“This way!” He banked a sharp left and flew down a path that cut through thick shrubbery relieved when she followed. Those who pursued them weren’t far off now and closing in fast.
They were always closing in fast.
With eyes as good as hers in the dark, he ducked into a cave and flew through narrow tunnels into narrower tunnels still. Skidding to a halt, he sidled through a narrow opening she could fit through too then raced across another cave only to hear her cry out in pain behind him.
His heart leapt into his throat.
She had caught her paw in a crevice and hurt her leg.
Before he could get to her and pick her up, she limped to him. Though he sensed she wanted to whimper, she didn't lest it give away their location. Yet he knew her initial yelp had already done that. While he could carry her and continue fleeing, they would not be able to move fast enough. Not from what pursued them.
This was it.
This would be where they made their final stance.
In truth, it was the best location they could hope for. Nature was all around them. Most specifically, wildlife. A small pond fed by a stream teemed with fish. More than that, outside, a monstrous oak full of woodland creatures reached its long branches over this very cave.
So they crouched on the other side of the pond, remained perfectly still, and waited. Watched.
They were coming.
Close.
Closer.
Closer still.
The air chilled more and more, turning everything so cold he could see his breath.
Though tempted to reach out to his fellow warriors, he would not subject them to evil the likes of this. Darkness so thorough it could eat a soul alive. Rather, he prayed the life flourishing around them would be enough. For they were part of his power. Who he was.
Yet, as he soon learned, even they were not enough.
Not when cold eyes found them.
When magic she could not escape found Phelan.
Despite her pain, she took up position in front of him, bared her teeth, and growled, forgetting she was but a wolf. That she didn't stand a chance against what came for her. Even worse, forgetting it would separate them for eternity. She would be lost to him forever.
Trapped in an unthinkable hell.
He could not let that happen. Would not. Yet there was only one way out of this.
Only one thing he could do.
He trembled, his heart heavy as he braced himself. As he prepared to do what could free her. The only hope she had in all this.
“I swear I will always love ye,” he vowed. “Just find yer way back to me.”
With those final words, he did the inevitable and withdrew his dagger.
“Bloody hell, nay,” Ethyn gasped.
Torn from the nightmare, he sat up at the same moment as Ciara.
Breathing just as heavily, she looked at him, her eyes wide in the early morning light. “You had the same nightmare, didn’t you? Running from the darkness? Hiding? Then...”
When she trailed off, emotional, her lower lip wobbling, he knew she knew what happened at the end. To hell with the fear of him touching her. He shifted close and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered because he truly was. So sorry, it physically hurt.
For without a doubt, he had been ready to take Phelan’s life.
“I dinnae ken what happened.” He shook his head. “Why I was about to do such a thing.”
“Although I remembered the words you said to me in the end, in fact they’ve kept me going, I don’t remember living that life,” she murmured. “But it’s safe to say hurting my leg then is connected somehow to my leg being broken as a pup. Possibly why it tends to give me more pain around...”
When she trailed off, he frowned at her. “Around what?”
Ciara released a shaky sigh. “Well, you initially.” She shook her head. “But honestly, sort of how Marek's experiencing less pain as we go, so am I.”
“Aye? Truly?” Because he loathed the idea of causing her pain with his proximity. “Or are you just saying that?”
“No, it's true.” She rubbed her leg absently. “It really does ache less, and I'll bet that has to do with us starting to learn the truth. Because Phelan's leg wasn't hurt in any other life but this one and that one. So it's definitely tied in with the curse somehow.”
“And you remembered what I said at the end?” He looked at her curiously. “That I would always love you? Just find your way back to me?”
He liked the idea that what he'd said in one life helped her in another. As to what he'd actually voiced, it certainly gave merit to how strongly he had felt about her.
“Yeah, I always wondered when you'd said those words to me.” Her cheeks pinkened. “Now, I know.”
Thankfully, she didn’t pull away. But then she hadn’t stopped trembling as she came to grips with what happened.
“You were a great warrior,” she went on softly, reflecting on what they'd just experienced. “I was set to follow my warrior...I knew that about you in this life too. That you were special somehow...yet you still had it in you to be ruthless.” Her eyes were damp when they met his again. “Your ruthlessness wasn’t a dark thing, though. It was part of your power. Part of something greater that only ever fought evil.”
“Killing you doesnae sound much like fighting evil.” He could still feel the blade in his hand. His heartbreak as he prepared to use it. He had broken out in a cold sweat. Bile had risen in his throat.
“You were trying to protect me from evil, and we both know it.” She still hadn’t pulled away. “You were trying to save me the only way you knew how.”
“How could death have been the final answer?” He shook his head and brushed away a tear that trickled down her cheek. “Especially if it was death coming for you?”
God, her skin was soft, her scent flowery and sweet. Newborn sunlight cutting through the forest lit the tent, igniting the cedar in her magnificent eyes. Despite the horror of what he’d just witnessed, he became overly aware of her. The way she felt against him. How her breathing became uneven, and her pupils flared as their gazes held.
