We need to send men out right away,” Donald told Alastair. “I’ll get the riders organized and send them on their way.”
“I’ll ride into Fortingall with some men and round up the people to tell them what we know,” offered Graham.
I looked at him, remembering the sentiments he’d been telling the crowd the last time he had gathered the people in Fortingall’s town square.
He looked back at me and smiled as if he could read my mind and knew exactly what I was thinking. “Don’t worry, Lady MacGregor. I promise you I won’t be saying anything that ye could find objectionable.”
An unwanted smile started to tug at the corner of my mouth at his teasing but I narrowed my eyes at him instead, not wanting him to know that I had found his comment amusing. I had learned over the past few months that I was much too eager to trust and befriend people, and I was determined not to make that same mistake again. Especially when we already had one enemy nearly upon our doorstep, it was more important than ever to keep our eyes open for those that might already be inside our gates.
“Gregory,” Alastair barked, “spread the word to the castle inhabitants to make their way to the great hall. They need to be told now. I’ll expect everyone there within fifteen minutes. Ye all know what you’re to be doing, so let’s be quick about it.”
We left the study as a group but slowly broke off in different directions to gather the men needed to spread the word to the far-reaching clansmen.
Even riding at top speed it would be slow work. The men would have to stop at every home and tavern they could find in order to tell everyone about the impending invasion. By now word should have spread that there was a threat against the clan, but I doubted that the reality of the situation had really hit the MacGregors yet. They had lived in relative peace and secrecy for so long, how would they take the knowledge that not only was their secret out, but a clan easily thee times their size now planned on conquering and killing them? Wiping them out completely?
Gregory was convinced that we would win due to our speed and strength. But the percentage of the clan that actually had wolf blood was relatively small. What would happen to all of the people who didn’t have the gift of heightened speed and strength? There were entire families without the ability to shift who had never had to defend themselves before.
No matter how badly I wanted to believe that we would be able to face the Campbells and win, I feared for the lives that would be lost in the war. People were about to die; there was simply no avoiding it.
My heart pounded so hard in my chest that I was sure Alastair could hear it as he walked beside me, but he said nothing, merely reached out and took my hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze before releasing it again and walking into the great hall.
As I looked around I suddenly saw the room covered in flowers and greenery. People spun and laughed as music cut through the air. The joy of our wedding seemed so long ago.
The image faded away and I looked around at the drawn, scared faces of our people.
People would die, that was unavoidable, but we would do everything in our power to make sure that we saved as many of them as we could.
CHAPTER 9
Tension could be felt in the air over the next few days as the MacGregors prepared for the Campbell invasion. Men were put on rotation around the castle and Fortingall, as well as stationed down the roads so that we could be warned as soon as the marching men came into sight.
The men gathered in the town square and the fields, practicing their swordsmanship. Every male old enough to fight had a weapon pressed into his hands. I worked with the women to gather clean rags for bandages so that we could see to the wounded. While those capable of shifting were also fast helpers, there were many people who would be in need of medical attention and I wanted to make sure that we were prepared to take care of them as quickly as possible. Mrs. Fletcher and I were run off our feet as we gathered all of the willow bark we could to boil into tea to soothe the pain of the injured.
I hurried through the town to the church, where we had set up the healing station. I nodded to the large guards posted in front of the doors as I passed through. They were twin brothers, only a few inches taller than I was, and stocky of build, with honey-blond hair. Although I had seen them around the keep time and again I had never had a chance to get to know them. But Ian and Liam were always quick with a smile, even no
w, and I was glad that they were the ones assigned to be our shadows while we were in town. The church was to be defended at all times. While we hoped that we would have adequate warning when the Campbells arrived, Alastair was not taking any chances. Once the fighting started we would be separated, Alastair to lead his men, and I to help with the caring for the wounded.
I looked back over my shoulder to see a group of women rushing toward the town square. I knew that those women capable of shifting had demanded to join the fighting. They would defend their homes, and the MacGregor had accepted their help without hesitation. The women were strong and capable; no one would deny that. One shifter woman would be able to handle any Campbell man who dared to attack her or those she loved.
I was sorry that I could not fight at Alastair’s side. I wanted to fight with him, to defend my husband and my people as a newly turned wolf. All I could do was pray that those men he had with him would defend his life where I could not. When all of this was over, I wanted my husband standing by my side.
“Just set that lot down over there, Lady MacGregor, with the other,” said Mrs. Fletcher as she wiped the perspiration from her forehead with the sleeve of her gown.
I set down the raw woven bag I was carrying and the cups inside clattered loudly against each other. “Do you think that will be enough cups?” I asked her, looking at the pile.
“It will have to do. I’m more worried about ensuring we’ve enough fresh water for both drinking and cleansing their wounds,” she told me.
I nodded in understanding. If we ran out of water in the middle of the fighting, it would be very difficult to get some more. I had already ordered that five large barrels of it be transferred to the church so that we wouldn’t be caught without it.
“And we’ve enough wood for the fire so that we can boil it?”
Craved By The Highland Wolf (The Clan MacGregor Book 3) Page 5
