by Rye Hart
She headed toward her room, prepared to call it a night. As she walked through the archway that led to her bedroom, she was gripped by a sickening feeling as the world around her tilted away and she felt herself falling.
She reached out to try and steady herself, but her hands clawed at the open air. This time, she held her breath and braced herself for the chill of the water.
Even with the anticipation of the icy pool, it still came as a shock to her system when her body was enveloped by water. Her body froze as she felt herself submerged. Yet this time, she knew that there was an escape. With a fierce determination, she fought to swim to the top. As her air supply faded away, she used the last bit of strength to kick her legs to propel herself up. With a gasping breath, she broke through the surface.
Eva treaded water while she filled her lungs with full breaths. Slowly, her senses returned as she recovered from the shock of the sudden journey. That’s something I probably won’t ever get used to, she thought to herself. She was excited that she was back.
Yet Eva's joy was short lived, as two familiar voices carried over the water to where she was swimming in the middle of the pond.
"She has returned as we have expected," one of the hooded figures hissed. "She has returned!"
Fear gripped Eva the moment she realized that the two druids she had so narrowly escaped from, were waiting for her on the bank.
"Now we can finish what we started," echoed the second one.
Eva knew she needed to get out of there, fast. She didn't want to risk letting them "finish" what they had started. With a wild, determined look, Eva glanced around at her surroundings. The pool was small, almost hidden from where it was nestled in the woods. She figured if she could swim to the other shore fast enough, she might be able to out run them on foot in the woods. Eva didn't have time to consider whether or not her plan was a good one, she had a split second to put it into action.
With a quick kick, Eva leaned her back into the water and began kicking her legs to propel herself to the other side. She wasn't much of a swimmer, but with her life at risk, she managed quite well. It only took a few kicks before she was grasping at the embankment and pulling herself out of the water.
As she stood, she didn't even look back before she started running into the woods. She could hear the druids calling something, but she didn't care to hear, she just kept running.
She ran until her legs gave way and she collapsed on the soft ground, gasping. She prayed that she had outrun them. She attempted to rise and find a place to hide when suddenly, her world went dark.
Chapter Seven
Eva groaned as she rolled over onto her side, and opened her eyes. She was enveloped in darkness.
Panic seized her as she opened her eyes wider; she was no longer in the forest. They caught me she thought wildly.
She sat up instantly, looking around her, but she couldn't make anything out other than that she was in a room somewhere.
"Ye surely know how to make an entrance," said a seductive, familiar voice.
Eva's body relaxed at the sound, she couldn't see him in the darkness, but she could sense him. They had a strange connection that Eva couldn't explain. Although they barely knew each other, Eva sensed that he would never hurt her. Come to think of it, this would make the second time he had saved her life.
Eva laughed in response to his statement. "If you only knew," she added vaguely.
She heard footsteps and sensed him moving closer, her whole body came alive with the anticipation of his presence. She saw a glimmer of light appear as he lit a candle, illuminating the small stone cave.
Eva looked up at his face as Laird Drummond slowly came into view. The shadows made his face appear hard and dangerous. Eva felt a sense of relief and happiness come over her. She cocked her head at him. "What happened to the castle?" she asked as she motioned to the naturally formed stone walls around them.
The moment the words left her mouth, Eva knew she had hit a nerve. She watched Bhradain’s eyes flash a feral red for the briefest moment, before returning to their natural brown. "It was nae safe for the clan to be around me, they voted to send me away," he explained.
Before she had fully registered her actions, she had stood up and started to make her way toward Bhradain. The last time she had done this, she had reached out to comfort the beastly version of him — a beast that his own people appeared to fear. And like last time, he didn't shy away. As she brought her hand up to rest against his cheek, her gaze conveyed sympathy. She didn't know Bhradain very well and she didn't know why she had been brought here, but somehow she knew that she was supposed to be here in this moment with him.
As Eva hand came into contact with his rough jaw, Bhradain caught her wrist, pulled her forward and brought her into a passionate embrace.
Eva gasped as their bodies came in contact, and she realized that beside a kilt, he was wearing absolutely nothing.
His roaming gaze heated her cheeks, while her own body became aware of his in a more primitive way. She felt his free hand slide down her backside and cup her bottom. And when his fiery eyes looked at her, they hooded with lust, she knew that he appreciated every inch of her. She felt empowered by her ability to incite such a carnal response in an Alpha like him; the awareness was almost intoxicatingly erotic.
"Eva, I burn with need," he murmured seductively, while his hand continued to roam her body freely.
Eva felt desire pool within her, her body responding to his strong touch. She slid her hands up his bare chest, enjoying the sensation of his defined, taught muscles. She laughed playfully as she glided her hands over his broad shoulders.