“I don’t know why death was the final answer...” she whispered, trailing off. Her gaze dropped to his lips and lingered. She was remembering the brief kiss they had shared after her first shift. The way he had touched her.
Like the night before, her thoughts churned with his, giving him more and more glimpses of who she actually was. The way she thought. How she looked at the world. At him. She had never lain with another. Not just because she felt she would have been unfaithful to him but because she simply didn’t want to. Not to say she didn’t crave intimacy. Because she clearly did. It was obvious by the way she looked at him. In her thoughts more often than not.
Just like it was right now.
He intended to take advantage of it too before she realized where she was. That she had allowed him to touch her. As far as he was concerned, her being trapped away from him in the body of a wolf for countless lifetimes was enough. He had no intention of keeping his distance off a mere ‘feeling.’ It seemed an impossible feat. Way too much to ask of either of them. She wasn’t a wolf but a flesh and blood woman. One he desired a great deal in very little time.
So he cupped her cheek and kissed her.
When she jerked as though startled, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, sensing it would calm her. Perhaps even keep her from pulling away, if he were to be honest with himself. Yet he need not worry because she stilled then slowly but surely kissed him back.
Though he kept things soft and gentle because she was inexperienced, he soon realized she was anything but. Though that should have given him pause, he couldn’t pull away if he wanted to. Not when the kiss deepened. Not when her mouth opened and her tongue danced with his.
When she offered a throaty little moan and wrapped her hand in his tunic, he knew he’d want far more of this. Her. She tasted too good.
Kissed so very well. So well that he lost all sense of reality. In fact, he was so far gone, moments from chanting off her clothes and relieving his raging arousal, that he didn’t hear Marek until his cousin stuck his head in.
“Och, cousin!” Marek pulled back when he realized he’d interrupted an intimate moment. “No wonder you didnae hear me calling you.”
Jolted from the bliss they’d just found, Ciara pulled back sharply. Her eyes rounded when it occurred to her what she’d let happen.
“What is it, Marek?” he called out, the aggravation in his voice unmistakable.
“The King has summoned you,” Marek shot back, clearly not concerned with Ethyn’s irritation. “He wishes you to break your fast with him so that he might meet your lass.”
“Aye, then,” he replied. “We’ll be right there.”
“I can’t believe I did that,” Ciara cursed under her breath, her skin flushed. She shook her head and chanted a brush into existence to comb her hair. “I never should have allowed that. We just...” her eyes avoided his, “shouldn’t have.”
“But we did,” he stated bluntly, making things clear here and now. “And ye can bloody well expect it to happen again.”
Surprised, she finally looked at him. “No, it won’t. It can’t.” She shook her head. “Sorry, that was a mistake.”
“’Twas no mistake, and I willnae call it such.” He stopped her when she went to pull a boot on and made sure she looked at him. “I would never force you to lie with me, but not touching? Kissing? ‘Tis too much to ask. Because if I know nothing else, ‘tis unnatural when it comes to you and me.” He gestured between them. “’Twas clear in what just ignited betwixt us.”
“It was just a kiss,” she said softly, sounding nowhere near certain of that.
“That was no average kiss.” He pulled a boot on and shook his head. “Though I dinnae ken why you lied to me about your innocence.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but you stole that knowledge from my thoughts,” she reminded, disgruntled. She pulled on a boot as well. “And for your information, I am...” Her cheeks burned. She struggled to find the right words. “I’m a virgin. Simple as that.” Her words grew more heated as she yanked on her other boot. “And though I shouldn’t have to explain myself, I’ve never kissed another man. Nor have I wanted to.”
Before he could respond, she left the tent.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered, following her after pulling on his other boot. While tempted to accuse her of lying, he knew she wasn’t. He felt it bone-deep. Saw it in her pained expression. Heard it in her hurt voice.
“I’m sorry, lass.” He caught up and stopped her. “I didnae mean to upset you.”
He truly didn’t either. Strangely, it physically hurt when he did. As though she meant a great deal more to him than she should considering they’d just technically met. Yet, as he’d heard from generations of kin who had been in the same position, it happened very fast. Which gave him hope.
It also gave him perspective.
“’Tis our growing connection, lass,” he said softly. “That’s why the kiss was so bloody good. Not just because of how drawn we are to each other now but also in our first life. Before you became a wolf. ‘Twas all right there in that kiss. In what ignited betwixt us.”
Her eyes lingered on his as she saw the truth of it. As she felt what he felt.
“Hey there,” came Julie’s voice, interrupting the moment. “Heading to King David’s tent?”
“Yeah,” Ciara replied. Her gaze lingered on him another moment before she said good morning to Julie.
Julie looked between them, clearly sensing she had walked into something. “Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” Ciara’s smile seemed forced. “I’m looking forward to officially meeting David.”
It was easy to forget just how much a part of this she already was. How she’d likely been watching everything transpire with every couple from the beginning.
Which meant she had watched King David too.
The lad had come far since this all began. Having gained confidence, when introductions were made shortly thereafter, he wasn’t nearly as shy as he used to be. Not surprisingly, he took to Ciara as quickly as he did the other lasses. The moment Regent Douglas left them alone with the king, David wasted no time asking what sort of magical creature she was. A Guardian Witch like Julie? A faery like Chloe? Maybe a dragon like Madison?
