by C. D. Gorri
He turned to shield Ailis, but Lyall had her. His knife pointed to her pale throat. She looked at him with fear brimming in her wide blue eyes and he felt all the rage inside of him desperate to take shape. If only twas the night of the full moon!
“You deceived me, Witch!”
“Nay, I saved you. Now you’ve the bitch come to me, we must away.”
“Is it true, am I what she says I am?”
“Son, she is a lying foul mou- Ahhhh!” the MacContire groaned as the Witch hit him wit another spell. Eoghan leapt to his feet. He could not believe the betrayal before his very eyes. His own brother. But why?
“Back away, Eoghan!” Lyall held the blade at Ailis’ throat. She gulped and looked to him for aid, but he was helpless. Eoghan could barely contain his growl.
“She has you bespelled, Lyall. We do not side with the Dark Ones! Let her go, now.”
“Can’t you see she changes my life? From servant to Alpha, and from bastard to more, but ye were s’pposed to suffer! Not marry a lass ye favored! Now, I’ll take her as mine and you will watch my victory from afar!”
“Why Lyall? Just tell me.”
“You could never understand, first son, the heir! And now I am shamed! That cuckold of a father should have never let our mother live! He knew! Don’t you see that? Damn ye, Eoghan! Now I’ll take what ye treasure the most!”
CHAPTER 8
Eoghan looked at his bride. Her fear was tangible. A living thing between them. Almost as strong as his rage at his own impotence.
“Ailis, I’ll come for thee.”
“The next time you see this woman she will be swollen with my heir and ye shall be hanging from a noose!”
“We must away the now! Benedicat omnis hic
ambulare in nebula, nos ab hoste, protégé occulos!”
“Eoghan!”
“Ailis!”
Eoghan collapsed as the Witch hissed in his direction. His head felt as if it were being crushed between two stones. He howled in pain and then everything went black.
When he woke some thirty minutes later it was with sweat running down his face. His fever had broke, but he was not altogether well.
Eoghan drank some water and paced the hall to clear his head. The priest and Pack healer were with his father. He was suffering from a dark curse placed on him by the Witch. As they all were.
After she screeched her last spell a thick, white fog encircled Castle MacContire. It was impenetrable and made it exceedingly dangerous to try and navigate across the rough terrain in such a state. Eoghan’s rage threatened to consume him.
“My lord, yer father asks for thee,” the lad, Tom Kelly, bade him enter his father’s rooms.
“Son, my son. The Witch speaks the truth. Yer father was molested by an English bastard, a rogue Wolf, who raped her one night whilst I fought to protect us. But she, she was my life, I promised to love her and to raise the child as mine own. Lyall is not my blood, but I believed him my son. I am sorry-”
“Nay, da, do not speak thus. Ye are good and brave and will be fine. I will see to Lyall and his Witch.”
“Do not harm him, I promised yer mother.”
“I shall do my best, but my loyalty is now to wife. I must find Ailis!”
Eoghan left the room abruptly. He went to the front door of the castle. Misty ropes of cursed fog blocked every available path from view. Yet he knew in his heart he had not a moment to lose.
“Sir? How shall ye travel in all this and where?”
“They have what is mine, Tom, and I mean to get her back.”
Eoghan raised his blonde head to the skies. The sun was setting, but twas weeks still to the full moon. He needed his Wolf more than ever, but the curse of St. Natalis forbade the connection between man and beast during the between times.
Eoghan growled and snarled. He had to focus. He went deep inside himself to that place in his mind’s eye where black Wolf rested and waited for him to call.
The silvery bonds of his Packmates were glowing as always, but they seemed almost dim compared to one. That line leads to her. My mate. Mine.
He knew instinctively tis the matebond he’d heard tales about from the Pack elders. His heart thudded in his chest as he settled back into the present. Then suddenly, as if through the mist, Eoghan saw a path. He raised his head. When he did his eyes were the familiar icy white blue of his Wolf.
“Sir!” Tom gasped.
“Ready yerself and my men. Bid them follow me. We go to fetch yer mistress and to save my father and yer Alpha.” He threw his head back and howled for all the Pack to hear.