Bhradain groaned a moment before he lifted Eva up and pressed her against the stone wall.
The stone felt cool against Eva's backside, while the rest of her felt like it was on fire from the tension between them.
"Bhradain," she said softly. Her words incited Bhradain as he pushed her legs apart and guided them to wrap around his waist.
Eva could feel his thick manhood pressed against her most sensitive region through the wool of his kilt. She ached to help guide him into her. She longed to have their bodies joined in the carnal dance of lovers.
"Why did ye leave?" he asked roughly as he kissed a trail down her neck.
At the mention of her disappearance, Eva remembered the danger she needed to warn Bhradain about. With a gasp, she put her hands on his chest and reluctantly urged him to stop.
"Bhradain, I have to tell you something," she said with urgency.
Laird Drummond pulled back, his eyes hooded with lust. "Can it nae wait?" he asked darkly.
Eva shook her head. "I think the druids are trying to kill me," she said in a rush. She wasn't sure how to exactly explain the situation, so she decided to jump right in.
Bhradain suddenly pulled away, and Eva saw his eyes turn red for the briefest moment, before fading back to brown.
Bhradain quickly set Eva down and backed away from her as if his life depended upon it.
Eva was flustered. "Bhradain?" she said softly.
"What have they done?”
Eva told him everything that she could remember. She told him about how she was forced into the dark room and attacked by the druids.
Do not come near lass," he said through gritted teeth. His voice had grown thicker and his breath came in heaves, as if he were struggling to hold himself together.
Eva heard the warning in his voice and refrained from pushing farther. She had seen how wildly his world could shift and how he could lose control over his body. He was the cursed one they were talking about, and somehow, they all thought she played a role in freeing him.
"Can I do anything to help?" she asked gently.
Bhradain laughed darkly. "Aye lass, there be plenty ye could do to help," he shot her a heated gaze from across the room, his eyes blazing an even brighter shade of red.
Eva wasn’t sure what he was insinuating so remained where she was, pressed up against the wall. She
didn't want to push Bhradain too far as she heard his heavy pants as he struggled to hold onto his humanity. She took a step forward, aching to close the distance between them. "The druids said something about how I was the one and prophesized to save you," she said. She let her statement hang in the air, while her eyes remained trained on his movements, waiting to detect anything that might start explaining what was happening and why she was here.
His face flashed awareness. "Aye," he said softly, "and what do ye make of it?"
She tilted her head as she regarded Bhradain with curiosity. "That somehow I am here to help you break this curse?" she stated what they both knew. As she spoke, she noticed the tension had lifted from his shoulders as his body started to relax.
The candlelight flickered on the wall and cast intimate shadows around them. Although they were no longer touching, Eva still felt drawn to him in an instinctual way.
"They pulled a knife on me," she continued. "Had I not —" she broke off abruptly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to reveal to him where she came from. "I," she began again, "got away, but they found me in the woods," she let her voice trail off.
"Lass," he said in a dangerously controlled voice, "do ye realize what this means?"
Eva shook her head. "That's what I want to find out!" she said in a rush.
Bhradain muttered something under his breath that was indistinguishable to Eva's ears before he pushed off the wall and strode intently to a chest that was placed in the corner. He pushed back the lid and started to remove a varied assortment of weapons.
"Hold on," Eva interjected. "What is this all about?"
"Meddlesome creatures," Bhradain muttered huskily. "It appears that," he said as he retrieved a broad sword and tested the edge along his finger, "my mother's sorcerers are plotting against me." His voice held no emotion, but was laced with a dangerous undertone.
Eva shivered as her body acknowledged the intensity of Bhradain's reaction. "But why would they do that? Does it have something to do with your, um, special abilities?" She didn't want to outright call him a beast.
Bhradain sighed and ran his hand through his thick hair. "Upon my twenty six season, I will cease to shift back into my human form and will forever be trapped by the beast within," he said darkly.
"Oh," Eva gasped. "But why? "
"This ability is not a gift," Bhradain explained. "When I was babe, a witch cursed me with the ability to shift. As I've gotten older, it gets more difficult to return to my human form," he explained. As he spoke, his eyes continued to watch Eva's intently.
"Where do I come into all of this?" she added softly.
Bhradain regarded her for a long time before he spoke, as if he was deciding whether or not to trust her with the information. "There is a prophecy, that a witch will come through the crystal pond and aid me in breaking the curse." He let the implication hang in the air.
"Oh," Eva said. "“So I’m supposed to be this witch?” she asked skeptically.
Bhradain chuckled. "Eva, ye are the witch, I ken it," he spoke huskily. "But I do not want to break the curse at this moment, for if I do, I will no longer have the strength needed to defeat my enemies."