“Though I've got a bit of witch in me, I’m afraid I’m just a wolf.” She winked at David. “But I’m a strong one who’ll defend you with my life.”
Interestingly, the boy seemed more taken with that than all the rest. “’Tis a noble beastie indeed.” He eyed her curiously with something akin to awe. “I often dreamt of a wolf protecting me before, one day, it actually came visiting. A great black and brown colored wolf.” His eyes grew a little sad as though he missed it when it wasn't around. “It kept me company. Even gave me strength.”
When everyone looked at Ciara with surprise, she offered no response.
Not to them anyway.
“I’m glad it gave you comfort.” She considered David. “What would you say if I told you that wolf could visit you right now?”
His eyes grew round. “I would say I’d verra much like that.”
She glanced at everyone, tentative for a moment before, in the blink of an eye, Ciara was gone, and Phelan sat in her place.
If possible, David’s eyes grew rounder still. He shocked them when tears welled, and he didn’t act with caution, but fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her neck. She, in turn, lowered her head and allowed it, clearly having let the boy do this before.
Ethyn was fairly certain he lost his heart to Ciara right then and there.
How could she possibly, in any reality, be the enemy? There was too much heart in her. Kindness and love. She was a born protector.
When Marek and Tiernan tensed, no doubt wary of the situation, he spoke within their minds, glad they heard him.
“She would never hurt him,” he assured. “’Tis not in her.”
“But it may be,” Marek reminded. He made no move to stop the heartwarming scene, though. “She said so herself.”
“But that time hasn’t come,” Julie said. “So for now, just let David have a little happy time, okay? The kid doesn’t get much of it.”
In full agreement, they stayed awhile.
Marek kept watch at the tent entrance for anyone coming, and David visited with Phelan. Meanwhile, Ethyn telepathically filled everyone in about the nightmare he’d had. What he had ultimately done to Phelan in that life.
“So you think that was your first life together?” Tiernan asked.
“I do,” he replied. “Which means Ciara wasn't just cursed to be a wolf that came back after our initial life but was one from the beginning. Or should I say, she was turned in that life.”
“And you were some sort of great warrior?” Julie seemed to sense something in that. “A warrior whose power was enhanced around wildlife?”
“Aye,” he confirmed.
She looked at Tiernan. “Are you thinking what I am?”
“’Twould be something,” he replied, contemplating it.
Marek frowned. “What?”
“It sounds like Ethyn might have been affiliated with the Celtic god, Fionn Mac Cumhail,” Tiernan revealed. “Mayhap even one of his Fiannas. Immortal warriors who once roamed ancient Ireland.”
As if in direct response to Tiernan’s revelation, Phelan abruptly stopped playing with David and sank to her haunches. She looked at Ethyn and whimpered.
“What is it, Ciara?” he asked within the mind.
No answer.
“Ciara?” he said aloud.
Still no answer.
Just Phelan whimpering.
A surge of fear blew through him at the look in her eyes. The great distance suddenly growing between them. Ciara was unable to switch back, her human half fading.
&nbs
p; “Bloody hell,” he cursed, pained by the sensation.
Yet he knew what he had to do.
He put David behind him and withdrew the Viking blade. The king must come first. Be protected before all else. That meant defending him against a wolf if necessary.
“She willnae hurt me,” David said softly. Even so, the others withdrew their blades as well, ready to take Phelan down if need be.
Willing to kill Ciara if there was no other choice.
Her whimpering died, and her expression changed for a flicker of a moment. What was she thinking? Doing? When her lips pulled back in a snarl, and she bared her teeth, it felt like time lapsed into slow motion.
Would he truly have to cut her down once more?
Suffer that kind of heartbreak all over again?
And that was merely what he’d felt before the actual act. He could only imagine what it felt like to actually execute the final deed.
“Nay,” he ground out, refusing to do it. Not quite yet, anyway. Not when she had devoted so many lives to protecting him.
That’s what he needed to appeal to. What she must recall. Focus on.
“Ye need to remember that, Ciara,” he pleaded. “Ye need to remember that ye are a noble beastie and ‘tis not in yer blood to harm me. For ye are my sworn protector, aye?” Tiny flecks of lightning sizzled over his blade. “Ye would never harm me or anyone ye cared about.”
Or so he could only pray as the moment stretched on.
Was this it?
Would he have to slay her before they found each other again?
His question was answered soon after.
Chapter Nine
WHERE WAS SHE? Why couldn’t she hear anything? See anything? Cold darkness seeped into her bones, filling her with a sense of emptiness. Ciara had never felt so lost, terrified, and alone.
Until, from a great distance away, she heard Ethyn.
Warmth began filling her, then a pinprick of light opened up. She tried to call back but couldn’t. Yet as he kept talking, the light expanded, brighter and brighter, until everything snapped into focus, and she was back in King David’s tent. Ethyn had David behind him, and everyone held their blade at the ready, their eyes trained on her.
A Scot's Favor (The MacLomain Series: End of an Era Book 4) Page 6