“Grab the bitch by her hair and drag her if ye have to. We must lock the doors now!”
Ailis struggled against Lyall’s hold. He had six men loyal to him acting as guards, the Witch, and himself. They raced through the woods on horseback until they came to a decayed and crumbling tower.
“I saw this in my dreams,” she whispered. The Witch, having heard her, grabbed her by the chin and hissed.
“Ye have sight, I’ll grant ye, but shut that whore mouth or I’ll snap yer neck!”
“Nay! She is mine now, Witch. Have a care!” Lyall snaked his tongue out and licked the side of her face. Ailis cringed and moved away.
“Tis a fine perfume to cover that particular canid scent ye carry, but I know what ye are, she-Wolf! Dost thou think Eoghan would care to be married to such a bitch?”
“Let me go, foolish pup!” She spat at Lyall’s feet only to be slapped across the face hard enough to split her lip. The taste of blood in her mouth was familiar though unwelcome.
“Come, we must to the tower room. The ritual needs completing.”
“I’ll not give ye any more of my seed, Witch. It is for the lass now. No doubt, my brother will miss the honor of taking that pie for himself!”
Ailis gasped in pain as he tied a rope around her wrists and pulled her up the stairs. The rotting stone steps combined with mold, damp moss, and dead things invaded her nostrils. She wanted to gag.
For the first time ever, she wished she had applied more of that confounding scent. It was a nasty place and an even nastier future lay in wait for her. If only Eoghan would hurry!
Could he make it past the fog? The Witch was strong and cast a powerful spell. Nay, she’d not give in to those thoughts.
Her mate would come for her. She believed that with all her soul. She repeated it to herself over and again like the chanting monks she’d read about. Eoghan, love, come to me. Find me. I’m waiting for ye.
Her husband’s half-brother, half a man was more like, pushed her onto a seat in the center of the tower room. He fastened a chain to the rope that bound her wrists together and linked it to the hard seat. She could barely move her arms.
“Lyall, tis not too late to stop this.”
“Stop this? Why on earth would I stop this. Now tat I look on ye, Lady Ailis, I must say my brother has taste at least. Yer fine English gown and yer sparkling blue eyes are fetching indeed. Mayhaps I shall enjoy deflowering you!” He said with a guttural snarl in his voice that made her skin crawl.
He ran a hand down her hair as if testing it’s wait then lifted her face by her chin. His eyes seemed to undress her and Ailis suddenly wished for something with which to cover herself. He made her feel foul and used and that was just with his eyes.
“Aye, lass, you’ll do for me. I’ll have my brother’s wife first, ha! How’s that for a bastard second son, eh?”
“Yer Witch is scowling at ye, go tend her and leave me to find my peace afore yer brother comes to tear your throat out.”
What started out as bravado, ended with the strength of her belief. Ailis did not doubt that her beloved would e coming for her. It was there in the vehemence with which she spoke. Her kidnapper must have agreed for she noticed a twitch in his lip before he went to his Witch.
A foul and evil thing she was. Ailis knew of her kind, those who practiced the Dark Arts had been cavorting on Dungannon lands for months now. Twas Eogha
n who burned their last habitat. No doubt she’d been stolen as some sort of revenge.
Her only hope now was to wait for her husband of but a few hours. Would their tie be strong enough to lead him to her? She wondered. She’d heard of such things amongst Werewolves, a matebond strong enough to link the two people as if they were one.
But she’d kept secrets from her man. She’d lied. Well, she had no choice at the time, but still. Would their bond be strong with deceit between them? Would he reject her?
Doubts and fear plagued her mind. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She was always a useless thing, wasn’t she? No good to anyone. Not worth what her father paid for her in dowry. Nay, Ailis, tis not yer own thoughts that besiege yer mind.
The voice of her Wolf sounded clear in her mind. Ailis closed her eyes and saw her clearly. Wrapped lovingly around her forepaw was a silvery glowing cord that travelled into the mist. She knew instinctively where it would lead.