Eva pondered his words for a moment. "But how do you break it? I mean, just in case we need to."
Bhradain moved closer to her from where he stood by the weapons chest. Once he stood before her, he reached out to gently caress her cheek. "When you are ready, you will know."
"Here we going with the cryptic statements," she said with exasperation. "So you are not going to tell me?" she asked just to clarify.
"In time," he laughed seductively.
Eva rolled her eyes at his elusive response. She was a bit tired of hearing only cryptic half-answers. "Well, since you aren't going to talk to me about your curse, how about you tell me what you plan is to defeat whatever force of evil we need to defeat?"
Bhradain gave her quizzical look.
Eva sighed; sometimes it was difficult communicating with a highland laird. "I mean," she started to clarify, "you are pulling out all the weapons and have a look in your eye that suggests you are out for blood. Are you going to tell me what that is all about?"
Bhradain laughed as understanding dawned on him. "I plan to take back my castle from the scheming druids," he said purposefully.
"And how are you going to do that?" Eva pressed.
"By storming the keep and slaying my enemies," he said with confidence.
"And how do I play into all of this?" Eva asked, but she was starting to see the direction his plan was going.
"Ye will stay here until all is safe, I will not risk losing ye again," he stated.
"Absolutely not!" Eva burst. She wasn't much of a fighter, but she wasn't going to wait around in this dank cave while he went out alone and conquered.
Bhradain looked taken aback by Eva's defiance. "And how will ye yield a broadsword?" he asked with a glimmer in his eye.
It infuriated Eva that he was enjoying this. "Doesn't matter, I can sneak inside and spy or something,” she offered. She wasn't one to think up logistics first, all she knew was she wasn't staying behind. "I'll think of a plan when we get there," she added.
Bhradain chuckled. "I see there is nae arguing with ye," he said.
Chapter Eight
"So," Eva began, "when do we get to storm the castle?" She was quite excited by the idea of taking charge, breaking through the castle doors, and dealing justice to the two druids. However, she wasn't so sure that Bhradain shared her same level of enthusiasm in regards to her participation. She bounced excitedly from foot to foot on the soft ground. They stood outside in a small wooden clearing, quite a ways away from the castle itself.
"I," he made sure to emphasize the singular usage, "will sneak into the castle. When it is safe and only," he gave her a pointed look at the mention of the word only, "when I give ye the all clear, may ye join me," he said.
Eva rolled her eyes at the difficult highlander. "I don't think it is fair that you get to have all the fun," she argued.
"There is nae fun in war," he clarified. He furrowed his handsome brow and regarded Eva with a serious expression. "Promise me ye will nae attempt to engage in any fighting," he stressed.
She could tell that he wasn't just telling her because he was a highland laird and used to getting his way, but because he did not want her to get hurt. She remembered the words he had said to her, "I do not want to lose you." Because of this, she decided to throw him a bit of a bone. "I will think about it," she said with a non-committal shrug.
Bhradain continued to hold a suspicious expression, but seemed to accept her answer for the moment. He quickly changed the subject. "I do not want to strike until it is dark, so we will need to wait until then."
"Are you worried we might get caught?" she asked nervously while glancing around the clearing in the woods. Just because they were not in direct site of the castle, didn't mean that the druids weren't lurking around.
"Nae," he laughed. "My curse comes with certain qualities that allow me to detect any encroaching foe," he said with a mysterious gleam in his hooded brown eyes.
"Oh, right," Eva laughed nervously. She kept forgetting that at any moment, he might turn into a savage beast. At least she already knew he wouldn't hurt her, but she wouldn't know what to do if he left her alone in the forest. She thought of the wolves that had chased them that first night they met. "What about the wolves? Will they still keep their distance?"
"Aye, they only followed us because they can sense the beast within me. They see me as Alpha, but they ken to stay away now," he smiled.
Eva looked into the darkening sky as the sun began to set, and shivered from the encroaching cold
"I will make ye a fire while we wait," Bhradain said.
Eva liked how Bhradain looked out for her. Here he was, struggling to overcome a curse and scheming druids, and he took the time to be concerned that she was cold. The thought made her smile. "Thank you," she said wholeheartedly.
W
hen the fire was crackling, Eva cozied up right next to it. As soon as the sun had set, darkness consumed the forest. Eva was glad that there was a fire to provide light.
"Will you join me?" she patted the spot next to her.
Bhradain moved in beside Eva. They sat like that for some time, staring into the flickering flames, both painfully aware of the distance between them and the heated tension that burned hotter than any fire.
"Bhradain," Eva whispered.
"Aye?" he replied huskily.
"Why won't you tell me how to break your curse?" she asked quietly.