Mine own mate. Tis true we are joined. He shall come for ye. Focus, Ailis. Stay at the ready.
Ailis opened her eyes and saw the Witch bent over a dark flame candle. Her one good eye peered at her and Ailis knew she was trying to invade her thoughts again. Nay, she will not get inside of my mind again!
Lyall paced around the small room and peeked through a small slit of a window that looked down on the ground below. He’d placed two of his men outside and four inside. Closest to him. The coward.
“Tis not right. He’ll come! I know it!” Lyall rubbed his head, his agitation increasing.
“I cursed him with a fever, he’ll not rouse in time. Take her, mark her now and make her yours!”
“Ye can not just bite a wench! I must be in the act of consummation to mark her.”
“Well then, get to fornicating with the bitch, but do it now! The signs are not unchangeable, ye must make the wench yers and then stake yer claim to Alpha! If he finds us tis lost.”
“But ye cursed the path?”
“Yay, but the bitch here is pretty bait! He’ll come!”
“Grrr,” Lyall growled a pitiful sound and stalked to Ailis. He grabbed for her hands wen suddenly a noise, more roar than howl sounded from outside.
“Tis not possible!”
CHAPTER 9
Eoghan did not know exactly how it happened, but he found himself staring out of Castle MacContire at a path that seemed lined with a silvery rope. He did not wait for anything else, he took off at full speed.
He felt his Wolf keenly inside of him. His two legs trod through dirt path and thick tall grass until he was running faster than any deer he’d ever tracked. One thought was on his mind and one thought only. Ailis. Mine.
The need to have her in his sights, to see her safe and feel her heartbeat under his own was a powerful motivation. Twas like he was half a person without her near him. The idea that his own blood, half or not, could harm a hair on his bride’s head was not easily swallowed.
He heard his men following behind. They were a mile or so out, but he did not slow down. He could not afford to waste a moment. There was no telling what would happen.
His feet took him down a path he’d never seen in his own forest. Every step he took further into the darkness was like fighting his own nature. Everything about the place was warning him away. Telling him to leave, but he kept on.
Finally, he found himself running up a stone walkway. A tower was hidden under tall trees, twas old and crumbling. A ruin of a thing. Any other day he’d have passed it by, but not this day.
When two armed men, friends of his brother, came forward, Eoghan knew he’d found them. His heart thudded in his chest. He’d right the wrongs done to him. And how.
“Sir! He is here! Yer brother is here!” One of them bellowed to the tower behind them.
Eoghan expected to see something happen in the topmost room, but to his surprise a voice sounded from below. There was a thin slit in the stone wall where he saw familiar dark eyes peer at him.
‘Ah! Come to wish me well with yer bride on yer wedding night? Forgive me if we get too loud, brother, but I’ll have her filled and fucked in no time!”
“Lyall! Ye will not touch her!”
“Come now! I will plunder her slit with my cock until she weeps with joy of it! I do you a favor, Eoghan, she’s not the lady ye think her!”
“I am warning you, Lyall. Surrender now or there is no hope for ye.”
“Men! Hold the bitch down and lift her skirts high. I want to see what I’ve stolen from this fool out here!”
“Taunt him not and fuck the bitch! Yer window is almost passed!” Lyall grabbed the Witch round her neck and slammed her against the wall.
“Ye will remember who I am! I am Alpha, I am in charge! Yer naught, but a vile demon whore!”
“Curse ye, fool! The Maccon comes and there is naught to do but run!” She threw her revolting head backward until her neck almost snapped then she ran straight up the wall and out the rooftop to Ailis’ horror and fascination. She watched as the Witch was swallowed by the shadows.
“That vile bitch!” Lyall wrenched Ailis from the chair and held her face to the tiny opening.
“Lyall! Release her!” Eoghan bellowed from where he stood. He felt like a wounded animal though the fight had not even started yet.
“Eoghan!” Her scream sent shivers down his spine. This would not end well for his brother.
Lyall shoved Ailis back at his men. They held her by her hair and the chains that bound her. She struggled but it was difficult.
“We shall see this to the end! Guards! Maim my brother so he may hear me take this whore, then kill him!”
Lyall’s men charged Eoghan. He recognized one, but not the other. The lout was a Wolf who was thrown out of the Pack for heinous crimes against his family. His wife and children were kept and protected from his abuse. Eoghan was the one who tossed him outside the village gates upon is father’s orders.
“Remember me, lad?”
“Gerald the wife-beater and child abuser, how could I forget?”
“How’s my wife been? When Lyall is Alpha I’ll have the bitch and my pups back and I’ll wipe the bloody floor with them all! As is my right as father and husband!”
“Gerald, this is not yer fight. Leave this place and ye will live a while longer.”
“Nay, I’m going to rip you apart!”
Up to that point, Eoghan had been trying to find a way in the fortress. The thing was well-built. Iron bars, stone walls, no large windows or openings of any kind. Would be nigh on impossible.
At the sound of Gerald’s charge, Eoghan readied himself. The guards had swords in one hand and short knives in the other. Eoghan had not stopped to put on weapons once he found the path.
He braced himself. Speed, strength, and accuracy were on his side. Gerald attacked first. He lunged with all his brutish strength and the man was at least three stones heavier than Eoghan. He sidestepped and kicked him in the backside, using the man’s own momentum to force him to the ground.
“Stay down, Gerald. Live another day at least.”
The man growled his fury and got to his feet. Eoghan kept him in his sight though he didn’t turn his back on the other. Sounds of a struggle coming from inside the tower momentarily distracted him.
“Ailis?!” he yelled just as the other guard stabbed at him with his knife.
Eoghan hissed as the blade sliced the skin of his forearm. He grabbed the guard and quieted his screams with one quick twist of his neck. That was his Ailis yelling now, the fear in her voice evident. He couldn’t wait a moment longer.
He crouched down and waited for Gerald to make his move. The man spit on the floor and growled. He swung his sword first. Eoghan ducked it easily. Twas not the sword that worried him, twas the knife.
Gerald came at him like a man possessed. He lunged and stabbed at Eoghan until he almost succeeded in plunging his blade straight through his chest. Eoghan grabbed him by the forearm, allowing the blade to slice into the skin just to the right
of his heart. He twisted and heard the pop of the bone breaking.
“Ye bastard! Yer brother is taking yer bride the now! Ha! I have my revenge!”
“I gave you a choice, Gerald. You chose wrong.”
He took his head in both hands and twisted. The snapping of his neck made a sickening sound, but Eoghan was not stranger to battle. He did not even flinch.
He turned frantic. His Ailis was there, trapped by magic and worse, his mad half-brother! He needed in now. He ran to the door and pushed with all his might, but it would not budge.
Frustration warred with rage! If only the moon was full! He’d break down the bloody walls if he had to!
“Ailis!” he yelled.
“Shut up, bitch! Wait, ye can not leave!” Lyall screamed at Ailis and stared at the place where the Witch had been swallowed by darkness.
She’d left him. Abandoned him. Well, how was he supposed to take control of the Pack now.
“You two, guard the door! You hold this one down. I’ll have my brother’s wife the now! Do ya hear me Eoghan, I’ll plow her fields within yer hearing! I’ll use the bitch and leave her with nothing left!”
The sound of Eoghan banging against the outside walls and pounding against the door was constant. He’s here! Ailis was almost relieved, but she was still trapped in the tower. She needed to get out. She needed Eoghan.
Two huge, stinking guards grabbed her by her restraints. They made to pull her up, but something was happening. She looked at them, blue eyes glowing silver and snapped her teeth.
“What is this?”
“Sir, she be possessed!”
“Nay, fools! She is Wolf like we, and the moon is weeks away. Come now this is how you take a bitch to heel!”
Lyall stalked towards her, but Ailis’ Wolf was in charge for the moment. She’d not be used by the likes of him. She whipped her head side to side and snapped her teeth again, catching his finger. She spit out the appendage and ignored the metallic taste of his blood in her mouth.
His screams were like fuel to her fire. The sound of her mate drawing close was greater now. Ailis knew what she needed to do to help him get to her.